The sun sets faster every day

I just can't get over how fast the daylight is slipping away from us. It was just last week that we timed our walks to coincide with a 7pm sunset.

Yesterday we were out at 6:30 and it was a race to see if we could get anything at all captured!

You know winters on it's way not from the bite in the air but from the simply amazing colour that's hitting the sky these days. I know the saying goes 'hit every sunrise and sunset with camera in hand and you'll wow people with you digital expertise."

I don't think that the sunsets are as spectacular as the sunrises but then that could be a bit biased. I think the knowledge that I was up and about and out in the cold to capture a sunrise makes it more special to me.

I'm surprised though by how many people don't even notice them at all. I was on the street taking pictures of the sky when my neighbors walked by and never once looked up to comment on the sunset. Seems sad to me. How do you wander through life with blinders on?

How do you not see the things happening around you? It's funny how things that annoyed you growing up stick with you and become part of who you are as an adult. I remember being a passenger in whatever vehicle my dad was driving...I always had a book to read. It never did make me sick to read in a car...and every time he would give me crap for not paying attention to what's happening out the window.

"Your nose is always burried in a book!" He'd say, "take a look at what's around you!!"

Ironically, words I now live by, bugged the hell out of me back then. He was right...go figure.

The Canadian mint at moonrise

History repeats itself

I was sitting here trying to think about what the next title should be...I was playing with a version of "boring" when I decided to look back a year and have a look what I had posted.

Ironically? The post was titled "borrrring" and it blathered on about the lack of birds other than house sparrows and how the starlings were starting to stalk the yard from the wires and fence.

EXACTLY what I was going to mention today. Funny how thing truly work in circles...I know it's all about the visible daylight and food sources but it seems funny...the only good thing I noticed was that by this time last year the blue jays were gone...and as you can see they're still here packing it down.

The weather's been wonderful here, but it's starting to turn. My hubbie came back from walking the dog last night and said it was FREEZING and time for mitts. When he declares it's time to whip out the mitts you KNOW it's cold.

There's sunshine in the forecast for the next few days, but next weeks below normal temperatures coupled with 3 straight days of precipitation means that there's snow on the horizon and soon.

I doubt it will stay, but it'll no doubt scare away what few birds I have left so It's time to accept the house sparrows and starlings and set some goals to capture them on a lovely hors frosty day!

Bluejays...loud and corny

If there's one thing I adore about this time of the year it's the ever continued presence of the blue jay. I have a couple of pairs that take turns visiting the feeders all day and I have to say I love it.

The only thing that makes me sad though is the knowledge that the birding season has come to a close again. The juncos are all bu gone so all that's left to look forward to is the starlings eventually returning to the yard as their natural food sources diminish.

However with the weather we're having I don't see it happening any time soon. Gotta love this fall we're having...hopefully it'll hang around for a bit longer!!

Seeing Red

Epiphanies smell like rotting leaves. Whether that's a good or bad thing... well I guess that's up to the individual

I finally hit the road again yesterday after the longest 3 weeks off of my life. I had to let the muscles heal after the last 1/2 marathon. Well I did and it was nothing short of hell. I realized that the thing keeping me sane this year was running.

I've been feeling restless and antsy...the moods have been back full force and even though I tried to make it all better, it just hasn't worked.

The leaves have dropped, I hate TV for the first time in my life, I'm dreading snow & halloween feels like a burden. The real kicker? I don't want Christmas.

I find myself hating the definition of who I was and the expectation that I shall remain the same forever and ever. I wonder why change is so hard for people (myself included) to accept?

I've stepped so far out of my box this year it's nuts, but yet people are still trying to keep me where I was...maybe because then they won't have to be wrong. Maybe because then all of the ASSumptions that they've made will have merit. Why do people want me to fail at the new me?

I'm not saying it's a version of me that will last a lifetime, it's just part of who I am right now, this very minute.

The usual negative presence in my life decided to lecture on how running is bad for you and dangerous...and how I shouldn't be doing it...Umm...SHUT IT! (note: it's a little late to lecture after 2, count 'em TWO, half marathons in 4 months...with no long lasting injuries...other than the loss of a few toenails).

I'm not an idiot, despite what you believe. This was not a task I ventured into lightly. I spent months studying running before I even took a step. Is there a chance I could hurt myself? Tear something? Wreck something? Of course there is.

But if I approach everything in life afraid of what COULD happen I'm going to miss one hell of a ride. There are things in life that are worth risking stepping outside of the bubble for...If i hadn't decided to step outside that bubble I think I would have gone mad this year.

Then again maybe I did, but I was too busy enjoying the scenery to take notice.

The wood duck battles the geese for food

Clarity

There's something about an early morning sunrise that allows the mind to clear for me. I sat in my living room, awakened yet again far too early by the unseen force that has driven me out of slumber for the last few weeks.

I happened to look up from my morning paper and noticed that the kitchen was starting to turn a lovely shade of pink. This could only mean one thing...a gorgeous sunrise was on natures morning agenda.

I decided to grab my camera and head out, intending only to head behind my house and capture a little bit of the colour without the roof lines of the neighboring houses.
Once I'd snapped a every conceivable shot, it was apparent that there was a lot more to be seen as the sun had yet to break the horizon.

Dressed in a sweater, pj pants and flip flops I decided to jog about a km down the gravel road to see if I couldn't get something with the open farmer fields which I knew would be filled with the over-nighting geese.



What I would see would take my breath away and will be a moment that I doubt I will ever forget.
Let me set the scene...the skies shifting from pink to purple with hints of red, orange and umber...it was on fire. As I jogged past a few derelict houses i notice that there's a light layer of fog rolling off of the farmer fields. I think that I'm the luckiest person alive at that moment.

I have all of this to myself...natures has put on this show for me and me alone, because who else in their right mind would be awake this early on a Saturday morning?
Just as I'm reveling in this feeling of euphoria I realize my upcoming presence has disturbed hundreds of Canadian Geese slumbering in the fields and they take to the sky. And to my left? A family of White tailed deer quickly dash across the field and retreat into the forest.
I'm not ashamed to say that I was moved to tears by the stunning beauty before me. Add to that the feeling from a sunrise jog and I can honestly say I've never felt more clarity in my entire life.
I just stood in the middle of the gravel road watching the sun come up...I was out there for at least 30 minutes. I felt so connected...to mother earth, to my dad, to my life.

Eventually the cold started to set in and it became apparent that as the sun climbed higher that the show was slowly drawing to a close. I headed home for a much needed cup of coffee and as I sat watching the early birds come to get their peanuts, I felt like there was never a better time to start working on this years entry for the Thankful book.

It's something I started a few years ago. Every year each member of the family gets to add a page...on that page you put down what you're thankful for. Sounds simple right? maybe even a little boring?

Well the thing is that we often forget what it was that made the previous years so special. When you go back and read what you were thankful for that year, you're given a little glimpse into what your life was like that year.

Sometimes it makes you sad, other times it reminds you about what's really important in life. This years entry turned out to be one of the best I've written in a long time. I credit the show that momma nature put on for me and only me that wonderful glorious morning.

Seriously. Stop. Breathe. Enjoy

There's nothing like a Manitoba sunset

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's nothing quite as beautiful as a Manitoba sunset. There are gorgeous sunsets all over the world but there's something truly spectacular about the ones here in Manitoba...especially in the fall.

I love how they start off one colour and then shift through a rainbow of colours after that. Red. orange, yellow, pinks & purples ever changing, ever shifting. If you blink you're likely to miss one face of it.

Last night I was out for a stroll (without my camera unfortunately) and the sky looked like it was on fire. How could we not? It's October and we're having daytime highs in the mid twenties.

A year ago today we were preparing for an early winter...thanksgiving felt more like christmas than it ever has before. Friday night we left the in-laws place to discover 2 feet of snow on the car and sheets of ice where the roads used to be.

We got home and I snapped this picture to the left at about 11pm...and the snow kept on coming. It didn't stay of course, it was here just long enough to make the holiday driving a challenge.

I think that's why everyone here is taking full advantage this fall heat wave while we can. I took a 10 km urban hike with my puppy yesterday. It was fantastic. The crunch of leaves underfoot, the smell of fall and the sound of childish laughter...not all of it from me. The parks were packed with strollers and parents sucking in some of the last bits of summer.

The birds are thrown off by it too...this morning I had a Western Meadowlark serenading me over my morning coffee...in OCTOBER.

The only bad thing that comes from these beautiful days is when the temperatures head back to their normal range...people get so crabby. Crabby people should spend the winter hibernating. I've never understood the intense hatred winter has around here. I mean, I get it. It's cold. Really cold. But you live in Manitoba what do you expect?

When it goes below -30'C grab a book, curl up in front of a fire and make the best of a bad situation. And when that weather last for 3 weeks? Well do what I do...cook dishes from exotic, warm locals and pretend!