Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Siberian Squill are in bloom in the neighborhood.

Several front yards have these tiny beauties.

Beautiful blue color hanging on this delicate stem very close to the ground.

I have not see the white ones this year. 

I squeezed getting my taxes down to the last day.  It really did not take as long as I anticipated.  

Now, that I have retired there a very few pieces to collect and plug into the calculations.

I did manage to get to the bank to pay the bit I owed.

It's been a good week for photography.  I have visited several of my regular water spaces to see what I could find for birds and flowers.

Here's are a few shots from Beaumaris Lake.

The Ruddy Duck with it's bright blue bill.

The Golden Eye which in the sun shimmered its green head.

The Red Wing Blackbird which is a staple of many wet places.

The Common Grackle was showing off its blue head and yellow eye.

The St. Albert Botanic Park was starting show color.  The Pasque flowers are always early bloomers.  The pink flowers are apple blossoms and the small purple flower was very close to the ground.

It's that time of year.  The waterfowl have arrived and trying to sort out a place for a nest and raising the next generation.  

The American Avocet is always a treat to see. We are on the northern edge of their breeding area.

The Beaver was very curious to see what I was up to and then went on it's happy way.

The Canada Geese were defending territories and there was much posturing, chasing and honking going on.

The Lesser Yellowlegs were scoping the area for food.

The Northern Shoveler duck was there showing off his bright head.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I had a wonderful photo day at the wetlands yesterday morning but it was COLD!

This is the first time I see this bird - an American Avocet.  They were feeding in a large pool of water in a construction site.  There were about 30 of them wandering around in about 8 inches of water.

I was thrilled to see them but I was completely frozen so keep the camera steady was a challenge.

They did not seem troubled by my presence at all.

I saw as a Song Sparrow, a flock of Tree Swallows,  Golden Eyes, a Blue Winged Teal and of course a Red Wing Blackbird male but no good photos.

The Canada Geese were cranky!

They were raising a fuss, making a racket, and flying overhead chasing each other.

You can see the left one's tongue is sticking out as it honks at the other one.

They were acting like some of us are feeling due to sheltering in place.











This book has been on my night stand for a couple of weeks I have just given up on it. It's depressing.

I don't really need to read about 2 couples in marriages who are unhappy and unhealthy.  I did read more than half of it but it was not getting better so I am cutting my losses and moving on.

Love the setting of Venise though.

A female Red Wing Blackbird perched on the very top of a dried bullrush.

As you can see she is all fluffed up trying to stay warm.

Really happy with the capture.

I was at the Lois Hole Provincial Park and the John Poole Wetlands.  Nature carries on in this time of isolation.

It was good to be outside, taking photos and not having to worry about someone getting too close.  A tuque would have been nice.

A nice hot shower when I got home did the trick. 

This American Robin had her feathers all puffed up as well trying to stay warm.

It was very windy and you can see her feathers are being moved about by it.

She stayed very still as I took  many shots.

Great bird captures is always rewarding.

I saw only one other person yesterday morning about 7:30 am.  It was threatening rain but it did not rain till the afternoon.

They have made the boardwalk one way for physical distancing so I had to walk all the way around.

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday was Gold or Silver.  There is a lot of wedding rings being submitted.

I had all kinds of options and here are a few.

I used a gold oval brooch, a gold Chinese fan necklace,  an Anne Klein earring that makes me think of a shoe and an silver aluminum cigar tube where I used to store dimes. 

You can check out my SMDPics photostream to see the shot I submitted.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #79.

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #240.