A nice day

Today was just a really nice day, no matter how you want to define it. The weather continues strangely mild, and we didn't even have any of the wind that has been a bit of a factor in the past week. Most of the small amount of snow we had is gone, and I have my nice muted late fall colors back, with the golden light I love so much for photography bracketing the beginning and end of each day. Goodness knows, the sun comes up late enough these days that I might actually get some sunrise shots if I bestir myself some morning. I'm not noted as an early riser and for much of the year sunrise is just a memory by the time my feet hit the floor. 

Our little group of barn ladies finally all had time for our visit out of town to the Devic Centre and labyrinth, and a little shopping spree in their downstairs shop. None of the others in the group had been there before, so it was a pleasure for me to be able to introduce them to the various aspects of this location. We hit there just before noon, which was the nicest part of the day, so all in all it was very satisfactory. The "spirit cat," as I call the pure white cat that always materializes seemingly out of nowhere, appeared as we were visiting the medicine wheel, then accompanied us to the labyrinth where I am most used to having him manifest himself. As happened with my last visit in October, the old resident dog came over to visit while we were at the labyrinth, but at least this time the cat stayed with us, although he was grimacing and growling his displeasure. I got a cute shot of the interaction between the two of them. This is progress, though, since last time the cat took off like a shot as soon as he saw the dog. 

My friend (and riding instructor) Elaine was doing the driving in her van, and I have to say she is most accommodating about my sudden shrieks of "stop the van" that come seemingly out of nowhere when I spy a hovering raven (never in sight by the time we get stopped) or a group of horses in a field. She even made a volunteer stop at one point on the road home since she spotted something she felt was worthy of a photo. I particularly appreciate her willingness to pause for photo ops since I'm accustomed to driving with Jim, who speeds up for horse herds and antique stores, no matter how vigorously I protest. Mind you, when Elaine and I are out together with our "gang", we are usually just noodling about on a day "off", whereas when Jim and I hit the road we are generally actually trying to get somewhere. Still, I've missed a lot of good shots when he has been at the wheel. 

So today's shots feature some of the images I've captured in the past week. Top one is the fields I pass on the way to and from the barn. You can see why I'm in love with this light. The second shot is one from a series I took on the way home from riding yesterday. I had the camera with me so decided to go home the long way and check out one of my favourite herds. Missed a really good shot en route as I went by a small herd of horses that had a little black and white pinto with a magpie sitting on the horse's rump, but by the time I hit the brakes and got the camera out, the magpie had spooked away. Sigh. In any event, although the light was really going by the time I got to the destination herd, I did get some acceptable shots, one of which is this grey mare, blending into the bushes with the glow of the setting sun visible through the branches. Shot three is the elderly Devic centre dog, taking a little rest in the midst of the labyrinth stones after checking out the cat. I love the way her coloring blends in with the stones, and there's always such a lot of soulfulness about an old dog. Shot four was another of my "stop the van" moments, with a nice pair of young Belgians, resplendent in their velvety winter coats, and the wagon shot is the one Elaine made the editorial decision on. 

For readers in the Saskatoon area, here's a heads up re my open studio show and sale, which will be this weekend (November 29th and 30th) 1 to 5 PM both days. I will have a whole studio full of photos and other artworks for show and for purchase. Sizes and prices can accommodate pretty well any budget, and all are welcome to come and check it out. Email me judywood@sasktel.net  and I will send you the invitation that details the show and how to find my place. Between the preparations for the studio show/sale, minor surgery tomorrow for Mickey the Boxer, and my elder daughter arriving from BC to visit, all this week, it's going to be a busy one!!