Bottom of this page
------------- Notes toward a thematic collection

D558-058
20-08-22 - Farming equipment.

The following links go to themes on this page. More heavily populated themes may also have a link to a separate theme file.

* Merle's birthday
* abstracts
* animals
* bar, booze, wine, etc.
* beaches, shores, coast
* beauties, ladies
* boats, ships
* family
* flowers
* foliage
* houses, homes, architecture
* irony
* motor-cycles, motorcycles
* natural areas, greenspaces niagara
* paths, figures in a landscape
* portals
* roots, stumps, rotscapes, bark
* prints
* ruins
* scenics, mountains, rocks, snow, clouds
* structures, machines
* water, lakes, rivers, streams, puddles
* weird
* where in niagara

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.prints

D444-016
17-07-26 - Teazel, top view. covid?
"D444-016" source page

1166-19CA
V07-12-18 - Sugarloaf from Powerscourt. Ireland.
"1166-19CA" source page

1159-21F
V08-05-05 - On the Kerry Way.
"1159-21F" source page

0054-75
-
"0054-75" source page

1120-18
96-08 - Mt. Whiteface, N.Y.
"1120-18" source page

D444-011
17-07-25 - A study in blue.
"D444-011" source page

D173-086a
07-02-18 - Or else I might put ...
"D173-086a" source page

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.natural .greenspaces .nature

D137-004A
05-10-02 - Fallen giant, Shorthills.
"D137-004A" source page

1169-10B
00-02 - Hieroglyph, Shorthills.
"1169-10B" source page

D236-105A
- Finding the path of least resistance, Shorthills.
"D236-105A" source page

1172-01
00-06 - Swayze Falls, Short Hills Prov. Park
"1172-01" source page

D337-155
14-12-12 - Swayze falls, Shorthills Park.
"D337-155" source page

D312-048
14-05-19 - Tip o' the Port Weller spit.
"D312-048" source page

D350-038
15-07-19 - whirlpool portals.
"D350-038" source page

D404-003
14-03-02 - The Whirlpool in winter.
"D404-003" source page

1173-19
00-06 - Fishy whirlpool, Fortymile Creek, Grimsby.
"1173-19" source page

D265-001
12-05-02 - Bridge across Martindale Pond.
"D265-001" source page

D251-129
11-06-22 - Wreck, Martindale Pond.
"D251-129" source page

D065-06
03-08-14 - Cormorants. Canoeing 16-mile Creek.
"D065-06" source page

D343-050
15-05-26 - Biking and foxes. Niagara Parkway.
"D343-050" source page

1143-05
98-11 - Marcy Woods, Lake Erie Shore. FX
"1143-05" source page

1143-01
98-11 - Marcy Woods, Lake Erie Shore.
"1143-01" source page

1143-23B
98 - Marcy Woods Power Generating Station.
"1143-23B" source page

D175-034
07-03-18 - What Mrs Simcoe saw, Queenston Hts.
"D175-034" source page

0038-23
73-04 - Lime Kilns, St. Davids
"0038-23" source page

D060-48
03-07-06 - Tunnel under RR, Sixteen-mile Creek.
"D060-48" source page

D039-99A
- The light at the end of the tunnel.
"D039-99A" source page

D218-041A
V10-09-07 - The screaming tunnel.
"D218-041A" source page

D257-149
11-11-03 - Old limekiln. Ball's Falls.
"D257-149" source page

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.scenics .mountains .rocks .snow .clouds

D084-031
04-01-10 - Inside Haleakala Crater.
"D084-031" source page

D210-643
08-07-20 - Afternoon of the cutbank.
"D210-643" source page

original SCENIC folder
original MOUNTAINS folder
original ROCKS folder
original SNOW folder
original CLOUDS folder
original BEACH folder

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.weird .strange

original WEIRD folder

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.pan

original PAN folder

__________________________

.family .merle .miriam .adam .diana .nathan .derek

original MYFAM folder

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.abstract .pattern .line .colour

D282-112
13-01-13 - Not really a seedy neighbourhood
"D282-112" source page

D305-161
14-02-28 - Meanwhile, back in the parking lot ...
"D305-161" source page

D244-020
10-10-07 - Nice welding job.
"D244-020" source page

D244-167
10-12-07 - ROMish
"D244-167" source page

original ABSTRACT folder

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.water .lakes .rivers .rapids .falls

original WATER folder

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.boats .ships .canoes .kayaks

D296-005
13-09-26 - Portentous-looking yacht
"D296-005" source page

D285-009A
V13-04-28 - Port Colborne Harbour #3
"D285-009A" source page

original BOATS folder

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.lady .ladies .beauty .beauties

D503-008
18-10-23 - Rapunzel needs better accom.
D503-008 source page

original BEAUTIES folder

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.ruins .wrecks .debris

D284-016
13-02-13 - Fall of an ancient ... civilization?
"D284-016" source page

D504-003
18-11-04 - from old library bldg.
D504-003 source page

0401-08
93-12? - 1993 - Water mill ruin, Reynoldsville
0401-08 source page

D284-016
13-02-13 - Fall of an ancient ... civilization?
D284-016 source page

D282-160
13-01-17 - I just like derelict stuff, OK?
D282-160 source page

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.paths .trails .roads .pathways .figures

D294-233a
13-09-16 - Marsh boardwalk, looking north
D294-233a source page

D288-195
13-06-05 - Along the Lake Gibson levee
D288-195 source page
original PATHWAYS folder
Figures in a landcape. Including Merle? Human condition.

original FIGURES folder

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.structures .machines

D293-008
13-08-12 - Point Clark pagoda

D535-061
19-08-22 - What're they up to?
"D535-061" source page

D311-174
14-05-10 - Where are the snow plows of yesteryear?
"D311-174" source page

D512-065
19-02-13 - The taffee works.
"D512-065" source page

D289-029
13-06-16 - No salvation by public works
D289-029 source page

D288-149A
V13-06-12 - Parmalat Dairy FX
D288-149A source page

D288-028
13-04-30 - Paper mill
D288-028 source page

original MACHINES folder

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.portals .doors .windows .gates

D282-162
13-01-17 - Emerging from the shadows, he ...
"D282-162" source page

D294-264
13-09-16 - Say ah!

D294-264a
13-09-16 - Say ah!
D294-264 source page

D288-090
13-05-09 - Preacher's Portal, Ball's Falls

D288-090a
13-05-09 - Preacher's Portal, Ball's Falls
D288-090 source page

D288-082
13-05-09 - Mill house, Ball's Falls
D288-082 source page

D288-080
13-05-09 - Portal, Ball's Falls
D288-080 source page

original PORTALS folder

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.edit .crop .photoshop .hdr .lighten .darken

D503-085
18-10-27 - Artist?

D334-297
14-10-22 - Welcome aboard.
"D334-297" source page

D330-434
14-08-31 - Lanterns for Diogenes.
"D330-434" source page
D503-085 source page

D487-017
18-08-04 - Gonna hafta build a huge sunroom, M.

D487-017B
V18-11-13 - Gonna hafta build a huge sunroom, M.
D487-017 source page

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.flowers .blossoms .petals

D383-031
16-06-10 - Peonys, Evergreen resort. L. Huron.
"D383-031" source page

D290-145
13-07-22 - Lilies
D290-145 source page

D290-136
13-07-22 - The iris border is now lilies.
D290-136 source page

D290-135
13-07-22 - Homage to Monet

D290-135a
13-07-22 - Homage to Monet

websrch:monet water lilies

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.foliage

D246-037A
V13-06-14 - FX.
"D246-037A" source page

D330-279
14-08-29 -
"D330-279" source page See the entire Botanical Garden series, above.

D287-756
13-04-21 - Flourishing.
"D287-756" source page

D257-171A
V11-11-19 - The garden, splendid in decay. FX
"D257-171A" source page

D249-070A
V13-05-09 - Caladiums. FX.
"D249-070A" source page

D535-092
19-08-24 - For the fab foliage file.
"D535-092" source page

D526-012_cr
19-06-16 - Also FF?

D526-012
19-06-16 - Also FF?
"D526-012" source page

D526-007_cr
19-06-16 - For the Fab Foliage file?

D526-007
19-06-16 - For the Fab Foliage file?
D526-007 source page

original FOLIAGE folder

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.animals .creatures .insects .birds

D294-499
13-09-17 - Things take a tern for the worse.
~~

D288-002
13-04-25 - The hanging. Arts Place
"D288-002" source page

D282-086
13-01-13 - Margaret the cat
"D282-086" source page

D336-133
14-11-12 - Princess, expectant.
"D336-133" source page

D334-251
14-10-19 - Minotaur, woven ouf of old land lines.
"D334-251" source page

D333-117
- Honey has been to cuteness school.
"D333-117" source page

D333-082
- why are some animal babies so cute?
"D333-082" source page

D159-040
06-07-15 - Perhaps you're wondering why I ...
"D159-040" source page

D526-005
19-06-16 - After lunch at RBG.
D526-005 source page

D338-243
14-12-24 - Niagara Parks livens up the scene.
D338-243 source page

D296-044
13-09-28 - Do blonde alpacas have more fun?
D296-044 source page

D294-106
13-08-21 - Come follow me, follow, ... Zooz
D294-106 source page

D288-002
13-04-25 - The hanging. Arts Place
D288-002 source page

D334-251
14-10-19 - Minotaur, made of old land lines.
D334-251 source page

__________________________

.motor-cycles

D470-114
17-12-30 - Easy rider.
D470-114 source page

D470-076
17-12-30 - Bike-bee conflict.
D470-076 source page

D343-172
15-06-03 - Danny arrives.
D343-172 source page

D343-176
15-06-03 - Danny leaves.
D343-176 source page

al01-068a
- Enid on 1928 Henderson

6602-081
- Scott of the Wehrmacht. Zweibrucken

6609-217
- Derek's Kreidler 50cc

D207-146
- Like Eric' WW2 military bike. War Museum, Ottawa

D480-005
18-06-04 - WEB: Henderson. 1928.

D216-086
08-10-12 - Bike jumping. Brigden fair.

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.houses .dwellings .habitations .homes .architecture

D530-106
19-07-13 - I'll buy it!
"D530-106" source page

D294-340
13-09-17 - Prime residential property, Pelee Is.
D294-340 source page

D292-014
13-08-03 - Cottonwood Mansion, nr Selkirk
D292-014 source page

D290-013
13-07-07 - Porch of seven windows, Port C.

D290-013a
13-07-07 - Porch of seven windows, Port C.
D290-013 source page

D215-223
08-09-16 - The porch of Eight windows.
D215-223 source page

D501-047
18-10-08 - DR trundles around looking for pics.

D501-073
18-10-08 - Necessity is the father of ....ation. .
original ARCHITECTURE folder
Little white houses. Has a suspiciously racist tone?
original LWH folder

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.bar .counter .booze .bottles .drinks .whiskey .wine .beer

D424-057
16-11-15 - Drinks on the house, bartender.
"D424-057" source page

D336-178
14-11-20 - After a strenuous day on the trail.
"D336-178" source page

D330-457
14-08-31 - Derek wonders what a case would cost.
"D330-457" source page

D330-101
14-08-24 - Not a great wine, definitely a CUTE wine.
"D330-101" source page

D327-050
14-08-04 - Keep it under control, DR.
"D327-050" source page

D309-032
14-04-23 - Bar-flies
"D309-032" source page

D515-099
19-02-16 - The bar.
"D515-099" source page

D324-253
14-07-26 - The bar. Perhaps next time. Bye.
"D324-253" source page

D512-161
19-02-13 - The bar.
"D512-161" source page

D531-114
19-07-17 - Icecream bar. Chocolate, please. Not retired yet?
"D531-114" source page

D531-068
19-07-16 - The gang.
"D531-068" source page

D530-094
19-07-13 - Can't hide the screech.
"D530-094" source page

D519-012
19-03-04 - The bar at Iggys pub and grill. BVs.
D519-012 source page

D511-016
19-02-01 - For the bar collection.
D511-016 source page

D260-202
12-01-17 - Derek is bar-coded in Punta Cana.
D260-202 source page

6602-118
54-to-58 - Farrago, care of Harry's Bar, V.
6602-118 source page

websrch:harrys bar venice

websrch:gleneagles bar mgarr gozo

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.beaches .shoreline .coast
original BEACH folder

__________________________

.rotscapes .roots .stumps .bark

D523-157
19-06-12 - Follow.
D523-157 source page

D526-064
19-06-16 -
D526-064 source page

D526-067
19-06-16 - Rotscape.
"D526-067" source page

D519-071
19-04-13 - Corner of Glenridge and Westcaster.
D519-071 source page

D526-063
19-06-16 - Down the ravine path.
D526-063 source page

D523-157
19-06-12 - Follow.
D523-157 source page

D531-082
19-07-17 - Clearance sale: cheap firewood.
D531-082 source page

D531-051
19-07-16 - Steel reinforced tree.
D531-051 source page

D520-010
19-04-21 - Nice rotscape.
D520-010 source page

LK15-537
1940s? - Picturesque stump, DR take note.
LK15-537 source page

LK15-033
1940s? - LK anticipates DR.
LK15-033 source page

D506-030
18-12-16 - Recent beaver activity.
D506-030 source page

D288-115
13-05-18 - It's a wedge issue.
D288-115 source page

D288-066
13-05-04 - Rotscape
D288-066 source page

D287-755
13-04-20 - Huge stump, recently cut. Malcolmson.
D287-755 source page

D282-150
13-01-15 - Shorthills refuge.
D282-150 source page

D481-015
18-06-05 - See protruding serpent head?
D481-015 source page

D471-051
18-01-02 - Firmly planted. Palm.
D471-051 source page

D430-040
17-04-16 - Ouch! Who kicked me?
D430-040 source page

D343-068
15-05-29 - Rootscape, rotscape abstract.
D343-068 source page

D377-049
16-02-21 - Rootscape.
D377-049 source page

D380-061
16-05-11 - Classic uprootscape on the BT.
D380-061 source page

D500-077
18-09-13 - Rootscape, Buttermere.
D500-077 source page

D196-141
07-09-07 - Timeout for another rootscape.

D215-093
08-09-10 - Gotcha! Clutching roots.

D255-043
11-09-10 - Guarding the den.

D256-103
11-09-24 - Rootscape, Feversham Gorge.

d265-116
12-05-19 - Peeled up tree root.

D274-257
12-07-16 - Cement tree roots, China.

D277-072
12-10-18 - Barely hanging on.

D287-758
13-04-21 - Flood damage.

D288-093
13-05-09 - Don't trip over these roots.

D294-458
13-09-17 - Sorry. Just one more for the rootscape file.

D309-051
14-04-26 - Rootscape.

D328-024
14-08-03 - Rootscape.

D338-301
14-12-25 - rootscape.

D338-304
14-12-25 - Rootscape.

D365-118
15-09-07 - Back to our roots.

D368-146
15-09-10 - Toe-grabbing roots.

D380-061
16-05-11 - Another classic uprootscape.

D384-077
16-07-02 - Root damage. Explain.

D404-022
14-03-03 - Rootscape.

D408-111
16-09-11 - Alas, poor stump. Too late for rescue.

D430-011
17-04-16 - Uprootscape.

D430-020
17-04-16 - Rootscapes, old cedars.

D460-024
17-09-29 - Rubber tree roots.

d472-099
18-02-21 - Rootscape.

d487a-003
18-08-20 - Root en route.

D492-110
18-09-05 - Precarious root.

D500-100
18-09-13 - Waterfall over roots not rocks.

D171-026
06-10-26 - Well-rooted.

D196-133
07-09-07 - Rambling roots, Algonquin Pk.

D193-099
07-07-30 - You'd be down among those willow roots.

D408-113
16-09-11 - Rootscape. Grimsby Mt.

D081-089
04-01-05 - Banyan roots in the path, Oahu.

0206-14
- Silver tree root.

t85a-24b
c1601785-08-30 - Fraser Bay - crack with root.

t85a-26a
85-08-30 - Fraser Bay - bull's eye tree root.

t85a-27a
85-08-30 - Fraser Bay - campfire root.

0320-35
88-08-22 - Long Beach. Adam enthroned.

0352-10
90-04a - Water hyacinth root, en route

0356-02
90-06-08 - Rooted to the spot.

0392-02
93-08-31 - Rocks embedded in tree root.

D081-089
04-01-05 - Banyan roots in the path, Oahu.

D093-005
04-06-19 - The root of the problem.

D099-112
04-08-13 - Descent. Ankle-grabbing tree-roots.

D152-050
06-06-11 - Root reef, Long Point.

D269-092
12-06-16 - Chomp
D269-092 source page

D269-091
12-06-16 - Reach, grab
D269-091 source page

original TREES folder

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.irony

D520-026
19-04-21 - Pink S-kicker boots.
"D520-026" source page

__________________________

.where .niagara

0401-08
93-12? - 1993 - Water mill ruin, Reynoldsville
"0401-08" source page

D501-033
18-09-29 - Bien cuit. Or, crisp?
"D501-033" source page

D484-151
18-07-19 - Rhino-saurus.
"D484-151" source page

D484-140
18-07-19 - Rod Dowling sculptures.
"D484-140" source page

D484-095
18-07-17 - It's not an elevator for cars.
"D484-095" source page

D483-051
18-06-25 - Adam stayed here in CFBU days.
"D483-051" source page

D482-082
18-06-17 - Rear view, Rodman Hall AG.
"D482-082" source page

D481-026
18-06-06 - Little houses on the RR tracks.
"D481-026" source page

D480-020
18-05-31 - Fort Massasauga, NOTL.
"D480-020" source page

D479-021
18-05-13 - Bollard and brown-sugar piles.
"D479-021" source page

D477-038
18-04-18 - We may launch into an eternity of ...
"D477-038" source page

D475-088
18-03-17 - St. Catharines market pavilion.
"D475-088" source page

D554-222
20-01-01 - Mme Recamier sends 2020 greetings
"D554-222" source page

D553-073
19-11-30 - Power stn. Niagara Falls.
"D553-073" source page

D537-065
19-09-14 - Miriam n I once canoed down to the top rapids.
"D537-065" source page

D537-001
19-09-07 - The Performing Arts Centre.
"D537-001" source page

D536-045
19-08-28 - Niagara Parks jungle gym.
"D536-045" source page

D536-022
19-08-28 - We used to sit on those rocks.
"D536-022" source page

D536-002
19-08-27 - Are those real gunports?
"D536-002" source page

D534-070
19-08-13 - Film shoot. St Catharines.
"D534-070" source page

D486-121
19-08-12 - A go a ber a boo?
"D486-121" source page

D531-099
19-07-17 - Irony. Port Dal.
"D531-099" source page

D531-009
19-07-15 - Glenridge Quarry.
"D531-009" source page

D527-081
19-06-25 - Welland Canal cloudscape.
"D527-081" source page

D520-078
19-04-28 - Good, solid construction.
"D520-078" source page

__________________________

Merle's 77th

Way back when I was still a little shaver (My father's term. I had no beard to shave till I was almost in my 20s.) I was already beginning to pick up a share of what passes for the world's wisdom.

Like many pre-pubescent boys, including our own, I had a tendancy to develop a crush on older women. In Danville, PQ, the girl-next-door's mother was the first that I remember. Her husband worked for the Shawinigan Hydro and played the guitar. I recall him strumming and singing: "Oh, oh, kisses sweeter than wine." A song that "The Weavers" popularized. Not knowing anything about such kisses, I, nevertheless, kept my eyes hopelessly fastened on the object of someone else's affections.

Then there was the arithmetic supply teacher in grade one or two. "No. Derek. Two and two doesn't make five. Here let me show you how to do it." She would lean so close that my cheeks were burning and say in a seductive whisper, "Imagine you have two twos of something. (I was actually more aware at that moment of two ones of something.) One two is in your head and the other two is in your hand. You've already counted the one in your head. One, two. Now look at your fingers." She would take my hand and open up two fingers. "Just keep counting, three, four. And there you have the answer, four. "You can do the same thing with bigger numbers until you get used to doing it all in your head."

A spark of recognition, but I wished she didn't have to let go of my hand so soon.

In high school, there were no teachers that captured my fancy. But at lunch time we were free to wander the streets of St. Lambert, PQ. Next to the high school was a storefront run by Penguin Books Canada. I believe they served as a modest Canadian transhipment depot before Penguin became the publishing giant of today.

This office was managed by a pleasant woman who seemed to like young people. She maintained a window display of damaged and reduced books that could be purchased for a nominal sum. Like 50cents or a dollar. "No, I don't think 'Madame Bovary', or Turgenev's 'On the Eve' are the classics for you. Why don't you try Caesar's Gallic Wars. I can let you have this damaged copy for only 75cents." A sweet smile and a gentle hand on my 13-year old shoulder was enough to create a lifelong affection for the Greek and Roman classics.

There followed a fallow period in the 1950s with no serious crushes on older women until, returning from a spell in Europe with my Air Force parents, I chanced on a summer job at a children's camp near Orillia. One day a vision of ... something new and quite different ... drifted across the far side of the campsite. From that moment, it seemed, I was lost to my earlier infatuations with mothers, teachers, and the bookseller ladies of childhood. But we will not dwell on the almost 60 years that have led up to the present day, except to note a certain phisosophical shift in thinking.

Back in my youthful days I was exposed to a religious, perhaps metaphysical, view about the linearity of history. That we are all headed into a future of salvation or damnation with little chance of a detour. My own modest experience offers some challenges to this view. A youthful crush on older women has had an odd way of validating itself once again. This could suggest a cyclic, non-linear view of human existence. It is sometimes said that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. I would offer the opinion that this recurrence may not always be such a bad thing. Even a sign of stability to be embraced,

The math teacher thing, for instance: my own unfortunate lack of diligence at university level statistics, was redeemed by a woman who, while professing a math phobia herself, succeeded in ace-ing a university level statistics course and providing me, with the opportunity to do career-relevant computer programming in statistics, for her. This same woman now tolerates my ramshackle book collection, which includes some of the very same volumes that I once purchased from the hand-on-the-shoulder lady of my youth. A woman who, like that Penguin lady, also strongly supports the book industry and a culture that I continue to revere.

And beyond the hand-on-the-shoulder aspect, there is still that vision-across-the-campsite thing. A reminder of the sometime circularity of life, of the eternal return, of how the old becomes new once again. To whit: I find myself in a new place but, at the same time, back where I started from. On Merle's 77th birthday -- and only a little past my own 39th; Jack Benny is still a favourite comedian of mine -- I've again, or I've still (not quite sure how to put it), got a crush on an older woman. And here she is. Furthermore, I would strongly qualify the advice I've often heard: "Beware of what you wish for. You might get it."

To which I can reply with an ironic and happy little smile: "Yes. Yes. Yeees! I know."