365 RED: Things you know will happen but refuse to believe

I did know my kids would grow up and have lives of their own. I knew it, but I didn't realize it would happen so bloody fast, nor did I comprehend how fast 30 years flies by, or 26, in the case of the owner of these kitties.

Six years ago, my youngest, then 21, met a fellow at a wedding in Texas. Given the distance, I figured not much would come of it. However, despite distances and deployments - he's a USAF captain - they married, twice, in fact (one totally-not-a-secret elopement to get the immigration stuff underway and the second a proper wedding).

Last December, she moved to Florida, otherwise known as at least seven hours, two airports and a 40 minute drive away from home. Shortly thereafter, she and her spouse got themselves some "kids" of their own, Logan and Wade, who, at the moment this image was made, had, for the first time, met a dog... yeah. I know. Terrifying. 

They were tiny then, and they're not much bigger now, but they have a big job; to keep my daughter company during yet another deployment; the first one when she's no longer home with her family but being a wife 5000 miles away.

365 RED: Abandoned London

Our city is a very changing place. As fortunes ebb and wane with the tide of the international oil markets, things are either excellent and vibrant, or struggling or abandoned.

Downtown, in what was the old bus barns, is a shopping centre cum social space. When it was imagined back in the late 80s, the developers envisioned a version of Vancouver's Granville Market. For whatever reason, those smart people didn't factor in the fact nobody lived downtown, or immense lack of downtown parking or the fact parking in this city is more expensive than nearly anywhere else in the world, including New York City.

So there was established a grand and gorgeous market in the centre of downtown, where, at the time, there were almost residents - save those in the VERY posh high-rise adjacent - populated by people who were wealthy enough to have a cook, or who ate  in high-end restaurants, rather than purchasing fresh produce and meat whilst within shoulder-rubbing distance of the proletariat....

Later, this ever-shifting building housed the  IMAX theatre, and a quite-excellent art gallery, and then a group of businesses and a cinema - but again, not enough people to keep those things running, given the vast majority of people who worked downtown couldn't wait to get out of there at the end of the day.

The place is currently on the demolition list. The few remaining businesses limp along, surviving only thanks to quite low rents for the area, as the landlord would rather have some income than empty spaces.

The poster there hangs outside a British shop - closed, of course - as a sad reminder of an idea that has entirely lost its way.

365 RED: Watercolour Roses

Our nearby, 160 acre dog park is a place of wonderful finds. With its many trees, some planted, some random, there are often bits and bobs left as honorariums or decorations.

These roses, dried out and frozen were left tied to the trunk of a denuded tree last winter - an actual winter with snow.

Recently, via a friend's post on Facebook, I discovered a photo editing program called SuperPhoto by which I altered this image. The roses look more bereft and lonely with this treatment. Maybe sad holding vigil for the last proper winter we'll see?