Why photography + snowmobiling ? The mere peace that fills my body when I look at this image of these trees on the trail. The beauty of nature and how unique each trail is as you immerse yourself within nature on the snowmobile! The clean white snow, the peace of being out in the fresh, crisp air 😍
Don’t be afraid to combine passions, safely of course 😉
My FAV travel combo on the Sled is my Canon RP + RF 24-240 lens it’s an incredible combination for lifestyle and landscape on the go photography!
Sometimes when we switch up our norm, we push the boundaries of our self and push to the next level. Earlier today my husband and I got out for a snowmobile ride to fill my creative desire! Yes with my camera ;)
I ride with bags on my handlebars and find I stay much warmer with them on. Today as we prepared to leave, I got my camera ready within my bag and decided to not put my gloves on, rather I put them in my back bag just in case. I rode for 1.5 hours with my hands in and out of my handlebar bags for that entire time and it was the BEST and most confident of my rides yet. Even on a cold, blustery bright sunny day. The cold air crept down my neck, it was worth it. I just love capturing us, our life and the absolute beauty of nature.
I am continually blown away the more I lean in and trust my intuition. Had I voiced to someone, on a cold day like today that I am not going to wear gloves so that I can easily access my camera and take photos along the ride – my husband was behind me 95% of the time watching for people behind me as I did make a lot of stops – they would have called me crazy. I not only love the images I captured on the Mount Forest Drifters trails, I had a great time riding, the BEST this season actually!
Interestingly enough, riding without gloves can be mastered in the powder! Not me in the photo, the husband can play much more than I 🤣 Before I knew it I was riding confidently through (this was on the way back) and when my brain realized what we were riding through, Id normally give in to that haunted voice, with fear right beside, we dont ride like he or she can you need to slow or ask for help… I talked her down and continued riding confidently… without gloves and with my handlebar bags on! Be you and never be afraid to ✨️
Your Life As Art takes on a beautiful new meaning when you lean into what that is you YOU!
Because it will be vastly different than anyone else, and that is the beauty!
When we try to push ourselves into boxes to be like someone else, it removes our authenticity completely and clogs up the energy resources in our body. Visualize a damn in a river.
These are just a few of my tools, ones that I am reintegration to my life with passion and purpose. Alongside my oils, that are so life giving when remembering to use them.
This image above filled the sky on Wednesday evening as we headed to our daughters hockey game. Resembles a beautiful big angel wing amongst the beautiful sunset!
The energy before the new moon was almost volatile at times, shifty energy! As I read a post last night, this is the beginning of new. Which feels in such alignment, with March coming in tomorrow and eventually bringing spring! Someone I follow on Instagram is beautifully knowledgeable of not only the moons but astrology in general and I always find her posts incredibly educating and eye opening as well!
The beauty of the snow… Truly grateful to have a REAL winter again! Although it kinda threw a wrench in everything for a good 3-4 weeks while it ALL came down. It makes me very happy that after many years, we are finally having a traditional winter again – lets hope they are here to stay!
February 22, 2025 – around the corner from us to the right, if I had moved up a few more feet, I think the snow would peek over the top!
March 2014 – Below, on a road around the corner from us that used to be all season and is now for some unknown reason no winter maintenance… when two townships literally meet on the street…
I am grateful we leaned on trust and kept our snowmobiles after almost 3 winters with barely any snow, we are abundantly blessed this year. I am LOVING being back on the sled and truly into nature enjoying it all. Areas that during other seasons of the year are off bounds as farmers are using for their crops. Beautiful bushes and trails that sit until winter when they can be enjoyed in their fullest.
All images taken with my Canon RP + RF 24-240mm lens. This camera and lens combination is the perfect light weight option for any kind of travel. What I appreciate about this combo is when we are riding, it is extremely light to wear, very safe and when I am shooting on the go, it easily slips back into my sling bag as I am riding to protect the camera and lens from bouncing around. This is my smaller bag that I use and the RP + 24-240 lens fits perfect standing up with the other half to hold anything else I may need such as my wallet and phone etc.
Navigating my morning routine of what works for me, to be in the flow of life. I’ve chosen some very specific things to support me at this time and am learning on the way. This, journal is one piece of my mental health pie. In my Hockey Mom mug it has 1 drop of Turmeric, 1 drop if Tulsi and is a morning detox tea blend. As I sit comfy in my living room, the bright sunlight streaming through the windows, I am reminded, although we have faced deep heartache, healing from heavy emotions that compounded over the years is key and it’s not always linear, and that’s ok! Everyone’s journey is their own and the peace you find, may be from a different path, that’s ok! ✨️ Embrace the life YOU need to lead, live the life you yearn to receive and regardless of anyone else… choose you, choose peace, choose to be in the moment.
Last week I had an interesting conversation, it was one where we began talking about one thing and then branched off in various ways. During the conversation, the woman I was speaking with was telling a story and she said, I need to be transparent, I was not sure what to expect next. She then revealed to me that in her transparency, its to share that she did get 3 of the c-19 jabs as she believed what the government was telling everyone and public health’s push and wanted to do the “right” thing.
She went on to tell me that her day of reckoning was when someone close to them was diagnosed with a serious health issue, an issue that *could* be genetic and their family was all tested – negative. Upon further research… what does it come back to … the jab! I let her know that my family, for health reasons, decided to not get the jab. She stopped what she was doing and said omg girl, good for you! This is the first time Ive heard this, for years our family was judged, we didn’t do what we were supposed to. Even though it was hard, admittedly hard, some family wouldn’t interact with us and truthfully still haven’t, some friends dwindled away and we haven’t been invited back and our kids couldn’t play sports, we couldn’t go into an arena or a restaurant or anything they deemed you needed a “passport” for. What hurt was being laughed at that our family couldn’t enter a restaurant. Or being told “you have to get this”, no actually I don’t.
Sadly, Ive heard this much more recently, health issues that no one seems to know whats going on, doctors are “stumped” and don’t know… yet… they do know – especially if they are an ethical doctor. Do I regret not getting it, absolutely not. Do I hate what we went through, absolutely I do. Do I wish things were more normal about this and people were encouraged to do whats right for their own health – absolutely!
The more people speak up, the more this CAN be “normalized”. Regardless of whatever your choice was. Empowering people to make real choices that DO have an effect on their health and understanding that the government is not the one to do that for us.
The other day, I opened Instagram – to be fully transparent myself, during 2020-2024 I relied far too heavily on those “social” media platforms that really and truly merely sunk our mental health and increased addiction like feelings of needing to know what everyone is doing or whats happening or that there are people around. It was a wicked time in the world without individual issues and challenges – which merely intensified this.
What I am leaning into more is, Why… why do I feel drawn to open it, what is there for me to find, see or understand? Opening it with curiosity Ive found is MUCH better than opening with boredom or to “zone out” from a hectic day.
What I saw, was a beautiful bright coloured book – that ironically, the colours also match the 2 books and 1 journal I have for 2025… Dr Casey Means book GOOD ENERGY.
Truthfully, after loosing our dog Becker and then my brother both in 2024, my world was rocked even harder than the previous years. I haven’t been taking care of my health in the ways I know or had been in the past. Eating things that I know my body doesn’t like, will only make it worse which affects so many areas of my life mentally and physically.
But here’s the thing… we will always have various things going on in our lives, everyone is different in how we process what we go through. No one is immune from getting through lifes highs and lows, its learning to manage those waves and also understanding that EVERYONE faces these highs and lows in their life. When we are putting things in and on our body that doesn’t align with our bodies energy, it just makes these challenges – whether mental or physical – even harder!
Check out this podcast above, Casey is the author of Good Energy and as I am finding a wealth of information that aligns so much with my own body and health!
This winter has been unlike the past few, we have had snow, and not just a little bit, not just enough to get the snowmobile trails open, so much in fact that many trails have been unsafe to ride due to the volume of snow we are getting!
Ive been taking it easy still since I fell a month ago and hit my head, whiplash and a mild concussion is a very real thing to be conscious of, to also embrace and enjoy the slow down!
Saturday morning the hubby and I went out on a photo tour. I just LOVE the snow on the trees through the bush. We were lucky and didn’t have many others on the trail with us.
Its like a form of therapy for me. With my fall a month ago, Ive been taking it easy, paying more attention to ME and how I feel, honoring how I feel. A big part of that, also lighting a fire under what turns on the creative flow for me. Which sometimes means pushing myself a wee bit more than I maybe should, the shots are worth it and thanks to the snow this weekend I was given the opportunity for rest.
The photographer in her natural element, in nature with her Canon RP + 24-240mm lens grateful for a mild snowy day to capture the beauty through the Rice bush on the Drifters snowmobile trail in Southgate township.
Winter can be a much darker time for all, with much less daylight its imperative for individuals to find what pulls the life out of them, what brings their living to a high and to allow the creativity to flow. Crucial within my own life and living and a knowing that even just 20 min out in nature can feel so incredibly healing.
CAMERA REVIEW
One thing I love about my Canon RP is the size, I generally prefer my bigger camera, the R6MII in my hands, however when out on the snowmobile, I am not shooting while driving, I am however driving slower and making frequent stops, this is also why my husband stayed behind me to wave anyone through who came up behind us. The Canon RP, although not weather sealed, stood up to snow that was fairly continually falling as we were out – I feel thats totally different than if I was say out in pouring rain – I wouldn’t take either of my camera’s out in the pouring rain. I started with my camera and the 24-240mm lens in my bag, however then as I was traveling down the trail I just let it hang for ease and not to hold anyone up for the sake of my photos. The 24-240 lens is awesome. I love the variety of range on this lens. To go from wide angle at 24mm to zoom in 10x is awesome. Its a decent weight, not heavy like the L lenses, however not light like the 24-105 kit lens. It feels of quality and has a lock on it, so as I was driving I didn’t have to worry about the lens possibly moving/coming out. This lens isn’t as fast as my other lenses, as it is 4.5-6.3, however it is a very decent range given the reach of 24-240. If you are looking for a starter pack to get into the mirrorless world, this is a combo I would highly recommend along with the RF 35mm f1.8 or the RF 50mm f1.8
The ebbs and flows of life. Some people are meant to be with us for a lifetime and others, just for a short time and unfortunately, we don’t get to choose which time they’re with us for.
Friendships, relationships regardless of where or why these people come into our life. There’s a lesson to be learned. There’s feelings to be felt and some of those feelings are felt incredibly deep, a friendship doesn’t necessarily mean it will last forever. And sometimes in the throes of life that’s when it feels like it’s falling apart. But really in the big picture. Those puzzle pieces that feel like they’re falling apart, are perhaps finding their place so that they can fit together perfectly and the way it was always meant to be.
The first five years of the twenty twenties for me, was a deep deep growth opportunity where I literally felt the depths of the lows , the highs of the wonderful times.
As someone who has always been emotional and sensitive, I used to hide it, it was something I was ashamed of it wasn’t to be heard it wasn’t to bother anyone else. It was for me to deal with and not to burden anyone else. Its often too easy, people sink even harder and even quicker, there will be a time that you think you’re okay, and you’re think you’re doing all you need to do, and unfortunately you’re literally just skimming the surface.
Because you’re worrying too much about what they need or he/she needs. Or she said or he said, when really all that matters deep down truly is my mental health. First my physical health, mental and my emotional health, it’s all intertwined, and if I’m not feeling my best; My cup cannot overflow to help anyone else feel their or be their best.
Major life lessons were learned the past 5 years. Not only of aligning with my truth but also living my truth being an alignment hearing myself, and quieting the outside voices. It’s easy for people to quickly say if you need anything. Let me know I’m there for you always when really and truly in the big picture, it may not happen, it probably won’t happen. So, you need to be okay with that. You need to be okay with the fact that you have no control over what anyone else does or says and their choices are theirs.
There isn’t an ounce in me that is ashamed or afraid to say that within the past five years , those five years I not only watched my husband sink, I watched my son and daughter. All for different but also similar reasons. All awhile, I was focused on needing to take care of them and to take care of our household. Need in to keep everything normal of what our new normal could be.
As I work on honestly, shifting out of fight or flight and into a trust into a healing light bravery. That, although, the past 5 years were very rocky, were very unpredictable. Took me to depths. To lean in, learning to trust me and my intuition fully and complete. That is my biggest lesson out of the past 5 years, from 2020 to 2024. That is exactly what I learned. And even though I know I will have my moments, there will still be tears. There will still be anger and growth opportunities. It’s what I can do to move myself forward to rid myself of this ‘weight’. That’s exactly what it feels like. I’m getting a visual of a weight. A boat anchor, that’s sinking down into the sand and the longer you leave it there, the deeper it sinks.
Gently give yourself a pull and shake off, you deserve it.
Complete sentence, because some days, some moments, are hard.
Fucking hard at times.
The reality of losing someone, is so much more than the loss.
Its the emotions over taking you when making the necessary decisions, yet the knowing it has to be done. Its reliving all of those awesome memories and being so grateful to each be there during the hard times. Its knowing that all those moments filled with love and laughter are even deeper ingrained.
