Wallpapers

To my surprise, only two people (please see note at end) recognized last month’s Thousand Islands Christmas tree, a pitch pine surviving on who knows what as it clings to an elephant’s back of granite out front of my cottage. It seems difficult to believe that these are Canada’s rarest pines...

A few interesting stories surfaced following last month’s image of Sister Island and its lighthouse. As always it’s difficult to choose a winner, but I think Susie Wood’s which recalls a memorable moment in the River’s history is worth spotlighting.

I left you last spring with the image from the cover of my new (and last) book of photography. What followed has been an exceptional summer on the River. The weather was outstanding and personally, it has been a relief to not feel compelled to chase images every dawn and dusk. I still take shots when they present themselves, but have very much enjoyed a slower pace photographically, which definitely made this summer special.

Last month’s wallpaper is the most important picture (to me) I've ever taken, because I never thought it could happen. I have it proudly displayed as a five-foot canvas print over my fireplace that I sit for hours in front of, exploring the intricate and unlikely scene of Fair Jeanne entering the Lost Channel in full sail. It actually did happen exactly this way 250 years ago when HMS Onondaga pursued French attackers into the labyrinth in the incident that gave this spot its name. Thanks to Simon Fuller who steered her in (very carefully) late last fall, history repeated itself.

There was an overwhelming winner amongst the responses, Paul Reilly, who captained the old Snider 1000 Islands tour boats from 1978 - '80 before purchasing Miss Brockville IV which he skippered under the name Island Heritage for almost twenty years. As Paul has an extensive tale to tell along with several pictures, I figured the best place to share it was in Susie Smith's outstanding Thousand Islands Life magazine, so you can read this month’s winning “caption” there.

Last month’s image opened the floodgates with many great stories making for an agonizing decision over the choice of which to feature. Please know that in a very real sense there were several winners, but in the end, this one by Fritz Shantz stood out by a whisker. Please be sure to check the other comments for more great reminiscences.