One of the biggest problems of the working man or woman. If your work is taking up all your time and apparently leaves you no possibility to go out and have some “nature time” or “relaxation time”, well then you have a problem. I have seen this happen several times in my own life and in others’. Is there nothing you can do about that? It looks like there is no solution.
Between working time and leisure time there is only one constant: you. You are the one deciding if your spare time is spared for work or for something else. The problem is to come to that awareness that you have spare time. It looked as if my spare time was going to be in front of my keyboard since the beginning of this year.
Granted, work needs to be done and done well. It’s that last part that mostly eats up the spare time. When I was a kid, my parents always had the same saying about work: “If you do something, do it well, otherwise leave it!”. Once I had the gall to answer “ok, I’ll leave it…”. Useless to say that I never made that mistake again 
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Ice formations at Winnipeg Beach
In the beginning of this year I decided that I should have more time outside, more time for photography, more time for my family and spend less on my work. It looked as if that was not going to happen. Work kept pushing into the spare time.
Winnipeg Beaches traveller
Today I made a tally of my spare time vs. my working time. As it turned out, I had gone out quite a bit. More than I had imagined when I was working and complaining about the lack of spare time. So everything is ok, right? Not so much. I still need to get rid of that feeling that work is increasingly complicated or time-consuming. And I need to find a way to get to that point.
West Hawk Lake
Once I have arrived there, there will be a balance between work and free time in the spirit. Until then, the spirit will continue to moan and whine that it doesn’t have enough relaxation. For now I think I need to use that sledge hammer and shut it up for a while. That spirit is pretty resilient and will come back later, no harm done.
Lake Winnipeg
So did I go out like I wanted since the start of the year? Yes, more or less. It always looks “less” for sure. At the same time, you, readers, will be getting bored of white landscapes and wild birds. Well, I’m not going to post any pictures of my laundry or even of some renovation projects that are started in my house 
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Kenora, ON
This time, the post is not completely about Manitoba either, a few pictures from Ontario seem to have crept in as well. Out with a friend for a whole day, travelling to the western part of Ontario, just for the fun. For him it was a trip down memory lane, for me… well it was a nice trip.
Abandoned or seasonal?
We did take our birding lenses with us, but we saw woefully little birds. I guess that all we saw was a bunch of crows and a Bald Eagle from far away while we were driving. At that point it is always time for “Plan B”, namely the subjects that cannot move and haven’t done so for a long time. I’m not sure if this house is still inhabited, they do seem to have the utilities, but nothing else.
Spillway
Back in Manitoba, one destination is always a good one: Pinawa Dam. I have blogged about that one a while ago, here, here, here and here for example. If you can’t figure out what part of the dam is pictured above, please go and check out the other posts and you will have a pretty complete view of the area.
Ice in a losing battle
But what about driving in winter without any picture of pure ice? Impossible Monsieur! Here it is, equally at the Pinawa Dam, water churning underneath a thick layer of ice. Ice that is already doomed for this season. It will be back in a different form for next winter, I’m sure of that.
So… not getting out nearly as much as you want? Try to take more pictures during the times you do go out, you’ll e surprised about how much you really get out.
Until next time…