This fall my husband and I visited Les Îles de la Madeleine, Quebec, an isolated archipelago of sandy islands in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.   The landscape is visually dramatic and a little unsettling, and I found it all quite surreal.  It was as if we had taken the 4.5 h ferry ride from PEI and crossed an unseen boundary.  Here's a little sampling of how I responded to the compelling horizon, unstoppable wind and the feeling that occupation of the island by any is quite tenuous and temporary.

I've just uploaded many of my images from the trip to a new Collection (find on my main webpage) and you can get more details of the trip in October's newsletter.

Stopping to look at ice and icicles this year has really made me wonder 'how?'  The physics of ice formation appears to be infinitely variable, which I guess makes sense since there are a lot of variables involved; salty or fresh water, sudden or chronic cold, fluctuating temperatures, flowing, falling or still water, etc.  

Look at these ripples, for example!  How did the circles get there? How did the first ripple take shape?  Why is there a gap between the rows of ice ripples?  

Why don't all ice walls end up this way, one giant ice-blob?

What planet are these found on?

So many shapes and patterns!  

What is the weirdest icicle shape you've ever seen?