2022, the Year That Was

I do enjoy doing a review-of-the-year post, and this year I have two.  This is the first, not necessarily great photos, but things that mark out the year for me, and were perhaps significant in '22.  Hope you enjoy them!

For several months a year, this is my view of the outdoors, although not always bright and sunny.  I always look forward to the days in February and March when we get these bright sunny cloudless skies.

By March, the willows are turning a bright yellow, and the dogwoods a bright red.  Those are among the earliest signs of spring.

And soon after that we start watching for the return of the Sandhill Cranes.

By April I'm out for my first ride and this year I spotted these large bright sunflowers, symbolic of support for the Ukrainian people.

At the same time, the first of our garden flowers is out, and it's a favourite of mine, the Dwarf Iris, such a brilliant blue colour.

In late May things take a dramatically different turn.  The world has turned green, spring flowers are out, and we're off to ride down Lilac Lane, a stretch of the Georgian Trail bordered by Lilacs.

June is, among other things, strawberry season, and as she always does, Mrs. F.G. makes strawberry jam.

by July the 'flowers of the field' (weeds for those who don't appreciate their beauty) are out in full force, and the pale blue Chicory is my favourite among them.

In August we got to Harrison Park in Owen Sound and I got a chance to ride the recently paved One Mile Trail through the woods, my best chance to get out and experience a mature woodland anymore.

I also insisted on at taking a quick look at the Black History Memorial alongside the river.  I always hope it's a visible symbol of tolerance and equality as well as the long history of black settlement in the area.

Similarly I hope the 'Seven Feathers' crosswalk that was painted downtown this year is a visible symbol of reconciliation, considering the much longer history of indigenous people here.

In October when we went for our annual fall colour drive I got one of my best shots ever of the Old Baldy cliffs with the multi-hued forest spread down the slope below.

Then it was suddenly November when I caught this sunrise shining on the forest across the way.

And you already know the story of the great blizzard of Christmas '22; over the next week it promises to all melt!