Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a trip to the country for a family reunion on the weekend. 

I did take several walks during my visit to the country which yielded several different nature photos.

Here I captured a Blue Heron winging it's way to a new pond of water for sure.  It has rained quite a bit recently so there also standing water. A bit about that later.

I could tell with my eye that it was a big bird and I took several shots as it moved away from me.  Generally, I see these in ponds standing in water so I was grateful to find this one flying.

It was a gorgeous morning and at least on the road the mosquitoes were not so bad.

I finished this book when I took a day of rest after getting back from the hectic weekend.  I was glad to find out he is a Canadian author.

I thought that I had read a book from this author but I don't recognize any titles. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay was a good read. It is fantasy story set in France was a good start.  Main character Ned Marinner a fifteen year old boy on a trip with his photographer Dad. Of course, he meets a girl but also discovers some ancient characters who come to life on the festival Belaine. This Gaelic festival marked the start of the summer season and took place on the full moon in May. Beltaine is intermediate between the end of winter and the summer solstice.

I enjoyed the references to art, history, photography, and Celtic festival.

Filled with mystery, intrigue, danger, and interesting family dynamics which kept things interesting.

The mosquitoes were vicious. 

Every hole in my sandals allowed me to bitten many, many times.  This photo is a couple of days after I got home.

I had bites through my jeans and many bites were red, swollen and very painful.  I felt like I was injured.

I found that if I spread Aloe Vera gel on them then put socks on that helped a lot to easing the pain and the swelling. It also helped with the itching which was really bad.

I am writing on Wednesday and today I finally feel better and the pain and itching is gone.

The canola fields were in full bloom around us.  They are so iconic to the Alberta landscape.

The farm next door had horses so we took a walk to see them.

They were casually eating grass and not paying us any attention.

It was a situation where we had to wait till they lifted their heads so we could get a decent shot.

There was a white one as well but I did not get any good shots of it.  I ended up with wires and weeds between it and my camera and it blurred the shots.

This book - The Perfection of the Morning - An Apprenticeship in Nature by Sharon Butala was different.

She covers many years in this book.  Being one who is considering moving from the city to the country I was interested in the insights from one who has done it.

I was very happy for her to be able to reconnect to nature as she enjoyed it in her childhood.  She found she belonged to the Great Plains of south western Saskatchewan. I understand the challenges and disappointments when what you thought does not come true.

As one who enjoys my morning walks in nature - seeing birds, flowers, animals, insects is all very interesting to me, I could relate to her walks of this vast landscape.

I found some of the aspects in the book - emotional, spiritual and psychological less relatable.

A Savannah Sparrow.

This one has captured lunch.

They were plentiful and I got a lot of shots of these. On power lines, fence posts, in brush and trees.

It was good to see family we have not seen since 2019.

The food was excellent, the hall was great, the outdoor space was plentiful, and the campfire was challenging with the bugs. 

I had a great time, numbers were down but that is alright.

Sylvia"s Simple Shots

The dahlias are in full bloom at the botanic garden.

The sizes vary, the colors are magnificent and it was a pleasure to walk around to photograph a few of them.

This is the Chilson Pride dahlia featuring white and lavender colors. 

I spent a couple of hours walking the full length and back.  Of course, most of the flowers are gone as the plants have been dead headed to keep the beds looking good.

I am heading out later in the mornings now that the sun rises later.

A bag full of cards is headed for the Cards for Seniors project organized by one of the scrapbook stores.

I have included cards received from my exchange partners, cards received from family and friends and some of my card kits which I made up to ensure they go to a good cause.

I refurbished those that needed new inserts, added a new card base in some cases and generally did what was needed so they would be useful again.

You may recall in my post last week that I had worked on the chair and tried to clean the seat.  That was not successful so I needed to cover the seat.

My office chair has a new seat cover.   

I searched my fabric stash for fabric that would be appropriate.  It needed to be heavy and with the right colors.  I found these one with a paisley pattern with a good variety of colors.  There was close match to the back rest so I proceeded.

I used a piece of paper to trace the shape of the top of the seat.  Cut it out and double checked and tweaked it a bit.  I cut the side piece 4 inches tall to allow for seam allowances both top and bottom.  I had to piece together 3 pieces to get a length of 60 inches.   I sewed the side to the top easing around the corners.  I folded over the bottom edge and sewed it down.  I found some black elastic in my stash which was in several pieces.  I concentrated on the corners but eventually I had enough to cover the full length.  It looks good, it stays in place and it is removable to launder when needed.

I finished this book this week.  Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende.  

Eliza Sommers is the central figure who has been adopted by  brothers John and Jeremy and sister Rose who are English. They live in the port city of Valparaiso, Chile in the 1840s. John is a sea captain, Jeremy works for an import company and Rose manages the house. 

She has an English upbringing with education, music, ethics and manners instilled.  She falls in love with a young man who came to the house to deliver goods.  It is a hot and heavy affair then he leaves for the Gold Rush in California.   She decides to follow him but must go quickly and quietly so she arranges to stowaway on a ship with the help of a Chinese man, Tao Chi'en.  He is a physician who has his reasons to be on a ship.  They disguise her as a boy to get her off the ship and she continues that persona in San Francisco. They establish themselves there, Tao Chi'en a physician and Eliza as companion and assistant. 

She decides to pursue her search for her lover in the midst of the gold rush and the chaos that it has created.  She travels with groups for safety and follows leads when she can.  She finds herself in an outskirt town and meets up with Joe Bonecrusher's travelling caravan of prostitutes and ends up travelling with them as cook and piano player.  Eventually, she realizes she does not love him anymore.  She continues to write to Tao Chi'en regularly and they maintain their relationship.  The Chinese man misses his assistant and friend.  He decides to go and see her.  He finds her and she decides to give up her search and return to San Francisco with him.  They set up his practice, have small garden to grow medicinal plants, and life is good.   She is tiring of have to pretend to be man, she is exploring her feelings for Tao Chi'en and one day she pulls out the suitcase she took with her on the ship many years ago.  It contains dresses and jewelry.  She decides to dress as a woman with out the corset and asks Tao Chi'en what he thinks.  He doesn't mind the new look and as far as he is concerned she is still who she has always been.  She decides to stick with dresses.   Very soon, after this the bandit, her lover is captured and killed.  His head has been preserved so the bounty could be collected and it goes on display for anyone who wants to see this infamous gangster. They visit to see the face and she declares she is now free.  They work together to save Chinese prostitutes and get them to a network which will give them a way to earn an honest living and a new place to live. Some go to Oregon, back to the East Coast and even some to Canada.

Another great book by this author. Loved it!

Look what I found hanging out a local pond.  I discovered this pond when I took a different road the other day.

It is quite large expanse of water and was covered with ducks, Canada Geese, Lesser Yellowlegs, and this wonderfully grand Blue Heron.

It was reasonably close and a got a much better shot of it this time.

So excited.

I found this heart on a wrought iron gate last week.  I thought it was wonderful.  

It was upside down, so I have turned it right side up, applied a watercolor filter to it. 

Like it a lot.

A birthday card for my card box for upcoming family birthdays.

I chose a designer paper with a yellow stripe.  I die cut the greeting from a piece of card stock in the same color leaving a good amount below the word.

I trimmed the designer paper to leave a small border on the chocolate brown card base.  I adhered the greeting leaving the same border on sides and bottom edges. It was cut with the Memory Box Grand Happy Birthday die.

I die cut leaves with the Tim Holtz Mini Tattered Leaves set and added some chalk to provide a bit of definition.

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!

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!

Recent Photos

I was so thrilled to see my first BIG bird.   I was at Patricia Lake early one morning this week and investigated a white patch across the water.

It was a Blue Heron.  This is the best shot I got and was hoping he had decided to go fishing or at least stand but he was content to sit there and look at me.

I will go back in a few days but they must into migration already headed to the States so it likely will not be there when I return.

This creature was a more cooperative.  It is a Yellow Dragonfly.  I love the bright spots a the ends of its wings!

The structure on it's back where the wing attach is very interesting and detailed.

It has big eyes and looks like a being a person could connect with.

I was glad to have spotted it in the yellow green grass in the meadow.

This the latest book I had on my night stand.  "The Road to Paradise Island" by Victoria Holt.  My Mom had read the book and passed it onto to me.  I enjoyed the book very much.



Annalice Mallory, the sheltered daughter of a family of map makers, discovers the cryptic diary of her long-dead ancestor that includes a map of a mysterious far-of island. Philip, Annalice's brother, sets sail for the island, lured by the promise of incomparable riches to be found. But when he doesn't return, Annalice sets out to find him -- and the secrets of the diary -- in a desperate journey that leads her through the worlds' most exciting outposts . . . and finally to the tropical islands of the South Seas, where she encounters heart-stopping peril, but also the promise of love.

I found the discovery of the diary very compelling.  She grows up from a teenager to an independent woman during the experience of searching for her ancestor.  Set in England in the early 1900s and included travel on a ship to Australia. It all ends well in the end. 

Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert (1906–1993), better known to readers as Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, and Jean Plaidy, was one of the world’s most beloved and enduring authors. Her career spanned five decades, and she was heralded as the “Queen of Romantic Suspense.” She continued to write historical fiction under the name of Jean Plaidy and romantic suspense as Victoria Holt until the time of her death.

Of course, it is time to harvest so I was fortunate to be able to pick raspberries in a friend's patch on 2 Sundays.  The first Aug 4th garnered enough to make a double batch of Raspberry Bavarian with my Mom's recipe.  I shared half with my sister and brother in law when I visited to pick saskatoon berries last week.  I have frozen a container of raspberries with enough to make Bavarian again!  I picked saskatoons at our regular UPick - Farrant Junction on Wednesday last week.  The berries were really nice and big and the picking was easy.  I picked 2 ice cream pails which made 4 bags of berries for the freezer.

I was driving down to my sisters to pick berries and it rained the whole way.  I was concerned berry picking would not happen.  I was prepared to pick in the rain if necessary. We decided to make our other preserves on Tuesday and hope of better weather on Wednesday. I made chutney and she made berry syrup which she serves with club soda on a hot day.

I stuck to last year's recipe with a few tweeks.
I halved the sugar in the recipe this year but did add a few extra dried cranberries.
I added garlic which was not in the original recipe but I like it.
I switched from dark raisins to golden raisins to keep the color in the gold colors.

I made 6 one cup jars this year.  That will be plenty.  I have some leftover jars from my experiments last year.  It is great to spend time with family and put some good food away for winter.

Sharing with Through My Lens #203 hosted by Mersad.