Last week I received a message from my friend, Michael, whom I haven’t spoken to or heard from in a very long time (yes Michael, this is your guilt trip for the day). It got me thinking about when we first met in Melbourne and all the photos I took but never bothered to process.

Last month I had a stall at the Oxford Summer Arts Festival, held at the Elm Hurst Inn. The show was a great way for me to get my name out, show off my passion, talk to other local artists about their passions and convince total strangers to get out and explore this lovely planet. I also made a bit of money selling prints, cards and books. So thanks to the owner of The Parlour for lending me everything for the show and to everyone that came out to support my habit!

Come to the Elm Hurst Inn this Sunday between 11 am and 5 pm for Southwestern Ontario's largest art show and sale! Admission is FREE and I will have a booth on the front lawn displaying all my best prints, framed work, cards and books.

Several weeks ago I visited my close friend, Tony, for three days of sea kayaking in Georgian Bay. Tony was my housemate in Australia and moved to Canada recently to pursue a career in guiding. With three days off work and free kayak rental I was easily persuaded to make the long trip north.

The rain stopped, finally, and I eventually got over the stomach bug I had and started climbing again. At first I was very weak and seconded a couple moderate routes that John and Richard put up then later I led an easier climb with Sophie and Karen while John and Richard worked on their projects in Sector Suizo.

There's a bit of a gap between this post and my last, where I focused on climbing hard and didn't take any pictures. (I was also a bit sour about dropping my favourite lens off a cliff.) The weather turned foul and we were in for over a week of rain, which suited my elbows just fine--they were black and blue from all the climbing.

The following day John, Richard and I climbed in Poemo de Roca, the big cave on the Frontales face. I only led one route and struggled with my head demons every step of the way. I went back to it later for my red point and only followed John up one more route. For the rest of the day I took photos of the guys and tried to avoid the horrendous wind.

About two months ago I boarded a plane to Spain for 29 days of sport climbing with John, another Canadian that I climbed with for a few days in Red Rock Canyon last year. The first flight to London was horrible! It started with a one-hour delay, on board, due to a cargo screw up, followed by wing de-icing. And not only did I have a screaming toddler behind me but it’s mother let it kick the back of my chair incessantly. To make sure that I didn’t get any sleep between the screaming/kicking bouts Air Canada attempted to break some sort of sauna-at-altitude record. Stripped down to little more than my underwear I sat haunched in the seat with sweat spurting out everywhere.

Dad and I arrived at Arches National Park with enough time to do the Park Avenue and Delicate Arch walks. Park Avenue was pretty cool and so named because the rock walls look like the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan.

The drive to Monument Valley was incredibly beautiful! The Colorado Plateau has the most interesting rock and landscapes I’ve seen yet. The lighting was perfect: big black cumulous clouds with enough small breaks for the sun to poke through and kiss the foreground with soft light. The soil was mostly bright red and covered in yellow tumble weeds. On top of that, rainbow-coloured rocks jut out here and there until we arrived at Monument Valley. There the rocks were of deep orange sandstone with the most epic crack lines up--too bad you’re not allowed to climb (or walk) on Navajo land

From Vermillion Cliffs National Monument we drove west then north to Bryce Canyon. With only 1.5 h until dark we quickly did the scenic drive stopping a few times for pictures on the way back. At some of the pullouts we just slowed down and looked because we were too exhausted to get out for photos (and it was bloody freezing); at others Dad pulled over but didn’t slow down at all. We did make a point of stopping at Natural Arch because the sunset was going off behind it

The following day we had a very early and cold start. Dad, Puddles and I started walking when it was just bright enough to navigate without a head torch. I kept the pace quick to stay warm and beat the sunrise. After a few hills Dad wanted me to leave him behind to go at his own pace.

I drove to Kanab at first light, determined to win a permit to hike in North Coyote Buttes the following day. There are a total of 20 permits awarded per day to hike to The Wave from the north (the south route is easier to get permits for but requires a four wheel drive to get there). Ten are given away four months in advance through an online lottery and ten walk-in permits are awarded the day before, also on a lottery system. Aside from being an incredible place to walk we were interested in this area because dogs are allowed (though they also require a permit).

Our Zion experience started with the twisty scenic tour down Hwy 9. Wow! The drive was gorgeous, with surrounding rock of white, pink and yellow. Then we drove into what use to be the longest tunnel in the world. From the depths of the mountain we exited into a magnificent amphitheatre of perfect red sandstone that makes up the Zion Canyon. Dad said it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen.

Dad and I arrived at the Grand Canyon just before midnight. On the way into the park we passed the largest elk I've ever seen. The males strolled slowly across the road as if something as small as our car couldn't possibly cause them harm.

After picking John up in Vegas we ran a few errands and drove straight out to the campground in Red Rock Canyon, not far from the city. We got to know each other a bit on the way and talked a lot about how we each got into climbing. John and I met, briefly, at a crag in Ontario and had shared only a few sentences with one another before this trip to Red Rocks.

While in LA I got an email from John saying that he would meet me in Vegas for 4 days of climbing at Red Rock Canyon. On the way to pick him up I stopped at Death Valley for the night.

It's been a month since my last post and a lot has happened. . .but too much to put in one blog so I'll continue where I left off.

Dad and I arrived in LA during rush hour traffic and slowly, very slowly, made our way to Mac and Marcia's in West Hollywood. We stayed with them for about three weeks while Dad worked and I played.

We nearly didn't go to Yosemite NP. It was bucketing rain, for the 10th day in a row, I didn't think we'd be able to see anything through the fog and, frankly, we'd had enough of being wet for one trip. Thank goodness my Dad suggested that we still go because the weather cleared once we entered the park.

After a full week at Ian's house it was time to leave and start driving south to California.

Two weekends ago Ian, Dad and I went to Olympic National Park for three days of camping and walking in the never-ending rain.

Just over two weeks ago my Dad, Puddles and I passed through Wyoming on our long road trip through the US. All I have to say is wow! I loved every square inch of it. Driving along the interstate I spotted a sign for Devil's Tower National Monument and pulled off t for a 60-mile detour. I vaguely remembered hearing something about the tower being a great place to climb so I wanted to see for myself. The 260-m tower, probably a volcano plug, looks very out-of-place as it sticks out of a red gorge sandwiched between hay fields. Because of time restraints I only walked up to the base to take a few photos and plan future climbing endevours.

At 0837 h on Friday my Dad, Puddles (my Dad's sorry excuse for a dog) and I set off for our big road trip around the US. We were four days, two hours and thirty-seven minutes late. . .so fairly early by McIntyre time. Our plan was to drive west to Seattle to visit my brother, south to LA and Vegas so my Dad could see his clients there and then head back home to Ontario, stopping at all the national parks on the way.

I don't have much to say this entry, except that I'm loving my first Fall in four years. Since 2006 I've only experienced Australia's two seasons, Hot and Miserable. It's refreshing to finally see the leaves change colour, the days shorten and the air get crisper. In fact, tonight it snowed and I was like a kid in a candy store!

This past January three friends and I travelled to Tasmania, Australia to do one of the most beautiful walks in the country, the Western Arthur traverse. The Western Arthur Range is a (relatively) small mountain range in the 618 267-ha Southwest National Park, which forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It is, by far, the most difficult and rewarding walk I have ever done and I recommend it to anyone who is very fit and doesn't mind being wet, muddy and cold. . . or pooing in a helicopter barrel.

Recently my good friend Torsten asked my advice about when to visit New Zealand and where he should go. Often people ask my advice about places I've travelled and most often they ask me about New Zealand. I've only been there twice (in December 2008 and February/March 2009) and only to the South Island so I'm not exactly an expert, but here are my thoughts and recommendations on this beautiful country.

Recently two friends from work, Mike and Myron, got a puppy. He's an adorable lab/mut by the name of Bear. I immediately fell in love with the little guy! Luckily he lives only a few blocks from work so I go over frequently for walks and cuddles.

Two weeks ago I went out to the Adirondacks to climb with Tom, Graeme and Jason. I was very excited to climb not only in a new area, but on granite slab as well. Ontario limestone is great but it's outside of my comfort zone, with it's smooth texture and overhangs.

It's been a while since my last post and I have lots of news. First of all, four of my landscapes are on display (in the front window) at the Highlander Gallery on Dundas St in Woodstock. For those of you in the area please stop by and check them out! Ted McLaughlin, the owner of the gallery, wrote a lovely blurb about me in his blog with previews of my works. All four pieces are for sale and the price is right!

Since my last post I've been climbing, bouldering and riding my new bike. Two weekends ago I climbed with Tom and Graeme for the first time at Mt Nemo. I met them there the previous weekend when looking for a descent route down Central Gully.

Last weekend Neal and I went to Mt Nemo to check out the climbing (and stopped on the way at MEC so I could pick up some shiny new toys). On the walk-in we met a great group of guys that I eventually went climbing with this weekend (more about that in next week's post).

Last week I managed to get 4 days off in a row so I met up with Marty, who organised a 3-day long sea kayaking trip around Franklin Island in Geogian Bay.

On July 1st, Canada Day, I got off work just in time to swing home, peel my Dad away from his 300+ HST upgrades and take him and the dog out to watch the fireworks.

This week I processed all the photos I took from my last trip to Tasmania. I went down to visit Tony and put the finishing touches on this website. When I wasn't cracking the whip to get it done we spent some time enjoying the local scenery. My first night there we walked along the Tamar River where the light was magical, the trees were donning their autumn colours and the air and water were perfectly still.

As promised, I spent two lovely days at the Waterloo Airshow and snapped over 1000 photos. The tree-hugger in me cringes at the amount of pollution created by such shows but the little girl in me loves to watch them. For those of you that don't know, both my parents and their fathers were pilots so I've been flying since I was a fetus and it's in my blood.

I am slowly (very slowly) getting accustomed to the Canadian accent, driving on the right, dealing with drivers that are completely baffled by roundabouts, driving anti-clockwise around roundabouts, staying awake during the day, not craving BBQ at breakfast time and removing the words 'boot,' 'rubbish,' 'petrol,' 'heaps,' 'keen,' and 'reckon' from my vocabulary, while replacing them with 'like' and 'eh.'

For one week only Redbubble is having a sale on canvas and framed prints, which includes all the photos on my site that have a printing options link. Enter ExtraLove75837432 at the checkout for this great deal!

After more than 2.5 years of working on a PhD that I hated I tendered my resignation and flew back to Canada. Although I'm very happy about my decision to leave Guantanamo and see my friends and family back home, my heart is broken about leaving all the people I love so dearly in Australia.

Most of my photos can be printed as greetings cards or postcards for just a few dollars so stop wasting your money on generic cards from the corner shop and give a little bit of artwork instead! Larger prints are also available from RedBubble, which you can purchase by clicking on the "printing options" link below each image title.

Welcome to www.bonsta.ca! We're still sorting out a few bugs and putting some finishing touches on the site but it's now live for all to see. Please take some time and browse through my Gallery, free desktops, calendars and photobook.