Vine Covered Homes & Waterfalls

Today I headed with my friend Nigel up to Lion’s Head for a weekend adventure on the trails. This three and a half hour drive can be tedious but there are some goodies to photograph along the way.

Abandoned House

Abandoned House

An old abandoned house, on the west side of the highway, has caught my eye a few times but with the fall colours it was hard not to pull over and get some shots. And then I had to try it out in infrared.

Abandoned House IR

Abandoned House IR

Back on the road after getting some shots of the house we decided to stop at Jones Falls in Owen Sound and make our way along the trail to the bottom of the waterfall. Someone had decided to build a little waterfall guardian at its base.

Guardian

Guardian

I couldn’t leave you without a photo of the falls so here is a view just off to the side.

Jones Falls

Jones Falls

From here we got back onto the trail and headed back to the car for the final leg of the trip.

Mushroom Hike

I joined a guided National Park hike mid-morning at Cameron Lake. I had never taken this particular trail mostly because I didn’t even know it existed.

Well! I’m so glad I decided to join the hike. Why? Because it was all about my favourite thing – mushrooms!

A Line of Red

A Line of Red

Orange Glow

Orange Glow

There is so much variety on this trail. I loved every single moment I was there. The guides must have gotten annoyed at one point as I think I photographed almost every single mushroom that we found.

Hiding Place

Hiding Place

Autumn Orange

Autumn Orange

And one last parting photo for you.

The Butt Shot

The Butt Shot

Flowers of the Bruce

On our final day in the Bruce our goal was to photograph the flowers that were blooming this time of year. The Indian Painted Brush can be found by the side of the road south of town and if it’s a good year the roadside will be covered with them. They can be found in other places around the Bruce but I find that this is the best spot for them

Painted Brush
Painted Brush

We also stopped at Crane Lake, one of my favourite spots for flowers this time of year. It’s where I know to find the Nodding Trillium. Until I started coming up this way I had no idea that there was a Nodding Trillium. And their a tricky one to find since they grow facing the ground rather than the sky.

Nodding Trillium
Nodding Trillium

Of course that’s not the only flower you can find here and some are still opening up to the world.

The Opening
The Opening

And you’ll always find the Yellow Lady’s Slipper – these are hard not to spot this time of year. They are pretty much everywhere once you know where to look.

Yellow Lady Slipper
Yellow Lady Slipper

That’s it for our excursion to the Bruce for the Orchid Festival. I’m always sad to leave the Bruce behind but I know I’ll be back again very soon.

Macro World on Flowerpot Island

We woke up extra early this morning to drive over to the Tobermory lighthouse and get us some sunrise photos. We were eager to see what mother nature was going to show us.

Rise and Shine
Rise and Shine

And I had a front seat to the spectacular event.

Front Seat
Front Seat

You couldn’t ask for a better morning. Temperatures were mild, the colours were on point and we had some cloud for the colours to reflect off of. Thank you Mother Nature!

Flowerpot 2
Flowerpot 2

After a hearty breakfast we hopped on a boat and headed over to Flowerpot Island. After such great sunrise, the clouds came in and the drizzle started, eventually turning into a more substantial rain later in the day.

We walked along the shoreline path and stopped to photograph the flowerpots before heading to the lightstation museum on the north side of the island. That’s when the rain settled in so we got into our rain gear before heading back to the trails.

droplet
droplet

Instead of hiking the shoreline around the island we decided to cut through the middle and take the trail over some more rugged terrain in the hopes of spotting the elusive Striped Coral Root orchid. It wasn’t until we reached the main trail again that we spotted the orchid. I was thankful that I had the rain gear as I was down on the ground a number of times to get photos of almost every flower we spotted.

Striped Coral Root
Striped Coral Root

By the time we got back to our Airbnb we were both wiped and very damp. Not to mention excited to see what we had captured. We have one more day here in Tobermory and it looked like we may have some better weather.


A Sunset Cruise

I’m with my friend Nigel on this weekend trip to explore the Bruce and attend the Orchid Festival in Tobermory, Ontario. We’ve decided to go on a sunset cruise with Blue Heron Cruises.  The only time I’ve taken one of the Blue Heron Cruises was to get to Flowerpot Island (which we’re doing tomorrow!) so this will be an interesting experience.

Bruce Escarpment
Bruce Escarpment

As we puttered down the coastline I wondered to myself where the Bruce Trail would be in all this beauty. I know that some of it was along the shoreline and occasionally I would get a glimpse of a possible trail. Hmm…one day soon I will be hiking there.

Cave Mouth
Cave Mouth

When you see a cave, do you wonder what’s inside? Do you want to get over to it and explore more? I wonder if anything lives there – maybe a bat colony? Maybe a bear?

Sunset Cruise
Sunset Cruise

I wanted to capture something a little different during the cruise. I was on a boat after all so why not do a shot through the boat of the other passengers enjoying the sunset. This couple was in the perfect position to allow that sunburst to come through. 

Boat Cruise
Boat Cruise

Look at those lovely colours! We had a great time on the cruise and it was a different way to see things that we might not normally get a chance to see. 

The Goose Crier

Goose Crier
Goose Crier

This lone goose gave me a cackling welcome as I walked the trail along the Grindstone Creek. I was in search of an apparent waterfall that was downriver from my favourite waterfall, Smokey Hollow Falls. I searched the trail and as I was walking back I noticed an area across the river that could very well be the elusive waterfall. However, as with most waterfalls in the area it runs dry at certain times of the year. It seems I was here at the wrong time.

So, I trudged back up the trail and then down into the gorge to get my obligatory photograph of Smokay Hollow. 

Smokey Hollow Falls
Smokey Hollow Falls

Smokey Hollow Falls is one of my favourite local spots. There is so much to see along the creek. All of that is highlighted by the waterfall. It’s also fairly easy to get to the bottom of the gorge and right up to the falls. Just watch out for the spray and slippery rocks if you’re visiting.

I decided to add a quick stop at Sherman Falls for photos before calling it a day. 

Sherman Falls
Sherman Falls detail

The sun was out so I photographed detail shots of the falls rather than fight with the glaring white spots where the sun hit to get the full shot. Usually, I try not to photograph waterfalls on a sunny day. The best time is when it is overcast so you don’t get those nasty bright spots on your photos.

And here my day out water falling ends. Although I didn’t find water at the mysterious falls that I’ve never seen on my adventures along Grindstone Creek at least I now know where it is. The big question now is when to go.