The Redcoats Are Coming

In 1971, my cousin Rob graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston. Mom, Dad and I drove own from Montreal for the graduation ceremony. Dad took the opportunity to take his camera along.
I remember that at one point in the ceremony, probably depicted in the picture below, the graduates were asked to step forward. Not understanding that the rest of the group were continuing on in their studies, I blurted out, "Hey, look at all the guys who flunked!" The fellow sitting beside us roared with laughter.

1969 Montreal West Station

This might be a picture that I took with my Dad's camera. I have two reasons for thinking this: a) I've always been drawn to receding angles and lines in my photos, and I'm always looking for that when I'm shooting buildings and objects; and b) whoever took this shot was low to the ground. I may have been tall for my age, but not as tall as my Dad, at least not at that age. Or I just made him kneel. That's not out of the question, either.

Snakes On A Plane...Actually, It's a Fence. And There's Only One Snake

When I was a kid, we used to see these small snakes in the yard all the time. We don't anymore. We usually only saw then in the garden or lawn, but I remember this one. It slithered along the fence, and Dad ran for his camera. He was quite proud of the shot with the tongue sticking out. And rightly so.

Flower Friday!

Ann

My sister Ann passed away late last year. This week would have been her 68th birthday. This image was taken in our home in Montréal fifty years ago in 1963, meaning that, if my math is correct, she'd be 18. I love that carpet!

Puffins!

Puffins are rare in these parts, so rare that I've never seen one in the wild. But obviously, there were a few hanging around Willows Beach in 1971 where Dad took this photo. Or perhaps not. A reader believes these puffins are from the old Sealand of the Pacific marine attraction, and I think she might be right. I found some other pictures from the same period from Sealand, and they will appear here one day in the future.

Nap Time

From our back yard in Montreal in 1970, a sleeping caterpillar.

Flower Friday!

Caterpillar

Dad loved taking pictures of bugs and flowers, especially after our move to Victoria in the early seventies and he was able to indulge his passion in our back yard. But this bug shot dates back to our house in Montreal in 1970.

Funky Phone Booth

Who ya gonna call? In 1971 along Government Street in front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, if you were going to call someone, you'd plunk your dime (yes, only a dime) into this nifty looking pay phone. And look, kids! It has one of them old-timey rotary dials!

Peddle Car

Why yes, Officer. I did get my driver's license from a CrackerJack box. Why do you ask?