Friday, May 31, 2024

Humans never fly alone

Follow me
Port Stanley, ON
September 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not everything is as it initially seems.

Like this scene, for example. When I first captured it with my camera, I thought the intrepid parasailer was simply following a single bird through the windy skies.

Then I looked more closely.

Go ahead. Lean in. Turns out he was less alone than he might have thought.

Indeed, whether we’re skimming above the windswept waters or wandering nearby streets, we can all say the same thing about ourselves.

#portstanley #beach #ldnont #ontario #canada #throwback #great #lake #erie #water #waves #parasail #bird #flight #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography

Related:
Blown away, September 2023

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Thursday, May 30, 2024

Donald Trump gets closer to the orange jumpsuit

#DonaldTrump is guilty of all 34 felony charges. Somehow this feels like history.
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Seeking discomfort in the storm

Winter, sort of
London, ON
December 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The early winter storm whips the sloppy mix of snow and sleet diagonally through the sky before it lands with a sting on my face.

I probably shouldn’t be taking pictures in this mess. But later on I’m going to want to remember what it felt like in the moment, and a photo is as effective a memory cue as anything, so here I am.

Despite the fact that my coat is fully zipped up and I’m wearing my warmest woolies, I can still feel the wind creeping in, the dampness soaking into my bones the longer I stay outside.

Yet as crazy as this place has become, I feel alive by being so directly exposed to it. After all, it’s hard to feel much of anything if we’re too insulated, too comfortable.

Soon enough the winds will subside, the skies will clear, and the grey landscape will regain its colour. Those colours will seem even more vibrant against the memories I’m making here and now.

##ldnont #london #airport #ontario #canada #throwback #flyyxu #yxu #tree #trees #fog #winter #weather #wx #onstorm #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #monochrome #photography

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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Horsing around with my buddy

Neigh
Arva, ON
October 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a relentlessly grey October afternoon, I stand beside a busy road and watch these two lovelies catch up on their snacking.

By any measure it isn’t a particularly notable moment for any of us - they’re munching on grass and I’m standing around with a camera in my hand - yet for some reason it has continued to stick in my head all these months later.

Maybe it’s the serene simplicity of these gentle giants doing the things that gentle giants do.

Perhaps it’s the way the brown horse stands guard while the black one grazes.

Or could it be the soft curves of the pasture they call home?

Maybe it’s one of those questions of nature destined never to be answered.

Perhaps it’s nature’s way of encouraging us to slow ourselves down and appreciate moments that are all too easily missed as we rush from here to there.

#ldnont #london #arva #ontario #canada #throwback #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #horsestagram #instahorses #neigh #green #grasses #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography

Related:
Black horse photobomb, November 2023
Lonely, July 2006

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Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Rain's hidden gift

The things we find on the back deck
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The skies have been grey and rainy of late, which for some can be pretty depressing.

But threatening skies also bring much-needed life to flowers that would otherwise shrivel up under a brilliant sun.

I guess it all depends how we choose to look at it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #pink #flower #bloom #nature #naturephotography #abstract #deck #stilllife #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Explosion at my feet, December 2023
After the rain, May 2018

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Monday, May 27, 2024

Is anything truly ordinary?

Cover me
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Plain. Ordinary. Mundane. Trivial.

Maybe. Maybe not.

However we define the things that surround us, whether or not they’re compelling or worthy of our attention isn’t up to anyone else.

It’s up to us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #uwo #western #university #elginhall #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #shelter #lines #geometry #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #monochrome #photography

Related:
Old football memory, February 2018
The clock strikes... December 2007
On the line, September 2007

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Sunday, May 26, 2024

It's never too late

Come for sunset, stay for twilight.
London, ON
April 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The sun slipped below the horizon six minutes before this photo was taken, but it still had something to say.

That endings are never final.

That reflected light can be just as powerful as the direct kind.

That power can be defined any number of ways.

That some shades become visible only when others step aside and allow them to shine.

That stories can be told from places we cannot see.

That patience comes with its own rewards.

That it never hurts to stick around to see what happens next.

That tomorrow may be another day, but it’ll never look quite like this one.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunset #cloudspotting #weather #wx #silhouette #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography

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Saturday, May 25, 2024

Crowds on Crescent Street

Follow the herd
Montreal, QC
September 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The one where I practice my street photography skills by following the Crescent Street crowd and try to avoid getting busted in the process.

#montreal #quebec #yul #canada #urban #downtown #city #throwback #streetphotography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photography

Related:
Subway shooting, September 2023
Not remotely disabled, January 2019

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Friday, May 24, 2024

Always stop to smell the flowers

Purple pride
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Does it make sense to stop the bike in the middle of a ride to smell the flowers?

I believe it does.

The road will always be there.

The flowers won’t.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #purple #flower #bloom #nature #naturephotography #abstract #sidewalk #stilllife #uwo #western #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Purple and proud, July 2023
Purple and proud, October 2022
Pretty purple flowers, September 2022
Trees from Venus, October 2021

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Thursday, May 23, 2024

The chains that bind us

We're only as strong as our weakest link
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram
 
I’ve evolved a strange little habit over the last few months: as sunset approaches, I’ll look out the window and read the sky. If it looks interesting - some clouds, but not overly so - I’ll fetch the camera and head for the door.

Last night was one of those nights. The sky was actually looking somewhat meh, but I thought it would be fun to go for it, anyway. Sometimes we simply have to take that chance.

Well, by the time I got to my viewing spot, the clouds had drifted away and we were firmly in boringville. I hung around for a bit, but it was clear it wasn’t happening. I had wasted my time.

Or had I?

While I waited in vain under an uncooperative sky, my eyes looked for alternatives nearby. I was in a crumbling parking lot beside an elementary school, so the pickings were slim.

But at least there were pickings to be had. Like this well worn chain hanging off the corner of an equally well worn portable classroom, its links quietly tapping against the hollow aluminum siding amid the gentle late evening breeze.

As I peered ever more closely at this forgotten scene, I noticed more details in its weary texture.

In the end, I got my picture, even if it wasn’t the one I originally came for. The answers I had been looking for through my lens were simply lurking where I least expected them to be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #chain #link #stilllife #optimist #park #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #monochrome #photography

Related:
Not the weakest link, October 2021
Red guard, August 2007
The cure of color, April 2006

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Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Apple down!

Sad fruit
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Bad Haiku Theatre, Chapter 37:

Supermarket scene.

Green apple falls on the floor.

Somewhere a child cries.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #loblaws #grocery #store #fruit #fruitography #green #apple #shopping #retail #stilllife #poetry #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography


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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Let the thunder begin

Cloudbusting
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Children stare at clouds.

Adults should, too.

Right?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sky #clouds #cloudspotting #weather #wx #onstorm #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #elginhall #uwo #western #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #monochrome #photography


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Monday, May 20, 2024

When dogs ruin the shot

World in motion
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

More times than I can count, I’ll be roaming the neighbourhood with Calli the Wonderschnauzer when the universe decides the moment merits a picture.

Photography with a bouncy schnu on the other end of the leash, however, presents its own unique set of challenges. Specifically, she’s a puller, which can make it somewhere between difficult and impossible to hold the camera still enough to take a reasonable pic.

Things get worse after the sun goes down, when even computational magic like Night Mode struggles to compensate for a wiggly puppy. We can’t outrun physics.

Needless to say, my photo roll is filled with lots of misses, mostly grainy, blurry messes that I don’t have the heart to delete.

Because as imperfect as they are, they’re in so many ways more representative of her spirit than the perfectly lit and composed ones.

I realize all of this runs counter to the aesthetic of perfection that seems to dominate our digital lives. We agonize over what ultimately gets shared - meaning only the sharpest, most spectacular scenes will ever see the light of day.

Everything else languishes unloved and ignored in the dusty shadows, this despite the fact that they are just as much a part of our story, if not more so.

Which is my way of explaining why this photo makes the feed today.

Because even in its staggering imperfection, it perfectly tells the story, evokes the memory, teases out a smile.

Seems pretty perfect to me.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #night #shadow #blur #photography

Related:
Dog meets snail, June 2022
Schnauzer in fog, September 2020

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Sunday, May 19, 2024

Brilliant battered steel

Hard life
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: a crowded grocery store. More precisely, the granola bar and cereal aisle.

Hordes of catatonic-looking shoppers are shuffling slowly in all directions, barely paying attention to each other. It is as depressing as it sounds.

Suddenly a flash of colour invades my peripheral vision. I stop the cart and turn to see a support beam between me and a collapsed display of no-name-brand Frosted Flakes cereal.

In a well designed store, the support beam wouldn’t have been placed smack in the middle of an aisle. But this isn’t a well designed store.

It’s wrapped in a textured kind of steel that reflects the drab shelving around it, and in doing so manages to add a certain sense of drama to this undeserving, badly lit aisle.

In fact, look closely enough at it and it seems almost breathtaking. It’s been battered by years of wayward shopping carts, yet it still manages to play with the light.

I guess you just have to be here.

Which is entirely the point. Because if hidden beauty can tap me on the shoulder in this most unlikely place, how many other hidden moments lurk in similarly unlikely places?

And are we stopping for a closer look when they, too, tap us on the shoulder?

I hope so.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #walmart #grocery #store #steel #abstract #reflective #mirror #stilllife #shopping #retail #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Escape, April 2008

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Saturday, May 18, 2024

Let's colour outside the monochrome lines

Sort of straight
London, ON
April 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As children, most of us were taught to colour within the lines.

As adults, we have the freedom to do as we wish with the lines.

And to dispense with most of the colours, too, if we feel so inclined.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #brick #lines #geometry #optimist #park #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #monochrome #photography

Related:
When infinity...isn't, February 2023
The grid, August 2021

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Friday, May 17, 2024

Memories of boomboxes

Sounds from the past
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not so long ago, music was analog, tangible, visceral.

We painstakingly made mixtapes for our favourite people and played them on machines much like this.

We bought endless supplies of non-rechargeable batteries to keep the party going no matter where we ended up.

We lugged these things to school, to the beach, to grandma’s house, to anywhere and everywhere that needed a soundtrack.

We held them defiantly over our heads, hoping some of John Cusack’s Say Anything magic would wear off on us.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

In the cold light of hindsight, these things were gaudy, bulky, and they sounded like every adult in a Peanuts Gang movie.

But no Spotify playlist ever prompted the same warm fuzzy of nostalgia that washed over me when I came across this artfully stacked pile in the shadowy corner of a local restaurant.

So I lingered over the scene for a bit and tried to remember what music felt like before technology rewrote the rules.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #music #boombox #retro #electronics #jackastors #restaurant #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #monochrome #stilllife #photography

Related:
Game over, November 2018
Radio Shack is dying, November 2014
The mixtape is dead, September 2012

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Thursday, May 16, 2024

Aardvarks in the sky

Adventures in cloudspotting
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As the herd of aardvarks marched across the sky, the sun dove the other way, fearful of these menacing beings with the outsized shnozzes.

Maybe I didn’t get it quite right, but I’d like to imagine the drama was at least partly real to anyone looking for momentary escape in the fast-fading clouds.

At the very least, I hope we’re taking the time to look. I’ve heard aardvarks are pretty fascinating.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunset #cloudspotting #weather #wx #silhouette #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography

Related:
Swimmer in the sky, August 2022
Look to the sky, June 2011

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Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Staring into the fuzzy horizon

Tracing lines in the sky
London, ON
April 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Depth of field is one of those cornerstones of photography that can take years for photographers to fully internalize.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I struggled with it for years after I first picked up a camera. Even now, I bracket more often than I probably should, a hacker’s attempt to compensate for my admittedly pedestrian photographic skill set.

So when I found myself staring through the bare branches, I thought it might be fun to focus on the foreground and let the colourfully fuzzy horizon tell its own part of the story.

Was this the correct way to shoot this particular scene? I’ll probably never know, and to be honest I don’t give questions like this much thought.

I’m not a classically perfect photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what makes me smile - and this pic does.

In the end, photography should make us happy. That’s the only thing that needs to matter.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #redskies #sunset #cloudspotting #weather #wx #silhouette #bokeh #dof #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography


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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

School of frozen fish

Pick me, pick me!
London, ON
May 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Exactly one year ago today, I leaned over a freezer in the fish section of our local Costco and took a rather strange photograph.

If I remember correctly, the place was packed with people. Most of them were idly shuffling through the grey concrete warehouse, barely aware of what was going on sound them. Almost no one was smiling.

In a moment of ridiculously trivial inspiration, I convinced myself that taking a stupid picture would bring joy to a joyless place. And before I could talk myself out of it, a spontaneous still-life photo session was happening.

It’s what I do. It isn’t reasonable, logical, or even sane. But we’ve all been in situations that felt, if not hopeless, then at least devoid of colour. And if a photo can bring happiness to a moment that is anything but, I’m hardly going to stand in the way.

The fish may have a different opinion, mind you.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #costco #grocery #store #retail #random #frozen #fish #ice #stilllife #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

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Monday, May 13, 2024

Where the trees frame the water

Just breathe
London, ON
September 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Whenever Earth’s merry go round spins faster than I’d prefer, I’ll try to disappear into the woods for a bit.

I’ll walk the soft-floored pathways in search of a spot where I can pause and reflect. It can be anywhere, really, but if we’re going to rank them, anything near water will naturally gravitate toward the top of the list.

So this explains how I ended up beside the creek on a Saturday afternoon, taking a picture of a scene that, unlike an eclipse or an aurora, probably doesn’t often merit an avalanche of photos, let alone a single one.

But popularity has never really been my thing, anyway. If it moves me, I’ll pull the camera out and have fun with it. And quiet spots in the forest will always move me when I need to get off the spinning ride for a little while.

I can’t know for sure what I’ll find the next time I venture back to this place, but I can promise that there will certainly be a next time.

Hopefully you’ll follow my lead and find a similar spot near wherever you happen to be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #heritage #forest #tree #trees #thames #river #water #reflective #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:

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Sunday, May 12, 2024

The two sides of Mother's Day

Her
London, ON
March 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Mother’s Day has always been bittersweet for some.

Maybe you lost your mom. Or you’re slowly losing her. Or you never had fond memories of her to begin with. Maybe you wanted to be a mom, but couldn’t. Maybe you’ve been a mom, then weren’t. Maybe your experience doesn’t fit the perfectly typeset sentiment of a Hallmark card.

Whatever the case, it can’t be easy to navigate the avalanche of globally programmed marketing messages, to be reminded yet again how impossible it can be to live up to manufactured imagery, to compare better to everyone else as they play the same game, too.

So we get through today and wait for the triggers to subside tomorrow.

All of which begs the question of why we wait for days on the calendar at all when any day is the right day to express gratitude and kindness to others, wherever they might be located within our family dynamic, and however we define family in the first place.

On any given day, many of us are blessed to be connected to folks whose lives naturally cast light on our own. We’re lucky to have that front row seat to lives that make our own better. We shouldn’t need to visit the card aisle to let them know how we feel.

So while today I’ll be looking for ways to ensure Debbie, seen here, knows full well how thankful I am that she is the very centre of our family’s gravity, it won’t be because the calendar says so. I’ll do the same thing tomorrow and on every other day I’m lucky enough to get to spend with her.

I’ll never come close to evening the score. Everyone knows the best moms, like this one, always give far more than they receive.

But still, everyone needs more kindness, however we’re connected, and this will be just as true tomorrow as it is today. And everyone needs to somehow appreciate that what - and who - they have is incredibly special. And never guaranteed.

So please celebrate your people today. And tomorrow. And be as kind to them as the best moms have been to us.

If we’re lucky, they’ve taught us well.

#LiveLaughLevy #ldnont #london #ontario #canada #mothersday #mom #moms #life #parenthood #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Her, May 2018

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Saturday, May 11, 2024

The things our cameras can see

“The camera sees in ways the eye cannot.”
C. Levy
2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #aurora #borealis #northernlights #solar #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #night #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography


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The aurora comes to the north

Magnetic!
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At 10:43 on a Friday night, 24,000 feet above our heads, an Aeromexico 737-800 descends through electric skies on its way to Toronto.

My shutter is open for 6 seconds, capturing the plane’s blinking lights as it covers the final 200 or so km of its journey from Mexico City.

On-board, I like to imagine at least some of the 180-ish souls are peering out the windows in awe as the planet’s strongest solar storm in 20 years lashes the atmosphere with pulsing waves of glowing electromagnetic energy. I hope they’re feeling as much wonder as my wife and I are feeling way down here on the ground.

We’ve walked over to a nearby park to find some workable darkness. A scene that first presents itself as dull. wispy lines in the sky seems to come alive when we view it through the camera, as if the combination of glass, pixels, and algorithmic goodness adds its own dose of magic on top of the celestial kind that’s drawn millions of people from their homes on this memorable night.

As much as I strive to get the shot, I’m strangely feeling no pressure to do so. Everyone and their dog seems to be shooting and sharing on social media, and as it was during the recent solar eclipse, it occurs to me that I’m not a follow-the-crowd kind of photographer.

No, the reward here isn’t something that translates well into an Instagram post. It’s time with her that I seek, another indelible moment in a lifetime of them where I get to experience something unique through her eyes, listen to her sense of wonder, talk about it excitedly as we pack up and head back home.

There’s no photo of any of that, no pixellated memory of a moment that’ll exist far more vividly in my mind than I could ever capture through glass.

As we turn for home, I count myself lucky that I get to share this experience with her. And I hope the folks on that now-long-gone plane - and in the park, and alongside country roads throughout the region - are also with someone who matters.

Because everything is better when you’re with someone who gets it. Who gets you.

Maybe next time our adventures will involve the sun. Or not. Doesn’t really matter. If I’m with her, I’m good.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #aurora #borealis #northernlights #solar #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography

Related:
Eclipsed, August 2007

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Friday, May 10, 2024

Where the school bus goes at night

Nap time
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s 11:06 p.m. in the dead-silent corner of an elementary school parking lot, and the big yellow bus sits alone under the harsh security lights.

Whatever kids it may have carried are fast asleep at home, their humble chariot resting quietly until the next day’s journey.

Most of us have likely had our own journeys on busses just like this one, fuzzy memories from childhood that stick with us long after we’ve moved on from playgrounds and field trips and summer camps.

Perhaps they’re happy ones - or maybe they aren’t - but it’s still something we all seem to share, a powerful connector of sorts, hidden in plain sight.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #yellow #school #bus #night #automotive #street #streetphotography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Transit the night, November 2023
Bus stop moment, May 2022
The endless wait, April 2020
No more games, August 2019

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Thursday, May 09, 2024

Calli at 7

This is more difficult than it looks
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Birthday week here in Levyland continues, and today it’s my turn.

Yes, dogs can, too, have birthdays, and today is my seventh.

Which means I’ve had seven years to learn a whole lot of things, like advanced language skills so I can write social media posts, the ability to nap anywhere and anytime, and adaptive bunny, squirrel, chipmunk, and bird hunting techniques. I still haven’t learned NOT to play with skunks, though. Maybe I’ll work on that this year. Or not.

I’ve also learned how loved I am. My people are always petting me, playing with me, hugging me, and otherwise getting in my face. I’m not always the best behaved girl - I’m loud, I chew things that probably shouldn’t be chewed, and most of the other dogs in the neighbourhood know enough to cross the street whenever they see me coming. But I try to give them kisses on their noses so they know how much I appreciate being part of the family.

My dad takes me on long walks, and he often talks to me as we explore the streets and parks around our house. He still calls me his puppy, saying if he never wants to grow up, he doesn’t want me to grow up, either. He talks about something called time, that humans and dogs alike don’t get enough of it, and we wouldn’t want to ruin it by forgetting what it was like to be a puppy.

So I won’t forget. I’m still bonkers like I was when they first brought me home. I still follow them everywhere they go. I still snuggle with them, hard. And I still wish all of this would last forever, even though I know it probably doesn’t.

I’d love to write more, but as you can see, today I’m focused on refining my napping technique, and I’ve found just the right spot on the couch. This life thing is turning out pretty good, and I’m one thankful schnu.

Love,

Calli the Wonderschnauzer

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #actofdog #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photography

Related:
Calli at 6, May 2023
Calli at 5, May 2022

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Wednesday, May 08, 2024

One day among 365

Turn that lens around
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Now that I’ve completed another loop around our nearest star, I can’t wait to see what the next orbit has in store.

While there’s no way to ever know for sure what lies ahead, I expect each of the next 364 days to be every bit as precious as this one has already been.

Not that I’m taking any of those 364 days for granted. I’m thankful to have any days at all, and profoundly appreciate how little control any of us ever has over numbers or time. We get what we get, and we’re lucky for it.

So if I celebrate the so-called ordinary days a little more than might seem normal, at least you’ll understand why.

Because there’s no such thing as an ordinary day.

#LiveLaughLevy #birthday #family #everything #lifeinthemargins

Related:


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Tuesday, May 07, 2024

That night the sky turned purple

Stay for the twilight show
London, ON
May 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I chased the sunset again.

Because I’m never sure how many we’re going to get.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sunset #cloudspotting #weather #wx #silhouette #optimistpark #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photography


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Monday, May 06, 2024

What happens when we forget?

Burn
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
February 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As I prepared to take the recycling bins out to the curb last night, I did something I’m rather ashamed of: I took the empty matza boxes and buried them under all the other paper products.

Then I stood alone in the garage and asked myself why, in 2024, was I afraid of being identified as a Jew?

See, it’s Holocaust Remembrance Day today. And if I remember anything from my Jewish upbringing, it’s two simple words: never again.

And for much of my life, I’ve subscribed to the notion that never again will something so monstrous be allowed to happen to any identifiable group.

Yet here I stand in an ordinary garage in an ordinary town in Canada, and I’m afraid of being singled out. Simply because of who I am.

Why is that? Why is Jew-hatred still a thing? Why is hatred still an acceptable pillar of curriculum in countless schools and communities? Why has this become normalized? Why haven’t we learned from history?

So many questions - and I have no answers for any of them as I carry the recycling box down the driveway, careful to ensure those pesky matza boxes don’t give me away, and don’t give anyone a reason to look more closely at me, my home, my family.

Never again? Not quite. Not now, and possibly never at all.

#ldnont #YomHaShoah #NeverAgain

Related:
Why we must remember, January 2023
Not quite never again, January 2022
Never forget, April 2012
Kristallnacht + 70, November 2008

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