What a terrific concert. Sam Taylor (guitar) and his wife, Mia (piano), are from the Aylmer area. Steve Grant was on the harmonica. Ben Graffam was on drums. Drew Danko was playing his ripper bass guitar. They played a fantastic show of Chicago Blues, both originals and cover tunes.
A weekend in January, Saturday was a bright cold morning. The nuthatches were floating around from feeder to feeder. The Sunday morning was -15° C. I went down to the water's edge and waited and waited for the sun to rise and shine through the trees. Yes, the lake's surface is frozen with a thin layer of ice.
On Christmas Eve, Lake Erie was beaten with strong winds and cold temperatures. People scouted out locations all along the north shore with many finding Pt. Stanley to be too much to resist. I've seen photos from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. These images are from my visit on Dec 27th. So many people. So much ice everywhere making walking extremely difficult. I've heard of several very serious injuries as a result of slips and falls. In the days after I was there, we had a warm spell. The ice didn't last that long. Mother nature is an artist.
Known locally as the Ilderton Griswald house, this property had countless lights. We arrived on a frigid evening. Neighbours had campfires going to keep the ushers and guests warm. The family does this as a fundraiser for cancer.
Gordon Lightfoot wrote about the gales of November. On Lake Erie, Pt Stanley gets beaten up by the winds and the waves make for some spectacular waves. While I have taken shots of waves in the past, this was the first time for me to capture the waves at Pt Stanley.
Recently a new view of the falls became open to the public. Using a retired aqueduct from a now retired hydro-electric plant, people can walk to the foot of the falls. We went on a very cloudy Saturday in November.
In November I had the opportunity to attend a Body Painting workshop as one of several photographers. This was the second day of the workshop. The student painters were very talented to turn these models into these walking art exhibits. Look at the detail in the painting.
In their twenties, my parents built a cottage. No power tools, no electricity, no plumbing. A tent. A 3 horsepower engine on an old Peterborough boat. Driving north every Friday night. No four lane highways. Driving south every Sunday. In September 2022, my father, with his grown children's support, sold the cottage.
My final morning there was spectacular. Bright sun. Mirror like lake. What a way to say goodbye.
In early August, we visited the "Sunshine Coast" for a family wedding and spent the following week touring eastern Vancouver Island.
