Sylvia's Simple Shots

On the weekend I went for a big walk at the wetlands.  It has been so dry that they are in pretty sad shape and the wildlife must be wondering what is going on.

I did find a few dozen Lesser Yellowlegs in the river.  They were feeding along the edge of the river which also very low.  

These birds are shore birds which feed in marshy areas and muddy edges.  

I expect with the number I saw that this could be the start of the migration process. They will be heading to the southern states in the next little while.

Really a gorgeous bird.

I found a masher for my processing of fruit and berries.   I visited a thrift store which I have not been to since the start of the pandemic.

It has changed hands and now supports a different charity but mostly not much has changed inside.  I am just thinking now that I forgot to visit the second floor. Darn!   It is a bit out of the way so just a few customers, easy to social distance and good variety of goods.

I could have used a masher when I did my chokecherries so I had added it to my shopping list.  This one turns out to be Pampered Chef and it cost me a buck.  

Love it!

I worked on my office chair this morning.  It has been dropping black bits so I wanted to investigate if I could find out where and why.

I have own this chair for years!  I got it when it was being thrown out at the place I was working.  It was made by Doerner Faultless in Waterloo Ontario Canada in the early 1950s.  It was old when I got it, so now it is very old.  

As you can see I tried to clean a stain on the seat and made it worse.  I will sew a cover for the seat which can be washed.

I was going to get rid of it but I think I have solved the problem.  I have put paper down under it to see if any black stuff comes down from it in the next few days.  

I did learn what the three knobs under it did and adjusted it to be more comfortable to sit on.  

The Rudbeckias are a nice hardy flower and are still providing gorgeous colors in many of the gardens in my neighbourhood.

I love their bright yellow coloring which is similar to my favorite sunflowers.

I have taken many pictures of these flowers over the summer.  

I think this one may end up in my 2022 annual flower calendar.

I found this wonderful tea light holder at a small garage sale.

It was very dirty and cruddy so I had to soak it in soapy water then in vinegar to get calcification off from some of the areas.  Not sure what would produce that kind of residue.  It took several hours and some elbow grease to make it shiny and transparent again.

It showed no signs of having a candle in it.

I love the Moroccan star design with the textured glass.  Nice to have it clear which will go with any decor.  It has a long chain so it could hang on the balcony at night.  

Very happy with this purchase.

I saw Blue Herons at the river.  They were pretty far from the path I was on but I was so excited to see them.  The second photo is one stalking some sort of prey.  It was very focused and moving very deliberately.

The first photo shows that in many areas of the wetlands it is dry!  I have not seen that ever in the past.  When it has water you think there will always be water but I did not realize how shallow some areas were.  The ducks were sitting on moist dirt not even mud, I am sure wondering what was going on.  I wonder how many have perished due to lack of water.  There was still a bit of water in the deeper areas but not a lot for the number of birds who would need it.

Fortunately, it has been raining pretty steadily for the last 24 hours

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was Leading Lines.  This photography technique is used to draw the eye of the viewer to a particular area in the photo.  This example would be better if the end of the grass stayed within the frame.

You can see the shot I submitted on my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics).

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #144 and

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #302. 

Have a great week!