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“Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it.” ― Flannery O’Connor Well, back to reality. I live in a land of four seasons, often extreme and more often, surprising, offering unexpected gifts. I got out on the trails again. The trails, at this time of the year, are downright treacherous,… Read More
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Hoping this find everyone healthy and happy and enjoying this time of the year in whatever way brings you joy, even through this Christmas post from the Secord Forest trailhead.
“Let your light shine as an inspiration to humanity and BE THE REASON someone believes in the goodness of people.” ― Germany Kent This combination of colours make my heart soar. It’s all light and movement. Despite the dark shadows behind them the bright poplar trunks are like beacons in comparison. The golden leaves against the cerulean sky is like a royal robe spread across the sky. The whole scene dazzles with light… Read More
“Hidden in the glorious wildness like unmined gold.” – John Muir Here we are, the end of October nearly upon us, and I’m out hiking in a tee shirt and shorts. The past few weeks have been so incredibly mild that it’s hard to believe it’s autumn. Yet, the leaves evidence that the natural cycles continue. I have many photos from the past few weekends to review and post in a series that… Read More
“I think it is far more important to save one square mile of wilderness, anywhere, by any means, than to produce another book on the subject.” ― Edward Abbey In this image, the pines emerge from a thickening undergrowth. You can also see evidence of deliberate ‘thinning’ of this managed forest. Larger trees are selectively removed, the forest managers careful to remove the branches, lest they become fuel for fires. The trunks cut… Read More
“The forest stretched on seemingly forever with the most monotonous predictability, each tree just like the next – trunk, branches, leaves; trunk, branches, leaves. Of course a tree would have taken a different view of the matter. We all tend to see the way others are alike and how we differ, and it’s probably just as well we do, since that prevents a great deal of confusion. But perhaps we should remind… Read More
“A forest is not a wilderness, but a community of souls who speak to one another on the wind.” – Anthony T. Hincks Nature creates unexpected patterns, those things that are noticeably different than others. Here, a group of three large trees grows together, sharing the same patch of ground. Their neighbours, are spread fairly evenly, each with its patch of ground, its own source of sparse sunlight and nutrients. Yet, these… Read More
“You are the light in a dark place. You are the water to my drought. You are everything I never knew existed and everything I wanted all at the same time.” ― Shelly Crane The next image in my “Into the Green Veil” series is of a large maple tree which stood along the trail, roots spreading deeply into the forest floor. Further into the forest, slightly smaller maples catch golden rays of… Read More
“The Green Veil shimmers richly around me, in tones of deepest emerald and muted olive; a dominating threshold between earth and sky. Yet, through this veil, gold light pierces and shimmers, lighting the path and bright undergrowth, in a dance of life and light.” – Ed Lehming I’ve been wanting to create a new series of images for some time, but the greens of summer, while lovely and filled with life, do… Read More
“Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that came down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures. ― J.R.R. Tolkien Over the past few days, I’ve been deliberately spending my lunches in the local forests, reconnecting with the wood and getting back to my love of photo-abstractions. Summer posses a unique… Read More
“You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich This little flower is aptly named. As I returned from my photo hike last weekend, I thought I had come across some real rare, hard to find flower. When I found it, and saw the name, I smiled. I smiled… Read More
“It is easier to tell a person what life is not, rather than to tell them what it is. A child understands weeds that grow from lack of attention, in a garden. However, it is hard to explain the wildflowers that one gardener calls weeds, and another considers beautiful ground cover.” ― Shannon L. Alder As I mentioned yesterday, it’s been too long since I had the opportunity to go for a… Read More
“Time leaches the colors from the best of visions. The world becomes grayer. Entropy beats us down. Everything fades. Everything goes. Everything dies.” ― Robert Silverberg Back outdoors again, in the midst of a January thaw, too much of a thaw, actually. As I set out on the trails, expecting ice, which I was prepared for, I was faced with deep, slushy, wet snow, tough to walk in and impossible to grip,… Read More
“I just like to be alone sometimes, no I’m not angry, no I’m not sad. I just like to be alone. It’s how I recharge” – Unknown I’m still finding myself reflecting on some of the wonderful moments of late December 2016, including the many solitary hikes on our local trails. I was amazed that there were no other hikers out on several beautiful days after Christmas. The trails had obviously had use… Read More
“The sun was as flirty as Scarlett O’Hara with the Tarleton twins, breaking through the clouds in spectacular bursts that seemed like personal favors and then retreating for hours, days, and making us all ache for just a glimpse.” ― Lorna Landvik Another fine early November day in southern Ontario, and a return to Secord Conservation Area, in search of a few images. The day could be defined most accurately by its… Read More
“The best part of the journey is the surprise and wonder along the way.” ― Ken Poirot As I’ve done a few times in the past, I turned this image into a painting, through the wonder of Topaz software. There are times when I envision an image with the camera and it does not quite meet my expectations. The above image is one of those. The sunlight was beautiful, casting long autumn shadows on the golden… Read More
“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.” ― Tom Hiddleston Ah, the weekend again and a nice time to get out and enjoy what autumn has to offer. As I went for a hike with my son we both noted that… Read More
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” ― John Muir It’s that time of year again. Time to wander the forest paths and refresh myself. Cool days, plenty of moisture provides the stuff for mushrooms. I’m not sure where my strange fascination for fungi comes from. Perhaps it’s because they are such temporal things. A ‘prime’ specimen may last mere hours and then fade away… Read More
“When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world.” ― John Muir I’ve spent a lot of time of the trails this year, watching the earth grow greener with every passing day. The brown forest floor literally exploded with life, which kept expanding,growing, thriving and eventually blossoming with flowers, providing beauty for me and nectar for bees and butterflies. The forest has… Read More
“Spring turns to summer and delicate pinks and whites, give way to bright reds, oranges, and yellows, as nature shifts her palette to match the temperature” – Ed Lehming Today’s photo is another attempt to understand and enjoy the world of macro photography. The bright Orange Hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) is a smallish meadow flower that is common in this area through June and July. It blooms a few weeks later than it’s yellow relative,… Read More
“… the world can give you these glimpses as well as fairy tales can–the smell of rain, the dazzle of sun on white clapboard with the shadows of ferns and wash on the line, the wildness of a winter storm when in the house the flame of a candle doesn’t even flicker.” ― Frederick Buechner Yes, I know, I have lot of photos from Secord Forest, but why not. This little slice… Read More
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” ― Alice Walker This diminutive member of the geranium family has been on my mind since I first encountered it a few weeks ago. I’m finding I’ve missed seeing so many of the smaller wildflowers in the past, then, suddenly, they are everywhere and in unexpected places. The first time I… Read More
“Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.” ― Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S Hmm, this sounds like the title for a love story involving some damsel and some adversary. This single daisy shone like a beacon in the distance, against the dark forest, as I turned a bend in the trail a few days ago. It… Read More
“Many collectors died in the process of searching for new species, and despite persistent reports that the men died from drowning, gunshot and knife wounds, snakebite, trampling by cattle, or blows in the head with blunt instruments, it is generally accepted that in each case the primary cause of death was orchid fever.” ― Eric Hansen Perhaps I got a touch of the aforementioned ‘orchid fever’. I have to admit, I’ve been… Read More
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet This strange, flowering bush has fascinated me for some time. The blossoms form from the outside of the flower disc. I had a hard time finding good specimen this year but the photo above should suffice. The central bud clusters are rimmed with beautiful white blossoms. At first glance it would appear to be a form of dogwood, that is till you get… Read More
“Only when we pay attention and notice small moments, do we make the connections that lead to a change in our perspective.” ― Andrea Goeglein It’s pretty amazing what you see over a 5km forest hike, especially in a forest as diverse as Secord Forest. Which, fortunately for me, is only a few kilometers from my home, which makes it a super convenient place to go, without a lot of preparation. Back… Read More
“While fear depletes power, faith gives wings for the soul’s elevation.” ― T.F. Hodge A recently hatched dragonfly, note the right side wing is not fully opened yet. It seemed because it was still not in full flight mode that it hung beneath plants, waiting for its wings to mature. I simply liked the ‘look’ of this scene, with the dragonfly dangling beneath the clover blossom. There were dozens of dragonflies flitting around… Read More
“A dragonfly can spend up to several years underwater until it is strong enough to surface, shed its skin and evolve into this beautiful creature. Then it flies free among us but only for a very brief period of up to 2 months before it dies” – Unknown I spent quite a bit of time searching for the actual name of this species, with not much luck. There are some 5,000 species… Read More
“The human body may need to receive sunlight through the tree canopy in order to be in a healthy state. I call this light “Interference Green Light” and it may be the top thing that you need to be receiving in order to be in good health and free of pain.” ― Steven Magee I don’t know how true the quote is, but I know I need my ‘green’ time. To walk… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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