Fur, up close

Softness in two dimensions
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dogs are funny creatures, always seeming to know when their people need them.

Clarification: We always need them. But in a world of varying degrees, sometimes that need is more acute than others.

Our pup, Calli, is no different, and she's been curling herself up next to - or on - us more often of late. Which means we're spending more time either staring at or smoothing out her fur.

It may be a small thing in life, but I wanted to remember what these moments felt like.

Because small things aren't so small after all. And I see more furry still-life moments in our family's future.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Not every day merits a postcard

Dance in the sky with me
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some days you wake up to grey skies and wind-whipped rain. Some days you wake up to birds playing in the warm breezes just above the sunrise-kissed ocean waves.

Not every day will start off with the right color, temperature, or conditions. Not every day will you be able to stand on a beach and feel your toes sink slowly into the cool sand. Not every day will be worthy of a postcard.

This morning wasn't a postcard morning. This morning was grey, wet, and windy.

But I had to believe as I rolled out of bed and hooked the puppy up for our first walk of the day that somewhere far away, birds were frolicking in the warm glow where earth meets water. I had to believe that, despite the way things looked in the gloom of the present-day, things would find a way to get better.

Inevitably, they will. That's how this life thing works.

And in the meantime, grey is a color, too. We should appreciate it for its own merits.

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Standing in the middle of an endless road

Follow the line
Middlesex County, ON
June 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Crouching down over the centre line of a regional two-lane road probably isn't the smartest thing to do.

But this wasn't the first mildly questionable decision of my photographic life, and in the nearly 8 years since I took this, I'm reasonably sure I've made a few other somewhat idiotic decisions.

It was a perfectly lovely June day, and when I pointed my bike north of the city, I was looking for a couple of hours of alone time. Just me, the spinning pink machine, and the feeling you get when all is right with the world.

Eventually I stopped for a snack (cycling rule # 479: always bring snacks) and the road seemed to beg for a photo. So out came the camera (cycling rule #480: always take enough gear to grab a shot or two along the way) and soon enough I found myself standing in the middle of an otherwise empty road trying to figure out how to capture it.

Part of me was intrigued by the uneven paint job, a remnant perhaps of someone who simply couldn't be bothered to do any better. Or maybe it was the imperfectly rolling asphalt, a sign that nature always wins no matter who's at the wheel.

As I stood there and drank it in, some clouds started to roll through. As they unpredictably painted the landscape, I knew I had my shot.

That sun you see way down there? It's called hope. Never stop cranking, hard, down the endless road as you pursue it. The clouds may add some challenge to the journey, but still you've got to ride. We've all got to ride.

Eight years on, the truth of this photo and moment is more vivid than it's ever been. Even if I had to engage in some mild stupidity to uncover it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #endless #road #trip #cyling #cyclist #life #texture #shadow #sun #country #landscape #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A boy and his dog

Chillin' with my buddy
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

There are a lot of amazing things about dogs, but the one that stands out for me is how they can have unique relationships with each of us.

To wit: Calli and our youngest son, Noah. She's normally not the easiest dog to get close to. She'll growl if she thinks you're crowding her space. Or simply disappear beneath the dining room table when she doesn't want to go outside.

Except when Noah's around.

She responds to him. Allows him to hold her as you see here. Goes completely chill with him when, if it were anyone else, she'd be bouncing off the walls.

I can't explain how any of this works beyond the fact that she sees something in him, and he connects with her in ways no one else can.

The funny thing is, she has other "uniques" with each of our kids: our eldest son, Zach, and our daughter-in-law Michaela, our daughter, Dahlia, and her boyfriend, Josh, and Noah's girlfriend, Katie. Calli responds to each of them as if there's no one else in the world who matters more to her at that moment.

Some among us think dogs are simple. Stupid, even. They couldn't be more wrong. And connecting in this way, at this level, with a being whose language isn't English, is one of those little - or maybe not-so-little - blessings that comes along with welcoming a dog into the family.

I don't even want to imagine what life without her would be like. For Noah and for all of us.

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We're very much spongeworthy

Historic cake
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This isn't just a piece of sponge cake.

It's something our kids look forward to every Passover.

It's another specialty that my virtuoso-chef wife has been making for as long as I've known her.

It's something she learned from her late mother.

It's a source of comfort for us when the world seems to offer none.

In other words, not just another piece of cake. But an example - one of countless - of what makes our little family unique. Of what binds us together. Of what sticks in our minds and hearts long after the last crumbs have been eaten and the dishes have been washed and put away.

It's a small part of the story of us. But in this family, even the smallest things, like this slice of cake, seem to matter far more than they might appear at first glance.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #sponge #cake #dessert #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #stilllife #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The trees that guard us

Reach for the sky
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm guessing this tree has been around for longer than I've been alive, and it'll probably outlive most of us.

It makes me wonder about time, our relationship to it, and how insignificant our experiences are when viewed through a planetary lens.

Soon enough this global crisis will slip into history. And when it does, this tree will still be here, standing guard over a landscape that will continue to evolve as it does, regardless of whether we do or do not stay home.

It's comforting, in a way. Because some things never change. Or they change slowly.

Or we can count on them to be there, deeply rooted in the earth, no matter what kind of drama may be playing out above it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #trees #tree #dark #night #sky #random #urban #suburban #street #monochrome #photography #socialdistancing #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Watching a dog roll around on the carpet

I rarely share video here, but after watching the dog entertain herself earlier today, I may need to throw some more moving pictures into the mix.

There's nothing profound about this moment. It's a small, happy moment in the life of a small, happy dog.

Maybe that, in itself, is profound. I'll have to mull that one over.

In the meantime, here's Calli being Calli.

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Cherries forever. Almost.

When the sweetness comes to an end
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You know times are weird when I resort to writing food-centric haikus:

No more cherry jam
I ate too much at breakfast
Now I feel sadness

Could be worse, though: This could have been a jar of gefilte fish.

Ew.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada ##cherry #jam #jelly #glass #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphotography #foodstagram #stilllife #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Electric trees in a changed neighborhood

After the storm
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The neighborhood looks, feels, and even sounds different now.

With barely any traffic on the streets, you can hear things you previously couldn't, like birds singing to each other, squirrels diving into bushes, dogs' paws scraping against the sidewalk as they tug against their leashes (wait, that last one's mine.)

But there's more to it, and I don't think I have the words to describe it. I get tingly whenever history is made - think Desert Storm, 9/11, Indian Ocean & Japanese quake/tsunami, etc. - and I often feel a sort of electricity in the air when I first realize things are about to change. When your world is rocked, you seem to sense it in ways that defy description.

The streets feel that way now. And as I walk them, I feel like I want to capture that.

I'm going to guess that silhouette-like trees captured soon after an apocalyptic rain and hail storm rolled through seem like a reasonable place to start. I keep staring at them, wondering what's changed, wondering why I never noticed them In This Way before. Maybe I need to pay more attention.

Of course, no photo or video can faithfully - or even unfaithfully - record something as ephemeral as a feeling. But maybe it'll trigger a memory, a reflection years from now when I look back at what our chaotic world looked and felt like.

And that'll have to be enough.

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Cheetos were meant to be orange

Distracted at the window
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm ashamed to admit I've been snacking more than usual of late. Tension does that to me.

I'm trying to offset the dietary pothole by walking whenever I can, but in a world where the mere act of going outside is now fraught with danger and fear, my smartwatch regrets to inform me that I've become a couch potato.

During one of my full-combat grocery runs earlier this week, I loaded up on snack foods because, let's face it, they bring us comfort. And the thought of the fam smiling at my haul when I got home weighed heavily on my mind as I carefully assembled a pile of goodies that would have made a nutritionist squirm.

There's that word again, family. If they smile, it's a good day. End of story.

Among my unhealthy haul was a bag of Cheetos. Specifically, white cheddar. I chose them over the more traditional orange ones because I hate making a mess. A few bites in, I decided this would be my first and last attempt to challenge junk food history.

Because when you're looking for comfort, new-and-improved means little if it fails to remind you of what made it comforting in the first place. Childhood Carmi ate the orange ones. He made a mess in the process, and many a white t-shirt never fully recovered because of his cheesy addiction.

This...just wasn't the same. The kids smiled when I got home, but they ate the Snickers bars instead. Smart kids.

The dog? She was too busy barking at the squirrel on the other side of the patio doors to notice. Some things never change.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #food #foodporn #stilllife #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

I keep seeing signs

Where children lead the way
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm seeing more signs pop up in our #LdnONT neighborhood, spontaneous examples of community spirit that never fail to prompt a smile.

It's hard to put into words how much I look forward to seeing them as I make my rounds with our dog. It may seem like a small gesture, or even a useless one, but I can guarantee you it is neither.

Nor will it be quickly forgotten when we eventually put all this - whatever "all this" is - behind us. Like so many facets of the current crisis, signs in sidewalk chalk, or taped to front doors and windows, and streetlamps, are fast becoming signatures of our time, indelible markers that will forever seal what it felt like to be right in the middle of it.

Like so many other aspects of our strangely turned-around day-to-day life, this is one loop that won't be closed anytime soon. The artists are largely invisible. We're all boxed into our homes. Or deftly avoiding each other when we're out. So there are no thank yous. No impromptu discussions with chalk-wielding neighbor-kids and their parents about how appreciative we are to be blessed by these small-but-not-so-small gestures.

Instead, there's a moment of warm realization of the goodness of others as we quickly do what we need to do outside before scurrying back to the safety of our homes. A reminder that kids and the rest of us alike are lucky at all to have ample supplies of chalk, great parents who show us the best way to use it, and safe homes to return to.

I'll keep looking for these signs, I'll keep sharing them, and I hope you will, as well. Because it's the small things that will help see us through. And I'd like to think some pretty powerful seeds of kindness are already being planted in the minds of children who are trying to make sense of what must seem, to them, to make no sense at all.

#london #ontario #canada #chalk #circle #signs #messages #socialdistancing #physicaldistancing #random #suburban #street #photography #coronavirus #covid19 #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The case of the missing donut

Glazed over
London, ON
April 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#3YearsOn, the mystery of who ate the sixth donut persists.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #donut #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphography #foodstagram #stilllife #throwback #blackberry #priv #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

The case of the TV-addicted puppy

What's on?
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Reason #1,822 why she's annoying: She hogs the remote.

We love her regardless, and can't imagine what this sliver of history would feel like without her.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Because somewhere, it's somebody's birthday

Always celebrate
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Yes, this is a birthday cake. No, nobody in our home was having a birthday. But we celebrated anyway.

Like so many others, we've been looking for little ways to find joy. Shared movie nights, board games at the kitchen table, puppy parkour, reading our favorite memes, counting birds out the window, whatever.

I've become our designated shopper. My wife builds comprehensive grocery lists, which I then take on full-combat missions to the store. Death stares to anyone who gets too close? Of course.

Sometimes she includes a treat or two on the list. Again, that little-ways-to-find-joy thing. Or maybe it's the counting-our-blessings thing. Or maybe it's a little bit of both.

Either way, this time the ask was for a simple white cake with white icing.

As you can imagine, the pickings were slim. So when I saw this one, I knew the smile back home would be a smidge wider than it would have been otherwise.

The cake was just okay, but the moment it came through the front door was priceless.

Whatever crosses your front door these days, keep finding those priceless moments, keep counting your blessings, and keep celebrating, even if it doesn't qualify for calendar status.

Rules, after all, were made to be broken. Some of them, that is. You'll still get the death stare if you get too close.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #cake #celebrate #food #foodie #foodporn #instafood #foodphography #foodstagram #stilllife #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The endless wait

Empty bench on an empty road
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Friday, 11:15 p.m.

Not too long ago, this bench was covered by a glassed-in bus shelter. Then one day, it wasn't.

No matter, because no one waits here anymore. The busses still run. They're empty, but they run, driven by those unsung heroes who keep society from collapsing into abject dysfunction despite it all.

I wave at them as they drive past because it feels like the only thing I can do in the moment. It's a powerless gesture, but it's something. A little something. And little somethings still matter. Indeed, they always did. Somewhere along the way we just decided to forget.

This is a lousy photo, constrained largely by the bouncy puppy at the other end of the leash, and the ridiculously low light. In another time, I'd come back dogless, armed with my DSLR and tripod. I'd wait for the moment; make it a proper shoot.

But this isn't another time. So this is what we end up with. An empty bench where no one waits because no one goes anywhere. Where we wait, elsewhere, for any sign that the trajectory of this dark nightmare is showing any signs, however small, of a shift toward the light.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #night #monochrome #photography #stilllife #coronavirus #covid19 #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Someone's got a really big mouth

Tired? Bored? Hard to tell.
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I clearly need to do a better job keeping her entertained. Suggestions welcome.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Looking for life in high places

Emerging under a bright blue sky
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It can often be hard to see the forest for the trees.

At least that's what we've been told. And I'm writing this because I no longer believe it.

We see forests when we deliberately look for them. Same goes for individual trees. Or branches. Or, as I'm trying to illustrate by this really lousy photo, tiny buds.

Which explains why I'm sharing this, now. We're surrounded by so much darkness. Yet just above our heads, the trees are still going about their business as they have since, ah, forever. And the buds are starting to appear.

That's it. Nothing more profound than that. Life has an inspiring habit of being far more defiant than we'd imagine. Amid chaos and each headline becoming more frightening than the last, life finds a way to embed, to emerge, to thrive.

Just make sure you're finding the time to deliberately look for it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #forest #trees #tree #blue #sky #random #urban #suburban #street #photography #socialdistancing #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

When chalk circles disappear

Inspired messaging
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The rains washed most of #LdnONT's sidewalk chalk signs away, but the sun is out again this morning, so perhaps they'll sprout again soon.

Until then, here's one I grabbed before the heavens opened up. Of all the ones I saw that day, it's the one I fervently hope we hold onto most tightly as we begin to eventually put this chapter in history behind us.

Wouldn't that be an amazing legacy?

#london #ontario #canada #chalk #circle #signs #messages #socialdistancing #physicaldistancing #random #suburban #street #photography #coronavirus #covid19 #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Dog of thirds

Look me straight in the eyes
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

You may have noticed something funny going on in my Instagram feed of late.

No, I'm not smuggling bootleg electronics across international borders. Nor have I suddenly taken up a bad habit, like smoking lawn clippings. Or drinking moonshine out of the back of a '74 Dodge pickup. Or registered for a competitive full-contact origami league. I'm not planning on changing my name anytime soon, either, or becoming a goth dark lord.

It has to do with our dog. You may know her: An almost-3-year-old Miniature Schnauzer named Calli. She whines constantly, barks loudly enough to wake the dead, and listens to us about as well as eight-year-old Carmi once listened to his teachers.

I got it into my head that it would be fun to give her some regular love in my feed. Because these are tough times, and we've all got to find creative ways to make them not so tough. Happiness amid darkness and all that, and what's happier than a dog?

So for the past couple of weeks or so, every third photo has been of her. Why every third one? Because Insta uses a three-photo-per-row layout, and my bizarro brain thought it would be fun to have a vertical line of dog pics running through my feed.

So I'll start with her, but for extra variety maybe I'll throw in pics of other dogs, as well. Or other animals. Because we love all living creatures.

I know, lame.

Either way, I'll use the #ActOfDog hashtag, and invite you to do the same if you know of any dog or animal whose photo or story or both would make others smile.

Aaaaaand....go!

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The signs under our feet

Keep away, please
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Is this a sign of the times or a hint at our new normal?

I stood over this sticker that had been stuck to the floor in the vegetable aisle of our nearly empty local grocery yesterday for an inordinately long time, pondering this very question.

I was musing about how quickly the visuals of our day-to-day lives had changed: Separation stickers on floors, sneeze guards on cashier checkout stands, the inevitable dance of distance as two dog-walkers approach each other at an intersection.

It seems somewhat disrespectful to even think about it - here I am, pondering the meaning of stickers while hundreds of thousands of people are fighting for their lives, and for the lives of others. But it's difficult to ignore how profoundly this event has already altered the planet and shifted how we live.

Long after the story fades from the top of the news cycle, I suspect we'll be living with the permanently altered landscape of a society that's far more aware of the dangers of invisible pathogens - and the limits of what we thought was once invulnerable medical technology.

We hear politicians speak about timelines for returning to something approaching normal, yet I wonder what "normal" even is, and whether or not that's even something we should be holding out there for ourselves, like a giant carrot at the end of a very long stick.

Normal didn't exist before reports started emerging of this mysterious new illness, and it doesn't exist now. The world has changed, there's no going back, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just the way life plays out, and change is simply how we live.

Sometimes, it looks like this, is all.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #stilllife #grocery #store #retail #farmboy #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything