Kaleidoscope Centres

Orchids - Polka Dots and Stripes

Red Is Best

What better colour is there in the dead of winter to brighten up all that black and white, but red?


Glorious, cheery, energising, radiant red.

Autumn's Splendor

I'm off to Montreal tomorrow for the weekend. With my blissful holiday in England fading into the background and life's realities taking hold once more, I could use a pick-me-up. Montreal's charm is the perfect antidote. Life has been so busy, I feel that September and October have flashed past me without my being able to take in all of autumn's splendor. But there's still time to remedy that. So off I will go tomorrow morning to stroll about the city's streets reintroducing myself to autumn, stopping for coffee at a cafe, shopping at some of the unique boutiques, taking in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, and enjoying countless other special moments as they arise.

Transitory Beauty

One comes across examples of Nature's design all the time. The question is whether you are able to allow yourself the time to notice as you speed through your day. If you allow yourself the space to be in the moment then you are more attentive to your surroundings. You begin to take note of what, in fact, is right in your field of vision. Like these ice cystals that had formed on the windows of the bus shelter I was standing in. With the light streaming in, I enjoyed the moment, taking the time to appreciate their transitory beauty... for with just a few degrees warmer temperatures they would be gone from sight.

Cold Beauty

Sometimes you come across a scene so beautiful it stops you in your tracks. It's a cold day here. Cold enough for the radio to issue warnings, to remind people to dress for the weather, and cold enough for the temperatures to make the front page of our city's newspaper. But look at what these cold temperatures can produce. This lovely scene greeted me this morning on my way to work. An example of Nature as artist.

Sidewalk Art

Nature is the artist in these sidewalk leaf transfers.

Path of Least Resistance

How often do you become stuck in the same pattern or travelling the same route? Just as water flows along the path of least resistance, all too often we choose the easiest way before us, leaving talents untapped, possibilities not pursued, and goals unfulfilled. And in the process, these well-worn paths become deeply etched, like the lines on this rock face, making it more difficult to take an alternate route.

Warty White Pumpkin

Such an odd pumpkin! This one, larger than a basketball, was grown by a dear friend from a package of mixed seeds. The variety wasn’t marked so she has no idea of its name. So far all I can find it referred to as is a warty white pumpkin. But what a great Halloween pumpkin it makes. Just look at that surface. It reminds me of my chenille crocheted wash cloth. Now that I think about it, in colour and texture, the rind actually looks more like peanut shells. I wonder how long it will be before this type of pumpkin is for sale at the local grocery store?

An Autumn Encounter

Look who came to land on my thrift shop Ralph Lauren sheets when I was taking them off the clothesline! His gorgeous red tail blended in so perfectly, you would have thought that I had chosen him for just that reason. But no, his visit was purely a delightful surprise. And notice how the sheet’s pattern shows through his wings, an indication of just how transparent they are. A fleeting but beautiful encounter!

Fungus Trompe d'oeil

At a quick glance this might look like the stump of a tree that has been cut down, poking out of the grass. But in fact it is a fungus that I came across on a hike in the woods. Just look how it mimics the growth rings of a tree. Isn’t that amazing?! The wet leaves that have stuck to it only further add to the camouflage effect.

Harvest of Gourdly Delights

Such a lovely tumble of gourds were for sale at the farmers’ market when I went the other day. Ornamental gourds truly are one of the best visual treats during harvest time. The beautiful blends in rich colours and wonderful textures and patterns seem fresh to my eyes because they are available to us for such a short period of time each year. I didn't stop to buy any that day and I should have... because just a couple of days later I made a find that these gourds would have embellished most wonderfully. And I won't say more for now because I'll be posting about that find in an upcoming post!

A Walk in the Woods

A walk in the woods, the warmth of the day melts the sugar snow. Glistening fluffy wisps caught up with seeds cling despite the breeze. The sun illuminates the twisted turns of weathered branches. Bird seed poured into the crevice of a footprint by a passerby awaits feathery guests.

Curves and Undulations

As much as I miss plant life in the winter I must admit that trees really are shown to their advantage in this season. They are breathtakingly beautiful, pared down to their essence. Stripped of all their foliage, what better way is there to appreciate their graceful forms? There’s not a straight line on a tree, just curves and undulations.

Fragile Beauty #3

Another example of the fragile beauty of autumn leaves... that point where a leaf has crossed its blazing prime, the beginning of its decline. Such fragile beauty.

Fragile Beauty

At this time of year the evidence of decay is all around us. There is a type of beauty in such decay. The changing pigments eventually give way, the colours gradually fading out. The leaves show blemishes and tears. It has a fragile beauty. Wrinkled parchment, with a luminosity. Many leaves are still on the trees, but at any moment the last of the life force will drain away and one leaf or another will detach itself from its branch and float silently to the ground.

A Different View

While walking on Mont St. Hilaire, I took this photograph along one of the trails. Not the ususal view of ferns certainly, those luscious green graceful arcs we're used to seeing, but still stunning in these new golden hues. I like the way the ferns seem to be spiraling, kind of like a vortex. Even the fallen leaves appear to be getting sucked in.

Apple of My Eye

Did you know that all of today’s McIntosh apples can be traced back to a single tree that was discovered by John McIntosh on his farm in Dundela, near Morrisburg, Ontario in 1811? It’s true.

This bowl of glorious McIntosh apples, also known affectionately as Macs, came from my childhood hometown. All these years later you can still go back to the same white barn with a giant red apple painted on its side and buy apples from the same orchards, the same trees. It wasn’t until I returned home and snapped this photo that I noticed the one on the top that carried an imprint, the distinct shape of an apple! No matter how many years go by, hometowns still hold magic.

Featuring Blue #3

Sometimes patterns come in the most surprising places, like the patterns in the water that I came across while walking along the river. Something in the water had been churned up to make these intriguing patterns.

Mushrooms or Toadstools

How can you tell the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool? Back on the Stoney Swamp Trail for an hour-long hike, we saw lots of mushrooms and toadstools that we hadn't seen last time, thanks to all the rain we've had in July.