A trip of a lifetime...

Many of us have our "Life To Do" or bucket list, if I may use the title of a recently released movie. It's a list of things we'd like to achieve and do before packing it in and passing on to the next life. I am no exception. Among things like having a house in Muskoka, making a living from my art, having my own horse, entering a dressage show etc., there is one very special item. Ever since I've come to Canada, it has been my dream to travel across the country on a trans continental train. This Spring my dream will come true.

My mother and her husband, who have been living in Vancouver, BC since 1993, have finally decided to sell their house and join us back in Ontario! And, the good daughter that I am, I promptly offered to help them move back. The plan is for me to ride out on Via Rail train to BC, help them pack their whole household minus a few items, onto a truck and a car, and drive back to Ontario. What an adventure this will be!

Obviously I do not have any photos to show from the trip yet but here are a few to whet my and my readers' appetite, courtesy of Via Rail website:

Just imagine three days and three nights of traveling through the most beautiful country in the world and experiencing probably the most drastic changes in geography and terrain one could squeeze into such a short trip. From Northern Ontario and Lake Superior vistas, through the spring blooming prairies to the Rockies, also awakening to the Spring but still capped with snow, and finally arriving at the Pacific Coast. And I'll be looking at all this with an artistic heart and soul.

Ah, but we cannot forget the pleasure of solitude and peace of having single bedroom all to myself and having my meals prepared for me. Those of us who are working wives and mothers will totally understand this comment LOL.

So, early in the morning on May 8th I'll be boarding a Via Rail train in Toronto with a beating heart, a suitcase full of paper and pencils and 10 TB in memory cards for my digital camera, ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

Total eclipse of the moon.

It is not something that happens often and is not as spectacular as a solar eclipse, but a lunar eclipse is nevertheless a special and beautiful astronomical event. And, being a Cancer, the Moon is particularly special to me (my ruling planet) and it is in fact my favorite celestial body.

Yesterday's weather was perfect as well. The -20 C temperature (or at least what felt like -20) provided the clear, crisp air while the clouds have obligingly migrated to other areas for a change. The view was perfect! Here are a few images of the progression of the eclipse, taken with my Canon camera, right on my front porch.








This last image is my favorite, due to the strange color shift. It was not planned nor photoshoped and the setting on the camera were exactly the same as in the picture before that one or after.



At this time I had enough. My fingers were numb and the camera batteries were freezing making it increasingly hard to focus the image.

Next eclipse? December 2010! By then I hope to have better camera equipment and night-shooting skills.