Sylvia's Simple Shots

I went looking for pelicans at Beaumaris Lake but found none.

I found other waterfowl.  Here's a Red Necked Grebe with it's mournful call.  There were several pairs on the water. Did not see any nests yet.

The apple trees were all in bloom as well as the cherry trees with their deep pink blossoms.

Great walk around the lake.

American Coots vying for territory.

There was a look of splashing, posturing, and charging going on.

As you can see in this shot the water was being churned and the flapping wings of the retreating male was he headed across the water.

There were several pairs of these waterfowl on the water.

If You Believe by Kristin Hannah.  This is about the 3rd or fourth book I've read from this author.

Mariah Throckmorton lives with her father Rass on a farm with an apple orchard. They grow apples and the harvest is a source of income for them.  Her mother passed away recently and they both miss her terribly.  Rass has posted a help wanted ad at the general store in town.

Mad Dog Stone has been wandering from place to place for many years. He takes odd jobs to earn money for the few necessities.  He answers the ad and appears at the farm.  Mariah runs the house and farm by rigid rules and with Rass getting older sees that hiring Mr. Stone makes sense. 

Mr. Stone and Mariah dance around each other for a while.  Pushing and pulling for who is in control. She should lighten up a bit and he should apply himself a little more. A young boy appears at the farm which Rass employs as his assistant for categorizing and organizing his archaeological finds. 

These three characters become a family under difficult circumstances.

After a lot of negotiations I have finally had my offer accepted for a new place to live in a small town east of the city.

Now the work begins in earnest.   Packing, moving utilities, renovations before moving in, and cleaning this place before I leave.

Working on contractors for painting, flooring and some plumbing to be completed before possession.

A walk to the Community Garden and Paul Kane Park this week.

The lilacs are in bloom and it strikes me as a bit early.

Their scent is lovely.

Pretty flowers.

Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohansesian is a book I finished this week. It is a historical novel. 

It has 2 story lines one in the 1915 and one in 1990's.  The first is set in the Armenian and Turkey war. The peaceful relationship between these 2 countries breaks down and many innocent people are killed and many endure great suffering. This tears lives apart.

In the 1990's Orhan's grandfather, Kemal, dies and leaves the family home to a woman no one knows. She lives in the USA and who is she?  Orhan travels far to find a ninety plus year old lady living in nursing home.  She had been a young Armenian girl during the war. She suffered great losses and Fatma has saved her life. 

The book has some surprises, the truth comes to light and the relationships are not what they seem.  Great read. 

My sister and brother-in-law dropped by for lunch while they were in town visiting my other sister and her husband who has been pretty sick. We always have pick up an drop off items when we connect.  

They picked up Wendy's on their way over. The linens had been sorted through that morning and the tablecloth had been set aside for packing. I sent a red tablecloth to my niece.It may the last time they visit at this place.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

An early morning walk around Beaumaris Lake today. There were a few waterfowl about.  No pelicans yet.

Plenty of Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks and this Common Merganser duck with its rust colored head and red bill.

The wind was brisk and I was glad that I worn layers because it was cool and gusty.

My first time this year.

I had my replacement Tupperware order as well as my niece's order delivered by my sister.  We have been working on this for a while.  

Even back to Christmas we were looking for broken pieces so we could get them all into a large order. My niece delivered some a while back as well.

The blue lid was a purchase and it cost dearly as the original lid has been discontinued.  This lid works but is from another bowl. Glad to have it.

My sister and I head out for supper but the restaurant we wanted was closed so we had to find another.

I may have been to the Sicilian Pasta Kitchen once before.

We shared a salad and a pasta dish and it was super delicious.  We ate it all because there was not really enough leftover for take away container.

It was a great idea to share so we got veggies and pasta.

A nice visit on top of the great food.

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak was the book I finished this week.

Autumn Divac has been searching for her husband for 18 months. He disappeared in Europe under some mysterious circumstances. Her teenagers need a break so she heads to the town she grew up in where her Mom and aunt run a bookstore on the beach.  She has great memories of the place.

There is great time for family but teenagers have their own ways so there is making friends and connecting with people their own age. The daughter finds a supportive friend to get her through her crisis and the son finds a man who can provide male role model that he is missing.

The ending was very surprising for all the parties. Autumn and her husband, the old boyfriend, the new teenagers discovered.  Great read.

I headed to the Legislature Grounds for an early morning walk. The first this year.

The morning was cool but less wind that early this week.

The Alberta Legislature grounds feature a Kwakiutl totem pole, carved by artist Oscar Maltipi and donated to the province in 1971. This pole is a visual representation of kinship and family crests, a common practice among Indigenous cultures. It's located near the lawn bowling pitch.

It was donated by British Columbia First Nations to mark the 100th anniversary of that province joining confederation.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I headed to the St. Albert Botanic Park early in the week.

Here's one of the last peonys in bloom.  Beautiful blush pink! 

The roses were in fully bloom.

The sunflowers are headed to great heights.

Not much on the river now that the babies have matured.

The heat wave continued this week.

With the fan running pretty much 24/7, soaking my head and shirt several times a day, managing the fan in windows at night to bring the cooler air in, and just hunkering down for the most part.

It was lucky that we were not laying floor this week because it was a cooker.

The Blue Noon by Robert Ryan based on a true story.

This is a WWII story set in Europe between 1938 and 1945. Harry Cole is a  rogue. Over this time he has had a few personas, worked for several different military organizations, and collaborated with many different regimes.

He has been hurt, shot, beaten and still has managed to fit in, hide in plain sight and serve his own purposed within the opportunities which came his way.

He has known love, settled down for a little bit and tried to become a better person.  

I found that at times I like him and other times did not.  The story was compelling and I read a good part of the book in front of the fan in the heat wave we are experiencing.

I washed my Keens this week.  With the very hot weather they were needing a refreshing.  

They suggest they can be washed in the washing machine but I was not prepared to do that in my new machine so I used Simple Green on them with a old toothbrush and then put them out on the balcony to dry.

They look and smell better.

The walk around Beaumaris Lake this week was wonderful.

The morning was cool comparatively to the rest of the week.  There was heavy cloud which threatens to rain down but it did not.

The sun came out at 10 am and the heat began.

I headed home.

I headed over the Muttart Conversatory this  week as well to see the new display in the feature pavilion.  Where Pyramids Collide.

Being the middle of summer there were many programs going on.  Several sets of small children all in the same colored shirt so adults could keep track of them, running around the narrow paths was no much fun.

Of course, none of the pavilions were cool as in temperature.

I always enjoy the flowers, plants and fish.

The process continues.  I have headed to the flooring store for more information.

Received feedback waiting for more information.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I found White Pelicans at Beaumaris Lake this week!

The water was blue and it was very good.

Not the best shots but they are only the firsts.

Teatime for Firefly by Shona Patel

A story set in India. In prewar WII Layla Roy lived with her grandfather and she was educated. They had great discussions and she was able to debate and express her self.  One day, a young man came to visit her grandfather - Manik Deb. He was handsome, well spoken, had very good English and could rub shoulders with the British.  He is betrothed to a girl down the way.  He has a good job.

Suddenly, it is heard that Manik has taken a job on an Assam tea plantation.  Why? The marriage is eventually withdrawn as the girl is not moving to hinterland of northern India.  What was he thinking.

He had his eye on Layla.  Now with his future clear he can marry Layla.  He does and takes her far away from her home and she is meant to mingle with wives of tea planters.  She is in charge of servants and Manik works long hours.  It all works out in the end.

The White American Pelicans have arrived in Sherwood Park as well at the Heritage Hills Wetlands.

The story continues with not great photos but I will persevere.

My plan to give away the cards I make is working well.

The recipients are appreciative.

This set is headed to my niece.

The Red Winged Blackbirds are back in all the wetlands.

This was a the Heritage Hills Wetlands.  

I only had a bit of time so that is what it is.

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

Beaumaris Lake has been a great go to place for photography this year.  Big trips have not taken place.  This lake has enough landscape to provide a variety of photographic fodder.

Here is the water reflection of the hand rail around one of the many view points along the walking trail. Love that absolutely blue Alberta sky.

Does it look like birds all facing one direction?

We don't get a lot of red leaves here in this province.  I found a few. 

An nice trio of gorgeous red maple leaves against that grey bark of the tree.

We have an about 5 block stretch of road along a main throughfare in our city where Manitoba Maples are planted.

At this time of year, cars are parked on the edge of the road end to end along the whole stretch.  Families are taking their photos, photographers are taking people shots with the red leaves, and it is just mayhem.

I found these at Beaumaris Lake.  I was so glad not having to stop at the busy spot.

A sweet shot of a single red berry with green leaves still on the branch.

Nice color dare I say Christmas colors.

We have had a beautiful fall with wonderful sunshine and warm temperatures.  Many shirt sleeve walks in October.

Angel Promises Fulfilled by Henry K. Ripplinger.  This is book five in the series.

Jenny Hamilton is enjoying her new home in Regina. The gardens are finally looking as she wants filled with wildflowers. The Thanksgiving Angel has arrived and been placed near the gazebo - a replica of the one she had at the estate in Ottawa. 

Jenny has resisted visiting Henry's gallery as she thinks he is still married and does not what to complicate his life.  In the meantime she would like to reconcile with her son after rift which precipitated the divorce.  Jimmy is rebuffing all her attempts at reconciliation.

At Eddy's wedding most of the major players are in one place, Father David is officiating, Peter is the best man, Henry is in the front row, ans Camilla is with her family.  Things are starting to fall in place.

While in the hospital deathly ill, Jenny asks her son Jimmy to sell her house as she will not be returning to it. He takes the easy way out and sells the house with all the contents as he does not want anything of his mother's. 

Henry and his son Josh look at the house with anticipation that Josh would be moving his family into the city but Henry is taken with the house.  It is perfect.  He buys the house lock, stock and barrel for himself to have a place to stay when he does not want to commute from the acreage. 

Father David Engelman has officially retire and moved to the senior's home.  He is still called to minister to folks so he takes on the residents as his new congregation.  He revives the chapel in the complex and starts to hold bible study and mass.  He is doing hospital outreach and has been visiting a very ill woman on her deathbed.

This book is full of miracles.  Finally, Henry and Jenny are wed!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Cormorants at Beaumaris Lake.

There were a lot of young this year who were annoying each other. They were practicing flying, swimming a lot, and trying to land in the trees successfully.

They have a favorite set of trees so it is easy to find the adults supervising.

Love their plumage, green eyes and long yellow beak.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.  This was a great story to read.

Natalie Harper finds herself in a tragic situation and goes to San Francisco to her grandfather run his book shop.  The place needs work and she wants to sell the store to ensure her grandfather gets the help he needs for daily living.  Unfortunately, he owns the property outright and refuses to sell.

Natalie engages a handy man Peach Gallagher known in the area for his excellent work.  Little by little the maintenance is done to keep the store open.

Peach has a young daughter, Dorothy, who loves to visit the store.  She and Natalie hit it off.  The love of books is shared and words gets back to Dad about her visits to the store.

Things go from there but the grandfather maintained there was treasure in very old books somewhere on the property.   Through the work done surprises are uncovering.  Very good book.

Finding something interesting and worth watching on TV during the summer can be challenging.

I have been researching what was available on Roku and I found this series.  I believe there was 3 years worth of shows.

It is a British reality show where folks across the UK share their garden (yard) sheds. There are categories and the public has selected the finalists in each.  The show follows celebrities as they visit the sheds.

At the end of each show, the winner of a category is selected by the public.  At the end of the series the creator of the show and the celebrities select the overall winner of the Shed of the Year. 

I invited my aunt and her husband to visit the Edmonton Valley Zoo with me.

It was very hot and we met at 1:00 pm which was toasty.

It was a good walk and we sat down at the cafe at the end and enjoyed a bit of a drink and treat.

Many of the animals were hiding due to the hot sun so that limited the photo ops.

The new merry go round was closed so too bad for us. I have to say I was disappointed with my visit.

The northern Alberta wildfire evacuees were given free access while they enjoyed Edmonton's hospitality.  That was very nice of the city to give them a nice distraction from their difficult circumstances.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I finally found American White Pelicans at Beaumaris Lake.  There were at least a dozen in a couple of groups. 

They were getting along with the Canada Geese which there were somewhere around 50 of them on the water.  Thanks goodness it is a big pond.

I enjoyed an evening walk instead of my usual early morning walk. I walked from 8 to 9 pm.  It was a very nice temperature so there were loads of people on the path.

This shot was great because the reflection of the main pelican is good and you can see the reflection of the one next to him and the orange tip of its bill. The light is really good.  

The field blueberries were on sale this week.  My sister and I have been on the look out. She had often found them in her neck of the woods but with a call the regular supplier no they did not get any this year.

She called to say that one of the large supermarkets had them on sale.  I had my supper and headed out in hopes that there was supply on the shelf.  There was!

I bought enough to put 5 regular bags in the freezer and eat some fresh for a few days.

Thanks sister!

I am working on a bit of an update on the living room.

Now that I have another chair added to the mix I thought the rocking chair at minimum needed a wash and the buttons replaced.

I purchased the chair second hand back in 2016.  I had washed the covers then and as you can see it is white.

I gave it the covers a good scrub and a bit of bleach on the stains and it turned out really well.

I search my stash for buttons and choose these shell button which have a grey undertone.

It is nice to have that project done.

I am working of new cushions for the living room.  Trying to work in the ivory, deep moss green and the yellow chair colors along with the navy on the dining room table which sits in front of the balcony window.

A solution appeared!

I dropped the car at the dealership for its regular maintenance and I headed out to Fabricland to get thread and zippers for cushions I had planned.  I had purchased several different fabrics that I thought would work for the new green chair. Well, check out this upholstery fabric I found at the fabric store. It includes all the colors I would have wanted - grey, mustard, ivory, navy, warm green, and yellow in a heavier synthetic fabric. It will match all the chairs, include the navy, will last longer than cotton, and it was on sale for $5 a meter.  

I said YES!

 

I dropped off a bag of blankets to the rep for  Project Linus.  The blankets were made my 2 of my sisters.  I have not gotten back to making quilts as most of my fabric is still in storage and I believe will remain there for another while.

It was great to connect with this lady that I have been meeting for the last 5 years at least.

Project Linus provides blankets to people in emergency situations.  They are handed out by paramedics, police officers and fire fighters.  Those who need them get to keep them.

The book this week was T is for Trepass by Sue Grafton.  It was nice to have a visit with Kinsey Milhone again.  This story deals with a vulnerable senior who needs help after a fall.  There is no close family and a couple of the neighbours care but are not family. 

Someone is hired to provide care for Gus who lives next door to Kinsey and Henry Pitt.  He is known to be testy with the neighborhood kids and all around grumpy old man.  Solana Rojas was hired and Kinsey was asked as a private investigator to check out her references for the family.  Just the basics was requested.

Solana is a career criminal and has stolen an identity to get this work.  She is treating Gus very badly and has started liquidating his assets. She is restricting the neighbour's access to visit.  Kinsey is getting suspicious and eventually takes action to rescue Gus from his caregiver and saves his life.

I have to say having had ailing parents this story hit too close to home at the beginning of the story.  Generally, Kinsey deals with murders which is much removed from my world and is easier to accept in a fictional text.

My aunt invited me over to watch te movie, Avatar - The Way of Water.  We had stir fry for supper with blueberries and raspberries with yogurt for dessert. Yummy! A walk through her garden before we settled down for the movie. Only then did we discover it was over 3 hours long. It going to be a late drive home.

I watched the first movie (2009) - Avatar as soon as it came to theaters in my area. On a big screen with friends it was really great.

In this movie I found the war outweighed the family dynamics and values of the movie.  It is set up to have a third movie and I am not sure that I would watch the next one because it will be all out war.

It was a beautiful movie to watch!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A morning walk around Beaumaris Lake.  

The babies are showing up.  There were goslings and ducklings.  Beautiful yellow fluffy beings.

The Japanese Anemone is a beautiful white perennial flower which was growing on this side of the fence.

The Common Grackles are back.  These beautiful birds with great colors.  Gorgeous blue head, wonderful color on the wings, and a bright yellow eye.

A flash of red in the trees.  Be patient and then getting a few shots capturing that wonderful color.

Ruddy Ducks are at the Lake.  I have not seen them here in years before. I just love that gorgeous blue bill. 

The Alberta Rose is starting to bloom.  These are the wonderful June flowers.  A simple elegant pink flower.  Soon there will be an abundance of them.

It was a great morning.

I started this series - The Angelic Letters Series - Pewter Angels by Henry K. Ripplinger.  My sister and I bought these books for Mom for Christmas 2021.  She was on book 4 when she passed in Jan 2023. My sister has finished the series and another sister is reading and then passing them on to me. Set in Saskatchewan Canada and written by a Canadian.

The main characters 15 year olds - Henry Pederson, Jenny Sarsky, and Mr. Engelmann are living in Regina Saskatchewan in 1956. 

Jenny has moved from BC into the house 3 doors down from Henry. Mr. Engelmann and his wife Anna owns the neighborhood grocery store on the corner.

Henry works at the grocery store during the summer holidays. He is smitten with Jenny when he meets her on July 6, 1956. They spend a wonderful summer.  Henry has deep conversations with Mr. Englemann on the crates out back of the store.  Henry starts making improvements to the store.  The customers notice. 

Suddenly, Jenny moves to Ottawa in late September. 

On my drive to Spruce Grove on Saturday I was struck by the number of vehicles that were none metallic grey (flat) with a clear coat on top.  They ran the spectrum of companies and models.  I found that unusual.  

When I got home I did some research.  The origin of this color is Audi.  Other companies have gotten on the band wagon and now offer a similar look under other names.

I also discovered that you can get a vinyl wrap applied to your car to give you this look if you are wanting a change.

We had a nice reception for the Seniors Show.  We had winners of prizes, a good number of interesting art on the walls, and folks mingling and talking process.

You can find the on line version by clicking on this link.  Allied Art Council Senior Show

There was a wide variety of techniques in this show from watercolor, acrylic, sculpture, mixed media, pencil and more.

There were goodies as well.

I enjoyed sharing with several of the artists who attended then later I had a good visit with two of my aunts.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

On my visit to Beaumaris Lake this week,  I found several pairs of Blue Winged Teals.  Maybe they are checking out the lake for nesting places.

These are ducks and the blue patch can only be seen when they open their wings.

I have not seen these at this lake in the past so things are different this year.  Not sure why.  I have not seen pelicans yet but a lot of Canada Geese.

A friend gave me a small art glass vase designed by Robert Held - a Canadian glass maker.

Love the gorgeous purple glass with the iridescent colors along the bottom third of the vase.

I placed some baby's breath in it for now.  Maybe, later in the year I will be able to have live flowers.

It joins my other pieces made by the same maker.

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley which is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Historical fiction set in Paris.  In the modern day, Sara an amateur code breaker has arrived to look at a diary from around 1732.  Sara comes to live with the owner of the book.  Her live-in housekeeper has a young son who seems to have abilities in this area as well. The son's father, Luc lives nearby as his parents are divorced.  Soon, there is an attraction between Sara the loner and Luc the business man.

The dairy was written by Mary Dundas who wrote it in code to be sure the contents could not be discovered by spies.  She is a second generation Jacobite exiled to France. Mary becomes embroiled in a plan to help a mysterious Jacobite man stay out of the grasp of English authorities and the diary tracks her journey over the country, her relationships with her compatriots and her budding romance with the severe MacPherson.

Loved this book!

A friend and I went out for lunch this week. I suggested Vietnamese food and she agreed.  My favorite Vietnames restaurant survived most of the pandemic then closed as other business were opening.  Disappointing.  I had to find another. I had eaten in this restaurant years ago and it was as good as I remember.  

The pelicans were at Heritage Hills Wetlands this week but due to a situation on the trail my attention was diverted for a time.  While lending a helping hand to a senior on the trail time passed so by the time I had a camera in my hand again, they were at the far end of the pond.

I decided it was too hot and I had been out too long in the heat to pursue them any further.  I was told they had been around for a couple weeks already so I will find them again on another day.

It was exciting to see them even at a distance.

A few other things I found at the wetlands.  A Mourning Cloak butterfly, a Ruddy Duck with it's blue bill and of course Poplar Fuzz.

A good week!