Fascinating Feet

I think feet are highly under-rated. I don't know about you, but I use mine all of the time. And I do mean all of the time. One of the things about having ADD is that some part of me is always in motion - with me it's my feet.

At work I only sit for brief snatches of time, a minute here and a minute there. I no sooner sit down when I pop back up again - to fill my coffee cup, answer the phone, attend to a student, turn down the airconditioning down, or up, it's great fun working with several menopausal women, including me. Even when I do finally sit for a few minutes one leg crossed over the other my feet are constantly moving. Up and down, back and forth, to and fro, wiggle, waggle, wiggle, waggle.

My feet are good at lots of things: they can change direction quickly in a game of volleyball, they can peddle a bike for hours, they can walk and run (well, jog), kick a ball, climb stairs 2 at a time and leap small buildings (lego) in a single jump. My feet are good at balancing too, I used to like the balance beam in highschool (remember highschool?)

Even nowadays I like to try my luck walking across a concrete parking divider to see if I can still do it, or walk across a partially submerged log at the edge of the lake. In the photos above and below I show off my balancing expertise (and new pedicure) crossing a log many, well several, inches above the whirling frosty Lake Huron rapids. Every time a wave slapped me in the shins I gave a little screech but managed to hang on til the end.

Getting totally wet here, but it was exhilarating nonetheless!

Whoa, getting slippery here, trying out the sideways shuffle.

Note the prehensile strength and ability to curl my toes around any protuberance or crevasse. I think my feet look strong and well capable of holding up my well-rounded pear-shaped yet muscular frame.

I am proud of my feet. I take them with me everywhere. Whenever I look down, there they are, wiggling away. My heels may dry out and crack despite daily applications of Dermal Therapy, my toenails may be ingrown, and my baby toes may stick out at right angles but dammit they're dependable!

Where would I be without them??

I think my feet even reveal my emotions. Guess what I'm doing in the photo above? Go one...guess! Can't guess? Give up??

I am waiting in line for a moosetracks icecream in a waffle cone. Mmmmmmmmm, my feet can hardly wait!!

Favourite Shots of the Week

The photo above was taken on Monday in Pt. Stanley. I was test-driving my new (to me) car and splurged on Mackie's perch, fries and milkshake! Yum yum. It was a warm night and the beach was packed with people enjoying our first truly summer weather. It looks like the setting sun is being held gently between two very large hands.

This photo was taken the same day, but very early in the morning as I was driving home from Bayfield. It was a misty morning with the promise of heat and humidity to come. Glorious.

This is my favourite sunset photo so far this season. I was getting "artsy-fartsy" as my sister likes to call it by taking the photo through some long grass. I was so pleased with how it turned out.

The plants and flowers are a bit slower to mature in Bayfield than in London but I can see the beginnings of my little lamb hydrangea buds - can't wait to see them unfold. Unfurl?

The fuschia blossoms on my golden spirea are just opening up. I love the contrast of the fuschia with the green.

I took hundreds of photos this week in Bayfield, along the highway and in Pt. Stanley. I love capturing a moment in time so I can look back and remember the beauty in each passing moment.

Change Your Perspective

A friend and I took a little trip to Pt. Stanley last week. We flew a kite, walked on the beach, had some fries and milkshakes at Mackies and then went exploring. We went down side roads and back roads and gravel roads until I wasn't sure which direction I was heading when we crossed a little bridge. I glanced down into the river and saw debris and dead trees clogging the small river and remarked: "this spot doesn't look very promising, I don't think this is a very good spot to explore."


Needless to say my friend disagreed so we pulled over on the grassy verge to take a closer look. Boy was I wrong. The one thing about hanging out with a life coach is you learn that it's OK to admit that you're wrong. Did I say I was wrong??


You can see the bridge in the picture above - can you see the bench underneath the bridge? The view from down the river looking back at the bridge is so beautiful - you can't see that beauty while on the bridge - a change in perspective is needed (oh and can't that just apply to so many situations and problems that arise on a daily basis??) Mais oui!

After walking down the riverbank and back I discovered these daisies, so clean and fresh. They made me think of my sister Dale who loves daisies so much we called her Daisy Dale.

Down by the river the wild phlox was in bloom and this little bud caught my eye. The sweetness of its unfolding was just so precious and fleeting I had to capture it so I could look at it over and over again.

I came across several trees about to blossom into full bloom. I don`t know what kind of trees these were but the fragile tenderness of these buds just about made me weep. Soft, full, milky and delicate it seemed as if all of nature was held in their buds.

Over and over I kept coming back to gaze on their softness. My appreciation of their passing beauty held me in thrall and I was so grateful that we stopped to explore what I thought was just another garbage-filled river.

Don`t pass by something just because it looks unpromising. Stop and take another look, because you might just find something beyond your expectations that makes you pause and wonder. Look beyond your first impression - I`m glad I did.

Going to the Birds

Yes, it's true, I have gone to the birds. And why not, I eat like a bird. Nuts, seeds and berries - but I do draw the line at worms! Oh yes, and road kill, unless it's fresh...



I watched this plump pair of doves for the better part of an afternoon while I puttered around my property in Bayfield and carved a piece of sumac. They started out very close, side by side looking for all the world like a contented old married couple. As time went by they started looking in opposite directions, then gradually moved apart until they were facing away from each other - a lover's quarrel I wondered as they gave each other the cold shoulder?



But like lifelong mates, they got over their little spat and gradually came back together again, snuggling close.


This sweet little wren I watched zoom in and out of the birdhouse below feathering her nest with all sorts of things, chirping loudly if I leaned in too closely to peer inside. My dad, the old DH, would have been happy to know that his birdhouse is still being used to house a new little brood of babies.

I attached another of his birdhouses to a fence across from my trailer and it too is occupied.....

while over my head a robin sat patiently on her eggs in a sun dappled haven. Simply glorious.

Back together again.