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Is it just me? Or does everyone see it? Ducks are cartoon characters that stepped off the drawing board. Those bright orange feet are just the best, aren't they? They make me smile.

Deb Schulte, mover and shaker for Friends of Boyd, all of whom have worked to stop the government putting a highway through the middle of a conservation area filled with sensitive and endangered species, not to mention First Nations burial grounds.

Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty called a press conference to announce the Greenbelt. Friends of Boyd were hoping that Boyd would be included in the plan and it looks like it is. Fingers crossed.

"Hurricane" Hazel McCallion was at the event today. Mayor of Missisauga, Hazel McCallion, at 83 years of age, has served the public for some 25 years, leading the transformation of a few small towns into the sixth largest city in Canada.

David Eadie

Met a very interesting gentleman today, with a very photogenic face. His name is David Eadie and he was named as a member of the Order of Canada for his work in humanitarian aid to the world's disadvantaged.

He is a master woodworker and has been a volunteer technical adviser with the Canadian Hunger Foundation and the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO).

He introduced new technology and techniques which are fostering self-sufficiency among indigenous peoples in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Using his extensive background in sawmilling and furniture manufacturing, he finds practical solutions to local problems and his ingenuity became the cornerstone for many successful aid projects in Canada and abroad.

Ricardo and I had the day off today, after finishing all of the Toronto Police Mounted Unit trading cards. Got all the artwork done and the backs of the cards and now they go off to the printers. Hopefully I can drive them over before the big snowstorm dumps its load tomorrow.

I don't know what you call young swans. Yearlings? Swanlets? Anyway, these were some immature swans with some of their brown feathers still intact. The water was such an icy and beautiful green.

Ducks in a feeding frenzy. I was imagining falling into the water and being snarfed to shreds by orange-footed pirannhas.

This particular park along the waterfront is a waterfowl's wet dream. Every five minutes a car pulls up, some crazed human totes a garbage bag full of breadcrusts or cereal to the water and dumps it in there. These birds are so stuffed full of food I was starting to worry they might explode.

I like the textures of this crop of geese.

Ricardo caught in the act of trying to nick the goose-food to feed to the ducks. Lucky they didn't peck his eyes out.

Some icy branches along the seawall.

I love this one because of the snow-eating grin on his face and the pure untouched snow he's about to gallop into. He is the sweetest guy. I say "guy" because he thinks he's human.

Here he is walking on ice floes in the freezing cold by the river. You can see his breath.

Here's my sweetie Cooper out back snarfing around in the snow. Eating lots of it.

P.C. Rick Mamak on Spencer in a little snow squall off the lake.

P.C. Ted Gallipeau on Brigadier. Was it cold? Oh yes. My eyes froze shut. ;-)

P.C. Ron Gilbert on Brigadier

More city sentinels

Police Chief Fantino on police mount Toby.

Police Chief Julian Fantino talking to some of the Toronto Police Mounted unit and a training class of police officers trying out for the unit.

Some crowd control exercises.

and a bit of fun and games to end the session.

It was sad watching the Chief say goodbye to the unit for the last time. Chief Fantino always took the time to talk with people. I'm sorry to see him go.

Great shoot this morning with Jacqueline Spicer from The Ink Tank Inc. She brought over one of her clients, Robert Curran who has designed a really cool new dog collar called the NewTrix, easyway collar. Jess, the dog wrangler came along with the star of the show, Rosie, a Golden/Hound mix who was the picture of professionalism. The shots are for booklet/packaging/website and I think Rosie did a fantastic job.

Toronto woke up to a foot of snow this morning. Heavy, wet, snow. Looks lovely but what a mess.

... but it could have been worse. Look at this shot my friend Charlene sent me. It's a street along the sea wall somewhere in Newfoundland, Canada. Solid ice.

Went down to our favourite beach Sunday, a stretch of Lake Ontario shoreline that accumulates a lot of neat rubble. Because of the deep freeze there had been a thin layer of ice on all the harbour waters. Then when the waves came up it all starting breaking up and crashing onto the shore.

From a distance it looked like surf.. but when you got closer you could see it wasn't. It was ice.

It was some kind of demented Edward Scissorhands world out there today. The surf was made entirely of razor sharp shards of crystal clear ice. The music it made was spooky.

.. and the shards of ice were so densely packed by the waves that they were stacked on end like this... all bobbing up and down in the water.

It was amazing.

Went down to the lake shore last week to unwind. Walking towards the beach you could see a storm coming. The trees along the path are wearing their little "beaver girdles" to stop beaver from nibbling them to pieces.

And over the hill, you can see the intensity of the snow storm approaching over the water.

Ricardo collecting stones

marching stones.

I love all the junk we find along the lakeshore.

Just spent some of yesterday and most of today extracting 27 horses heads from their backgrounds so we can use them as graphics on the backs of the trading cards. Each one takes about 30 fiddly, headache-inducing minutes. Argh. Anyway, found some funny pics in the folders while I was rummaging around.

So here's one I found tucked away of the very first shoot we did for the Toronto Police mounted unit trading cards. Notice the green leaves on the trees and flood pants on me. Warm weather, I remember warm weather..

...and this is me, on one of the last shoots, looking like the Michelin Man. Let's see, I'm wearing woolen tights, long johns, double layered snowpants, two sweaters, down jacket and fur hat with ear flaps. And tucked inside my coat is my camera, to keep the battery from draining in the cold. Brrr.

This is P.C. Peter Cullingford on police mount Boot. P.C. Cullingford chose this Buddhist temple as a backdrop for his trading card because he enjoys working in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

Police mount "Boot" is named for ex Toronto Police Chief David Boothby, whose nickname was Boot when he was a rookie.

One of the Buddhist monks in the temple came out to say hello to us.

... then over to the Moss Park Armouries. Reason that location was chosen was to highlight the history of the unit's involvement in WW1 when the Toronto Police Services sent men and horses overseas to fight. Some never came home again.

P.C. Richard Warman on police mount Lincoln, named for Lincoln Alexander. In 1985, Alexander was appointed as Ontario's 24th Lieutenant Governor, the first member of a visible minority to serve as such in Canada. During his term in office, which ended in 1991, Alexander gave education and youth-related issues his full attention.

We met a Canadian soldier on his way to active duty. When I find the piece of paper I'll post his name. Lincoln decided to nibble on the tasty fake camoflauge foliage on his helmet.

Gee, now that this trading card project is almost over I realize how much I'm going to miss all the guys, girls and the horses. They made me feel like family and every single shoot was fun, freezing or not.

Boot says "buh-bye". That's a wrap.

My kid sister showed up on my doorstep tonight looking pretty much like... well.. me. So we decided to document the moment for posterity and everyone in the family's amusement.

argh.. not loving being on the other side of the lens.

time's up.. craziness now.

Secret sentinel overlooking downtown Toronto.

8am, from the 19th floor of the Royal York Hotel looking east as the sun rises over Lake Ontario, the Gardiner Expressway and the CN rail yards. Dearly in need of some caffeine.

Today we did a couple of quickie shoots at the stables. Here's P.C. Joe Da Silva and police horse Charger. Charger has that "I've got the bit between my teeth" look in his eyes. He's a character.

Charger just had a buzz cut I think.

Today's shoot, P.C. Nicole MacEachran and police mount Major. This is one of Ricardo's shots.

Ears at attention.

..proof of werewolves at Ashbridges Bay? ;-)

Shot a real sweetie this week. Jordan Pandoff, the next big thing in the modelling world. Very easy to work with and a total natural in front of the camera. Go for it Jordan!

Spent three days at the Royal York Hotel shooting the ETFO conference. Super venue, great vibes, lots of fun.

Chief Roberta Jamieson, keynote speaker at the ETFO conference at the Royal York Hotel on Thursday night. She was the first Canadian Aboriginal woman to earn a law degree, and the first woman appointed as Ontario's Ombudsman, a position she held for a decade. Raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River, Canada's most populous reserve, she learned to be an effective conciliator and negotiator within her large family - a skill that has defined her career. Roberta went on to achieve another first - as the first woman to become Chief of the Six Nations.

The Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum singers. Magical sounds.

I was really privileged to meet Dr. Monia Mazigh on Friday. She's a truly formidable woman. Her husband, Maher Arar, was falsely accused of being a terrorist and deported to Syria, where he was held for over a year and tortured. Monia Mazigh fought the slowly grinding wheels of government for every single one of those days. Once she won his release, she forced the Martin government to launch an inquiry into the government's handling of the case.

Friday morning, from the rafters of the Concert Hall at the Royal York Hotel, the ETFO giving Dr. Monia Mazigh a standing ovation at the end of her speech.

MONDAY afternoon in the rain. Makes a change from freezing to death. ;-) This is P.C. Greg Ladner on police mount Blue Moon in front of the Music building on the CNE grounds.

P.C. Ladner, aka the horse whisperer, showing how to sit on a horse properly. Great posture.

P.C. Ladner is wearing his formal uniform in this shot. I like the way Blue Moon's colouring matches P.C. Ladner's colouring and the music building behind them. And the grey weather as well.

Blue is a beauty.

Caught in the act. Police mount Stuart, nibbling the visor of P.C. Hildor Pickran's helmet.

I like this shot. I think that rainy days work much better than bright and sunny as far as lighting goes. Stuart is a sweet horse.

It was mild today, for February, with a bit of drizzle, but we didn't mind. P.C. Pickran is wearing his public order uniform. Shot taken in front of the historic firehall on the CNE grounds.

Next, over to the Peace Memorial with P.C. Kristine Brubacher and police mount Dorothy. Fitting, because P.C. Brubacher served with the U.N. forces.

P.C. Brubacher is wearing her formal Toronto police uniform with a UN peace-keeping beret. P.C. Brubacher served a 9 month tour of duty in Kosovo, representing the Toronto Police Services.

Oh Dorothy! What a face. If only Elvis could see you now. ;-)

..and last but not least, P.C. Jay Korman-Moore with police mount Royal Sun at the obelisk marking Fort Rouille on the CNE grounds.

You learn something new every day. I had no idea the French had a fort here where Toronto stands today. This plaque is on the obelisk.

In front of the obelisk marking the historic site.

P.C. Korman-Moore is wearing his public order uniform and Royal has his eye shield and face protector to keep him safe.

P.C. Hildor Pickran on Stuart passing the Better Living Center, a landmark building on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds

P.C. Greg Ladner and Blue Moon going through some exercises on the Ex grounds.

heading back

..back to the stables

Antarctic - not

This Sunday we decided to bike to the Antarctic. Well, not exactly, but just look at this spot.. Lake Ontario in February. Brrr. It was a great day. That strangely dressed dot in the distance is me, hoping the piece of ice shelf will hold me long enough for Ricardo to compose his shot.

I'm not sure this photo can do it justice but the lake was amazing today. It was about two feet thick with a soup of chunky blue ice that made the most incredible music when the waves came in. Not like the sheet ice the other day, but a different tune altogether. And there was a thick pea-soup fog/smog blanketing everything. Strange day.

staring straight down into the ice soup.

Ricardo of the Antarctic.

The whole shoreline was just blue ice and undercut, so you could hear the ice-thick waves plonking with this hollow crunch right under your feet.

Ice tree in the mist

Heading home, frozen solid.

swans at night

we stopped on the way home to grab some takeout food because we were covered in mud and too disgusting to eat with normal folk. So we parked along the lake to eat our grub and saw these swans sleeping on the ice sheets on the open water along the breakwater. Ricardo said the shot wouldn't turn out (and it didn't) but I think it's cool anyway.

This time we're really on our way home.

Today's shoot, Joanna...

and Eva. Neither of these girls are wearing an iota of makeup. Those are their eyes, and those are their lips

They're seven years old and they're twin sisters. Absolutely stunning girls and the most level-headed seven year olds I've ever met, I think.

This one makes me smile, because they look like a pair of Russian tsarinas, barely tolerating my presence. In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth, they were sweet and very easy to work with.

Sgt Arlene Fritz on police mount Elvis, standing by the inukshuk yesterday. It was a beautiful day, but not beautiful enough for daisies to bloom on the ground there,(we're talking Toronto in February) those are photoshopped in to give us some spring season cards for the trading card deck.

Inukshuk

Staff Sgt Heidi Magill on police mount Dorothy checking out the Inukshuk. For those of you not familiar with what the stones mean, here's a little blurb from www.sulis.net.

"The Inukshuk (pronounced IN-OOK-SHOOK) meaning "in the image of man", are magnificent lifelike figures of stone which were erected by the Inuit people and are unique to the Canadian Arctic. Standing along Canada's most northern shores, they endure as eternal symbols of leadership, encouraging the importance of friendship and reminding us of our dependence upon one another.

In the Baffin region of Canada's Arctic, the traditional meaning of an Inukshuk was to act as a compass or guide for a safe journey. The Inukshuk, like ancient trackers, helped guide people seeking their way through the wilderness. An Inukshuk on land with two arms and legs means there is a valley. At the end of this valley, you will be able to go in two directions. Today, this serves as a reminder that we always have a choice in the direction we choose to take in our lives.

Erected to make the way easier and safer for those who follow, an Inukshuk represents safety and nourishment, trust and reassurance. The Inukshuk guided people across the frozen tundra and gave them hope in barren places to handle hardships they encountered. These primitive, stone images showed the way ahead... pointing you in the direction you wanted to go. Had they been able to speak, I am certain they would have said... "Here is the road. It is safe. You can meet the demands that this path holds. You can reach your goals and attain your vision of where you want to be." "

Staff Sgt Heidi Magill on police mount Dorothy, the alpha female of the stables. Dorothy is quite the nipper, as Elvis found out.

a kiss is not just a kiss

Elvis learns the hard way about Dorothy's nasty habit.

Sgt Fritz and Elvis.

The lake (Lake Ontario) was so strange yesterday. There was a thin skin of crystal clear ice floating in all the bays. And every time a wave came in, all the edges of the ice sheets would clink and ping and make this eerie music. I wish I'd had a tape recorder.