Porte Photos’ Daily Quote: April 27, 2023

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I’m much more about the emotion
that a photograph provokes out of you
and less about how technically brilliant it is.

~ Nigel Barker
English – Photographer Born: April 27, 1972

Porte Ponderings:

So glad I bought an Ontario Provincial Park Pass for the 2023 Summer Season.

Kayaking on the Old Ausable Channel at the Pinery once a week is my goal for this season.

Turtles sunbathing on a log are always a favorite site for me. These little guys let you get pretty close before they slide into the water and out of view. I need to buy a manual hand held clicker to keep count of how many I see. Last year the record was 149 Painted Turtles. Maybe we can break the record. On my first kayaking trip of the season we spotted about 50 painted turtles and 3 Snapping Turtles.

Porte Photos’ Daily Quote: April 26, 2023

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You have to go through the falling down
in order to learn to walk.
It helps to know that you can survive it.
That’s an education in itself.

~ Carol Burnett
American – Actress Born: April 26, 1933

Porte Ponderings:

Happy 90th Birthday Carol Burnett.

Thanks for all the laughs and smiles.

Thanks for being every woman I’ve ever known. My mother, my sister, my co-workers, my friend and myself. We’ve all had those moments of laughter and life. The compassion and understanding ❤

Porte Photos’ Daily Quote: October 23, 2022

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Life begets life.
Energy creates energy.
It is by spending oneself
that one becomes rich.

~ Sarah Bernhardt
French – Actress / October 22, 1845 – March 26, 1923

Porte Ponderings:

Sunday in the Indian Summer. The temperatures today will be at about 21C (70F). The trees are still showing their colours and a killing frost has finally gotten rid of a lot of the allergens in the air.

This season is probably one of my favorites, but there is so much to do before winter steals her way into the shorter days. I still have plants from the Fall plant sale to put in the ground. The summer toys need to be put away. The garage needs to be cleaned to make room for my car before we head to Florida. But my heart wants one more kayak ride down the Old Ausable Channel. I have school photo retakes tomorrow morning, then I’m headed to the Pinery with my sister for one last adventure of the season.

Porte Photos’ Daily Quote: October 22, 2022

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If your pictures aren’t good enough,
you aren’t close enough.

~ Robert Capa
American – Photographer October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954

Porte Ponderings:

I don’t think Robert Capa meant to take the picture closer and do only close-ups. I think you have to start by understanding your subject matter and getting closer. If you’re photographing wildlife you need to learn about your subject and have a passion for the subject to have it show in your photos.

I’ve loved turtles every since I was very little. Back when you were allowed to keep pet turtles, I had two painted turtles in a little dish with a plastic palm tree on the TV. We would take them out of the dish and race the turtles on the kitchen floor in the sunshine. Then it became illegal, apparently turtle habitats in captivity are high in e-coli and other bacteria that might be harmful to humans. Now as a more mature person I understand that turtles need to be in their native habitat and permitted to live their lives as free creatures. But I still love to be close to them, so kayaking and photography is a much better way to be observing them. Pinery Provincial Park is the place to find them. My record number of sightings were 179 painted turtles and 2 snapping turtles.

Learning more about my native heritage, I can see why turtles are so important to me, as we all live on turtle island. My ancestors left their family and reservations in search of adventure and safety for their children. In recent years we’ve heard more about the children that were taken away to residential schools or taken away by child welfare agencies and the abuse they suffered often including death. Many of the women left the reservations to ensure they could keep their children. Indians gladly enfranchised, gave up their native status, to be able to vote and live a life of freedom. The ties to heritage, culture and family were severed as intergenerational damage cut the final connections to language and religion. It was shameful to say you were part Indian, so families hid their heritage. It’s surprising to discover how many people in my subdivision growing up had Native heritage. I’m so glad to see that this is slowly changing as culture is being reclaimed and shown with pride again. My husband’s Muncee-Delaware flag hangs on the front our home. Yes, it includes a turtle on the flag.

Porte Photos’ Daily Quote: October 8, 2022

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Friends are the sunshine of life.

~ John Hay
American – Writer October 8, 1838 – July 1, 1905

Porte Musings:

Yep, painted turtles sunbathing in October. We saw almost 40 of them while kayaking this week on the Old Ausable Channel. Just trying to catch a few rays of the warm autumn days.

Thanksgiving weekend and the turkeys are thawing out for the big event. This year there are no “COVID Restrictions” . I’m so blessed, my whole family will be here. I bought 2 smaller turkeys so we can have 4 legs instead of 2.

Harold’s shoulder surgery went well and he’s using his right arm again. His follow-up is next week, then he starts therapy. I’m hoping we can book a vacation in Cuba. Sit on a beach and get some of those southern rays. 😉

Porte Musings: Kayaking Season 2022

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Provincial Parks are open and back to almost normal use. Kayaking season is well underway. The Ontario Government was kind enough to extend my Provincial Park Pass until the end of the summer 2022. I aim to go Kayaking at least once a week to make sure I get the most out of my 2021 Provincial Park Pass. At least this year all the washrooms are available (you don’t have to pee in the woods). I’ve learned to get out of the kayak at the far end of the Old Ausable Channel at the Pinery and use the facilities before heading back downstream.

I also bought a 2nd kayak so I can take friends with me. My husband rigged my trailer to accommodate the 2 kayaks. My first outing with the new setup was with my Sister. We counted 159 painted turtles and 2 snappers. I’m certain there were more turtles, but I kept loosing count and need to buy a manual clicking counter. We also were lucky enough to see 2 muskrats, turkey vultures, Blue Heron, King Fishers and King Birds. The slide show below includes photos from my last 2 trips on the Old Ausable Channel. I loved seeing the Juvenile Bald Eagle. The new to me kayak is a fishing kayak and is a bit more stable for taking photos.

Daily Quote: September 27, 2021

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There is no respect for others
without humility in one’s self.

~ Henri Frederic Amiel
Swiss – Philosopher / September 27, 1821 – May 11, 1881

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

Celebrating World Tourism Day during a Pandemic is difficult, but as borders slowly open we dream about trips and do our research so we’re ready just as soon as we can travel.

In the meantime we’ll celebrate Family Day and gather with our families, thankful that we can see them and aren’t under total lockdown.

We’ll also get out the most recent Ancestry.ca layouts and go over the stories of our roots.

Daily Quote: September 14, 2021

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In the world of photography,
you get to share a captured moment with other people.

~ James Wilson
American – Politician / September 14, 1742 – August 21, 1798

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

Kayaking on the Old Ausable Chanel lets me re-energize my soul. Counting turtles on my way to the far bridge of the loop I think I missed a few on this log. I counted 10, but there were 3 adjacent to the log that I missed before I looked at the photo evidence.

So on National Live Creative Day be certain to do something a bit creative in your ordinary day. A little bit of arts and crafts or painting, or just dance.

Then after working up an appetite celebrate Eat a Hoagie Day followed by National Cream-Filled Donut Day.