It's beginning to look….

…a lot like Winter!!

I thought I would get out of the city for the weekend and go visit my parents. Who would have guessed that the next morning we'd wake up to this….

Charlie LOVES the snow (I do too) so needless to say he had a ball rolling and sliding his way around the property.

It was a heavier, wet snow that clung to the branches in all its glory…and was it ever beautiful! Talk about a perfect "Welcome to Winter".

These are trees in the back field that border the old horse pasture…the sun comes up directly behind them and their branches covered with the layer of snow were stunning!

This is the view of the front yard…the spruce trees looked like they were covered in white cotton batting.

This is the view down to the pond…..a few minutes after I took this picture a deer wandered through to add even more magic to such a gorgeous morning.

Winter perfection…one of our Maple trees looking absolutely picturesque! 

All this snow has really gotten me in the holiday mood! My Mom and I just got back from shopping at some local stores in Belmore (The Garage) and Teeswater (Gay Lea) and I can say that I have a great start to my Christmas shopping!

I'm also going to take some greenery back to the city with me and get started on my urns and wreaths.

 

I'm taking orders again this year for urn inserts, wreaths and swags. Pricing starts at $30 for swags, $40 for wreaths and $50 for urn inserts. They can be either live/real greens or faux greenery, whichever you prefer.

Also, if you live in the West GTA, KW Region or Southwestern Ontario Region and would like some assistance with your holiday decor (both inside and outside your home), please just send me an email and I would be glad to help! I offer everything from decor consult services, to sourcing to DIY projects. 

I can be contacted at rusticretrievals@gmail.com or send a message through the Rustic Retrievals FB page.

RR

**All photos are property of Ardis McDonald - Rustic Retrievals

Thank you....

Thankful.....Grateful.....Blessed.....Gratitude....

All words to describe my feelings right at this moment...but also every day.....

Thankful for drives down country lanes...

Grateful for family dinners around the table...

Blessed to be able to grow and enjoy such beautiful bounty as this...

Happy to show gratitude for each and every day....

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

RR

A Day in the Mountains..

I have just returned home from a trip to Calgary to visit friends. To say I LOVE the West would be an understatement and this trip only added to my love affair with the Western lifestyle, especially the mountains.

My friend Antonio, his lovely 18 month old daughter Isabella and I took a day trip out to Kananaskis Country to hike at Upper Kananaskis Lake with the goal to get to Rawson Lake. It was an amazing day, with the temperature perfect for a hike. There was only a bit of rain from time to time and the sun peaked out through the clouds  all day long.

When you drove into the parking lot...this was the scene that greeted you....

A section of 'beach'...

Out flow of a gorgeous waterfall....we had lunch lakeside just left of this outlet.

The waterfall...

Close up of the waterfall from the footbridge...Isabella had a great view from the pack on her Dad's back.

Where we had lunch...

I could have sat there for hours just taking it all in....

As we climbed the Rawson Lake Trail, you could still see Upper Kananaskis Lake from time to time through the trees

As we climbed higher (past 6000 feet above sea level) the snow pack hadn't really started to melt (hence why the lakes were so low). The snow to the side of the 'hard packed' trail was well above our waist level as we found as as we fell through from time to time. 

We could hear this fast flowing creek as we climbed the Rawson Trail....we went off the path, in snow up to our waist, to see if we could find it.

The snow kept getting deeper the higher we climbed so we did not quite make it to Rawson Lake. It was a difficult climb, not only through snow, but also in steepness and the change in elevation...this Ontario Gal got quite a workout at almost 6 times my normal sea level elevation at home.

 Panorama shot from the Upper Lake trail...

Isabella and I enjoying one last look at the lake before we headed back to Calgary.

I had an amazing trip and can't wait to get out again and finish that trail hike!

RR

Burst of Winter...

After a long weekend out West in Calgary & Banff and almost a week of travelling in the East end of the province, I think it's safe to say that winter is still holding on. Just when I was starting to look forward to packing away the scarves, mitts and boots....winter is back with a vengeance!

Winter is one of my favorite seasons...I love waking up to a fresh snowfall covering the tree branches in it's white blanket...so I will admit, I am happy to see the snowflakes gently falling outside.

Few things in nature are more beautiful then a winter sky filled with clouds....



Evergreens......

Some day I will have a dinner party in the snow....some day....



As much as I like winter, I am still looking forward to the warmer months ahead....I will leave you with a few "summer" scenes, covered in snow!

 Hope you have the opportunity to get out and enjoy the beauty and inspiration of our Canadian winter....

RR

Arbor Aesthetic

I was lucky enough to grow up in a home that was surrounded by forests. Watching those trees change through the seasons... dropping their leaves, snow on their branches, buds forming, the spectacular fall colours ... was like watching an ever evolving story. Each one is unique in their structure, appearance and make up. Trees have to be my #1 design/decor inspiration...whether it is a great piece of art capturing their true natural aesthetic, a piece of driftwood on a beach, a colour inspiration from a single leaf or a piece of weathered barn board.....I use trees as jumping off points in every form they may be found in..and..through the products they offer.



 The picture above was taken while I was walking along the river here in Guelph. It was shortly after sunrise and this picture perfectly illustrates the natural wonder and lines that only something in nature could provide....this is one of my favorite photos and I find myself drawn to it ...drawn into it....every time I look at it.

The way the snow clings to the branches....almost like frozen, sparkling pom-poms...this picture was taken at my parent's home on one of my walks through their forest. The marriage between the snow and the trees is again, only something that nature could do.

There is something about pine trees in Northern Ontario. This picture was taken just outside of Kenora Ontario, on Lake of the Woods. These large, majestic pines cover entire islands, grow in ways unlike any pine in the south due to the wind and weather of the north....but to me, they represent a piece of my childhood. We spent every summer on Lake of the Woods and there were huge pines outside my bedroom window. I would fall asleep every night to the sound of their branches swishing against my window and I would spend my days collecting pine cones, trying to avoid the sap that had dripped from their branches and collected on the blanket of needles that had fallen to the ground beneath them.

This picture is taken from a chair lift on a ski vacation to Lake Louise. Yes, the Rocky Mountains in the background are spectacular, but the trees in the foreground completely catch my eye....their tall, skinny stature, a necessity at those altitudes, and their abundance on the mountain-side complete the majestic and rustic beauty of the West.

The picture above speaks for itself. The colours, the bare bones of the tree covered in a shimmering hoar frost....that morning was so incredibly beautiful that I had to pull my car over and take some pictures!

The next 4 pictures are not mine but they ellicit an emotional response from within....the natural and wild beauty of trees almost hypnotizes me....

Whether it is the smooth, silver bark of a birch or the rough, rugged bark of a walnut...each species, type and kind of tree provides their own inspiration through texture, colour and form. The way they bend in the wind, cradle the show in their branches, the fluid motion of their leaves in the breeze and their quiet beauty...they definitely are one of the elements in nature that get better with age.

Trees are your best antiques.  ~Alexander Smith