Creating Lena » Otonabee River

Shades of Black and White

Helena — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:56:47 +0000

Taking a break from the writing tonight, I decided to play a little with some photos. We decided that on one wall of the living room we’d like to do a collection of my photos, only turned into black and white. So these are a few of the ones I’m thinking of using.

Sharing Space with the Geese

Helena — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:08:21 +0000

At the zoo there’s this path that goes down to the river and at the bottom of it, there’s a little island with picnic tables that’s a really peaceful spot to end your walk. Unless of course you have to share it with all the geese, and ducks, and seagulls. Then it’s noisy as all getout and not so peaceful at all.

I’m not sure why they all tend to congregate in the one spot, but it was nice that they did, because all we had to do was walk over to the other side and it was nice and peaceful again.

For more wonderfully watery photos, be sure to check outWatery Wednesday.

Have a wonderful day!

First Bike Ride of the Season

Helena — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 02:43:28 +0000

Last year my first bike ride of the season was also my last. A couple of weeks later I was in the cardiologist’s office talking angioplasty. I never did have the second stent put it, and I’m determined to keep it that way.

So today, the first double-digit day of the season, my son and I decided to try again to get my cycling stamina up. We had originally planned to ride all the way to the university, but I wimped out about halfway there so we turned around and came home. You can read more about the actual ride and why I’m putting myself through this on my fitness blog. (There’s a picture of me and my bike there too if you really wanna see.)

Of course, we had to stop and take a few pictures along the way too. I’m pretty sure my son was getting fed up with me hollering at him to stop every time I wanted to snap some shots. He tells me he’s going on a nice long ride by himself tomorrow!

Have a great weekend!

A Scenic Ride

Sharing the Day with the Ducks

Helena — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:22:22 +0000

I can’t believe that it’s been 2 months since the last time I posted here, or went out with my camera. It’s no wonder that by the end of today, after a day filled with working on taxes, that I felt like I just had that need to work off some restless energy.

At first, I was going to just do a few rounds of wii boxing to get my frustrations out, but of course the batteries in the remote were dead and there weren’t any replacements to be found. So instead I threw on my running shoes and a sweater and headed outside with the camera.

I don’t know what it is about fresh air, but I wasn’t outside five minutes and already I felt better. Even though it was kinda grey and chilly, I still enjoyed my hour outside, communing with nature and sharing my space with the ducks. Or maybe that should be the ducks were sharing their space with me. :)

That’s it for me today. Hope you’re day was an amazing one!

Powerful Water – Watery Wednesday

Helena — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 02:57:47 +0000

Taken from the dam at Lock 22 on the Trent Severn Waterway:

For more great photos of water around the world, check out Watery Wednesday.

Have an amazing day!

Thanksgiving Stroll, Part 2

Helena — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 02:41:05 +0000

On the way home from Lakefield yesterday we stopped at one of the locks on the Trent Severn Waterway to take some more pictures.

This one was taken standing on the top of the damn at the north end of the lock. The river looks so calm and peaceful before the water gets forced through the dam.

This is the view of the drumlin at the back end of Trent University, again taken standing on top of the dam. We climbed to the top of the drumlin last year on Christmas Day.

And here’s the view of the south entrance to the locks. The buildings in the distance are part of Trent University, my second home for most of the 1990s.

Hopefully things will get back to normal around here now that the long weekend is done. My productivity challenge has kinda gone to the dogs over the last three days, so I’ve got lots of catching up to do this week!

Have a great week!

The View From The Bridge

Helena — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 04:07:49 +0000

I love bridges… at least I love looking at them. Standing out in the middle of them, not so much.

If I’ve taken one picture of this railroad bridge over the years, I’ve taken at least a hundred. So the other day I finally got up the nerve to walk out into the middle of it and take a few pictures of the river from a new vantage point. Lemme tell ya… that river looks a lot wider when you’re in the middle of the bridge than it does when you’re standing on the side!

Anyways, here’s the view looking north up the Otonabee River:

and here’s what it looks like to the south, facing Little Lake and Del Crary Park:

For beautiful reflections from around the world, check out Weekend Reflections, and visit Scenic Sunday for more beautiful scenery.

Enjoy the weekend!

Fall Skies

Helena — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:45:37 +0000

There’s a definite feeling of fall in the air around here lately. This is from my walk yesterday:

For more beautiful skies from around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Have a wonderful day!

Blame It On The Wind

Helena — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:09:48 +0000

I thought I was going to be smart and get a good shot of the river from between the branches here, but Mother Nature had another picture in store for me. Just as I was about to take the picture, the wind picked up again and this was the result:

That the wind would bring those branches together in such a perfect heart shape totally amazed me. I couldn’t have had a better reminder of why it is I should be out with my camera more often. :)

For more watery goodness, check out Watery Wednesday.

Have a wonderful day!

Quick Update: Thanks to Limar’s suggestion, I also submitted this to Guest Heart Thursday over at Random Hearts. There are some really amazing shots to see over there, so go take a peek!

A Scenic Ride

Helena — Mon, 03 May 2010 02:09:41 +0000

These are a couple of shots that my son took on one of his bike rides out on the river road.

The building in this shot is the Bata Library at Trent University — a place where I spent more hours of my life than I care to think about at this point in time. :)

For more beautiful scenery and shots straight out of the camera, visit these wonderful sites:

Have a wonderful day!