We've arrived

We are now in Budapest and enjoying some very nice weather. We travel to Kisiroszi and weather promises to stay very warm.

The next adventure takes us to Prague and back to Budapest and then to Romania. I'll be posting some very good pictures when I return.

You would hardly think

You would hardly think looking at the weather here that the temperatures in Cyprus are in the mid-twenties. But it's true. Check this out.

There are signs of spring here in Canada and in our yard.

The trip begins

We are about to depart on a very adventurous journey. Within a few weeks will see places that we never saw before. Like, Cyprus, Larnaca, Famagusta, Kyrenia and Nicosia, Prague, Budapest, Sibiu, Cluj and Timisoara.

The days will be filled with sun and relaxation in Cyprus and lots of sight-seeing in Hungary, Prague and Romania.

Stay tuned as we conquer yet another adventure in Europe.

It's coming soon

Well, it's coming soon. Joe and I are going to Europe once again. We have lots planned and lots to do. First up, Cyprus. Six solid days in Cyprus with lots to see it both the Greek side and Turkish side. First, 2 nights in Larnaca.

I plan on taking my computer and I will likely post on a regular basis.

Stay tuned, lots to come.

Moonlight over the field

A few days ago I took a picture of the full moon just before the eclipse. The results are here. The film speed was set to 800 asa and the exposure is for 2 seconds.

Snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And that is just what it did.

Yesterday we got quite a dumping of snow, about 20cm. I have been taking pictures at slow shutter speeds with some interesting results. Here are two that I took last night.

Our laneway.

The carriage house.

Experimenting with low light

Anything is possible with low light, a camera and a tripod.

Recently I took a picture at 4 seconds and put myself into the picture for half of the time. Here is the results.

We're doing it again

We are off to Europe for our 6th visit. This time we plan on visiting Cyprus for a week and Hungary for a week and Prague in the Czech Republic for a weekend. We haven't finalized all of the details but we definitely are going.

If there is any time left over, which I doubt, we also have plans to go to Romania once again and likely visit Cluj.
Stay tuned!

Another from yesterday

There was one other photo that is worth posting here. It takes in most of the garden, fencing from the corral and the farmer's field.

A magical day

Yesterday was one of the days that made me think I was in a magical world. It started out as being a foggy day but when the temperature dropped and began to freeze, it turned beautiful. I was at work and in wonder but called Joe to take some pictures and boy, did he take pictures. Eighty-two in all but I only saved 61. Here are a couple that I found fascinating. They were all taken in our yard near Washington, Ontario.

My computer

I recently bought a new computer for traveling. It will allow me to download pictures from my trips abroad and store them on the computer.

Lately, I have been using the high speed wireless connection at the Plattsville library. Nice.

I have really got into using Google Earth. Something that I was unable to use using a dial-up connection. I've been able to see some of the places that I have visited in the past and some that I hope to visit in the future.

One more feature

The Canon G-7 also has the ability to switch colours. It involves assigning one colour and switching it with another chosen colour.

In this post I give you an example of one of our perennial gardens and the colour switched was: Orange replacing a variation of green.

Another colour accent

Earlier this year I told you of my new Canon G-7 Camera and it's ability to accent one colour in a scene.

I have been experimenting with this feature and have a better picture that I want to show.

It is a picture of the winter wheat late in the summer season. The colour that I highlighted was the orange glow of the field.

Our little kitty

About 5 years ago, a stray cat adopted Joe and I. She is a strange cat. She loves Joe and I to death but doesn't what to be bothered by others.

She is so at home with us that she often shows her tummy. Something that most cats do not do.

The other night, we had a fire lit in the wood stove and she just loves the heat from that. She often goes halfway up the stairs were the hot air is rising and basks in the heat.

Here is a picture in that position on the stairs.

The Boy's Weekend

Warren, Greg and Randy in front of the log cottage.

One of the fancy hotels in Bayfield.

For the first time on one of our bi-yearly trips, we decided to go to Bayfield. A pretty little town on Lake Huron.

In addition to our usual past-times we also took in the village and enjoyed the shops and the shoreline. Lake shore property is sure getting expensive.

My brother Greg, took up his movie camera and we took pictures of the band playing. The band is made up of brothers, Greg, Warren, Armand and Randy and friend of the family, John. While taking some camera shots and angles from the floor, I lost my footing and fell backward. That should make for even more artistic shots.

Joe and I go back to Montreal

Joe and I visited Montreal again this year. We took in Divers/Cité in the gay village. We saw Lila Downs (we own most of her CD's). There were 3 stages, each with a different theme. We took in the Festival Latino and the drag show called Mascara. After the shows each night, before midnight, everyone seemed to go to the gay village. Rue Ste-Catherine was closed to traffic but there were so many people that it was almost impossible to walk.

Catch up time

I have a lot to catch up on. Since June, we had many visitors and we saw lots of places.
Julia visited from Budapest, Hungary. We went to Toronto for the Pride Parade, Montreal, Stratford (Stratford Festival), Long Point and took two trips to Woodstock.

The trip to Montreal was most memorable. In addition to the regular stops the city was busting with excitement and entertainment. We visited the botanical gardens as well as the Gay Village. We went to the top of Mount Royal and visited the shops and restaurants of old Montreal.

Since a picture is worth a 1000 words here a few pictures.

Pride Parade in Toronto.

Julia with a young weasel in our back yard.

Joe, a drag queen and Julia, in front of Mado in the Village in Montreal.

Julia and me in old Montreal.

Randy and Patty's Day

Today is the wedding day for Randy and Patty. They have asked me to be their official photographer. I am always reluctant to do such things because it means so much to them and me. I am always afraid they may not like my work.

Pictured: Gale, Walter, Patty, Randy and Kylie.

Yesterday, Frank from Reno, visited and we are having some good times together. We watched a movie that is a bit of cult film from 1969 called Easy Rider. It was actually my first time to view it. I liked it. Great backgrounds of the south and mid-west America.

Busy Week

I have very busy this week while on holidays. The grounds had to be manicured and the gardens prepared and mulched. There is a chance of rain today and my outdoor activities may have to be suspended. However, there are another set of tasks in the house to do.

Spring is such a nice time of year and here is a picture to prove it.


The picture is of one of many lilacs on the property with a flowering almond that has gone wild in the background.

Julia Visits

In about 5 weeks, a very special visitor will be here. Julia from Hungary will spend at least 3 weeks with us.

We are spending at least 3 days in Montreal and a couple in Toronto during her stay.

Initially we thought we would spend a week up on the lake in a rented cottage but on second thought we are already live in the quite countryside and decided against it. We will likely go to the beach on Lake Erie at Long Point, weather permitting.

I am sure that when she arrives we will think of all kinds of things to see and do.