Updates.

The past few weeks have been trying. I'm facing the prospect of unemployment again in less than a month, along with homelessness, and not sure where I'm going from here (on multiple levels).

What downers! Let's change the subject. Here's some photos from the past couple months of not really updating any daily work. (I shot a fair amount of "it's hot out" weather features.)

GUELPH, Ont. (19/06/12) - Conan the golden retriever shakes off the water during a swim in the Speed River near Royal City Park in Guelph on Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures were set to reach 30 C, with humidity making it feel more like 40 C.  Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (19/06/12) - Montreal resident Sahra Campbell, in Guelph to visit her brother, picks a shady spot in Royal City Park to read a book on Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures were set to reach 30 C, with humidity making it feel more like 40 C.  Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (26/06/12) - Annie de Grey takes in a sunny Tuesday afternoon with some hula hoop time in Guelph's Exhibition Park. The temperature is expected to soar throughout the week, peaking for a weekend with both days over 30C. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (01/07/12) - New Canadian citizen Harish Vasudevasarma (left) watches as his fellow new Canadian John Ford is greeted by his 21 month old son Charlie at Guelph's Canadian citizenship ceremony on July 1. Vasudevasarma, a native of India, and Ford, a native of England, were amongst the 41 new Canadians welcomed at the ceremony. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (05/07/12) - Matthew Paonne, 8, takes cools off from a hot Thursday with help from the Guelph Fire Department at Norm Jary Park. Matthew was one of dozens of children who came out with their parents to enjoy the spray from a fire hose and climb inside a fire truck, ambulance, or police cruiser as part of the Hot Summer Nights program, which will be held on Thursdays throughout the summer. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

GUELPH, Ont. (09/07/12) - Danielle Visschedyk (left) and Matt Havercroft go in for a catch during a practice of the MuD Ultimate Frisbee touring team in Guelph on Monday, July 9. The Guelph team won provincial championships last weekend in North Bay and will be heading to Victoria, B.C. for nationals next month. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (10/07/12) - Bruce MacDonald plays the bagpipes with the Guelph Pipe Band during a performance in the McCrae Memorial Gardens on Tuesday, July 10. The Guelph Pipe Band puts on outdoor evening performances on the second Tuesday of each month until September. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (18/07/12) - Fife Road resident Ernest B---- shows where a stash of at least ten city signs, including three stop signs, were found Tuesday by his wife in a ditch off the road just west of Guelph. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (19/07/12) - Towing crews work to clear debris from the intersection of Elmira Road and Speedvale Ave in Guelph shortly after 3 p.m. A two-car collision closed Speedvale westbound between Elmira and Imperial Roads. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (20/07/12) - John Carroll looks down the tracks on the final journey of his tourist train, the Guelph Junction Express. The train cars have been sold, and the train went on its final journey Friday afternoon. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (25/07/12) - River Craig, 10 months, shows off sound-dampening ear muffs with his dad Mike at the Guelph Farmers' Market on Wednesday. The family runs Muffle the Music, providing noise protection for childrens' ears, and hopes to sell a few sets in advance of Hillside Festival. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (31/07/12) - Johann Huang and Caley Patrick Doran of Moxie's Grill show off a dish they will make for a fundraiser for Guelph's hospitals, which will be held in September. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (13/07/12) - Rick McNabb, an agricultural assistant with the Ontario Veterinary College, brings feed in for Prince, a horse residing in the large animal barn over the summer, on Friday, July 13. The Ontario Veterinary College celebrated its 150th year in Guelph in 2012. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

ROCKWOOD, Ont. (12/07/12) - Nolan Burke, 9, and his cousin Sam Gitter, 4, throw water at each other at the beach in Rockwood Conservation Area on Thursday afternoon. The two, from Fergus, were out enjoying the heat with their families. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

ROCKWOOD, Ont. (12/07/12) - Tyler Little, from Guelph, and his Siberian husky Chevy take in a hot afternoon with some floating time in the lake at Rockwood Conservation Area on Thursday. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Beginnings

I had the pleasure of visiting a group of young farmers running a CSA farm near Elora around a week ago. I spent the day in the blistering heat (although I feel bad saying that now because it's been even warmer since) shooting, getting in the way, and generally feeling like I'm finally shooting something well. (I've been in a slump. More on that another time.)

I grew up slaving in my parents' large garden, but it was all tending to vegetables, whining, and sitting in the shade after my parents got frustrated enough with me. Sometimes I even got banished back inside, to my delight.

These people work, and hard. They use horse-drawn plows for cultivation and were fulfilling the back-breaking task of picking peas at 8 a.m. when I arrived. And they'd already been up for a couple of hours. I'm hoping this is the start of some excellent time with Yehuda, Schirin, Mat, and Emily. (As well as the numerous animals.)

Here's a brief preview. Many, many more to come in the future.

Emily and Mat head out into the fields for a morning of pea-picking.

Organic farming is their main practice, but the task of hand-watering each row of vegetables would be monumental. Mat fixes a leaky irrigation line amongst the rows.

Schirin takes a break in the shade of the tent where she sleeps on the farm. With a former farmhouse housing around 8 people, she wanted her personal space and elected to stay in a tent. Two of the other farmers stay in an RV on the property as well.

Yehuda ponders his crops before hooking up Milly to start cultivating the rows.

Sally, who will work with her partner Milly on the double plow, waits while Milly, Mat, and Yehuda work on cultivating one of the farm's three fields.

Schirin and Max, the baby of one of the housemates in the farmhouse, enjoy a pre-lunch snack.

Freshly picked spring onions are washed and laid out to dry before being bundled for market and CSA pick-ups.

Yehuda takes a quiet moment after lunch, while Goldie does the same on the dining room floor.

Nose meeting grindstone

I'm still just working away in Guelph. I write. I shoot. I occasionally produce some multimedia. It feels like I do a lot and then some days I don't. It's puzzling.

Here are a few photos I've shot in the past month or so, along with their play if they've been run (some are recent and haven't been run, sometimes other shots ran but I liked the ones below more.)

GUELPH, Ont. (29/05/12) - John Linseman (right) laughs during a game of euchre with Gil Boisvert and others at the Acquired Brain Injury Tuesday night program at St. Joseph's Hospital on May 29. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (29/05/12) - John Linseman enters the living room at the Acquired Brain Injury Tuesday night program at St. Joseph's Hospital on May 29. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (31/05/12) - Owen Willems throws a hammer in a field at the University of Guelph on Thursday, May 31. Willems coaches students in throwing events like shotput and javelin and spends the summer competing in Highland Games. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (28/05/12) - Jackie Unsworth takes in a hot afternoon with her first ice cream of the season Monday along the Speed River in Guelph. Temperatures soared to 33 C by the afternoon with a humidex making it feel more like 38 C. The heat will continue into Tuesday along with thunderstorms, which will cool the area down by Wednesday to temperatures in the teens and low 20s. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (19/05/12) - Soojung Yu, 15, along with her brother Seungmin, 12, is one of the recipients of the Alice Sloan Scholarship at the Guelph Kiwanis Music Festival. Shown at their Guelph home, the musical siblings also both received senior piano scholarships and will peform in next weekend's highlights concert. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (30/05/12) - Residents in the Ward cheer on protesters as they make their way to downtown Guelph on Wednesday, May 30. A group of 20 protesters participated in a casserole protest, banging pots and pans to show their solidarity with the students of Quebec. They were joined by at least another 50 in the downtown core. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (30/05/12) - Protesters make their way to downtown Guelph on Wednesday, May 30. Starting in the Ward, around 20 protesters participated in a casserole march, banging pots and pans to show their solidarity with the students of Quebec. They were joined by at least another 50 in the downtown core. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (29/05/12) - Evalyn Parry plays the role of Annie Londonderry, a 19th century female cyclist first to cycle around the world in a preview of the musical act Spin. She is accompanied by percussionist Brad Hart, who keeps the beat with a variety of sounds produced on a rustic bicycle mounted several feet of the ground. The River Run Centre showcased a selection of the performance on Tuesday, May 29 during their announcement of shows for the season. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (05/06/12) - Musician James Gordon (right) and Patrick Cieslar of Wellington Water Watch discuss waterway issues with a group of around 30 outside Guelph City Hall on Tuesday. The group wanted to pressure council to keep rivers and waterways in the city's official plan. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (06/06/12) - Hava Goldberg makes a wet dash through the intersection of Macdonell and Norfolk Streets on Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (12/06/12) - Justin Brooks fishes for pike in the Clythe Creek Ponds along York Road in Guelph on Tuesday evening. Photo by Rachel Psutka. 

GUELPH, Ont. (14/06/12) - Around 30 people, including a handful of children, gather for a tour of the dam on Guelph Lake as part of the Two Rivers Festival on Thursday evening. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (14/06/12) - Dan Schneider (front) of the GRCA leads a tour of the dam on Guelph Lake as part of the Two Rivers Festival on Thursday evening. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (15/06/12) - Dancers Tanya Williams (left), Sarah Tolmie (front), and Diane Hurst (right) join hands with Helen Drew, being piloted by Vanessa Hyland, all while floating on canoes at the Two Rivers Festival concert and 20th anniversary celebration of the covered bridge on Friday night. Dozens of spectators lined the banks of the rivers near the Boathouse to watch a choreographed routine involving the four dancers in four canoes. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (06/06/12) - Special Olympian Tammy MacDougall, front, cheers at the conclusion of the law enforcement torch run Wednesday. Nearly 80 law enforcement officers ran about 4 kilometres through Guelph raising funds for Special Olympians. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

Add captionGUELPH, Ont. (11/06/12) - Annika Wegman, a Grade 7 student at Ken Danby Public School, convinced her closing church, Paisley Memorial United Church, to donate $25,000 to help her school's Me To We team raise funds to build a school in Sierra Leone. Photo by Rachel Psutka.

GUELPH, Ont. (11/06/12) - Guelph resident Burnaby Q. Orbax, one half of the two-man show Monsters of Schlock, is bringing his comedy sideshow back to Guelph on June 21 for the first time in several years. He is pictured here at his Guelph home with his Guinness World Record certificate for pulling a 4,050 kg truck using meat hooks in his back.  Photo by Rachel Psutka.