Wallpaper December 2013

Last month's image, taken in mid-October, was indeed Raleigh Island as a number of people correctly identified. This month's image, taken a little over a month later, shows how quickly and dramatically the River changes in late fall as Christmas approaches.

While most islands are naturally decorated with traditional pines, here at Jones Creek, Toniata Island's natural Christmas tree is this solitary willow, created as a by product of a treasure hunt that took place here in 1908. True story, told here if you're interested. I have plenty of pictures of it in all seasons, but I think this one, taken on November 26th after winter's first storm, with ornamental decoration provided by Mother Nature is the most appropriate. 

This month's posting also serves as the final call to submit your 3 top images for TI Life Magazine's 2nd annual Christmas photo contest, which closes on December 8th. Whether you take pictures for fun or for a career, please don't be shy. We'd like to celebrate the beauty of this place through your eyes.

Gold, silver and bronze certificates will be presented, and Susie Smith will showcase the winners as well as all "honorable mentions" in the December issue of TI Life Magazine. The intention has always been that these serve as Christmas gifts to the community, from the community.

My apologies for mentioning commercial matters, but every December I get a flurry of orders for books and prints. In-time delivery late in the month is always a challenge. Books aren't too bad because they are shipped from Canada or the US as appropriate, but the prints are shipped from Canada and cross-border Christmas packages are far slower. If prints happen to be on your list, please do us both a favor and order them immediately. If time does run out, you can always "Gift this App" to iPad owners by clicking on the down arrow beside the $8.99 button to give One in a Thousand as a last minute gift. Our eBook has as many images as all my print books combined, as well as video, music from Great Lake Swimmers, an interactive map and much more.

Beginning this month, the wallpapers are on offer in higher resolution to better support large monitors and Retina displays. Please don't be shy to share any interesting lore or stories you may have about Christmas on the River or this portion of it.

Merry Christmas and enjoy a wonderful holiday season,

Ian Coristine

Download wide-angle version

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