...but I look at what's been happening weather-wise around the world for years and it scares me. Mother Nature is royally pissed off. Every hemisphere is feeling the brunt and almost no countries have escaped unscathed.

In Canada, every year and without fail, polar bears habitually make their way to the shores of Hudson Bay at Churchill, Manitoba - where they wait for the ice to form on the water. The bears have some kind of uncanny inner clock which tells them that it's that week and therefore time to migrate to the ice. Conservationists have organized eco-tours to observe this at length and years ago I had the incredible fortune of being able to take part in one and view the bears up close.

Our adventure gave all of us the opportunity to see these magnificent animals in their own environment. From inside our massive tundra buggy, we watched them sidle up to our vehicle without fear and then wow us with their sheer height when they stood up on their hind legs, front paws on the windows, checking us out. (Just to put this into perspective, the tires alone on these vehicles are ten feet high. ) Every day on that week-long trip was magical. Cold as hell, but magical.

I think about that experience whenever I see images of polar bears now, trying to eke out lives for themselves in a cruel environment that has changed radically since I was there. Seeing a bear perched precariously on a piece of ice barely big enough to hold its weight is saddening beyond compare.

It's not only that vision, but being directly affected by each winter now myself which gives me further pause for thought.

I'm a seasonal girl. I live where four distinct seasons are a reality and so the change from one to another is always a source of excitement. My year and annual events are shaped by the difference in temperature. Whether it's seeing the first buds on the trees, experiencing the first true heat, viewing the first change of leaves or watching the first flurries of snowfall, all them get me every time. Each change of season gives me a sense of a fresh new start. And as far as winter goes, I'm the rare individual who fondly remembers and fervently wishes for the return of massive snow storms shutting down the city, sometimes for a week. Getting sent home early on snow days in those days was commonplace. Not so much anymore. Our last big storm happened almost twenty years ago.

So I'm trying to reconcile the confusion of the here and now, as evidenced by people I saw where I live on Christmas Day wearing shorts and t-shirts. For the first time in years, it didn't feel like Christmas. (Unlike a lot of people, the prospect of cold temps doesn't send me running south. Frankly, I like busting out my winter gear.) Now, a green 25 December here has pretty much become the norm, but the crazy warm temperatures are not. Snowfalls have been sporadic and practically non-existent. Most people are thrilled to death about that, thinking we've dodged the bullet, and I know winter has barely begun, but still, this worries me. And I miss going for walks after a new snowfall and hearing it crunch under my feet.

Given all of this, it was heartening to see the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris last month. Finally after twenty years, the debate and indifferent turning of heads amongst worldwide leaders has stopped. 195 countries have voted and signed the agreement to put a stop to greenhouse gas emissions. To give our planet the break it deserves.

Mother Nature has been sending us a big signal for decades. We simply cannot ignore it any longer.

Happy 5th Birthday, oh Titanium One.

Honoured to be part of this. TWL...thanks for the opportunity to contribute.

Come to the Big Apple.


Want to polish my apple?


Bite me.


For more fun creativity in the challenge, visit the blogs of VTCali, RoxanneS, tight_wet_lips, guitartxn, _amuseyou_, Innate Lovers, undisclosedid1, MrsUnderdog, and tickle_me_elmo.

It’s been truly heart-warming to see the response to my latest series after being on hiatus for two and half months. And it’s wonderful to have been missed. Thank you.

When I found time to check in here, I was asked where I’d been all summer, and why I hadn’t been posting. I was conflicted about answering that, because it would take far more of an explanation than I was prepared to give at that point. Now, permit me to share my reflections on that struggle.

I joined NN a year ago, noted by the hard-earned 1 now beside my name. It was a tough time in my life and I touched on this in my Dove post a few months ago. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then, and my journey here has been a life lesson. As the months have gone on, and as friendships have developed, so has my self-awareness and confidence.

I can totally credit NN for giving me the balls to embark on a project this summer which tested me physically, mentally and emotionally. What took me away from NN doesn’t matter. What’s important is that at its completion, I had an epiphany.

I’m a giver, so 150% applied to everything I do is an understatement. Half-assed simply doesn’t exist in my world. I hadn’t realized to what extent this site had crept up on my life and consumed me until I simply didn't have time to login and it was no longer part of my daily routine. I had lived and breathed NN every day. And I felt an on-going responsibility to my followers. My gallery had become an obsession to the exclusion of everything else that I held near and dear. Risking discovery everywhere for indecent exposure and by our tech geeks at the office for accessing NN on wifi became de rigueur. And things around me started to unravel. Sadly, what had once seemed important no longer was. Physically, my well-being suffered too, as a full-night’s sleep had become a rare commodity. My old-school PVR was chock-full of seven-month-old programs, waiting to be watched. I took negative feedback and communication on my contributions to NN far too seriously. Relationships floundered. I tried to satisfy my thirst for affirmation while sacrificing so many other things in my day-to-day existence. In short, I had lost sight of normal life . And I needed to sit back and take stock.

So it was a relief to calm down this summer and devote attention to my project without feeling wracked with guilt about the need to create. Life became infinitely easier. I channelled my love of photography into non-NN work and moved away from the sheer narcissism that I felt my life had become. It was also time to focus on others rather than myself. And that was more rewarding than I ever anticipated.

Along the way, something else had changed. The affirmation on NN that I’d grown to love and wrap around myself like a warm blanket had become less of a need and priority. I had come to understand that those close to me had been beautifully supportive all along. There is no single source of validation. Affirmation is truly everywhere.

Please don’t get me wrong. NN, while not top-of-mind this summer, has never been far away from my thought process. How could it be when I’ve been faced with remembrances of past shoot locations at just about every turn? With my summer drawing to a close, that niggling urge to post again flashed through my mind. I missed it.

Part of me knew that I had created my own monster, being so prolific and original with my posts, but I also knew that there was plenty of other enjoyment here for everyone if I wasn’t around. It doesn’t take much to become yesterday’s lunch.

So I wrestled with this inner game of tennis. Return or fade to black? The longer I stayed away, the harder it was to return. I didn’t want to feed the monster I'd created.

In the end, it was my friends here who stuck with me throughout my hiatus, and sent PM’s to make sure I was ok. Waiting weeks, and sometimes months for replies. Gradually, I felt the inexplicable draw, the gravitational pull back into the NN fold. For that and those of you responsible, I’m thankful.

Moving forward, I now know that my continued presence here needs to be about balance. Specifically, to indulge my passion for creativity without feeling like a sacrificial lamb. To be as much about words as images. To evoke smiles, laughs and conversation. To hone the spontaneity of some comedic chops in status, and to utilize the forum that this site provides.

Creativity needs an audience and NN had become my creative outlet. It fulfilled the photographer and the writer in me. It fed my identity and often encouraged my positive sense of self. So as you now know, all it took was one look at that watermelon two days ago and it was game over!

If I’ve felt pressure to keep producing for my followers in the past, that pressure was something I put on myself. And I acknowledge this, as I uploaded copious daily posts for months.

Looking ahead, the tricky part is figuring out how to manage my own expectations. To understand the proportion of where NN lies in my life, which I want to be a rich and creatively rewarding part of it as opposed to all of it.

Do I owe NN anything? No, but I wanted to share the reason for my chosen hiatus out of appreciation and respect for my loyal fan-base. Your dedication to my existence on this site means more than you know.

Is there any wonder I have such an attachment to NN and value my friendships here so much? One can’t put a price on that.

I ask your indulgence as I work this out. How I can strike a fine balance between too much of one thing and not enough of another. I want to build on my summer’s teaching moment.

Rest assured. I’m never more than a login away.