For many years we’ve been taking our summer vacation at my wife’s family cottage west of Ottawa. It’s one of those places that is absolutely magical for me and I feel completely at home there. The cottage is situated alongside a shallow river and the area is home to a massive variety of birds, animals, and insects, and the gardens at the cottage are full of beautiful flowers. It’s a little bit of paradise and I’ve created some of my favorite images while there over the years.
This year was another very productive trip for me. The weather seemed to work out perfectly and I had a great collection of subjects to work with. Here is a gallery of some of my current favorites.
These grasses were lit up like a Christmas Tree in the morning light. They were completely covered in frost and the ice crystals sparkled beautifully. I saw them on my way in for a walk at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and almost didn’t go back because I was excited to see what birds might still be hanging around so late in the season. At the last minute I decided to turn around to take advantage of the beauty I knew to be there rather than hurrying in to see what else might be there. I’m glad I did because the bird sanctuary was extremely quiet, and I made my best images of the day with these grasses. It’s a little life lesson that I’m going to have to remember…
I planted quite a few sunflowers in my flowerbed this year and have been waiting for just the right time to photograph them. It started snowing here this week so I decided that the time had definitely come. I love how sunflowers brighten up the entire yard and how they bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees them. Somehow they just make everyone feel better!
I’ve done a lot of work in my garden this year and I’m very proud of my vegetables! I had to get some nice close-ups of these peas before we ate them all! Unfortunately the garden got whacked pretty badly by a fierce hail storm a few days after these peas were picked, so I’m not expecting much else out of the garden. A few things may survive, but my onions and cucumbers were extremely badly damaged. I’m still hoping it all works out, but only time will tell…
After a long day of rain at the cottage the weather finally broke in the late afternoon. We all rushed outside to get some fresh air and to take advantage of the break from the soggy drizzle that was becoming all too common. I went straight to the flowerbed to make use of the high overcast clouds that provided some beautiful soft light for making closeup and macro images.
Although these Daylilies are growing in the flowerbed, they weren’t planted there. This species was introduced to North America from Asia in the 19th century and now grows wild all over Eastern North America. It is considered to be an invasive species and it is very hard to control or remove once introduced to an area.
Regardless whether they are wild or cultivated, they are extremely beautiful and I could spend hours or even days making images of them!
