Into The Mystic - Limehouse

Into The Mystic - Limehouse
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy


Friendship ....

I have talked about this several times but once in a while something happens and reminds you of how important friendship is to us all.

Yesterday was a typical Saturday, that meant being out of the door long before sunrise. A meet up at the usual spot but this time it was different, this time Doug was home and not at the cottage.

The Three Amigo's rode again ...

It was a great morning, we planned to revisit Limehouse (near Rockwood ON). A place of great natural beauty and part of the Bruce Trail system.
Patrick had never been so that made it even more special.

We walked the trails to 'Hole in the Wall' and became lost in details , shattered rocks, fallen tree's, some old, some new. Then the snow came and the landscape was transformed.
I ask you is there anything better than a walk in the woods on a snowy day with close friends who share the same mindset?

I don't think so.

Afterwards we retired to our usual spot, OX in downtown Guelph. Although it has been "found" by the students and laptops abound. We were still able to find a spot to sit, drink tea and other "frothy coffee" drinks and munch on forbidden fruit. That would be croissants and butter tarts (for some of us)

The conversation drifted around and around from serious to whimsical and back again. We talked of anything and everything and laughed a lot.

At one point Doug remarked how much he misses these times and we all agreed.
Good times, good food and great company.

And all is right with the world.

At least for a little while.

"Friendship is a sheltering tree". ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Downstream - Hilton Trails

Downstream - Hilton Trails
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Saturday morning dawned bright and cold, quite a change from the past few weekends. This meant being in place for dawn that meant an early start, a really early start.

We arrived at our chosen trailhead in the gray/blue light of predawn., kitted up and headed down the trail.

There were three this time and Andrew yawned his way through the woods. Still he was awake enough to think ... His comment "being out at dawn is like sunset only I have the rest of the day ahead of me" made me smile.

We walked until something caught our attention, that tiny voice that said 'look here' and we stopped, barely a kilometer along the trail but covering a prescribed distance is not the object, its the journey and if we only walk a hundred meters and something finds us then so be it.

For me it was a slight clearing, a stream of blue juxtaposed with the warm tones of Autumn, the sun beginning to paint the forest floor with golden light.

Yes this was the spot for me, for all of us really but each one sought out his own muse as our breath hung in the air and Jack Frost nipped at our fingers.

Magic, pure magic. ...

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements. ~ Napoleon Hill

Returning - Cranberry Bog Trail

Returning- Cranberry Bog Trail
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

The days shorten, the wind has an 'edge' to it now.
Dark clouds replace the white of summer and the Trembling Aspen whisper of what is to come.
Fall in Ontario, not only has it arrived it is deeply encamped and prepares the way for the arrival of winter as the wheel turns once more.

Many people begin their hibernation at this time but for those who venture out there is a clarity to the air, a freshness that was not there before.

The woods smell not only of fallen leaves but pine, balsam and spruce scent the air
The squirrels race around gathering food and forgetting where half of it is hidden.
Fewer birds sing now as the land prepares itself for a long sleep
And the snows begin to fall....

What a great time to be alive.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~ William Shakespeare

Rhythm of the Rain-Silvercreek Trails

Rhythm of the Rain-Silvercreek Trails
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Once more unto the breach dear friends...
Yes another rainy weekend in Southern Ontario.

Out on the sodden trails again, same place, same rain., same feelings, different company.

If you look, listen and wait the opportunities present themselves. It took 2 hours to walk about half a mile. But that half a mile was filled with potential.
When everything is wet a whole new world opens up, colours intensify, contrast increases, shape, form, and textures become more evident and you know black and white season is upon us.

But you have to put yourself in the right frame of mind.

Forget the rain trickling down your neck, the spattered glasses and lenses and open your mind to what is before you. Listen with your eyes and see with your ears ...

"And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being." ~ Black Elk, Lakota