Going Back in Time = Instant Stress Reliever

Yesterday after my partner and I arrived home after busy work days we decided to go for a walk - the sun was shining, it was 19C, our camera batteries were recharged and so off we went.



After walking a few blocks through neighbourhoods lined with red and yellow trees we followed a trail which led us to the banks of the Thames river. Gone was the sound of traffic, gone was the stress of the work day and present was the sound of the breeze rustling dry leaves, the sound of the river cascading over rocks and partially submerged logs and the sound of mallard ducks as they took off, landed and bobbed for...well.....whatever it is that they eat:)

The sky was HUGE!! and populated with odd rippling clouds.

The palette of muted pastels - peach, soft mossy green and wheat-coloured grasses were very soothing reflected in pools of slow moving water.

Here the slight ripples created a canvas worthy of Monet.

A prima ballerina couldn't arch her body as gracefully as this tree branch.

As I hopped from rock to rock and followed the trail along the riverbank I was taken back to a childhood spent playing on the banks of the Otter Creek. There was just no end to the wonders of Otter Creek: I spent endless long hours pretending I was Tom Sawyer as I pushed a rickety raft down the creek with a long pole (is that my mother turning in her grave?); collecting pollywogs in pop bottles that would later make my mother shriek; wading through the muddy water and then pulling off the stubborn blood suckers; and playing make believe games with my brother that would involve crossing and recrossing the creekbed by jumping rock to rock and up and down the pathways through the ravine (someone was always chasing us)!!

It is a blessing to be able to relive the best moments of my childhood and I am so very grateful that a beautiful river is only a few minutes walk from my home.

The Thames River area is full of treasure and it photographs so amazingly well. During the upcoming winter months I can look back on these photos and appreciate all the river has to offer. (Stayed tuned for shots of a frozen river and riverbanks heaped with snow!)

Got these ducks as they were coming in for a landing - it ain't always pretty!

Milkpod fluffies, escaping everywhere. Kudos to my partner for the first photo showing one little fluffy suspended between two leaves - that one wins photo of the day in my book, or should I say, blog!