Sylvia's Simple Shots

I saw Crocuses on my walk this morning.  Nature is saying it is spring time.  I am so glad we did not get the snow that some of the province got yesterday.

I finished this book on Sunday.

A book filled with mysteries years old.

Based in London in 1970's it features a new crime solving unit (Peculiar Crimes Unit) who use non traditional methods to solve crimes.  Detectives John May and Arthur Bryant in third book pursue a murderer with no very little hard evidence to go by.  People are dying every day, its Christmas time and the clues seem to lead in a very unusual conclusion.  

Eventually the method in the madness is revealed and the murders are solved but a family has lost quite a few members.   I enjoyed the book! 

Since the renovations in 2019 I have been on the search for new shades for the lights in the front hall.  Of course, the pandemic has curtailed to a large degree my discretionary shopping.  When my sister called to say could we have a visit outside and they were headed to ReStore I said sure! 

I found shades for the front hall for a very small sum!  The store was not busy and social distancing was maintained.

 

I found ceramic tiles for the base of my photo studio as well. I bought two 12x24 tiles with some texture and a matte finish.  Because of the pattern and the square edges when put together you cannot see the join of the tiles!

The color is neutral and the pattern subtle enough to provide a seamless surface for my photography. The size is manageable weight wise.  I had looked at 24x24 tiles earlier this year but moving one very large tile was not a good idea.

Again, the price was very good!

This my second go round trying to get a basil plant growing.  The other just died.

I see that I have second leaves on this one despite the fact that it has a very short stock. 

I am paying attention to water more this time.  The grow bulb is on very day for 8 hours.

I am hopeful that there may be basil in my cooking this summer.

 

A spring mosaic featuring icy puddles in the morning, my first American Robin of the year and some crocus blooms.

 

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was Circles.  This shot on the right is a few small clear plastic containers backlit with purple and pink gels on my lights.  You can check my photo stream (SMDPics)  to see the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #127 and
Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #285

Have a great week!

Nature - In and Out

I stopped at the Conservatory for a few minutes on my way home yesterday.  The feature pavilion's theme was CandyCopia which was not really my cup of tea but I did manage a couple lovely images.

I think this one is a rose of some sort and of course tulips were great.  I will have to go back during the week when it is less busy.  There were several large groups in for tours.









I headed home for some lunch and a bit of a nap.  This viral infection is just dragging. 

Later in the day I decided to get out and visit the wetlands.  I know it's early in the season to expect to see wildlife though birds must live there year round. 

Cattails in the late day sun were very pretty.

The walkways were pretty icy and snow covered.   I met a few families enjoying the last of the sun.  The area is frequented by many dog walkers but I did not see any on this trip.

 

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #76 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.