Niagara Falls

Photo Challenge #4 / Refreshing

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20221228ma_2179“Winter Water” / Theme: Refreshing

A little about this photo…

No matter how many times I see the falls, I find it so refreshing. And in winter, with snow, it adds that extra touch. This time I used this tree to add interest to the foreground.

 

THIS 2023 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is YEAR SIX of doing this photography challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2023picoftheweek

Photo Challenge #53 / Perfect Shot

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20211220ma_4135“Blue Water” / Theme: Perfect Shot

A little about this photo…

Took this photo on a visit to see Niagara Falls at night… on a day that had a gorgeous full moon! There are lights to light up the water. I caught it when the lights were blue to give me the perfect shot …

Happy New Year!

 

A 2022 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is my fifth year of doing this challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2022picoftheweek.

Next Saturday, we begin #2023picoftheweek! Check out the new Bingo card.

Photo Challenge #31/ So Hot

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20220720ma_1116“In the Tunnel” / Theme: So Hot

A little about this photo…

Here in Niagara (Ontario, Canada) we call electricity “hydro”. That’s because we get our power from a big waterfall. (If you guessed Niagara Falls, you’d be right.)

This is a shot from a visit to the newly-opened power station. And by newly-opened, I mean it’s open for tourists. The actual turbines are no longer in use, having closed a few years ago. (Not that we don’t still get our electricity from water… It’s just that the power is generated at a different facility.)

The coolest part of this tour is the elevator ride down to “the tunnel”. This tunnel carried the water out after it was used to generate power. On a hot, hot day, it was actually quite cold down here!  

P.S. Thank you to the random tourists who are taking a selfie. You created a nice little silhouette!

 

THIS 2022 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – This year is my fifth year of doing this challenge! (I began in 2018.) For more information about the list of prompts for this year, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2022picoftheweek

Photo Challenge #40 / Great Outdoors

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20211001ma_3631“Until Niagara Falls” / Theme: Great Outdoors

A little about this photo…

Niagara Falls is literally in my backyard. Okay, I’m exaggerating there. It’s not literally in my backyard (and I’m actually kind of glad about that), but it’s close. Close enough that we went for a little photo walk there this week. My challenge is to capture the falls from a different point of view.

This week, I got this shot, and I’m using the prompt: the Great Outdoors. 

Because it is: Great. And outdoors.

THIS 2021 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – For more information about the list of prompt, click on this link. And join me in posting your own photos every Saturday with #2021picoftheweek

Review / Until Niagara Falls

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until-niagara-fallsBook: Until Niagara Falls (2020)
Author: Jennifer Maruno
Genre: MG, Historical Fiction (1960)

Basic plot: Brenda lives in Niagara Falls, Canada. She’s doing a school project on the Great Blondin who’s famous for walking across the falls on a tightrope. When she meets Maureen, the new girl from Toronto, Brenda begins to feel like she’s walking on her own tightrope…

WHAT’S COOL…

1) I loved all the Niagara Falls information in this book. I didn’t actually live there, but we lived close enough that I knew about most of her references. Like Dufferin Islands as a swimming location! (Sadly, you can’t swim there anymore. Really, it was one of the coolest places you could swim!)

2) Maureen was a complex character to like. And yet, she really needs a friend like Brenda! At times I felt bad for her, and other times I wanted Brenda to just get out of there.

3) I liked how the neighbour fit into the story. Especially, with the dog and the CNE. I thought it worked well.

4) The scene with the bicycle at the library! Ooh boy. That Maureen is a tricky one. I love how it slowly dawns on Brenda about how Maureen really got the bike. And even better yet was how it all fit into the plot by the end of the story!

5) I liked that Maureen’s mom, while obviously overwhelmed, isn’t a horrible parent. I was glad that Brenda figures out that she can go to the mom to appeal to her with regards to Maureen and the stolen bracelet.

6) Granny is also a complex character that I grew to love. I was prepared to NOT like her, but she grew on me. I hope she does make it to Scotland!

7) Loved the Krick’s Pickles story line! (Doubly cool that it’s partly true!)

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) (**Spoiler alert! The chicken pox came on a little too suddenly! Normally, it takes two to three weeks for the spots to appear… rather than the two days in the book! Minor problem.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Love this book! I found all the Niagara Falls bits to be like a nostalgic walk back in time. But, even if you’ve never been to the Falls, this would be an enjoyable read. The friendship between Brenda and Maureen complicated. Well worth the read!

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

Photo Challenge #10 / Surrounded

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20200215ma_0116“Heading for the Falls” / Theme: Surrounded

A little about this photo…

This scow has been sitting not far from the brink of Niagara Falls for over 100 years! Back in 1918, it had broken loose from its tug upriver. Yes, there were men aboard. Two men… and they were heading straight for the falls!

However, the scow suddenly got caught on some rocks in the middle of the river. But they were safe yet! From this spot, you can see the mist rising from falls. They were THAT close. The rescue attempt took hours. It was not surprisingly fraught with danger. They did manage to rescue the two men by the next morning. On the other hand, the scow remained a more permanent part of the riverscape.

Although, how permanent? Just recently, it shifted… after 100 years!

Here’s a photo I took back in 2018.

20180203ma_0353

20200215ma_0121-2

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2020picoftheweek

Photo Challenge #8 / Water

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20200215ma_0142“Falling Water” / Theme: Water

A little about this photo…

No matter how cold it gets, water continues to gush over Niagara Falls. And Niagara Falls in winter is always beautiful. Cold, but beautiful.

The trick is trying to get a shot of the falls that isn’t being taken by every tourist and their mother. I love these iron railings that guard the public. So, I decided to use them as a frame to show off this wonderful, beautiful water.

(By the way, this is the Horseshoe Falls. You can see it’s curved, like a horseshoe.)

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2020picoftheweek

Photo Challenge #52 / From a Distance

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20181103ma_5948“Celebration” / Theme: From a Distance

A little about this photo…

These are the fireworks over Niagara Falls. I took this photo back in November, but I thought it was appropriate to save for the time between Christmas and New Year’s.

Please note all the people taking video or whatever with their smart phones. It’s funny, but I always think to myself: Why don’t those people just relax and enjoy the firework display instead of trying to capture it in a picture? Then I look down at my big DSLR camera and shut my mouth!

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2018picoftheweek

Photo Challenge #51 / It’s Pretty

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20181117ma_6277“Tree Lights” / Theme: It’s Pretty

A little about this photo…

Magical Christmas trees made out of lights. The only thing that would make this photo prettier would be for there to be snow on the ground! (By the way, these are part of the Festival of Lights display in Niagara Falls.)

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2018picoftheweek