Sylvia's Simple Shots

It's that time of year.  The crops are being harvested and stored away for winter.  It was very interesting to see the different colors of netting on these large straw bales - green, red, blue at minimum. Red was my favorite bit it was not convenient to stop and take pics. 

The combines were in the fields kicking up a dust storm, the trucks were waiting for the loading to be done so they could head back to the yard, and there were very wide tractors on the highway so one had to be careful.

I did end up behind a large industrial load and the pilot car did not allow us to use the passing lane when it showed up.  Several of us were just waiting for the opportunity to pass and our hopes were dashed.  It turned off after 40 minutes.

I finally took a trip to the country to see my sister which I had not seen since May at my Mom's funeral.

It was time to clear all the large flower bed at the driveway.  I picked what blooms were still good enough to harvest and put those in a large jar.

Then we were careful to collect seeds from the cosmos, poppies, and pink lavatera.  All in their seperate baggies well marked.

Then the cutters and garden forks came out to remove the huge cosmos plants. I have never seen such large plants with very thick stems.  It was a couple of hours work but it allowed the rocks to be seen again.  There were some smaller plants which had suffered due to lack of sun and water.  A different variety will be planted there next year.

There are a few perennials as well.

This is the lavatera on the buffet at my sister's house with Mom in the back ground tending her flowers at the lodge. That was a year ago already.

These pink lavatera were one of Mom's favorite flowers along with cosmos.  Each place at the house had it's flower, pansy in the old wash tub, nasturtium in the cement planter at the front of the house, a row of cosmos in the garden, a row of gladiolas in the garden next to the house. 

She took care of her flowers, her vegetable garden and fruit trees with much love and care.  They produced very well for her.

I finished this book this week. Book 4 in the Angelic Letters Series. The Angelic Occurence by Henry K. Ripplinger.  It's been a while since I read number 4.

It was good to continue the story with Jenny, Henry, Father David and the rest of the gang.

Jenny has finally divorced her self centered husband James and found her own place but she loses her Mom about this time. Tough.

Henry is painting, running a gallery, put in a cafe at the gallery, and enjoying his acreage outside of Regina.

Father is shepherding the flock at St. Mary's church.

The end of this book was hard so I am so glad that I had book five to start right away.  More about that book later.

My sister loaded me up with fresh veggies from the garden.  They were getting ready to till the garden so the last few things were being harvested.

I came home with tomatoes, green onions, potatoes, a zuchinni, and this is a squash but it will do for a Halloween pumpkin.

It was really nice to get out of town for a couple of days.

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

I took a trip to the country yesterday to visit my aunt and her husband.

We took a trip along the back roads and we spotted this pretty barn.

I love the two tone color scheme on this building.  The dormers in the roof and the cupolas on the peak add some interest to the architecture of the structure.

Judging from the ground floor doors and the hay loft door above them the inside of the barn is pretty huge.

The dark skies add drama to this shot.  It did not rain during the afternoon and it spit a few drops while the steaks were on the BBQ for supper.  Great visit

Garden veggies are the best at this time of year.

I have been fortunate to get some from my sister and my aunt.  I am so grateful to those with abundant garden who are willing to share the bounty.

Eating them raw is the best way.

Really enjoying them.

As a kid we picked them from the garden, barely got the dirt off them and ate them on the spot.

Yummy!

Same goes for fresh garden tomatoes.

Red and delicious.  Great to add to pizza, a salad, an open grilled cheese sandwich and a ton of other things.

I got some green ones which are doing their ripening in a brown paper bag.

Most folks here have picked their tomatoes as nights have gotten near freezing a couple of times.

I am working towards a stained glass piece of art.  I have always wanted one hanging in a window throwing some color into my living space.  

I am planning to buy myself one as a retirement gift but I had to put some thought into the subject matter.

I have decided on a sunrise.  The message being the future looks bright at the beginning of a new chapter.

I studied a lot of stained glass pieces then I drew what I wanted at 4" square.  Then I translated it intoo 8x8 inches and traced it onto inexpensive watercolor paper.  I painted this with watercolor and just stuck it into a quick frame.

I need to make some changes to the composition.  I  am missing the second layer of light yellow pieces on the left hand side.  I was having real trouble drawing the lines the right way on the left.  The suggestion is to reverse the right side and trace the lines then make some adjustments.  The larger piece of orange on the right needs to be made into 2 pieces.  The hills pieces need to be small and less similar. 

I will draw another 4" piece then into 8" piece.  It was suggested that I color it with the paint I plan to use for the 14" sample.  The 14" piece will be faux stained glass made with Elmers school glue and liquid acrylic color.  That one will be hung in the window for a while to see if it gives me the feeling I want.  If so, then I may have a piece commissioned if it is not too expensive.

I have been wanting a pansy for my 2022 Flower calendar so I have been check out all the ones I find.

It is so late in the season to find blooms still in good shape.

I found the two on the left in my aunt's flower beds. The one on the right I found at the park today.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was “Geometry Shapes”.  That leaves a lot of room for all kinds of images.  The image on the left is taken through the view finder of my Kaleidoscope. You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see the image I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #148 

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #305.

Be safe and have a great week!