Sylvia's Simple Shots

I spent several hours on Sunday taking pictures at the local lakes.  

These geese in flight was taken at Lois Hole Centennial Park.  My first time there this spring.  The water levels are decent but not a lot of ducks.

The black birds were in good numbers and the geese were making their presence known with much honking.

There were a few skirmishes among them and furious protection of nests.  Goslings should be around very soon.

It was a great morning with beautiful weather.

On Monday, I took a trip north to visit Mom and take her to medical appointments.  

I stayed overnight at my sister's place and we went Tuesday morning to final the details for Dad's funeral next week.   He passed away May 12th in his sleep as he had wished.

I stopped at the honey farmers and picked up a pail of honey.  I have purchased my honey from these folks for years.  We had a bit of a visit and caught up on life.  I guess the winter has been hard on the beehives and some have been lost to temperatures.  Very distressing for the farmers.

I use mostly only honey for sweetening.  In my tea always.

Another book finished this week.  The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.  This is my third book by this author and I just loved it.

It is set in Scotland.  In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in a small cottage in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors Sophie and starts to write.

She seems to be very connected to Sophia. She writes then when researching discovered that what she has written is true.  How can that be?  Ancestral memory from Sophia maybe. 

The owner of the cottage she is renting has 2 sons who take an interest in the woman writer who moved into the cottage in winter.  One is a history professor in Aberdeen who visited his Dad most weekends.  These two connect over their common interest in the past.  This was a very good book and I would recommend it.

On Thursday, I dropped off another 10 blankets for Project Linus.  

These blankets were all made by my sister as I have not sewn a blanket since my health issues in 2020.  

Now with trying to sell my place I cannot have the place uprooted with a big project as it must be tidy most of the time.

I send these off with blessings to those who receive them in their time of need and distress.  May they be comforted by a warm blanket.

With a bit of rain the flowers have just opened up.

This was taken in my neighborhood.  They have a beautiful front lawn filled with red and yellow tulips.

It is a blessing to have such neighbors.

It is so uplifting to see flowers blooming, blue Alberta skies, and the temperatures rise.

We had a full day of rain yesterday which I am sure bring more green and spring flowers.

Have a great week.

Photo Blogging Challenge - Liquids

I'm joining the challenge for October which is liquid.

This was a shot taken this month for one of my challenges on Flickr.

I placed some water and a bit of blue color into a pretty clear glass jug. 

I then added a mirror and chose netting to provide a soft background.

I love the oval stopper in this jug.  The movement of the color in the water was interesting. 

I went on a photo taking afternoon with my aunt.  We headed for the river that afternoon. 

The leaves were yellow and red, the animals were enjoying time near the water, and the weather was really wonderful.  We spent several hours with our cameras and walked a good portion of the river downtown.

This is a reflection of a reed in the water with the ripple produced by a muskrat very close nearby.  I missed him because I was focused on the reflection.

I love the cream creating a pattern in the Roobois Chai Tea held in a Chines tea vessel.

This was breakfast one morning this the month.   This is whole wheat cereal, yogurt, bananas and milk.

I am working on a caffeine free tea since my doctor has recommended this approach.

I will have more on a Masala Chai Rooibos tea later.

I use liquid honey was the sweetener in my tea each day. 

I buy it from an apiary which is located in the small town in which I grew up as a kid.  I find the price in grocery stores is very expensive and I rather spent my money support local businesses.

I have known these folks for years and trust their product.

I warmed it up a little to get it to run smoothly. 

It is yummy!

Water is a regular part of my daily routine.  I down a glass of warm water first thing in the morning before eating anything.

I try to have several 8 oz glasses of water a day. 

I decided to include an orange straw as a nod to Halloween today.

It is held in a crystal glass with straight cuts along the outside.  I love how the line of the straw is offset by the pattern in the glass

Sharing PJ's LilHooHaa Photo Blogging Challenge