She's a trooper!

"Hey grandpa! Would you like to read a book together?"

Miss Baby took a tumble today - a bad one. She struck her head and it left a bit of a bump. Her forehead grew red from the blow. She cried some but she really got into a sobbing roll when the doctor in emerg began poking and prodding her.

When he brought out a light to look into her eyes, it was her eyes that really lit up and not his little flashlight. He would move the light to left and her eyes would follow. No matter where he moved that light, she didn't take her eyes off that weird brightly lit thing. It was clear that she had never seen anything quite like it. It had captured her interest. And her steady, unflinching interest told the doctor that she was fine.

From the hospital she went straight to grandma and grandpa's rather than returning home. She may have gotten the all clear from emerg but she was still under mom and dad's and grandma and grandpa's close observation.

The moment I carried her into the kitchen, she spotted the banana on the counter and held out her hand. I let her grab it. We got a bowl, a fork, her spoon and sat down together at the table. Sitting on my knee, she helped me peel the banana. She took her spoon and helped pulverize the sweet, white fruit; With only one tooth it is still best to squish food before eating. And then she settled in to eat her half of the banana.

She always shares her prize with me; We each get half. She sits on my knee and smiles and laughs. She enjoys the obvious camaraderie of the moment.

We're buddies. And I cannot convey to you how very happy and relieved I am that my little buddy is just fine. Her head is a little bruised but she's not complaining. She's a real trooper!

Dogs always make winning pictures

Last weekend was our family's Thanksgiving. We were a week late but there were good reasons. My wife always gets her turkeys from a small turkey operation south of London. While there picking up our bird, I saw this dog waiting patiently for its owner who was also picking up a fresh turkey.

I figure you can't go wrong with a picture of a cute dog.

The red of fall is almost gone.

Most of the bright red and screaming yellow of fall have come and gone. The ground is littered with colourful leaves but many of the tree branches are now bare. When I saw this little patch of colour I thought, "Grab a shot now. You won't have many more chances."

And so I did.

Early Morning Mist

I didn't have to travel far for today's picture of early morning mist over the Thames River valley in London, Ontario. I simply walked across the court on which I live and shot the scene below.

The neighbourhood in which I live is nice but I've always thought that a great architect could have designed a wonderful hillside community where regular suburban housing now stands. I envision something Habitat like with covered walkways up and across the slope, all intertwined. It could have been really cool and everyone would have had a view.

Oh well, a No Frills grocery story is being going up within an easy walk of my home. I've must look on the bright side. My neighbourhood is getting more and more like a new urbanist community without the silly laneways and boring grid pattern streets.

Starting them early

When I retired from the local paper, I started blogging. London Daily Photo gave me a reason to get out and get some exercise taking pictures. If you have wondered why LDP hasn't been so daily lately, there are two reasons: My health and my granddaughter.

I no longer have the pressing need to chase about taking pictures to get exercise. I have Fiona.

Our family is deep into newspapers. I get the local paper, The London Free Press, every day and my daughters like to buy a Toronto paper on the weekend. I believe the newly designed Globe and Mail is getting rave reviews.

Fiona may be only a year old but she already likes to flip through the paper. And Fiona enjoys the ads as much as the news pages. She's the kind of reader all newspapers want.

Mallard duck at Springbank Park

Ah, the common mallard duck, so common and so beautiful. When I saw this bird, head back and bill tucked into its warm feathers, I saw a picture. When the colourful leaves floated by, I saw a picture worth posting.

Cheers,
Rockinon
London, Ontario, Canada

Ah, to be young again!

When I spotted these two young women, they were bobbing up and down doing a stretching exercise and using the park bench for support. They proceeded to do quite a number of unique exercises all taking advantage of the bench. This stepping exercise was one of the simpler routines. The others were really cool to watch but they just didn't make a picture. Maybe I'll get a second chance someday.

Uh, that's a second chance at getting a picture. We never get a second chance at being young.