AmplifiedLIFE

A crisp November early morning mist on the water 4-minute drifting Timelapse from the shores of Lac Ste. Pierre in Quebec, Canada.

Almost every evening, a small flock of Chickadees make their way to my rock pond haven, with comes complete with overhead camouflage, secure natural rock walls, cool flowing water and branches for perching and drying. While one is bathing, the others are in the nearby trees and buses, taking their turns as watchmen. I’ve slowed everything down for closer observation. Enjoy these zen moments. They say their name comes from the fact that they call out a distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee-dee", sound. In actuality, their normal call is “fee-bee”, and the famous chick-a-dee-dee-dee is an alarm call. And get this - the number of "dees" depends on the predator.

Rambunctious Norwich Terrier 6-month-old puppy, Miles, gets to his favourite part of the walk, where his dad lets go of the leash and lets him run and run and run some more! And here we are on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/russell.and.miles/ - - - - Mariachi Snooze by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100166 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Winterlude is held in Ottawa Canada every February Winterlude was created in 1979 to celebrate Canada's unique northern culture and climate Organizers were inspired by our ancestors who would gather to enjoy each other’s company during the long winter months On average, 600,000 visitors take part in the festivities on the Rideau Canal. The “world’s largest skating rink” Winterlude runs smoothly thanks to 800 volunteers Loving winter outdoors AND staying toasty warm inside… THIS is Winterlude! - - - - - Each winter, the historic Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becomes the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest skating rink. The Rideau Canal Skateway was first opened during the 1970–1971 season. The idea to turn the Rideau Canal into a skateway came from then-newly appointed NCC chair Doug Fullerton. In January 1971, a team of NCC employees armed with brooms and shovels turned his idea into a reality. They cleared a small section of ice between the Mackenzie King and Laurier bridges near the National Arts Centre. It was then extended as a six-metre-wide skating track on the canal ice surface to Dows Lake, a distance of about 5 km. At the area between the bridges, lighting and music were added to increase the enjoyment of skating in the evening. Despite the heavy snow and many hours of overtime, the NCC crews managed to keep the skating area cleared. That season, hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors made their way onto the ice to start a new winter tradition. Our knowledge and expertise in the science of ice have come a long way since then! Today, the Rideau Canal Skateway winds over 7.8 km through the heart of the Capital, and is a key site for Winterlude celebrations in February. The average skating season is 50 days, but the record is 95 days (1971–1972 season).

Double-timed race through Busch Gardens just like nature's fastest land animal on this steel launch ride. Tampa Bay’s longest roller coaster quickly raced and weaved its way onto the list of coaster favorites. This triple launch roller coaster carries riders high above the park, then races down along the ground through a rocky gorge.At a length of 4,400 feet, Cheetah Hunt® is the park’s longest thrill ride attraction!

Interestingly enough, on my way to San Francisco, within a short period of time I flew over two completely different alternative fuel sources - wind power and nuclear energy. Many people like the idea of nuclear power because of how clean it is relative to other fuel sources. It is virtually a renewable energy source that emits no greenhouse gasses, but only supplies about 20 percent of all the energy used in the U.S. However many incidences today are making it seem like the world may be moving away from nuclear energy. This can be seen in Germany, one of the largest economies and energy producers in the world. Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan where there was a meltdown of three of the plant's nuclear reactors, the German government decided to shutdown all of the countries power plants by the year 2022. Wind energy was initially used used to propels boat along the Nile River in the late 5000 BC. It was then used to power water pumps in China by 200 BC. By the 11th century, people from the Middle East were already using wind mills and wind pumps for food production. The source of nuclear energy - Uranium - was found in 1789. An experiment that was conducted over a century later revealed that the energy released from one fission is equivalent to 200 million electron volts. This was put into pen and paper by Albert Einstein forward the equivalence between mass and energy , which had been published in 1905. Initially, the US had twice as many operating nuclear power plants as any other country in 1991 - more than one fourth of the world’s operating plant. Even now, US generates the most amount of nuclear energy worldwide but it is not the most nuclear dependent nation. France gets around three quarters of its electricity through nuclear energy while Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine gets half of it through nuclear energy. While nuclear power is a very clean and efficient way to produce energy, the risk of potential catastrophic accidents like the one in Fukushima are making it so many countries want to find a risk-free way to make large amounts of energy.

Carnival’s Mardis Gras leaves the port of Grand Turk, followed by us on Holland-America’s Nieuw Amsterdam.

I was visiting friends in Austin, Texas when my hosts told me it was “breakfast time for the girls”. We went to their garage and opened up a large container of deer food, and the minute we started pouring the food into a bowl - even inside the garage - the subtle noise then brought the sound of quickening hoofs as a gang of deer quickly appeared from the surrounding forest. Gang? Well perhaps that’s not the right word. I looked it up. You can call a group of deer, a “herd”, but you can also refer to them as a bunch, mob, parcel, or rangale.

Enjoy this early morning moody scene set by the steam rising off the surface of Lac Sainte-Pierre in Quebec, Canada. A misty morning fog conjures a sense of mystery—but why the fog appears isn't so mysterious once you understand what it is and how it forms. It’s a beautiful sight, and one that becomes more common when the weather shifts from warm summer sunrises to crisp, cold autumn mornings. The phenomenon goes by many names, including steam fog, evaporation fog, frost smoke and sea smoke. So what makes it happen? Fog forms when cool air and warm water meet and, more specifically, when the difference between the temperature and the dew point is less than 4° Fahrenheit. Water is heated by the sun and stays warmer than the air during the cool night. When the cold layer of still air settles over the lake, warm water vapor from the lake evaporates, entering the cool air above it. The thin, warm, moist layer of air over the pond then mixes with the cooler air from the land. As it cools, condensation occurs and a fog forms. It looks like steam rising off the water, hence the name 'steam fog.' This happens not only over bodies of water but even over moist surfaces, like dew-covered meadows or even over your own skin if you get sweaty while jogging on a chilly morning. Now, next time you go out for a morning stroll along the edge of a lake or a pond and you see this happening, you can appreciate not only the beauty of it but also the science behind it!

I decided to experiment with staying as silent and unmoving as I could, while relaxing with a drink in a comfortable chair on my backyard deck. Right in front of me I set up a tripod with my Canon 80D with a 300 mm lens. I sat back and listened to music on my iPhone—with earbuds, so I wasn’t making a sound. Very shortly, I was rewarded with a great up-close-and-personal visit from a chipmunk! She didn’t seem to mind the peeling paint on my old garage one bit as she enjoyed a veritable feast of maple tree seeds (this IS Canada…) and pond-water while keeping a very keen ear and eye out for those children happily playing nearby. Her whole body seemed poised for escape if they came any nearer, but she seemed satisfied that there was no danger, and kept on munching. When her little one appeared, however, she made sure the youngster understood it was to stay under the garage until further notice! Chipmunks always seem to be moving so fast that it’s hard to get more than a little glimpse of them. But by maintaining my silent and unmoving stance, I was able to observe all the details this time. Such beautiful eyes. Notice how delicate and intricate their hands and feet are, and that the stripes go all the way over the back and continue down the tail. The precise action of their delicate hands demands a slow-motion camera to really catch what they’re doing when they eat, or even just scratch. Is that chipmunk using his tail to wash and “towel off”? Chipmunks are basically pygmy squirrels. They’re known for their burrowing habits and love of nuts. They scamper along the ground, but they are also expert climbers. The chipmunks’ call is a shrill chirring or chirping. Their signature behavior, so to speak, is to stuff seeds and nuts into their cheek pouches. Just one tiny chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in one day! They carry them to a burrow to be stored for later use. Most chipmunks do not accumulate significant fat, so they depend upon this cached food during the long winter, during which they wake from their hibernation at intervals for feeding. Their young are typically born in the spring, two to eight per birth, after about a month’s gestation. Chipmunks usually grow to no more than 6 inches in length, with a 3-inch tail, and the average chipmunk weighs less than one pound. Their lifespan is two to three years in the wild. And while the “wild” can be their ideal forest habitat, they also often live comfortably in cities wherever trees, water, and someplace to burrow are available. Chipmunks dig two types of burrows: shallow burrows in which they seek refuge while foraging during the day, and deeper, more complex burrows where they nest, store food and spend most of the winter months. They rarely venture further than 1/3 mile from their burrows at any time. They’ve got lots of places to burrow around my house, and fresh water is available in the pond. All I have to do is get myself to sit still and I will likely get to observe more of their talents and cuteness.

O'Hare has non-stop flights to 228 destinations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. - Nicknamed the "busiest square mile in the world" - Began as a military airfield during World War II - Named after Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first Medal of Honor recipient during that war. - Became famous during the jet age, holding the distinction as the world's busiest airport from 1963 to 1998; today, it is the world's sixth-busiest airport, serving 83 million passengers in 2018.

This fireplace is tall enough to stand in. Generations of lovers have fallen asleep sitting before it in one of the old rocking chairs - perhaps with a glass of wine or warm cider in hand. The stone inscription above the hearth reads, “Take from this hearth its warmth; from this room its charm; from this inn its amity. Return them not—but return.” This is one of the two, 36-ft tall, gigantic granite fireplaces in the lobby of Asheville, North Carolina’s famous Grove Park Inn. Built in 1913, it continues to be one of America’s most celebrated resorts. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this spectacular holiday destination has hosted countless luminaries over the years, including U.S. Presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In northern climates such as here in Quebec, Canada, it is not uncommon for a grassy field to be covered in dew, and then frost on a cold fall morning. Frost typically occurs on cold, clear nights when atmospheric conditions cause objects, including grass, to become colder than the surrounding air. Depending on the conditions, frost can be light and scattered or heavy enough to kill annual plants and cause perennial plants to go dormant. Grass blades move water through them for nourishment, but this moisture can freeze inside the grass ​during a frost. However, a light frost generally doesn't freeze the ground. Frost over several nights can lead to visible signs of damage, depending on the grass species. The dead grass will eventually become thatch that nourishes the soil below as the new seeds germinate and grow.

Boating on Canada's Rideau Canal is the best way to experience this amazing National Historic Site. Launch your own vessel and cruise from end-to-end, or rent a boat and enjoy a vacation of any length with your friends and family. Parks Canada welcomes you to experience a boating adventure rooted in many generations of tradition. When you voyage the Rideau Canal National Historic Site and begin to feel the true spirit of the waterway, you will see the canal as a boating community that tells a story of struggle, success and changing landscapes. At a glance: * 202 km (miles) of navigable waterway from Kingston to Ottawa * Takes approx. 5 days (1 week) to complete end-to-end * Plan a trip of any length, including simple daytrips * 26 historic locks to visit; many overnight options

You just know that father & son Russell & Miles are Canadian-born doggies - they're completely confident on a hockey rink, eh! Granted, there is a firm layer of fresh snow over the ice, but all the same, look at those cuties running with abandon! And here we are on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/russell.and.miles/

Minus 20 Degrees! Is that NICE weather for ducks? I’m looking down from Ottawa’s Bank Street bridge through -20C (-4F) wind, snow and ice at the seemingly perfectly comfortable ducks below. Isn’t nature amazing? How do ducks keep their feet from freezing in cold water? We can understand how feathers protect water birds from almost freezing water, but how do they keep their feet from freezing? Ducks adapt to cold weather by using a counter-current heat exchange system between the arteries and veins in their legs. In ducks, veins that take blood from the extremities back to the heart, surround the arteries that take blood from the heart and pump it away to the extremities. As the warm blood comes from the heart, it goes through the body and to the extremities, particularly the legs, and encounters veins. The warmth from the blood passes through to the surrounding vein and brings warm blood back to the body cavity. As the blood enters the legs, it cools quite significantly. The feathered part of bird can be 25 C while the legs dip to 1 C. The bird therefore doesn't lose much heat to the environment. The birds' legs also have tendons and bonesinstead of muscles and nerves like in mammals, whichneed more oxygenated blood. Ducks can freeze to death in severe cold. Ducks are equipped with natural insulation in their bodies that helps them resist cold but prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures can lead to death. Adult ducks are less susceptible to the cold than ducklings and, as a whole ducks are more resistant to cold than many other birds. Here are three ways ducks protect themselves from low temperatures: Possession of Preen Glands A preen gland produces sebum (oil) and is located near the tail of ducks. When preening (i.e. rubbing their beak over their body to clean themselves and reposition their feathers), ducks spread the oil produced by the preen gland over their body. Preening makes the feathers of ducks to become waterproof. Waterproof feathers permit very little or no amount of water (which easily gets cold) to reach the body of ducks. So Many Downs The down of birds is a type of feather that is soft with filaments scattered in every direction. Down feathers are below the feathers above. Down feathers are insulators as they trap air, and ducks can be warm even in harsh conditions). Exchange of Blood Temperature in Their Legs Ducks have feathers to protect their bodies from low temperatures. The only parts of the body of ducks without feathers are their legs. Luckily, ducks (and a few other birds) are equipped with a marvelous exchange system in their legs. Their arteries and veins are so close, so when warm blood from their warm body flows into their legs, it increasing the temperature of the cold blood flowing into their body (from their legs). The ability to exchange blood temperature in their legs makes ducks walk on cold (or icy) surfaces for a long time without major impacts.

On a Sunday stroll to the river in my Old Ottawa South neighborhood, I spot a handsome striped grass snake, not quite camouflaged by the lush green grass of early spring. While I scrambled to get my camera uncapped and ready to go, I heard some hurried footsteps behind me. Suddenly there appeared a curious boy with a butterfly net. He assured us that he is indeed, an experienced snake-catcher! Our young friend deftly scooped the snake into his net while calmly reporting that he’s been bitten before and that it hurts! Oops, the clever snake manages to slip out of the net and slither away to nearby cover. All part of a morning’s adventure.

Pot of gold? Not this particular time. The rainbow is there, in all its colours. But unlike the treasure of fairytales, this particular rainbow leads back to something as commonplace as a garden sprinkler. Nature paints it anyway.

As seen from a cruise ship.

“Who says you can’t buy success?” That was one of the many magazine advertising headlines for the Grand Prix. Produced from 1962 through 2002, this ‘personal luxury coupe’ was considered the flagship of the Pontiac fleet. Its upscale interior easily rivaled anything the competition could serve up. The car boasted such niceties as Morrokide-covered bucket seats, console, floor shift, tachometer, and rear speaker, and of course, above-average performance with big V-8 engines with plenty of horsepower. The 1969 Grand Prix was the very first car to have its radio antenna embedded in the windshield. And in an era of excess, the Grand Prix could brag about having the longest hood in the industry. Man, what a sweet ride! I spotted this one and its great lines, curves and chrome at the Aylmer Auto Show in Quebec, Canada and I caressed it with my camera. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1960’s automobile ads were so clever! Here’s a few of the fun copy lines for the Grand Prix: • Some cars try to look like Pontiacs. Some cars try to act like Pontiacs. Lots of luck. • Any car this responsive, obedient and satisfying to drive, simply has no right to be this good looking. • Grand Prix is for people who think good looks are enough. Also for those who don’t. • You don’t have to turn the key to be moved by it. • If you gravitate helplessly toward every Pontiac you see, you’re simply human. • If you think the Grand Prix is just a big, beautiful, elegant car, you obviously haven’t driven it. • Ignore the Grand Prix’s urbane good looks for the moment. (Force yourself.) • Whisks you from hither to yon in such effortless style. • If you can resist buying one, maybe you just don’t like cars. • It may be sometime before you can see this car without a lot of people crowded around it so be our guest. • Curves and turns come and go, but you sit comfortably unmoved. • Your pulse rate goes up whatever you see one of these? Relax, you’re perfectly normal. • Try and tell yourself you don’t want one. Just try. • If you don’t want to be looked at wherever you go, don’t go in this! • Now the only question is, who has the years second best looking car? • This beauty eats mountains for breakfast. • Another beautiful sleek new luxurious responsive Pontiac Grand Prix? So what else is new? • If you had two wishes, what would the second one be? • It’s quick and nimble but much more civilized and comfortable than a sports car. • Here’s a car that’s luxurious without being a stuffed shirt about it! • Does any car have the right to be this beautiful? Only if it’s a Pontiac and its name is Grand Prix. So beautiful, in fact, it’s clean, aristocratic lines have set the standard for personal luxury cars • Push the go paddle. Man, this is driving! This is Grand Prix. Who else but Pontiac could’ve built it? Who else but you could enjoy it so much?

My backyard pond is tough and ready for today’s hail and ice onslaught. Just another September afternoon in Ottawa, Canada. My GoPro camera case took a bit of a beating and the microphone certainly recorded lots of direct hits. Ah, weather! And the things I do to get the shot. Gotta love it!

Lee & I came upon a GIANT painting being completed that every night! We went for a Sunday evening neighbourhood stroll and came upon a brand new art gallery near Bank and Sunnyside here in Ottawa, Canada. A beautiful painting in the window caught our eye and we paused to take a closer look. Just as we were about to move on, I looked further into the store (which we thought was closed) and there, near the back, were two men painting on a huge canvas. Even from a distance the painting looked epic, so I knocked on the window and gave them a thumbs-up before moving on. Lee however, thought she saw one of the men beckon us in, so we backed up, tentatively pulled on the door and found ourselves inside. There we met the owner – Kevin Dodds – an internationally acclaimed artist and teacher, and helping Kevin out, Fine artist Chris Tinkler. Kevin’s work has appeared in many exhibitions, galleries and museums worldwide including; the Parliament of Canada’s Hall of Honour and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Kevin’s current work is inspired by the peace and tranquility of unique and natural environments. He explained to us that the mural we were looking at, was actually going to be finished that very night. It had been commissioned by the Lépine Corporation – one of Canada's leading developers of high-rise residential property. The painting is for the main entrance in one of their brand new buildings. First, Kevin did a preliminary painting, which with corrections and client-driven changes, took about six months to complete.

This is Gardnerville, Nevada on a brisk February morning. We are right on the border of Nevada and California, with the natural landscape, rolling foothills, and mountains in the distance. The peace and calm of the desert, yet with the excitement of adventure just outside our front door, approaching with the rising sun. Nevada Sunrise - by Danika The mountains are new each morning clothed with white a dust of powered sugar a confectioner's design resting, waiting in the cool of the sunrise hidden behind the fog mist and mystery obscuring the heights I never tire of looking west into the mountains

Or perhaps it’s Devon Island? 😎 Nope. We’re gliding across the surface of my frozen backyard pond. - Peter Beamish Music: Feels. by: @patrickpatrikios2050

The Rideau Canal runs between Kingston and Ottawa, going along lakes, rivers and 20 kilometres of canals cut into the soil and rock. It was built between 1812 and 1832 to create a supply route from Ottawa to the Great Lakes, away from the St. Lawrence River, based on the lessons learned from the War of 1812. Since then, it has seen many upgrades and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. The waterway runs for 202 kilometres via 45 locks. In 2019, almost 62,000 boats travelled through the locks: two-thirds from Ontario, one-quarter from Quebec and the rest coming north from the United States. If you want to travel the waterway and don’t have a boat, you can rent a houseboat or a boat. They have eight different styles of luxury houseboat to accommodate your friends or family for meals, sleeping and even showering aboard. You can book them for three to seven nights, with a week costing $1,719 to $36,89, depending on the model you choose. No boating licence or experience is needed to rent their boats. If you are planning a trip, it takes four to six days to make it from one end to the other, depending on how busy each lock is and how long you need to wait. You could cover it in three days, but that pace does not allow you to enjoy the experience at the same level. For a relaxed week-long venture, you can cover the entire canal and still see many of its sights. However, if you want to stop and shop or spend a day or two on walking tours, then build in a buffer to truly embrace the experience. If you are planning to paddle the full route, the trip would take eight days with limited stops. Again, to really enjoy yourself, slow down and take it all in.