Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Canada Geese are back.  

I found this couple at the 127 Street pond.  There is still ice but at least some open water.

The sun was shining and I walked the whole track around the pond this time.

May as well get my steps in while out with my camera.

Still at the pond I found this creature sitting on a branch in the water.

I could not see the tail but I think this is a muskrat rather than a beaver.  Not sure.

Love the gold color on its fur in the later afternoon sun.

I had a visit with my aunt this afternoon.

Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen. 

The life in the very rural areas of England are challenging at best to downright dangerous at worse.

Amanda shows deep commitment to her family and her animals in the book.  One needs to be a problem solver and adaptive in this kind of environment.

Some of the situations stressed me out and I was not living them out.

A family of 9 children provides a rich life with the interactions between parents and kids.  The children are learning, becoming adults and finding their strengths in this family.  

Interesting book.

The bugs are back.

I captured this flying insect while trying to capture the pussy willows at the Heritage Hills Wetlands in Sherwood Park.

I'm not sure what it is, and of course I only found out it was there when I got home and downloaded the pics.

A dreamy shot of the pussy willow without bugs in the way.

I have been working hard to have the place ready for listing.

It has been a lot of work to move things back into their place from being stored in the living room and dining room during  the renovations.

It was suggested that I make the room look bigger and I moved the table to under the window and now I can dance in the space.

I can see the TV from this room and so sometimes I do my exercise videos here so I am not in full view to the parking lot.

Lately there have been a lot of vehicles back there.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have finally been out with the camera a lot capturing nature in the form of flowers, birds and mammals.

I took a long walk around all three ponds at the Heritage Hills Wetlands this week.  I was up around 6am so seeing people was limited.

The rising sun lit the beautiful House Finch perfectly!

As you can see the leaves are growing like mad making spotting the birds just a little bit harder.

 

 

 

 

I finished this book this week - Beneath a Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft.  This book is based in British occupied Egypt in 1890. Two sisters, Clara and Olivia lost their parents as young children and then they were separated by their grandmother. 

Clara lives in Egypt and now Olivia is traveling there to marry a man she does not love but grandmother has arranged.

As the sisters get reacquainted, Olivia finds out who her new husband really is and how he treats her badly.  The boarder in her husband's house is a military officer.  He shows her compassion, friendship and protection.   The end is heart wrenching but also justice is served. 

This morning I was up with the birds and walking the John Poole Wetlands at the Lois Hole Provincial Park before 6:00 am.  I strolled the board walk as the sun rose and things got brighter.

I found the Barn Swallows flitting around and sitting on bulrushes near their nests which are located below the board walk. 

There were many pairs around.   I love the colors of navy and warm tones breast of these birds.

 

 

Of course, we can always count on the Mallard Ducks to be near all of the ponds in the area.

Love the reflections in this calm water and the curly feathers on it's rump.

In the duck family, the Mallard is one of the larger ones.  I saw a Mallard and a Bufflehead this morning and the size difference is significant.

 

 

I chose blue/purple flowers for my mosaic this week. 

The Pasque Flower in purple then the blue Grape Hyacinth and the lavender of Baby's Breath.

I was facing the opposite direction when this little fellow swam up, pulled a grass clump from the shore and walked back to the water and started washing his breakfast.

He is a muskrat and I did see his skinny tail.

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week is Orange.  

It provides a ton of subject matter in this challenge.

You can check my Flickr Photo Stream (SMDPics)  to see the image I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #133 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #291.     Have a great week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My aunt and I went on a last photo trip to the Lois Hole Provincial Park before the snow came.  We started at the Riel Recreation area and walked over.  I had hope the sun would come out but nay it did not. It was hard to get highlights on the eyes.

We found still a lot of birds - Canada Geese, Gulls, Tundra Swans, Coots, and ducks. There was other wildlife as well thinking the same I expect.  I was surprised the birds were still here.

Here is a munching muskrat.  There were many of them sitting on bits of ice that have started to form on the smaller ponds.  I love the water drops on his fir!

No beavers today though they are around.

This is the only sighting of the Wilsons Snipe this year. It's been a few years since my first shot of this bird.

It was feeding along the edge of the river so the angle of the shot was not ideal.  

I have not been doing a lot of take out food. I guess tired on my own cooking also. I was having a hankering for War Wonton soup from my local restaurant.  I was lucky that despite not having ordered ahead I did not meet anyone in the tiny lobby as I waited for my order to be prepared.  It was super delicious as always.

This is what breakfast looks like these days.

I decided to reduce the amount of dairy products I consume.  I had yogurt which has been replaced with peanut butter to get the protein I needed.

I am still having cream in my tea.

Almond milk or coconut milk are the alternatives I have been using for quite a few years.  Love the cashew milk as well.

We had our first big snowfall on the weekend and I see that the magpie that has started visiting was here this morning.

 

Recently, my aunt shared with me a webinar by photographer Harold Davis - Bottle Light.

I thought it was so cool!  

My first attempt did not so well but this morning with the biggest light available - the sun I managed some shots I was happy with.

I will prepare a blog post with more information in the next little while

I have direct sun for about an hour in the morning if it is shining at all. 

This book - The Lace Makers of Glenmarra by Heather Barbieri is a great book.

A book about women - mothers, daughters, best friends, sisters, and strangers who come from away and enter our lives and their relationships.

There is heart break, good times, teaching, learning, new ideas, and taking risks to improve life.

It is set in wonderful Ireland and the main character is Kate Robinson from Seattle who is taking a trip she planned with her Mom but things changed and she is doing it alone.

There are men too - some hardworking, some abusive, some lazy and taking advantage, some with very rigid opinions and a father who spoke up when it mattered.

I would recommend this book!

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #104  and 

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #265.

 The challenge for the Flickr Macro Monday this week is Puzzle. You see a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle here.

Check out my Flickr Photostream (smdpics) for the image I submitted.