The Short Way's Fast, but the Long Way's Pretty.



Highway 417 in Ottawa. Source: Ottawa Citizen, We failed in the snow

I don't think anyone enjoys commuting. It's just drudgery. On the day that the photo above was taken, I drove along the Ottawa River Parkway instead of the 417 (also known as the Queensway). It was slow, indeed, but not two-hours-late kind of slow.

What's more important, it was scenic. I feel very blessed that my daily commute takes me along the parkway - one of the city's secret treasures. It isn't the shortest route for me to take, but it is definitely beautiful. These past few weeks as the snow has accumulated, I've been captivated by the play of monochromatic hues: white, grey, blue.

Taken with my BlackBerry while traffic was stopped.
I did NOT take any of these pictures while actually driving.

I've seen trees dusted in white frost, each twig outlined as carefully as if it had been dipped in powdered sugar. I've seen mist rising off the river as the sun weakly breaks through clouds. I've seen tree limbs carrying eiderdowns of pristine snow.

Yes, I've seen a good bit of traffic, but while I'm going slowly or even stopped, I get to look at this!

And each day, I thought: I need to bring my camera. I need to go out some Saturday morning and just take some pictures. Well, today, as you can see, I decided to use what I had at hand. The pictures are not fine art, but I hope they convey a little of what brings joy to my mornings.

And, as I'm not a morning person at all, a little joy is very much appreciated.

P.S. The title of today's post comes from "Katy-Make-Sure" a story in Terry Jones' (yes, THAT Terry Jones, the one from Monty Python) children's book, Fairy Tales.

In our house, we think this book is magic because every time we open it, we find a story we don't remember ever having read before. Well worth reading or giving.