Can painted rocks fix the planet?

Message from a kind stranger
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Found this beside a path through the woods, a perfect little gesture hidden away amidst an imperfectly beautiful world filled with imperfectly beautiful people.

I have no answers for the rage that now envelops the planet. Or the entrenched racism that allows law enforcement to routinely target people of color while white supremacists with automatic weapons are allowed to storm the legislature with impunity.

But having no answers doesn't mean standing by in silence. Because, as a Jew, some of my most powerful early memories revolve around being singled out by racists. As a child, xenophobia took on many forms, and I learned all too well what human darkness looked and felt like. It wasn't, and isn't, overt. And the fact that anyone is forced to live in fear of being on its receiving end should enrage us all beyond measure.

Never again must apply to anyone systematically mistreated by institutionalized, generationally encouraged, whitewashed-by-tradition racism. They don't call it the old boys' club by accident.

So, no, I won't live in a vacuum and pretend their struggle doesn't affect me. It does. In fact, it affects us all, and we ignore the root causes to our great peril.

And while I have no answers, I'm reminded that someone in our community had the wherewithal to paint a rock and leave it behind for others to find. We'll start with tiny kindnesses like this one, and we'll work our way outward from there.

Because even the mightiest revolution starts with the smallest light.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #protests2020 #walkwithus #random #urban #suburban #street #photography #sign #signs #kindness #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A dog watches space history

Remembering Laika the space dog
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Nothing to see here: Just a puppy catching the docking of the SpaceX #CrewDragon with the #ISS on #NASATV. Another happy Sunday morning in the life of a very lucky little munchkin.

She has excellent taste in programming, apparently.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #spacex #crewdragon #launchamerica #dm2 #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzer #dogsofinstagram #actofdog #instapuppy #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Park to the right

The quiet under the market
London, ON
November 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It's been a while since I've had to park in a place like this, another unexpected and admittedly trivial benefit of living through lockdown.

As much as I enjoy going months between fillups and not having to commute through traffic, I do miss the changes of scenery so central to regular urban life. You go places, you do things, you meet people, you expose yourself to varied experiences.

I miss places like this, an empty parking lot deep under the downtown core. Which, on the surface, seems like a weird thing to remember with a photo.

But the everyday is just as worthy of being remembered as the extraordinary, especially when circumstance renders even everyday places like this unattainable.

Which is another way of saying we won't know what we miss until it's firmly in our past. Even a dimly lit corner of a place few would ever stop to notice.

Is it odd to say I look forward to returning here when all of this insanity is in the rearview?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #ExploreLondon #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #street #monochrome #parking #lot #concrete #photography #throwback #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

More than just pancakes

Life's texture
London, ON
March 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We may very well be what we eat, but there's far more to this food thing than mere food.

Take these pancakes that my wife made. The kitchen buzzed as our pyjama-clad kids fetched the ingredients for her and helped set the table. The walls echoed with the sounds of a family welcoming the day. The dog wandered around our feet, hoping to catch a random treat from above. The house smelled and felt like home.

They were, of course, incredibly tasty. And the kitchen was most certainly a chaotic, delightful, non-photoworthy mess by the time we were all done.

But our kids ended up with an indelible memory that serves as another anchor to their childhood, another reminder of a world that revolves around each other, at a table where there will always be enough room, and a fresh plate of pancakes, for all of them.

And to think it all started with some batter in a glass bowl.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #pancakes #breakfast #food #foodie #texture #stilllife #photography #throwback #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Before the keys get touched

Man of letters
London, ON
February 2008
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A little more than a dozen years ago, I had a new laptop with a pristine keyboard. Knowing the kind of life it was about to lead, I took a picture before I began to systematically wear it out.

It didn't take long for me to start putting dings into it. Thankfully, it was an HP business laptop, built like a tank, with features that made it particularly invulnerable to abuse. In the four years it served as my primary machine, I lost count of how many times I dropped it or dropped other things on it. If it had a feelings, it would have hated me. But it never stopped working, never failed to deliver when I needed it most.

In the end, I simply wore it out. The keys were supposed to have had a finish on them that resisted that icky shininess that all old keyboards get. It took me 6 months to get the shine, and another 6 to start wearing the letters off, too. So much for that "feature".

I share this photo now because the machines I write with always manage to become more than mere machines to me. They have personalities. Unique quirks that make them absolutely mine. It's a level of familiarity that's especially welcome when it's 4 a.m. and I'm trying to kick some prose out the door before sunrise.

I don't play a musical instrument. My only form of artistry revolves around words and pixels, and I'd hardly call any of what I do art. Yet somewhere along the way, the devices I use as a writer have grown on me. To the point that I take pictures of them.

Because I never want to forget what it feels like during that first moment in the silence of the pre-dawn, when I lay my fingers quietly on the keys and think about what I'm about to write.

It's a pretty resonant way to start the day, and I highly recommend it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #laptop #computer #hp #keyboard #geometry #linear #stilllife #photography #throwback #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Doggie needs a haircut

Do the wave
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Little one's fur is getting a little unkempt. I think it's rather endearing.

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

Butter before the knife

All natural
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Never miss an opportunity to find the wonder in the everyday.

Like the butter container just after you open it, a perfect little piece of randomness just waiting quietly to be discovered.

Where else will you go looking? What other surprises await the curious few who seek inspiration where others might simply brush past?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #butter #dairy #stilllife #food #foodie #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Viper trio

Togetherness
St. Thomas, ON
July 2009
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Some days are more challenging than others, and I'm not afraid to admit that very simple fact.

One of my coping mechanisms is creativity. I'll either immerse myself in creating something new - by writing a piece, taking out the camera, etc. - or I'll dig into something I wrote or shot weeks, months, or even years ago and allow my eyes and brain to linger over it for a bit.

I went back to 2009 for this one, a day in the sun at an air show with friends and our combined brood of kids who were a lot smaller then. When F-16s turned the sky above us into an overwhelmingly noisy, heat-slashed playground.

I share this today because this was the kind of day where I thought it would be lovely to strap in, shove the throttles forward and put it all behind me for a bit. Yes, I have a pink bicycle, but it can't come close to 29,500 pounds of thrust in full afterburner. Come to think of it, my bike doesn't even have an afterburner, and my top speed under pedal power is decidedly slower than Mach 2.

Sometimes, a little bit of controlled violence is called for, even if it's only in the imagination.

In the hazy skies over a nearby airport 11 years ago, I got to drink in the reality, if only for a short while. Thankfully the memories endure. Thankfully we can always draw comfort from them.

#stthomas #municipal #airport #ontario #canada #usaf #throwback #lockheedmartin #f16 #viper #fighting #falcon #jet #aviation #flight #aircraft #airplanes #avgeek #planespotting #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Watching rockets fly from afar

Building for future wonder
Cocoa Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Tomorrow, just under 9 years since the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on her final flight, @SpaceX is scheduled to launch a Crew Dragon capsule atop a #Falcon9 rocket.

It's always a big deal when humans leave the planet, of course. But it's an especially big deal when it's on a brand new spaceship, when it marks the return of American rockets launching American astronauts from American soil - instead of buying seats on Soyuz capsules.

We visited Cocoa Beach in December - when the world seemed so different than it does now - and I spent some quiet alone time in the sand, looking north, to the place way across the water where rockets fly.

I know I'm not the only one who makes wishes these days. My wish now is the same as it was on the last morning of 2019, as the rising sun slowly warmed the sand on my bare feet: That we always remain capable of feeling wonder, that we always strive for more, that we never lose hope.

The DM-2 mission will be flown by Doug Hurley (spacecraft commander) and Bob Behnken (joint operations commander). Both were shuttle astronauts, and Hurley piloted Atlantis's penultimate STS-135 mission. When they come back is anybody's guess: They'll remain docked to the ISS for between 1 and 4 months, depending on how Crew Dragon's solar cell array performs on orbit.

I could probably ramble about this all day, so thank you for your indulgence. If the weather cooperates, tomorrow promises to be another day that imprints itself on our souls. We'll remember where we were, what we were doing, how we felt.

Historically significant days tend to play out like that. We're lucky to be around to witness them.

#cocoa #beach #cocoabeach #cape #canaveral #florida #atlantic #ocean #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #photography #rocket #science #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

• The Shuttle Era ends, July 2011
• Dragon, meet ISS, May 2012
• Fallen Dragon, June 2015
• Watching Falcon Heavy...from the anchor desk, February 2018
• Face-to-face with Space Shuttle Atlantis, January 2020
• Rocket science, up close, January 2020
• Not every day merits a postcard, April 2020

Kindness carved in stone

Truth in granite
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The signs are everywhere. We just need to look for them.

Thankfully a kindly neighbor named Grant decided to install this particular one in an especially convenient spot alongside our dog-walking route.

Calli the Wonderschnauzer couldn't understand the words, but she happily sniffed it out all the same.

All thanks to a good-hearted stranger. Further proof that the positive always manages to outweigh the negative.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #urban #suburban #street #photography #sign #signs #grant #kindness #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#ShopLocal or don't shop at all

Big message on a small paper bag
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I worry for the future of local businesses, especially the ones owned and operated by people we know, families and friends trying to make life in this community better.

Their business model was tenuous enough before the pandemic, and now it's almost impossible to imagine the uncertainty that has enveloped them.

So we shop local wherever we can, and consciously focus our regular spending toward those closest or most integral to our community.

But we're just one family in one corner of a mid-sized city, and there aren't enough dollars in the world to guarantee everyone makes it out of this intact. But I've got to think it might lead to something fundamentally good if we all do what we can. Yes, shop there, but also be there. Reach out. Let them know they're not alone.

So when our favorite breakfast place, @TheSingingChefLondon, reopened its doors under radically different circumstances, we knew there wasn't anyone else we wanted to make Sunday breakfast for us and our kids.

We know they meant every word on every bag. Which is why we'll keep going back. The food was, of course, lovely. But it was the quick chat as I picked it up that made my day. And the message on the bag that stopped me in my tracks. These folks matter.

I know it's a tiny drop in a very large bucket, but it's got to start somewhere. Because life on Planet Earth, pandemic or not, has always been about making the most out of the microconnections that define the communities we call home.

And I can't imagine a community like ours without good folks like them.

So let's all connect, shall we?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #restaurant #shopping #retail #shop #shoplocal #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Meet my wingman

Wherever you lead, I will follow
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We should all be so lucky to have a wingman, someone we trust implicitly, who we know will always be there for us.

It works both ways, of course, and anyone who has managed to connect with someone in this manner knows how truly blessed they are.

Perhaps luck isn't the right word to use, however. Relationships take work, awareness, empathy. And when they work, they're a thing of beauty.

Like this pair, working together in the cloudy skies over a not-so-crowded beach, setting a subtle example to anyone below with the wherewithal to look up.

So, this week, let's look up. Maybe we'll learn something.

#delray #beach #florida #beach #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #bird #birds #flight #wingman #bokeh #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Rainbow on the ocean's horizon

Stormy light show
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Stand on the edge of the planet long enough and it'll only be a matter of time before magic happens.

Maybe it'll happen in the sky. Or on the water. Or both.

But it'll probably take your breath away. And make you feel humbled. Or both.

And you'll probably think about the forces and laws that make stuff like this happen. And the fact that even though they can all be explained by science, they remain wondrous.

Or at least they should.

Because we all deserve to feel chills down our spine. Or that feeling we get in our face when a smile begins to spread from deep inside. Or both.

It just so happens that this moment, where countless atmospheric factors aligned to paint a perfectly angled rainbow on a cloud-spattered horizon, played out in full view of the beach we coincidentally were on.

But it can play out anywhere we might be. Because wonder happens anywhere.

Even when we can't be there. Because wonder happens anytime.

Even when we're stuck inside.

Stand there, wherever "there" is, long enough. It'll happen. All you have to do is believe.

#delray #beach #florida #atlantic #ocean #throwback #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #rainbow #water #weather #wx #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Loblaws from above

Pick a direction
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I often forget how long it takes to shop for groceries now.

From waiting for the oblivious to extricate themselves from inside the egg fridge to waiting for the inconsiderate to listen to the staff member imploring them to get off their phone and proceed to checkout aisle #4, there's no such thing anymore as a fast trip.

Which explains why I found myself standing on the 2nd floor landing at 7:59? Because I had scheduled an 8 p.m. live radio interview. To talk about grocery shopping technology. No, really.

And while I waited for the phone to ring, I took in the scene of a store that's become, at least temporarily, a place I'd rather avoid.

It isn't the store's fault, of course. The employees are nothing short of inspirational, and I'm thankful they're still willing to put themselves at risk so dumbasses like the guy who full-contact-sniffed every cantaloupe in the pile could find The Perfect One.

For what it's worth, he wasn't wearing a mask. And he was a close-walker. I'm judgy like that.

Eventually we'll figure out a way to feed ourselves without having to hold back from keying the cars of shoppers who refuse to get with the program. Eventually, we'll be able to stop worrying about the folks who keep us fed. Who just want to keep their jobs. And not get sick from others in the process

On this night, as I waited for the phone to ring, it felt right to take in the scene and wish for better days ahead.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #loblaws #orange #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Old tree by the water

Bark!
Stratford, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Note to self: Stare at craggy old tree trunks more often.

I found this one in Stratford, but it could be any tree, anywhere, anytime.

Find the wonder. Take the time.

#stratford #ontario #canada #landscape #travel #lake #victoria #avon #river #tree #trees #nature #texture #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

#ScenesFromAPandemic begins

Cleanup in aisle 3
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm thinking of starting a new thing, and I'd like to call it #ScenesFromAPandemic.

Today's entry: The fast-changing grocery store. And on this late-Saturday afternoon when most everyone was either ignoring the arrows on the floor or blithely having extended conversations with friends smack in the middle of the dairy section, it was the empty flour section that got my attention.

Mega-shortages of common grocery items seem to have become one of the key signatures of this global event, and they started with toilet paper. Before long, the mindless hordes were descending on disinfectant wipes. Then hand sanitizer. And finally they came for the flour.

I get it. After stacking a mountain of TP and wiping the kitchen counter to a shade three orders of magnitude brighter than the original, the quaranteenies (yes, I invent words) decided they were hungry, and homemade bread seemed like the new thing.

I've never seen a flour-strewn shelf at the Loblaws before, and I'll admit the scene intrigues me - as do all the physical hallmarks of this extraordinary time. Then again, I bought a 20-pounder of the refined white stuff a few weeks ago, so I wonder if I'd be a little less lackadaisical if I was about to lose the ability to make pumpernickel after midnight.

I'm almost looking forward to what the next big category will be. Perhaps we should start a pool.

Whatever it is, I'll have my camera ready. And a few slices of fresh homemade bread in my backpack. There's a pandemic on, after all, and stress makes me hungry.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #loblaws #orange #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Abandoned coffee shop

Blight on the landscape
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Nothing lasts forever.

Maybe this is as it should be.

Perhaps we're long overdue for a fundamental rethink of the value places like this do or do not return to the community when they're built on virtually every available lot.

Perhaps two-plus months away from the ubiquitous pull of Timmies and Starbucks has taught us that life can indeed go on without spending time in the drive-thru line.

Perhaps there's more to life than this. Perhaps Canada needs to move on from assuming this brand was ever a national icon.

Because we can do so much better.

#london #ontario #canada #ExploreLondon #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #street #monochrome #photography #restaurant #building #architecture #ruinporn #retail #apocalypse #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The nose always knows

Sniffer at rest
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Most days, I just want to curl up beside this little psycho and listen to her snore through that perfect Hershey's Kiss(tm) nose of hers.

These days, I find that want burning especially brightly in my soul.

Find happiness wherever you can, folks. Even if it looks a little funny to others.

Because how anything looks, as long as it isn't cruel, harmful, or criminal, hardly matters to anyone who isn't you.

And time with dogs is always time well spent. Whatever their noses may look like. And whether or not they snore.

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

Reflecting on life by the still water

Elemental
Stratford, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When the planet spins fast enough to make us a little queasy, I escape by either rooting through my photo archives or grabbing the camera and making some new scenes.

I snagged this last month on a walk on a bridge over perfectly still waters on an otherwise quiet Saturday morning. This tiny snippet of shoreline has been ebbing and flowing, growing, dying, and regrowing for longer than we've been around.

Nature scenes have a way of reminding us that the universe operates on its own timeline, and we're not necessarily as adept as we should be at appreciating that simple fact.

They also remind us that this, too, shall pass. And standing on a bridge over quiet waters is a pretty good way to slow the spinning down and ease the queasiness.

Or so I'd like to believe.

#stratford #ontario #canada #landscape #travel #lake #victoria #avon #river #reflective #reflection #mirror #water #nature #monochrome #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Crashed dreams

Perfectly in line
St, Thomas, ON
June 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a breezy evening almost two years ago, I walked along the deserted flight line at St. Thomas Municipal Airport and sized up a perfectly aligned row of CT-114 Tutors - the planes flown by the Snowbirds.

They had just arrived in support of a scheduled airshow, and the team was busy back in the main hangar chatting with dignitaries. I wandered away to take in the hardware, alone.

Just last week, I stood in a parking lot with our daughter as we watched those same planes fly over London as part of #OpInspiration, a cross-country tour designed to support front-line workers and raise the spirit of the nation.

Today, one of the jets crashed just after takeoff in Kamloops, BC. Video evidence shows a pair of jets taking off before one of them pitched up and rolled over. One crew member ejected just before the plane slammed into a house just east of the airport. The second crew member remained in the stricken jet.

The team has just confirmed what we had all feared: One member died, while the other sustained serious injuries. Capt. Jenn Casey was the team's Public Affairs Officer.

We're reminded that there are no guarantees, and that we can lose it all in an instant. One moment you're celebrating - and being celebrated by - a grateful nation. The next, you're staring tragedy in the face.

As ever, I have no answers; only words. But an incredibly gifted and devoted group of Canadians who were just trying to be kind ended up suffering an immeasurable loss.

Gratitude is but a fraction of what we owe them, today and every day.

#ldnont #stthomas #municipal #airport #ontario #canada #rcaf #snowbirds #throwback #jet #aviation #flight #aircraft #airplanes #avgeek #aviationphotography #planespotting #instaplane #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

• Snowbird down (Dec 2004)
• Snowbirds return to the skies (June 2007)
• Airshow! (Sep 2017)
• In perfect diamond formation (Sep 2017)
• Canadian pride in flight (Dec 2017)
• When Snowbirds fly (Sep 2019)

The view from the top of the stairs

Geometry is everywhere
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Grab on. It's going to be a wild ride down.

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

Playing with light, water, and time

In the abstract
Deerfield Beach, FL
December 31, 2011
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Forrest Gump was right when he spoke about life being like a box of chocolates: We certainly never know what we're going to get.

Chocolates and photography may be more closely related than we'd like to think, then, because every time we wrap our hands around our cameras and head out on a shoot, we never really know what we'll end up with.

Perhaps this is as it should be. Preordained end results take all the fun out of the journey. It's the promise of the unknown that fuels that childlike sense of anticipation we wish we hadn't lost in adulthood.

Which brings me to this throwback image, which resulted from a spontaneous decision to play with long exposures beside a quiet swimming pool long after the sun had set.

A simple moment, really, but one that reminds me I need to wrap my fingers around the camera more often and seek out the unknown and the unexpected. Who knows, maybe I'll bring home another moment of abstraction like you see here. Or more likely something completely different.

In other words, precisely as it should be. And exactly the right thing to ensure I never lose that childlike sense of anticipation.

#deerfield #deerfieldbeach #beach #florida #fl #fla #vacation #travel #throwback #abstract #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #long #exposure #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Try a little kindness

One word is all we need
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The box says, "Kind".

Please be this.

Any maybe pass it on.

That's all I ask.

That's all anyone can ask.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada @kindsnacks #best #branding #ever #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Empty police car on a darkened street

Serving and protecting
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: Thursday, 10:43p.m., two London Police Service cruisers turn the corner into the subdivision and park in the bus stop cutout.

An officer hops out of the cruiser in back, then runs to other cruiser and jumps in on the passenger side. That vehicle then just as quickly pulls a u-turn, and squeals rubber as the lights go on and it disappears in the direction from which it came.

I'm walking the dog, and would normally go the opposite way, but curiosity draws me the toward the now-empty cruiser parked in a really unusual spot.

We'll probably never know the story why, and perhaps that's the way it should be. I share this picture as a reminder that they're out there 24/7/365 making sure folks like me can walk the dog in peace.

It's a persistent sacrifice that rarely gets acknowledged by everyday folks - and that's a shame. Because our first responders deserve more than pandemic-era cheerleading.

They deserve ongoing respect for heading toward trouble when the rest of us are heading away.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #police #emergency #random #urban #suburban #street #night #monochrome #photography #car #carporn #dodge #charger #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Ungroomed

We may need to loosen her collar soon
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Her fur is getting a bit long and, to be gentle, more than a little out-of-control. So her chances at the next Westminster Dog Show have been dashed.

Then again, it's not as if she'll ever make it to this, or any, dog show. She'll forever be our beautifully imperfect bundle of schnu-insanity. Not that we're complaining. We wouldn't change a thing, as she's perfect for us.

Other dog owners seem to view pandemic-era grooming in a slightly different light. They've taken to social media, frequently, to complain bitterly about the unfairness of lockdown orders, the tragedy of unkempt doggie fur.

I'm sorry if I fail to see this as a problem when real tragedies are playing out all around us.

I'd like to consider the long-ish, crazy fur another visual signature of an extraordinary time. I don't think Calli seems to mind, and our time is best spent focusing on the things that really matter.

Soon enough we'll be able to bring this bouncy ball of fur back to her beloved groomer for a much needed trim. Local businesses like hers are part of the glue of our community, and we need them to continue to be successful.

But for now, we all have more important roles to play, bigger fish to fry. We can leave the fur alone for a bit. The dog show can wait while we deal with actual problems, not imagined ones.

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

Will line up for food

Waiting (not a) game
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Surreal scene from a parking lot, another visceral example of how profound the change around us has become.

Every time I step outside the door, I pause and take the the scene in. Everything sounds different - not just lower-volume, but silenced to the point I can feel it inside my head. Everything looks different, too, as if the air has a different tone or color.

Even watching people walk outside is an exercise in wonder, with strangers ducking into the middle of the street to maintain distance, and others waiting patiently to avoid approaching others too closely.

Then there's the grocery store, where 45-minute lineups outside, carefully managed by mask-wearing security guards, aren't unusual. You need to run gauntlets just to keep your life on track. Nothing is simple now.

One word keeps invading my mind: Surreal. Just when I think I've seen everything "off" that there is to see, something else comes along. And I've got some bizarre new thing to ponder.

So I took my DSLR on a shopping trip, because I felt the need to record it in some way, to remind future-me what it felt like to stand in a middle of a parking lot as the world re-arranged itself around me.

This isn't a complaint, because there's more than enough whining going on on Planet Earth, and I've yet to see any data that proves it's even remotely effective. My only goal, then, is a simple one: Tell the story.

Because this IS a story, for some of us the story of our lives. To have no record of it after it is over would only add to the tragedy we're already witnessing.

So if you're inclined, I hope you'll tell your own story, too. Sometimes it's the only thing we can do. Sometimes, it's just a really effective way to find the good in a situation that so many seem content to view through a consistently dark lens.

And in the end, it's up to us to choose the right lens before we step out the door and face the world.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #retail #grocery #shopping #walmart #hydepark #lineups #parking #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #zoom #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Eggs in overabundance

Always support local
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

So I bought way too many eggs yesterday.

In a world where retail shopping habits have been turned upside down, we no longer have the luxury of lingering by the display case doing complex unit-cost math in our heads.

Well, MOST of us don't. Others haven't gotten the message as they take their sweet time, delightfully ignorant of the fact that we're in the middle of a pandemic. But they're not buying 30 eggs at a time.

I was. And while they indeed were way more cost effective than the standard dozen, I bought them because they came from a local provider.

It's a small thing, but given how little control we seem to have these days over pretty much anything, supporting local businesses seems like an easy - and important - thing to do.

I guess I'll be bringing home more weird items in my grocery orders for a while. Who wants an omelette?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #egg #eggs #stilllife #monochrome #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Posing like a sphinx

No, you may not have this pillow
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dogs make every day better.

That is all.

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

Taking in the head-on pass

Turning in, together
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm a sucker for that moment when the @CFSnowbirds formation turns toward the crowd as it sets up for a pass. Those twinkling nose gear lights make my spine tingle.

There are so many icons of being Canadian, and this is absolutely one of them.

Thanks again, team. Safe flight as you continue #OpInspiration across the country. Always know every Canadian is behind you.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #aircraft #airplanes #aviation #avgeek #sky #weather #wx #snowbirds #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #high #speed #zoom #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Green onions: A different perspective

Edge-on
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I found this in the veggie section at the Loblaws supermarket. I was busy trying to stay away from others who don't seem to have heard that a pandemic is on, but the lovely scene you see here kept calling to me.

I used to do the spontaneous-in-store-photography thing far more often. Not so long ago, grocery shopping was, to me, a form of entertainment. My wife and I even went on food shopping dates. Because moments don't just happen on their own: You have to make them happen.
There's less time for that now. For the next while, I shop alone. I move quickly through the list, then move just as quickly through the checkout, then out. The faster the better. This isn't remotely entertaining.

Still, tiny opportunities continue to present themselves, like flecks of light in a dark night sky.

We do ourselves favors by seeking those lights, and taking slivers of time to appreciate them before we continue our fraught, tense journey.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #vegetables #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The meaning of late-season snow

Whatever the day may bring
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

While we all slept last night, it snowed. Which explains how we woke up today to white-covered lawns.

Social media, as you can imagine, was apoplectic. The humanity. The unfairness. The sheer horror.

Of snow. On grass. In almost-mid-May.

As this picture rather simply proves, Calli doesn't much care what everyone else thinks. She was just as happy to explore the 'hood this morning as she's always been. The little sniffer at the business end of her snout was typically active as she dug it into the white stuff, looking for whatever it is that Schnauzers look for.

Life for her is simple. She doesn't get riled up over things she can't control. Sure, she whimpers when I tell her we can't play with the other puppies in the neighborhood just yet. And she'll still dance on her hind legs when she gets really wound up (for the record, her top 3 triggers are squirrels, bunnies, and robins) but she seems to have figured the wonky-weather thing out with typical puppy grace.

In practical terms, she'll bounce off the front step like it's her favorite thing to do. She won't whine about how cold it is (or warm, or rainy, or whatever other condition Mother Nature has decided to share with us.) She doesn't ever forget that a snowy day doesn't mean we can't play a little. Or a lot.

For a 15-pound ball of wiggling fur, who already gets fewer days than most of us, yet doesn't seem to be bothered by that stark fact, this seems like a pretty reasonable way to live. I think I'll follow her lead.

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

The day the Snowbirds came to town

Formation flying
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've watched the @CFSnowbirds, the Royal Canadian Air Force flight demonstration squadron, perform countless times over the years. This one was different. And special.

They flew over #LdnONT yesterday as part of #OpInspiration, a cross-country tour to raise Canadians' spirits and honour our frontline workers. Along the way, they've been specifically overflying hospitals to show support for the medical professionals risking their lives to save others.

Which explains how our daughter and I found ourselves in a nearby parking lot waiting for the 9 jets to fly overhead in formation.

I always get chills when I see them fly. They do, after all, represent the best of Canada, and serve as icons for what makes this country so unique relative all others.

Yet this time the chills were more profound. Because this wasn't simply about wowing a crowd at an airport. It was about leveraging a precious national asset at a time when the nation really needed it.

Everything just seems to mean more when you know some of the people who don PPE and head into the jaws of the pandemic. So it feels like quite the privilege to live in a nation that understands and appreciates the sacrifice they now make.

Fly safe, Snowbirds as you continue your journey over other communities. And thank you for a moment we all needed.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #aircraft #airplanes #aviation #avgeek #sky #weather #wx #snowbirds #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #high #speed #zoom #photography #dslr #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Mom: A Definition

Her growing brood
Laval, QC
June 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've had many privileges in my life, none richer than watching my wife be a mom.

From the moment we knew we were expecting our first, her life has been focused on being the kind of parent any child would wish for.

I'll run out of online storage before I run out of ways to describe the kind of mother she is. For each of our kids - Zach, Dahlia, Noah - she is the epicentre of their world, an always-there force no matter where they are, what they're up to, and what challenges they may be facing.

And it doesn't end when they grow up and start laying down their own roots, as Michaela discovered when she married Zach last year. Mother isn't a mere title for her: It's who she is, and it makes her kids, and everyone who knows her, better people.

Hallmark says today is Mother's Day, but she deserves to be celebrated every other day, too. It's the least we can do for all she does for us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #live #laugh #love #levy #mothersday #parenthood #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Calli at 3

As long as I get treats, I'll sit still with this silly hat on my head
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Birthdays are a little different when you're a dog.

First, canines probably don't even know that it IS their birthday, because most dogs don't tend to follow their calendars too closely. Assuming they have one in the first place.

Then there's the sticky matter of economics and biology: They lack the direct buying power to procure gifts, never mind the opposable thumbs necessary to complete the transaction.

These shortcomings don't seem to have compromised this particular birthday girl's life, however, and she spent her third birthday much as she did the previous two: Being showered with more love than she could handle.

Come to think of it, that pretty much describes every day in her charmed life.

It's a lovely way to live, and a lovely reminder for the rest of us that the stuff that really matters is usually a lot simpler than we might have thought.

We hope we made today as memorable for her as she makes all of our days for us. We wish the universe would gift us countless more days just like this one.

Because in a dog's life, every day is a reason to celebrate.

The rest of us would do well to follow their lead.

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

The best party (hat) ever

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

I'm overwhelmed, humbled, and touched by yesterday's torrent of birthday wishes.

"Thank you" seems so inadequate, but it's all I've got as I absorb the gauzy reality that I'm part of a pretty remarkable network of pretty remarkable people.

I didn't grow up with this. I come from a family that didn't talk, didn't make a big deal around birthdays, didn't revel in the little things, never learned to appreciate that little things matter far more than their relative size might suggest.

I'm thankful for the family I've been able to help build in adulthood: For the phenomenal woman who happens to be my wife, for our kids who make us endlessly proud, for our friends and colleagues who have become family by welcoming us into their lives as they've simultaneously enriched ours.

I often muse that I don't deserve this, and my wife is just as quick to muse back that I do. I'll try harder to listen to her more often, and to doubt myself less.

In the meantime, today's another day, with even more to celebrate. It's Calli's birthday (she's 3!) and we've got dog-walks to walk, games to play, pictures to take, and stories to share. In other words, just another day in the Levy home.

Thank you for being a part of who we are, and for making every day on the calendar worthy of celebration.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A snowy birthday message from the driveway

I completed another orbit around the sun today, and Mother Nature decided a bit of snow was called for. With light flakes flying as we ate breakfast, I popped outside to feel the unseasonal, yet very special, moment. I posted the video to Instagram, here.

Interestingly, it also snowed the day I came into the world, and every May 8th since has been snow-free. Yet today, morning brought flurries to both the city where I was born, Montreal, and the city we now call home, London.

Coincidence? Some kind of meteorological message from a deity? I have no clue, and anyone who claims to know why is, politely, quite wrong.

It was a thing of wonder that just so happened to play out on some quirkily connected points on a bunch of calendars.

It could just have easily happened on any other day, in any other place, for any other birthday boy or girl. Or maybe not on anyone's birthday, but on an ordinary day that needed an injection of the extraordinary.

Because wonder happens all the time. On every day. In any city or place. We just have to be willing to head outside into the cold in our sock-covered feet to experience it.

Today was an extraordinarily special day, then, for many reasons. Yes, the snow. And yes, the birthday thing. But more importantly, yes, the people I've connected with between the two snowy days who have made the life I've built in between them a journey I couldn't have wished for in a dream. I wish everyone could feel as loved as I do right now.

Life's funny that way. Which is why it's as precious as it is.

Thank you all for being part of this journey. Let's get started on that next orbit, shall we?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #birthday #weather #wx #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

The schnu nose knows

But first, we nap.
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

She has quite the nose.

Finnegan the sock puppet dog had a lovely nose, as well.

Fans of the old Mr. Dressup show for kids get that.

Everyone else just thinks I'm weird.

Calli's middle name is Finnegan.

We give our dogs middle names.

Another reason to make us - and hopefully you - smile.

#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

Where Andy Warhol comes grocery shopping with me

Yes, soup for you
London, ON
May 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Let's be clear: Grocery shopping has become a stressful, frightening experience.

Some folks get the whole physical distancing thing, while others think nothing of walking right up to you so they can grab the last jar of Nutella off the shelf.

Store employees, bless them, have moved heaven and earth to reshape the in-store environment: Lineups outside to limit the number of shoppers at any one time. Taped lines on the floor to help keep folks sufficiently far apart. Guidance gates that lead you to the cash. One wonders if it'll ever look like it once did.

Probably not.

And I'm only in there for an hour or two. Employees work entire shifts, day after day. All for minimum wage and the added perk of maybe catching a scary disease from a stupid shopper. When you're looking for heroes, include these workers on the list, and be especially kind when you see them.

Which brings me to this, a random picture of a random skid of soup cans in the middle of the store.

The intensity of pandemic-era shopping means my fun-with-photography habit has been put on hold. The job is to get in, get my stuff, and get out - shooting pics of the inventory just isn't a priority.

And yet, the soup cans screamed Andy Warhol to me, and there was enough open floor around me that I wouldn't be inconveniencing anyone else in the process. I shot fast and smiled all the while.

Sometimes, you just have to let your inner creative out for a bit. Because photographic light always banishes the darkness.

And making store employees smile for a fleeting second is an added bonus. A small thank you for all they do to keep us fed.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #grocery #store #shopping #retail #soup #foryou #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Staring across the still water

Subtly quiet
Stratford, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I don't do this enough.

Don't stand by the water and just stare out.

Don't allow the subtle colors of a scene to gently speak to me.

Don't hang around and watch a single bird paddle through the stillness.

Don't wonder if that bird knows how lucky she is.

Don't carefully listen for the tiny sounds that usually get buried by the rush of life.

Don't smell the coming of spring.

Don't appreciate the simplicity of a wooden trestle over a pristine river.

Don't turn everything else off so I can have more moments like this.

I think I need to start turning some of those don'ts around.

#stratford #ontario #canada #landscape #travel #lake #victoria #avon #river #bird #birds #reflective #reflection #water #duck #nature #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where she makes nice

Yes, I love you
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Calli the Wonderschnauzer is not an easy dog to own. She's incredibly loud, doesn't listen particularly well, and when she isn't nipping at our elbows and toes, can often be found barfing on the living room rug. She could just as easily aim for the open floor, but she prefers the rug.

And yet...

We use those two words often around here. Because for all her nuttiness, she's quite the little lovebug. When she wants to, she'll follow you around the house, almost tripping underfoot lest she miss even a second of together-time. She'll roll up into a ball and tuck herself into you wherever you happen to be sitting, even if you're in the middle of a Microsoft Teams meeting. Or, as she's doing here with Dahlia, she'll jump into bed for a cuddle and a kiss.

She's a big suck, then. A brassy, misbehaving suck, but also one who, when she decides it's the right time, will stop at nothing to connect with her people.

I still have to watch my face lest she take a chunk out of my nose. And I don't think I'll ever trust her alone in the living room, because, you know, Schnauzer.

But this one's got heart to spare. And even if that heart comes in a decidedly imperfect, always-unpredictable package, I don't know what our life would look like without her. Nor do I want to know.

#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

When life returns

A small act of natural defiance
London, ON
April 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I found this little scene unfolding beside my house, a minor sliver of planetary dynamics playing out quite literally in front of my nose.

It's just a bud on the tip of an otherwise bare branch, the first sign that our unruly lilac bush is ready to paint the landscape purple for another too-brief arc of time.

Look around - this neighborhood, other neighborhoods, everywhere - and there are lots of branches, bushes, and trees waking up in similar fashion. Buds appear, seemingly out of nowhere, in no time at all.

This single bud is hardly unique, yet here I stand under a cold, grey, windy sky, thinking of ways to freeze the moment. Why?

I don't have a pat answer, for this photo or for any other subject that pops into my head as I go through the day-to-day paces of life.

Not every question even needs an answer, anyway. Maybe I just wanted this scene, on this day, in this place so close to home, to matter. To not slip into the past unnoticed.

Maybe we aren't doing enough remembering to begin with. Maybe pandemic life is trying to teach us to slow ourselves down and drink in what would otherwise be forgotten.

Maybe it's a journey that starts with a single, ordinary bud. Where it ends up - where WE end up - is anybody's guess, but I'm certain it will be anything but ordinary.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #random #nature #purple #lilac #branch #leaf #suburban #landscape #stilllife #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything