Perfect Boston trees

Natural and artificial lines
Boston, MA
April 2006
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#CovidDiary, Day 5

Since our family’s viral adventure began, one thing has become abundantly clear: we’re not alone.

We’ve been inundated with offers from kind friends near and far. Whatever we need, they’re willing to pick it up, drop it off, or otherwise do whatever it is that needs doing.

With delivery services and apps galore, we’ve been pretty well covered on the logistics front, but just knowing so many folks have our back is one of those surprising blessings of the pandemic. People truly are good.

I’m slowly getting out ahead of this. While I no longer feel like I’m about to hack up part of a lung, the headaches, body aches, fatigue, and dizziness are insane. I wish I could wave a wand and fling my wife and kids further along the recovery path, because we’ll all feel better when this is behind us.

However long it takes, we’re comforted by the community of friends that stands behind us. And we’re immensely grateful.

About this pic: Boston, almost 16 years ago to the day. When naysayers complain about spending on urban design, show them this. It matters.

#ldnont #CarmisCovidChronicles #covid19 #pandemic #dayfive #throwback #monochrome

Related:

COVID comes for me, April 2022

My first day on the inside, April 2022

Making lemonade from lemons, April 2022

Breathe in the forest, April 2022

Comfort dogs for the win, April 2022

Comfort dogs for the win

Always there for her humans
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#CovidDiary, Day 4

I learned as a kid that when you get sick, your family comes along for the ride, too.

This stark truth is even more applicable during a pandemic, and my mind can barely absorb how profoundly our family dynamic has been changed by the arrival of an unseen virus.

First our daughter got sick. Then it was my turn. Now my wife and youngest son have tested positive. And because our family does nothing halfway, our eldest and his wife also have it and are isolating in their own home.

Each diagnosis kicked off a flurry of shifts - who would isolate where, which sections of the house were considered COVID-free, who took on the weight of care. But all that’s kind of up in the air now that we’ve all got it. Free-for-all, anyone?

It’s insane, easily the sickest I’ve been in years. And now we (figuratively) hold our breath and hope their cases are milder than mine.

As crazy as all this is, I’m once again reminded how lucky we are. We still have the means to keep the lights on and the pantry filled, We aren’t (yet) battling it out in hospital. And to the best of our knowledge, this thing has a finish line, even if it still feels somewhat arbitrary.

I think back to my last time in hospital - as brilliant doctors probed my brain and tried to figure out how to give me back the ability to speak and walk - and realize this isn’t in the same league. So many others have diagnoses that are infinitely more serious and permanent, and their challenges cannot be forgotten amid the blanket coverage being given to the pandemic.

We’re still frightened, and the days and nights are still hard to navigate. Some days, you wish you could just wave a wand. But I’m finding perspective helpful as we try to get through this admittedly messy chapter.

What blessing are YOU thankful for today?

About this pic: I thought we could all use a dog photo. Life always seems better with a dog photo, doesn’t it?

#ldnont #CarmisCovidChronicles #covid19 #pandemic #dayfour #actofdog #callithewonderschnauzer

Related:

COVID comes for me, April 2022

My first day on the inside, April 2022

Making lemonade from lemons, April 2022

Breathe in the forest, April 2022

Breathe in the forest

Reflecting in the woods
London, ON
December 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#CovidDiary, Day 3

Last night was a challenging one, the first time I was conscious of just how tenuous this whole breathing thing can be.

It’s frightening to cough so much that you feel you can’t stop, to feel like you can’t keep up with your next breath.

It’s even more sobering when you wake up later feeling like you’ve gone 10 rounds with Muhammad Ali (or maybe Will Smith).

Bottom line, this is no joke. And as much as the vaccines we’ve been blessed with are able to minimize the impact for most of us, this is still way more than a bad cold or flu equivalent.

Which is why I’m heeding calls to rest. It’s never been my nature to disconnect, but this isn’t just some average bug to be ignored, and I’ve got to give my body every possible chance to recover.

Not spreading this to my family, or ending up in hospital will be a nice bonus, too. So that will be my focus going forward.

And when they say nothing matters more than health, believe them. And govern yourself accordingly.

About this pic: A watery scene taken last December not far from the Thames. I’ll get back there soon enough. Until then, I’ve got tons of archived photos to work through. Hope you enjoy ‘em.

#ldnont #CarmisCovidChronicles #covid19 #pandemic #daythree #throwback

Related:

COVID comes for me, April 2022

My first day on the inside, April 2022

Making lemonade from lemons, April 2022

Making lemonade from lemons

There's always a good side
London, ON
October 2013
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#CovidDiary, Day 2

We tend not to value things until we no longer have access to them. Around dinnertime Monday, I was walking the dog through the woods near our house. She chased squirrels while I listened to the birds and tried to keep her from eating things she had no business eating.

Less than an hour later, I tested positive, and almost immediately I headed into isolation. It’ll be a while before I’m again out with the dog.

I share this not to lament the temporary loss of a trivial activity. But to remind myself that we don’t do enough to appreciate those trivial activities while we’re right in the middle of them.

Years ago when my brain was clotted up and I couldn’t speak or move, I thought of what it was like to be in the moment.

I made a deal with myself that if I somehow got my mobility and speech back, I’d never again ignore just how cool those capabilities are. This may sound strange, but I vowed to appreciate the simple joy of sounding out words, or even feeling a hug.

So for now I stare at walls and through windows while I wait for COVID to run its course. But unlike my brain fart experience, this time I know what waits on the other side. I’ll have a lousy few days on the inside, and then it’ll be done. I’ll go back to healthy life and welcome hugs. And dog walks that are divine for me, though not so much for the squirrels.

Either way, I’m sure I’ll learn to cherish them all even more than I once did.

That lemonade thing, again.

#ldnont #CarmisCovidChronicles #covid19 #pandemic #daytwo #perspective #gratitude #throwback

Related:

COVID comes for me, April 2022

My first day on the inside, April 2022

My first day on the inside

Random scene from the archives
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

#CovidDiary, Day 1*

(I feel like I should be echoing William Shatner’s Captain Kirk. Maybe “Captain’s log” would be a more dramatic entrance for these daily entries from the pandemic isolation ward.

Perhaps. But I just can’t muster the energy. So this is whatcha get.)

As soon as we realized I was positive, my mind flooded with worry about how this would wreck our day to day routine.

Then I stopped myself.

We live in a comfy home and want for nothing. I moved my laptop in, and I can work from the other side of the room. No one’s bombing my neighborhood. The three jabs I’ve had thus far will significantly reduce the severity of whatever happens over the next few days.

And then it’ll be over.

So I’ve got nothing to complain about, and less than zero reason to hold a pity party. Someone always has it worse than we do. And no one should ever complain about a small wave rocking their otherwise well equipped boat.

So I won’t.

Instead I’ll share rando pics from the archives, because I’m sure you don’t want to see my jammies. Do you like this Toronto skyline scene instead? Vintage 2019, even.

More soon…

* The day you test positive is apparently Day Zero. So today, the second day, is really Day One. Weird, I know, but I don’t make the rules. #ldnont #covid19 #pandemic #dayone #throwback

Related:

COVID comes for me, April 2022

COVID comes for me

Always be positive. Except now.
London, ON
April 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I’m starting something new; I’m calling it #CovidDiary.

Today is Day 0. Our daughter tested positive a week ago, and today I found out I’m the latest member of the rapid antigen test red line club.

Since I’m apparently some kind of writer, I’m going to write about the experience. I’ll do my best to be funny, edumacational, and even slightly poignant. Whatever I’m feeling or thinking, it’ll show up here.

I’ll also answer any questions that come up along the way. Because throughout the pandemic, we’ve been saturated with what I like to call 50,000-foot details. Big numbers. Big stories. But it’s always the on-the-ground details that seem to stick with me. Isolation. Treatment. Impact on family.

So why would I do something like this?

Because I can’t just sit in isolation and wait for the clock to tick by. I’ve been given time, and I want to use it wisely.

Because if words help others, then that’s what I’ll offer up.

Because just because life throws the occasional curve doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to smack the ball into deep left field.

Lemonade from lemons and all that.

Not going to lie, though: this terrifies me. I feel guilty about whose path I crossed before I was symptomatic. I fear for what my family is going through - and might yet experience. I shudder at the prospect of this thing that we’ve managed to keep at bay for two years, but still, it got in.

But here’s the thing: we can’t control this globally historic event. But we certainly can control how we choose to ride it out.

So let’s do this.

You in?

#ldnont #isolation #covid19 #pandemic #dayzero

Disney memories

Golden Hour EPCOT
Orlando, FL
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

In the Before Times, we went places and saw extraordinary things.

Like geodesic domes, iconic mice, and even the occasional magic castle.

We’ll eventually find new ways to go new places and see extraordinary things. Indeed, we’re already taking some tentative steps in that direction.

But we’ll doubtless never again take these privileges for granted.

Which, on reflection, isn’t necessarily a negative.

#orlando #florida #fla #throwback #road #trip #disney #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #epcot #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #photography #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

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Connected by a Chevy Suburban, January 2020

Finding details in a Disney facade, January 2020

Mouse ears in the sky, January 2020

Burn the sky down, January 2020

Finding Canada in a distant land, January 2020

Hanging out on the backlot, January 2020

Spaceship Earth, up close, January 2020

QOTD: On deadlines, January 2020

Big little blue pickup truck

Parked
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
October 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Pickup trucks sure did look different back in the day.

So. Much. Smaller.

#saultstemarie #ontario #canada #throwback #roadtrip #travel #travelphotography #retail #store #canadian #tire #blue #ford #pickup #truck #stilllife #tiltshift #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #instagood #photooftheday #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

G'day, GO Train

The things families remember
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

To most people, this isn’t much of a photo, a commuter train sitting in the late-night shadows of an almost empty Via Rail station.

To me, though, it’s a quiet reminder of a cherished moment of parenthood.

See, GO Transit is the regional transit organization that services Toronto and parts of southern Ontario. Its double-decker trains are kinda iconic, and they played a role in our little family’s journeys when the kids (and we) were younger.

On our regular drives back to Montreal to visit extended family, we took the ginormous highway known as the 401, which took us through Toronto. The commuter trail lines ran - and presumably still do run - parallel to the highway, so we’d often see the GO trains doing their thing.

For reasons we’ll never understand, our kids would spontaneously break into cheers whenever they saw one. One of them would scream, “G’day, mate!” upon seeing the familiar green and white shape, and then they’d all just fall apart in shared joyous celebration of the cool-looking train.

To this day, they can’t explain where the Australian reference came from, or why the sight of these specific trains somehow set them off. But I smile every time I see one, and I’m guessing that deep in my brain, I’m holding onto a few more quiet little memories that matter to no one else but us.

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Either way, I hope the GO folks never change their branding. But just in case they do, pictures like this will instantly take me back.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #via #viarail #go #train #gotrain #metrolinx #rail #urban #city #downtown #travel #travelphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

CN Tower hide-and-seek

Hi there
Toronto, Ontario
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A couple of years back, an icon of the #Toronto skyline played a spontaneous game of peekaboo.

It’s a game that never gets old.

#yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #cntower #architecture #architecturephotography #building #buildingporn #architectureporn #perspective #design #lines #urban #street #photography #streetphotography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Please love this lock

So many questions
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is, from what I can tell, a love lock.

It isn’t keeping this fairly new and sleek-looking pedestrian bridge from being stolen. Love locks are often fastened to the railings of bridges, usually with poignant messages scrawled on them. Each one signifies a relationship, a story that hopefully is or was a happy one. It’s up to us to imagine what that story might have been.

In Paris, there’s a bridge called the Pont des Arts that a few years ago became so encrusted with love locks that authorities eventually banned the practice. Something about excessive weight that was never factored into the original engineering.

Still, I’d like to think that matters of practicality shouldn’t always prevail over matters of the heart, and that there’s lots of room for compromise in the shades-of-grey middle ground between engineers trying to keep bridges from topping into rivers and everyday folks just trying to connect.

We live in a world where not everyone is blessed with human connection. If a lock on a bridge can offer up hope, who are we to deny our fellow humans the chance to hold onto it a little more tightly?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #thames #river #bridge #detail #heavy #metal #bokeh #walkabout #landscape #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

One last walk in the snow

Someone's not a fan
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A lot can happen in four days.

So please make sure you’re taking the time to appreciate tiny moments like this.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #weather #wx #winter #snow #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

It only takes one branch

Standing out from the crowd
London, ON
February 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At risk of sounding like the guy who yells at clouds, I am not a fan of April Fool’s Day.

If I had more control over the universe, I would happily opt out of this annual artificial fest of sanctioned bullying masquerading as thinly veiled forced humor.

For the record, it isn’t funny when you expect it. But who am I to tilt against this deeply entrenched windmill?

For what it’s worth, this photo of a nearby forest is as real as any other in my feed. I share it not to be funny. Or offensive. Or to fool or trick anyone into believing it’s something that it isn’t.

It just is. Today, and any other day. No fooling.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hyde #park #forest #tree #trees #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

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Mystery in the monochrome forest, March 2022

Listening to the grasses in the wind, March 2022

Hyde Park barn find, May 2021

The things we see in wintry parking lots, December 2020

Childhood bulrush memories, November 2020

The subtle art of finding colour, November 2020

Escaping to an overgrown landscape, November 2020

A reflectively magic school bus, November 2020

Window to a vanished past, November 2020

Half frozen river

Clarity
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As winter paints the landscape one last time, I can’t resist the urge to look back to this moment I captured just a couple of months ago.

I could stand forever at the railing of this lovely little pedestrian bridge in the river valley and never run out of things to see.

Places like this, so perfectly disconnected from the ebb and flow of urban life, have become more critical to my mental health than I once thought. I’m sure it’s not just me.

Soon enough the snow will melt for good, and Mother Nature will offer up a whole new set of reasons for me to return. Maybe I’ll see some of you out there.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #tree #trees #thames #river #winter #snow #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Stopping by the river to take in the view, October 2019

Spontaneous roadside photography, April 2019

Ripples are limitless, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 388 - Abstract, November 2016

Colors and reflections, October 2007

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes

Snowy pathway to anywhere
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’re all on some kind of journey.

Something to keep in mind when we cross each other’s path.

So let’s lead with kindness, shall we?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hyde #park #walkabout #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #winter #weather #wx #random #streetphotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Empty downtown storefront

Gone for good
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s hard to ignore the pangs of sadness when a business fails.

An entire little community - a family’s livelihood, a place where customers and suppliers spent time, where employees worked, a fixture in the neighborhood - simply disappears.

What’s left is another drag on an already-challenged streetscape, another gap-tooth in an area filled with them, all these pockmarked storefronts serving as ghostly reminders of a more prosperous past.

We can’t catalog every last one, but an occasional photo serves as a reminder of how much entrepreneurs add to the life of a city, and what we lose when they’re forced to close their doors for good.

Note to self: shop local.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #empty #store #retail #retailapocalypse #urban #downtown #walkabout #richmond #street #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Hope on Dundas Street, March 2021

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Watching architectural history rot, October 2019

Suitcase on church steps, September 2019

Dead store in a dead mall, August 2019

Retail community centre, March 2019

Scene from outside a diner, October 2017

Downtown London storefront after hours, October 2017

Caption This 17, May 2007

The nose always knows

Ever the helper
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: a worn-out interior door lies dirty and discarded on the boulevard grass.

I decide it’s a perfectly trivial spontaneous photo opportunity, and reach for my smartphone to figure out a composition that works.

I’m not alone, as Calli the Wonderschnauzer is conveniently hanging out on a leash whose other end is coincidentally wrapped around my wrist.

As you can see here, she has no intention of standing quietly off to the side while I figure out the shot. I’m lucky indeed to have such a dedicated helper.

Not necessarily the scene I originally had in mind. But as dog people have known since the beginning of time, it helps to just roll with whatever the pup decides.

They’re kind of in charge, after all. And I’m strangely fine with it.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Going on a cottage cheese adventure, December 2021

Watching newspaper bundles disappear, April 2021

The schnu nose knows, May 2020

A bearded lady in our midst, April 2020

A dog's nose knows, March 2020

When puppies wait by the door, March 2019

She's trying not to look, June 2018

Return to the river ice

Temporarily perfect
London, ON
January 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Soon we’ll peer over the edge of the pedestrian bridge and there won’t be any river ice covering the water below.

So we capture the image now. While we can.

Once again, a seemingly simple photo becomes a metaphor for life. And time. And the things we value most.

#ldnont #exploreldnont #london #ontario #canada #medway #valley #forest #thames #river #water #snow #ice #texture #nature #naturephotography #landscape #landscapephotography #monochrome #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Mapping the ice fields, January 2022

Half-frozen river, February 2021

Watching water tumble endlessly, December 2020

Ice amid flowing water, December 2020

We're gonna need a bigger shovel

Near-permanent detour
January 2022
This screen grab originally shared on Instagram

Reason # 5,792 why we shouldn't always trust technology.

This is a screen grab off of Google Maps following an epic winter-storm-caused closure on I-95. I was trying to get a sense of how major mapping services like Google Maps and Apple Maps responded to the event, and what we might learn in the process.

To clarify, I'm a huge Google Maps fan, and use it all the time before and during any journey - ranging from the local grocery store to the longest family road trip. It is gamechanging, time-saving, life-saving technology that takes large chunks of worry out of any trip. Whether I’m walking, cycling, or driving, even if I technically know the route in my head, I'd never leave home without it.

But technology isn't always perfect, which should surprise no one because it is created by humans. And if WE are subject to imperfection, then so, too, is anything that we create in the process.

I'm fine with that - that's just life - but that doesn't mean I won't laugh at the prospect of a 7-year road closure following a winter storm.

Maybe we'll keep Apple Maps on standby. And for good measure, perhaps we should throw a few paper-based maps into the glove compartment, too. Remember those?

#screengrab #i95 #google #googlemaps #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Are you a rock star?

Drink up. Or not.
London, ON
March 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Fun fact: the first photo I ever took with a digital camera was of a soda can.

If memory serves, I believe it was ginger ale, and I remember looking at the screen on the back of the digicam and thinking that everything was about to change.

So every once in a while, when a certain scene involving an aluminum can - or multiples thereof - presents itself, I find myself thinking back to that moment.

Strange how memories work, no?

Anyway, I found these cans while shopping. I believe they contain an energy drink, which isn’t really my thing. But I liked the somewhat messy view from overhead, and thought it would be a fun fast-shoot subject before we headed toward the checkout.

As subjects go, this one is, at best, meh. Misaligned. Imperfect, frankly.

Then again, aren’t we all?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #green #sobeys #grocery #store #pop #can #shopping #retail #random #stilllife #monochrome #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins

Related:

Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul, October 2017

Thematic Photographic 389 - Drink up, November 2016

Please don't shake, March 2013

Bottled disaster, February 2010

Green Coke, January 2007

Diner memories, August 2006

Crushed, December 2005

The adventurous shopper - Part 2, October 2004