Shhh - Algonquin

Shhh - Algonquin
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Shhhh.

Can you hear it?
I can.
Algonquin is calling, softly singing the siren song of old, come back, come back.
How can anyone who hears the call refuse it?
I know I cannot.
This was taken a year ago today, reworked on a dreary, Sunday morning, before I pack my bags :-)

The leaves of memory seemed to make
A mournful rustling in the dark.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Fife Road Barn I

Fife Road Barn I
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

As I ventured out into a storm filled sky I seemed to think that winter was over.
I was mistaken, snow fell horizontally for much of the day, driven by a biting wind.

Winters last hurrah ?

Never be to sure when you face the Dark Lord of Winter ...

I am the Dark Lord of Winter
And all must fear my reign.
I preside over the long cold months of Winter
When the heat of life rests a barely glowing ember in my hands.
The months when stores from the harvest run low.
When hunting and foraging are the new sources of food.
The days which are more dark than they are light

I remember still the autumn when I first gained my power.
By mid-Winter my strength was full and fierce.
Yet all too soon...as is now...
The Spring weakens me and my footsteps grow heavy.
My sword weighs as a heavy burden to my hand.
The call of the Spring would sap the last of my strength
And bid me lay down my icy crown and slumber.

It is I who covers and consumes all that would be green.
I see through the eyes of the hunted and the hunter,
And draw the heat from the very earth.
All live and die by the law of my hands.
For I am merciless and unyielding
As the tempered steel of the sword I wield.
There are none who escape my rule
For I am everywhere and indomitable.

No creature may lay languid and unthinking,
As is so want under the hot Summer sun...
All must be keen and cunning to survive!
I bring strength and knowledge as my boon.
Each creature must face my challenge
To win these gifts.
Those who fail shall parish,
That is the unyielding law of my reign.

But do not think of me though as only harsh darkness!
Though I may steal a kiss of your precious heat
With the fall of each snowflake upon your cheek...
I am the sun of the cold Winter skies
Offering just enough nourishment to survive...
Despite the darkness of my reign,
You shall see not anything brighter nor brilliant,
Than the glittering whiteness of my snows.

Yet am I handsome and gentle.
For I forge each snowflake,
That falls softly upon the outstretched branches.
With the crisp wind I dance
In the mist of your breath...
Each riverbed I fashion
Into a glorious palace of ice...
So long as I rule shall my beauty remain.

Despite the struggles within my rule,
I am also peaceful and quiet.
The lonely wind blows across my barren fields,
With no leaf to idly rustle to its touch.
I am the intellect turned inwards,
Where thoughtful insight and wisdom is found.
You may find me in the quietness of your thoughts
As you stare out into the falling of my snow...

Forgive that each creature must face my harsh ordeal.
For I am the recession of rest after the exertion of growth.
Claiming back to the earth, that which was taken in life.
Without me there would be no release or respite...
With love, with fear, with understanding or respect
Remember me.
Remember me when you pass my final gate,
For I am the Dark Lord of Winter!

By: Greg Currie

Niska Trail - I

Niska Trail - I
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

As trails go, the Niska Road trail in Guelph is not very long but every spring it offers up these little streams and every spring I visit them, they are like old friends now.

Within a month they will be gone as the wetlands that birthed them dry up but while they are flowing they offer so many photographic opportunities.

Rippling water, dappled shade from the old tree's what a wonderful place.

You could not step twice into the same rivers;
for other waters are ever flowing on to you.
- Heraclitus of Ephesus

Algonquin - Whiskey Rapids

Algonquin - Whiskey Rapids
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Today I was strolling down memory lane, looking at images from this time last year.
Whiskey Rapids in Algonquin was a bit of a disappointment, I was looking for class 1 whitewater !
Oh well, it did bring to mind the annual trip to this magnificent part of the world. A trip that is becoming an annual event.
This image brought back memories, not only of other images from the trip but memories of shared laughter, warm evenings and warmer friendships.

Soon it will be time to make more memories as we plan the next trip.

We do not remember days; we remember moments. ~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand