A Well-Deserved Drink
The others followed Mom and Dad but this one that ran to the water stopped for a drink.
Alberta Rose
Took this during a walk when it was drizzling outside. The Wild Rose is the provincial flower of the Province of Alberta.They are blooming now or like this one, about to bloom.
The House Finch has Returned
He is back this year but the house sparrows beat him and his female to the nesting spot in the cedars. He sits in the nearby tree and sings for hours a melody that drifts through my window and is pleasing to the ear.I shot these with my hand held , fully extended lens as he is a bit skittish-not good shots , but a celebration of spring.
Strolling along the River
Just the other day it was sunny with record warm temperatures (30 degrees celsius) and the water was lower so I was able to walk along side the river.It was a great afternoon.I enjoyed the heat, the sound of birds and the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. The latter is a nostalgic sound as I so well remember listening to the water as I lay on the dock at a cottage when I was a child. Got a taste of both summer with the heat and autumn with the changing colour of the leaves. Sigh…
Sneezing Goose
I have never seen a goose sneeze, and this one repeatedly sneezed half a dozen times. Maybe it was the feather.
Sun Shines Again after Hail
We had quite the hail storm the other night. At first the hail was pea size then grew into the size that you can see here. I was excited and nervous as the wind and hail picked up, especially in a house with skylights The dogs started shaking a while before the rain started and one hid in the corner of the bathroom- it took some time for them to calm down. I am not on my own computer so find it quite the challenge to work with an editing program that I am not used to but at least I gave it a try.
Fresh as a Daisy
Been busy looking for work which i have come to realize is a full time job in itself, but do take the time to get out and see the sights. I find that action so refreshing and keeps my spirits up.
Although I have cut down on some comments, I am still stopping to read most blogs and enjoying the quick reads and visual delights.
The good news is that I have found a job in home care and am in the process of building up my roster of clients. The trick is balancing that with the other part-time jobs. Time will tell.
Have a great day. 🙂
Reflections
While out on a photowalk with other members of the camera club this week, I saw the new, or new to me, public washrooms on the south side of the city.
It should be a popular spot as it is surrounded by bars and maybe there is some protection of the facilities due to the fact you can see into the glass structure although there is privacy in the individual stalls.
Intrigued by the reflections, I tried a shot. Have a good weekend, everybody!
Swollen North Saskatchewan
The river is over the banks but nowhere near as devastating as in Calgary , High River, Canmore and some of the reserves in southern Alberta.My prayers are with you.
Comical Moments
Everyone has to scratch, and sometimes that moment it takes to respond, when this Mallard with her ducklings breaks out of the serene motherly pose, is the moment I like to capture.
f/6.3 21/1600; ISO 800 260mm
The next one is similar , this female goldeneye came out of the pond, made eye contact and came straight toward me except to scratch, then veered away, probably because she saw that I didn’t have any hand-outs.
f/5.6 @ 1/400 sec. ISO 800; 270 mm
Stealthy
Was sneaking through the bush to get a shot of this while they were circling around me to get at the feed. There was one male and two females, though you can see the tip of one female only. f/5.6 at 1/30 sec ISO 400 300mm.
A Gallery of this Year’s “Firsts”
As I got out of my car two days ago I spotted my first Robin for the year. My camera was in the trunk so I quickly retrieved it and got a shot of this harbinger of spring – lucky for me it was thirsty and didn’t immediately fly away.
Yesterday I went to a pond in the north east part of the city that photographer friends had told me had a few varieties of birds. and there was no ice here.Here are some of my “firsts” for this year. I was happy to see this pair of Common Mergansers . I love how they move through the water with strength and grace.
Also I spotted a pair of Buffleheads but got no decent shots of them. I did,however, see a single Common Loon.
I enjoyed seeing the display of a pair of Red-Necked Grebes. I spotted six pair at this pond.
The one held this pose for some seconds then they mostly faced each other but a while later I caught the gesture of one with a mouthful of grass -an invitation to nest?
There was a pair of muskrats here, not at all shy. I noticed that when they would swim in close proximity to the geese, literally right in front of them, there was no reaction.
The muskrat, geese and gulls were all I could get close to. Although I found this very interesting, at least one other was bored by it all or lulled into sleepiness by the first warm day we have had.
Seasons of a Tree at Hawrelak Park
I love this park just southwest of the downtown area. I can come here and get my nature fix and let go of stress of schedules and rush. While I have taken literally thousands of photos of birds here, I also spend time photographing the scenery, usually at hours that are not overrun by people and the garbage that they leave lying around.
This is my favourite tree in the park at least one that I almost always see and look at, and photograph often. Here are are photos of the tree in the four seasons.I don’t even know what kind of tree it is, I think cherry. It is a favourite of many birds, especially the chickadees and waxwings.
Shapes – Circles, Triangles, Squares and Rectangles
Thanks for the feedback about this blog being blank . I ran out of time when I was composing it and couldn’t erase the blog, only the details.
One of the assignments at a workshop I attended last weekend was to find the basic man-made shapes in the environment around me so I decided to re-visit this assignment and go for a stroll. I found it quite interesting, and somewhat challenging at first when it came to triangles. This is what I found:
Then there were the shapes that were combinations of more than one shape.
The purpose of this is to open my eyes and find the shapes around me and observe how they fit into the environment, also to think about how I would compose a photo using these shapes.In the last photo someone has thought about this when they designed this candle holder using triangle, rectangle and circle, sometimes repeating the shapes.
Sunrise at Preacher’s Point
On the second morning we got up at 6:45 a.m. had delicious coffee and muffins served by our hosts Alan and Madeleine then went to Preacher’s Point on Abraham Lake to see the sunrise. This is what I was enjoying in warm temperatures that hovered around zero celsius. This is one of the sites where I took photos of bubbles.
After shooting for a couple of hours we returned to Aurum Lodge for a brunch and a nap before setting out again.
Always remember to look behind you.This is a photo taken in the opposite direction.
Ice Scuptures
Attended ” Ice on Whyte” an annual show of ice and snow sculptures hosting artists from around the world who feature incredible work. One of the features is a huge slide made out of snow for children and adults. In the evening rotating spotlights cast different hues on the ice. There was an entertainment tent where a live band was playing some good blues and hot chocolate was available for a donation to the local youth shelter.
It was -10 celsius when I attended, quite liveable if you were dressed properly.Crazy weather, a couple of days above zero then down, then up. yesterday was -29 C with wind chill factor of -43. Today is warmer with less wind but still the equivalent about -33 C. Nasty!
Reflecting Pool
©Jane Chesebrough
This was taken a couple of weekends ago at a reflecting pool beside highway 16 that runs through Jasper National Park by the Palisades Range near Snaring River. i am following the reflecting theme for a bit.
My Heartsong 