I discovered a new trail out in Caledon called the Alton Grange Trail. The trail is a short 4-kilometer loop that’s definitely on the easy side to hike. It’s a beautiful trail and one of my new favourites.
Alton Grange Trail
At the beginning of the trail, I was feeling all the forest vibes. Even the light was looking good, and it was only going to get better.
Tree in Ice
The trail crosses the Credit River, and I noticed this mossy tree lying in the water. I wanted to accentuate the length of the tree, so I shot from a lower position. The tree acted as a leading line to the trees in the background.
Forest Trail
My favourite image of the day was this forest trail. The light was so perfect, and I would not have noticed this image if I hadn’t turned to look back. I have to remind myself when I’m out on my hikes to remember to turn around. Today, I’m glad I did just that.
I went out on a hike with my friend Linda and her dog, Summer. We decided on hiking at Forks of the Credit Conservation Area. When I drove in, I noticed some very strange-looking clouds.
Cloudy Kettle Lake
They started fading as we hiked, so I stopped at Kettle Lake to get some shots.
Undulatus asperatus clouds
Other than the weird cloud formations, I spent my time focusing on my hike as this wasn’t a photo outing.
I went out with my friend Nigel to explore the trails at Heart Lake Conservation Area. With the melting snow and the ice formations, it was a difficult trek along the slippery trails.
Bird Feeder
It was a challenging hike and I did not come away with many photos. These little birdhouses were the most interesting things on the trail, in my opinion.
Reeds
I did try to find other things to photograph, but inspiration was not my friend this time around. I hope my next outing will be more productive.
In the summer, when I get out on my bike, I usually head for the Humber Recreational Trail. I’ve biked many hours here, and today I decided to head over to one of the sections to get my butt out of my regular neighbourhood.
Interlude
I headed to a section of the trail where there is a large pond. In the summer, you can usually find great blue herons and white egrets here, but with the cold weather, these birds head south. I did not find any other birds here, which in a way was lucky since I had only brought my macro lens with me. From one of the viewpoints on the pond, I saw a person by the water’s edge under a beautiful tree. I can’t say I was disappointed with this nice surprise as I quickly snapped a few photos.
The Trail
For the middle of winter, there is a lot of brown around us. We haven’t had snow since Christmas Day. This image above was quite bland when I started editing it. I wanted to give it a little spice, so I added some fog to the background and darkened up the foreground, giving it a little more atmosphere.
Incoming
As I crossed over the river on my way back to my car, a couple of ducks picked that same moment to came in for a landing. I was able to get a few shots as they came toward me. Only one photo was sharp, but that was all I needed. A very different walk than usual, but it was worth the short drive to see something different from my own backyard.
It’s been over a week since I’ve felt motivated to go outside, but yesterday I forced myself to get out and do another neighbourhood walk. The snow has melted, and it rained a couple of days ago, so I expected things to be a bit on the soggy side, so I didn’t spend much time walking the creek trail. This time I walked down one of the catwalks and then veered left to head into the schoolyard.
Berries
The catwalk had some interesting things to photograph, like these buckthorn berries, that have dried up over the last couple of months.
Shrivelled
And this shrivelled orange berry, which was sticking out from the fence. I liked how it seems to be reaching out to you.
Ice Dog
Before heading into the schoolyard, I noticed there were ice patches along the trail. One ice patch had a familiar shape to it. Do you see it?
Plethora of Funghi
While I was out for my walk, I decided to buy myself a chocolate bar at the local variety store. On the way there, I passed a house that had an old log fence. The fence had a lot of Funghi growing on it in intricate patterns. I may have to revisit this old log fence. There are so many little worlds to photograph here.
