Wallpaper January 2016

It seems hard to believe that 2015 is already behind us, not least because winter has only recently made its first tentative appearance on the River. Nothing remotely like last month’s scene has shown up thus far, with the exception of this painting that December's wallpaper inspired, just completed by Brockville’s Brenda Clarke.

Painting by Brenda Clarke!

Congratulations to Dave Fownes and David Tolton who both successfully identified the location of last month's scene - taken about a mile from the eastern end of the Thousand Islands Parkway.

There’s a more significant story here. A dozen years ago, I was on my way to Brockville to meet with Henderson Printing Inc.’s owner, Lyne Roberge, to discuss details of my second book, Water, Wind and Sky. W,W&S was the biggest project either of us had attempted to that point, particularly intimidating to me after the major challenges I encountered while doing my first book with a less supportive printer. Read Chapter 19 in the iPad eBook One in a Thousand for all the agonizing details.

The day was sunny and bright on the drive up from my former home in Hudson, Quebec, but the bright day was deceiving. It was frigid, the first deep freeze of the season, 30 below, despite still being late fall. Fortunately, Highway 401 comes close to the River near Cornwall where I spotted an amazing scene - massive amounts of sea smoke rising from the water. Never one to intentionally miss meetings, particularly when a very busy person has put valuable time aside for me, I skipped Brockville and continued on to the River in hopes that I might find a vantage point to capture this unusual circumstance. Glimpsing the River through the trees as I hit the Parkway, I knew I'd hit the jackpot!

Pulling into the first driveway I came across, I leapt out of the car, scrambled around some stranger's house to their backyard and switched on my camera. Unfortunately, I had left it overnight on the cold back seat floor of the car and its battery was dead! I noticed curtains rustling as I ran back to the car to hold the battery in the heater vent with it blasting on high. As any photographer could explain, there was no way I was going to stop what I was doing to apologize or explain the intrusion. Only the picture mattered, and then the appointment. Much later, I met the people behind the curtains, Tub and Ruth Anne Tolton, David Tolton's parents.

After a few minutes, I ran back to grab two shots before the battery gave out for good. December's scene was one of them. The other became the cover of Donna Walsh Inglehart’s acclaimed Civil War era novel, Grindstone. Through her request to use that image, I discovered an amazingly talented author. Donna and I eventually collaborated to bring to life our interactive eBook One in a Thousand, the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken.

The further good news is that Lyne not only forgave me for being VERY late for our meeting, she selected that image from all the images in the book to purchase and hang prominently behind her desk at Henderson Printing. Twelve years later, we find ourselves together in life with that very picture now hanging on our wall! Who could have ever guessed how so many random dots would eventually connect in such momentous ways, simply because of a couple of pictures?

As we usher in the New Year, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of the River as it looks right now, or at least a very close approximation, as this was taken just a few hours before 2016 arrived. As always, I encourage you to try to identify where it was taken and to share any comments it might inspire.

Download wide-angle version

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