Biting Cold in London, Ontario

My wife saw a flock of wild turkeys in the field beside Bostwick Road in the southend of London Ontario. But it was so cold that I couldn't make the long walk into the field; My face immediately began to enter frostbite territory. I saw the tree and the corn rows and saw a picture. I took out my camera but the battery quit from the cold. I slipped off my glove to switch batteries and my fingers were numb by the time I had the new battery installed.

East and southeast of London the weather was even worse. Just as cold but higher winds accompanied by some falling snow resulting in white-outs making driving dangerous.

Arva Flour Mills

As promised, this is Arva Flour Mills on the northern edge of London, Ontario. The red addition on the side of the main building is the mill store where I buy my flour.

Before I shot this picture, I got some white, hard flour for making bread and some light yellow semolina for making pasta. It's good flour but the best thing about it is that it's not flour from a giant conglomerate.

I was surprised to learn recently that Robin Hood Mills is owned by Horizon Milling GP, which is owned by the giant Cargill Corporation out of the States. (This is not to knock the Robin Hood product. I have used their bread machine flour in the past. I just like buying from smaller companies. It's a personal thing.)

Muscovy duck

I believe this is a Muscovy duck. I was told this by the lady at the flour mill where I shot this picture.

The Arva Flour Mill is on the northern edge of London Ontario and is still in operation. I like to buy my flour there. It's good flour and I believe the mill is locally owned.

I didn't dare get too close for this picture as the duck hissed a loud warning. It sounded serious.

Later, I learned the brightly coloured male is all hiss. One of the white ducks in the background is another matter. One of those ducks is quick to deliver a fierce pecking attack if you get too close.

I didn't.

Tomorrow we'll have a picture of the mill itself.

Cheers,
Rockinon.

Burrr...

It was a cold day and this woman looked liked she was feeling it. She was sitting, huddled against the cold, watching and waiting patiently as her young daughter enjoyed some time in the park with her grandmother.

Bike paths and walking paths common in London

For all the talk of society facing an obesity crisis, there are certainly enough walkers and joggers filling  the pedestrian pathways around London. The yellow line delineates the area of the roadway dedicated to those on foot.

Many London roadways now sport separate bike lanes. I can walk or bike from my home in southwest London all the way to the city centre and hardly ever share the pavement with a car.

London PhotoWalk

You often read that the Internet is the wild west. Our local paper likes to make this claim. Maybe they're right; I don't know. But my experiences over the past year, living and playing on the Net, have been very good. All the people with whom I have come in contact have been good people, interesting people, and many have enriched my life.

For instance, there is the London PhotoWalk group. They post their planned walks on the Net and get a dozen or so photographers out to document some area of London. Saturday they toured Springbank Park.

I was lucky enough to catch one of their regular shooters, James Wilkinson, at a weekend seminar a couple of months ago. Listening to his talk and viewing his slides, I learned that he is one fine shooter. (Wilkinson is not the shooter shown stalking the Springbank Park geese.)

In the coming week I'm going to keep an eye on the PhotoWalk Flickr site and see what is submitted from the day's shoot. There should be a good mix of work as the site's administrator, Kevin van Lierop, is working to ensure that everyone has a chance to post their best images.

Cheers,
Rockinon - more pictures from Saturday's shoot to run in the next couple of days.

Bench Art

In the coming days the snow is going to take a real beating; Rain is forecast for Sunday. It is the January thaw in London, Ontario. But it is only January and there will be a lot of opportunities to take more snow pictures like this one.