Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have been back to the front yard in the neighbourhood which is FULL of beautiful tulips.

I took another shot to show how many there are.  They are mostly red, orange and yellow.  I watched a video the other day where a well known photographer was explaining about seeing different compositions in a garden rather than the one everyone takes.  So I took an unusual shot for me.


The house is on the Historic Resources list - The Mountifield Residence which was originally built in the early 1900s.

On my walk to other morning I took a path I had not been down before.  It was in a ravine and just after a good rain I was expecting it to be muddy but it was pretty good.  It was great to be under the canopy of very large and old trees.  Green everywhere.  

I came across this patch of Forget-Me-Nots. A bunch of beautiful small blue flowers.  It was hard to decide which ones to photograph.

Forget-me-nots are perennials that regrow themselves year after year, which can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you don't have to plant them every year to keep your garden looking great. On the other, they can easily get out of control.
Later I found some in the front yards.

I found the Gray Catbird in its regular bush in the river valley recently.  I had seen one in a tree near the path last week.   

I expect that baby birds are in the making and it was sticking close to bush.  I have seen them near that bush in other years.  It is far enough from the path to allow that a nest would not be disturbed.

It was singing it's heart out that morning enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather.

You can check out it's song.

The lilacs are in bloom.  After the rain on Saturday they were in full bloom this morning.

Their scent is so wonderful.   The color is beautiful.

I was thinking of the Fill the Frame challenge when I took this one.  With a bit of the background showing I was afraid that it would be disqualified so I entered something else.

Look at what I found at Beaumaris Lake on Sunday morning.   This is the best shot I got which I was not too happy with.  He just would not budge.  I did not see him in the water.

I love the big orange eye.  I saw one last year at a different lake.   I got closer to this one.  

No iconic photograph unfortunately!

Here his neck is quite compressed.  When he stands tall it so impressive but it seemed quite a small bird other than the long neck.

Love that white head feather!  




These are painted rocks created by kids in the neighborhoods surrounding the Heritage Hills Wetlands in Sherwood Park.  

I took my first walk around last Thursday.  There were at least a hundred rocks tuck in the trees, grass and logs in the area. 

It put a huge smile on my face I have to tell you! 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #82.

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #242.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was Fill in the Frame.  There can be no background showing.  I have had a photo disqualified in the past.  I found some African Daisies in a flower bed which worked really well to get close enough.

You can check my Flickr Photo Stream SMDPics to see the photo I submitted this week.  It got pretty good comments.

Be safe and have a good week!