Archives
“Our green valleys will be greener once we fully grasp the infinite vitality of the green!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan Despite the clouds of mosquitoes that call this forest home, I enjoyed, with the help of a good bug repellent, observing all the fresh new growth emerging from the brown litter of last year’s leaves. There is still a lot of brown showing interspersed with rapidly expanding carpets of foliage, like the Oak… Read More
“Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.” ― Patrick Süskind As the days warm, aromatic flowers prevail, attracting bees and insects with their sweet perfumes. Pollinated flowers give way to fruits and… Read More
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ― Ray Bradbury Spring flowering shrubs and all their awesome scents are now on. It’s good to see so many bees out and about, including this carpenter bee, one of many enjoying the fragrant flowers of a local Russian Olive. The ornamental trees were planted along walking trails… Read More
“Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others.” ― Susan Sontag Another day, another plant found and identified. With the heat this past weekend, many plants blossomed early and the mosquitoes that accompany them were more than plentiful. I do tend to stay out of the deep woods this time… Read More
“Life is not made up of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, but of moments. You must experience each one before you can appreciate it.” ― Sarah Ban Breathnach As with its yellow blossoms, many people mistake the coltsfoot seed heads for those of the dandelion. That is, until you take the time to look closer. I’m finding more and more that people are just not taking the time to actively participate… Read More
“The columbine and iris bowed down to make way for bolder sprays of red valerian, and a mingled profusion of clustered Canterbury bells and sweet william, pale blues and pinks intertwined, danced at the feet of more stately spears of deep-purple foxglove and monkshood.” ― Susanna Kearsley On the trend of pinks and pastels, yet another beautiful native spring flower, the Wild Columbine (aquilegia canadensis), is found on rocky outcrops in the Bancroft,… Read More
“For the newborn and wise, everything begins small.” ― Suzy Kassem Once more, the unexpected, on a very familiar walk. I’m not sure where this little fellow started out from, but he’s about the size of a quarter and looks to be freshly hatched. He was sitting on a gravel walking path and eventually made it to this grassy section. One thing is for certain, he has a long and perilous journey ahead… Read More
“Oh, the wonder of it! The outrageous beauty! God didn’t have to give us cherry blossoms you know. He didn’t have to make apple trees and peach trees burst into flower and fragrance. But God just loves to splurge. He gives us all this magnificence and then, if that isn’t enough, He provides fruit from such extravagance.” – Lynn Austin I was not expecting to see cherry blossoms this year. All indications were… Read More
“The world is exploding in emerald, sage, and lusty chartreuse – neon green with so much yellow in it. It is an explosive green that, if one could watch it moment by moment throughout the day, would grow in every dimension.” ― Amy Seidl Another image from this past weekend. The trees are a yellow-green with fresh leaves bursting from buds and pollen laden flowers. It’s not the best time of years… Read More
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ― Mark Twain Spring fever, that must be it. I spent this past Sunday, hiking some 14 miles, visiting all my favourite trails, seeking out the diversity of fresh wildflowers and foliage…. Read More
“I am learning my way toward something that will make sense of my life, and I learn by going where I have to go, with whatever companions I am graced.” ― Dean Koontz At the base of a dead beech tree, these companions add brightness and life, among the dead and decomposing elements surrounding them. For some unknown reason, the large beech trees in this local forest all died a few years ago…. Read More
“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”… “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett Interestingly enough, despite the cold April we experienced in my neck of the woods, the first white trillium blossom I found, appeared exactly to the date of last year’s. I though for certain that it would be a full week behind, but this beauty,… Read More
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.” ― Luther Burbank The Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) is among my top ten spring plants. It looks almost tropical, with its spotted leaves and bright flowers, yet it grows in abundance in the moist woodlands of south-central Canada. It’s an interesting plant, as there are often vast patches of Trout Lily with no blossoms at… Read More
“Little yellow flower Like a dandelion shrunk Yet she’s not its kin at all She blooms there without leaves Shows her face in early spring Shines brightly like the sun In my childhood, she was dear Quite precious to be true She it was who truly said That spring had just arrived I picked bouquets in my small hands And brought them home to mom Even now, quite old and grown Coltsfoot… Read More
“The most fulfilling adventures happen when you start your journey without knowing where you’re going, because only then are you free to experience the unexpected detours you’re meant to take.” ― A.J. Darkholme Ah, yes, the unexpected, one of my greatest delights. I set out to make photos of fish spawning in a local creek and come across a large, beautiful cluster of spring flowers I have never encountered before. They looked a… Read More
“We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.” ― David Brower Amidst the exciting rainbow trout run at Duffins Creek, other species of native fish are also in the spawn, including the White Suckers, pictured above, which are mixed among the trout as they work their way upstream. As I was walking the shore, enjoying and photographing the trout, I came… Read More
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” ― Susan… Read More
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock When time allows, I like to visit Duffins creek and stroll the riverbank, especially at this time of year. The narrow wooded trail follows the shoreline, through grand cedar… Read More
“Such is the condition of organic nature! Whose first law might be expressed in the words ‘Eat or be eaten!’ and which would seem to be one great slaughter-house, one universal scene of rapacity and injustice!” ― Erasmus Darwin Ever have one of those days where, out of nowhere, something just sneaks up and gets you from behind? You can take small comfort that you are not this Wood Frog. I’d say our… Read More
“Breathe light into your body – breathe light into your Heart – Breathe light into your mind – Breathe and OPEN! Breathe and remember that you are all LIGHT – Infinite LIGHT -Blessed LIGHT- open your heart and SHINE ON!” ― Angie Karan When the elements align, I recognise just how fortunate I am. I’ve also become prepared for many lighting situations which would have challenged me a few years ago. The… Read More
“As the soft spring sun begins to set, an ethereal light strikes the trees and boulders on the far shore, setting them ablaze in gold. The dark, cold, meltwater rushes by in a mad dash through ancient rocks. Intent on the calm of the lake below, where they foam and swirl, momentarily, then merge with the now still waters that preceded them. The day ends, in peace, and light, and water.” – Ed Lehming… Read More
“Water that never moves.” I say to him. “It’s fine for a little while. You can drink from it and it’ll sustain you. But if it sits too long it goes bad. It grows stale. It becomes toxic.” I shake my head. “I need waves. I need waterfalls. I want rushing currents.” — Tahereh Mafi I’ve always enjoyed moving water and photographing it. I gain energy from it, as the quote above… Read More
“Whenever there is stillness there is the still small voice, God’s speaking from the whirlwind, nature’s old song, and dance…” ― Annie Dillard Chilly water flows beneath icicles formed by the spray of the creek below. I found this to be an odd sight. April in my area has been ‘confusing’. We had beautiful sunshine and mild temperatures, followed by a deep freeze, snow, freezing rain, and strong winds, all within a… Read More
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” ― William Blake I absolutely love the William Blake quote above. It goes beyond simply this image. Number 6 in the… Read More
“No one is without troubles, without personal hardships and genuine challenges. That fact may not be obvious because most people don’t advertise their woes and heartaches. But nobody, not even the purest heart, escapes life without suffering battle scars.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich The dark shape hovers, just below the surface. Defying the rush of the frigid spring waters. Moving neither forward, nor back. Fixed in it’s intent, it’s goal. Progress from… Read More
“I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins.” ― Khaled Hosseini In what has become a springtime ritual for me, since discovering the phenomenon, some 20 years after living here, is walking the shores of Duffins Creek, near the town of Whitevale, and enjoying the annual trout run from Lake Ontario, to… Read More
“What is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?” ― Kahlil Gibran This year, I left a few dried hydrangea blooms in my garden. My usual ritual is to trim them all down in the fall. I’m glad I left them, they added some interest in this past, dull, nearly snowless winter, and created a nice franewirk for our recent freezing rain event…. Read More
“Solitude is the soil in which genius is planted, creativity grows, and legends bloom; faith in oneself is the rain that cultivates a hero to endure the storm, and bare the genesis of a new world, a new forest.” ― Mike Norton Solitude, sweet solitude, the place where I flourish, dream, recharge. I crave the quiet places, the forest trails, the meadows, and riverbanks. Each experience is such a part of me, and… Read More
“To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them.” ― Pierre-Auguste Renoir Happy Easter! I wanted to try something new, something that satisfied the creative in me. I love paintings and have many friends who are extraordinary painters. My gift is photography, which offers me a similar outlet, but rather… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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