Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Cormorants at Beaumaris Lake.

There were a lot of young this year who were annoying each other. They were practicing flying, swimming a lot, and trying to land in the trees successfully.

They have a favorite set of trees so it is easy to find the adults supervising.

Love their plumage, green eyes and long yellow beak.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.  This was a great story to read.

Natalie Harper finds herself in a tragic situation and goes to San Francisco to her grandfather run his book shop.  The place needs work and she wants to sell the store to ensure her grandfather gets the help he needs for daily living.  Unfortunately, he owns the property outright and refuses to sell.

Natalie engages a handy man Peach Gallagher known in the area for his excellent work.  Little by little the maintenance is done to keep the store open.

Peach has a young daughter, Dorothy, who loves to visit the store.  She and Natalie hit it off.  The love of books is shared and words gets back to Dad about her visits to the store.

Things go from there but the grandfather maintained there was treasure in very old books somewhere on the property.   Through the work done surprises are uncovering.  Very good book.

Finding something interesting and worth watching on TV during the summer can be challenging.

I have been researching what was available on Roku and I found this series.  I believe there was 3 years worth of shows.

It is a British reality show where folks across the UK share their garden (yard) sheds. There are categories and the public has selected the finalists in each.  The show follows celebrities as they visit the sheds.

At the end of each show, the winner of a category is selected by the public.  At the end of the series the creator of the show and the celebrities select the overall winner of the Shed of the Year. 

I invited my aunt and her husband to visit the Edmonton Valley Zoo with me.

It was very hot and we met at 1:00 pm which was toasty.

It was a good walk and we sat down at the cafe at the end and enjoyed a bit of a drink and treat.

Many of the animals were hiding due to the hot sun so that limited the photo ops.

The new merry go round was closed so too bad for us. I have to say I was disappointed with my visit.

The northern Alberta wildfire evacuees were given free access while they enjoyed Edmonton's hospitality.  That was very nice of the city to give them a nice distraction from their difficult circumstances.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

I visited the conservatory this week.  It was pretty busy and one of the pavilions was not available so that cut my visit short.   Despite the closure of the feature pyramid, the others provided some color and flowers.  I am grateful that I can visit any time with my annual pass. There will be another visit soon!

The Canada Geese are back! 

It is wonderful to hear their honking in the river valley.  Pairs a vying for prime real estate to make their nests and have their young.

The are such iconic birds for Canada.  It is amazing that they can raise chick with being so far from water.  Water is down in the ponds this year and things are so dry.

Many times this means the top of apartment buildings and I am not sure how the little ones get down but life moves on.

Gorgeous blue sky!

I upgraded my internet service this week.  I had been living with a very old plan as far as speed and data limit.

With the Roku TV the temptation is to watch more internet content so I had to move with the times and get with the service that would move me into a new era.

I was offered a much better plan for very little more than what I was paying.  The price I was paying was too much for the service I was getting.  That is what happens when we get stuck in the old ways.

This should see me into getting more fitness content.

Sugar and Salt by Susan Wiggs is the book I finished this week.

Margot Salton has always dreamed of owning her own restaurant.  When she finds a space in San Francisco who is offering a shared commercial kitchen with the bakery next door it seems to be a good opportunity.  Ida Sugar along with her son Jerome owns the bakery next door. Margot and Ida hit it off right from the start.

Margot has learned cooking from her mother and the barbecue business from her mentor who took her under his wing when she needed a strong support.

When her past from Texas comes a calling she has to deal with it.  She is not sure that Jerome will still be around when he finds out her troubles.

The book has a good ending and it was a great read.

I have been enjoying this PBS British series on ROKU.

The practice is James Heriot's legendary practice now led by Peter and Julian.

They treat all animals from house hold pets, exotic pets, livestock like cattle, goats, sheep, and lamas.

There is always heart warming stories of these precious animals that are very important to their owners.

They are supported by a large team of other vets, vet nurses and admin support staff.  It is one big family.

I am enjoying it very much.   Nice hour of great content.

The hares in the river valley are brown!

The mornings are still very cool this week but things are looking up weather wise.

This guy was munching on the new green grass that is emerging from the dried bit on the forest floor.

These are quite skittish but I managed a decent shot.

I am so looking forward to spring and more light, more warmth.

Spring is here!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It has to mid June because the Alberta Wild Rose is in full bloom.

They are so nice this year.  The perfect combination of sun and rain I guess.

They range from light pink to deep pink like this one!

Insects visit them regularly which will produce rose hip berries in the fall.

They are always in bloom at my birthday and I was able to spend the day with my sister which was wonderful.  My brother-in-law made a fire so I could have fire roasted hot dogs.

Of course, there was ice cream cake, my favorite birthday cake. 

In the Heart of the Garden by Helene Wiggin is a book a finished recently.  It chronicles the life of a garden established in 912AD by Fritha and still cared for by Iris in 1998.  Iris is elderly and she is thinking of moving and leaving her cherished garden.  She walks through it every evening,  touching its special places and plants as she strolls.

Iris Bagshott strolls down the paths of her ancient garden, close to Lichfield in the heart of England, wondering if it is time to sell her house and land for development.

She is unaware that around every corner myriad family secrets from the past unfold.

From a Saxon clearing to a monastery, Tudor dwelling to the present day, this sacred plot has nurtured her ancestors. Generations of Bagshott women have found refuge and solace tending it through years of plague, civil war and beyond.  This is their story

I found the early years of the garden hard, life was hard especially for the women.  I enjoyed the recent history a lot more.

I found some healthy sunflower seeds.  They are very low in sodium which is why I stopped eating the regular ones.  

I find I eat less when I start with them in the shell.

They are available at several stores in my area.

They make them in a variety of flavors but the original plain ones are fine with me.

I have found this a nice healthy snack.

I took this photo this morning on my walk.  

The piece of grass had collected fuzz and it looked cool.  I forgot my hat so seeing the screen was hard.  

I'm glad the shot worked out.

Look at that beautiful Alberta blue sky.

We just had a big rain shower as I am writing this on the longest day of the year but this morning was wonderful.

A good variety of grass in this shot.

The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs.  Another strong female character in the character of Grace Bennett. A naval officer's wife with regular moves, 3 children, putting supporting her husband ahead of her dreams of a business and a place to call her own where she make plans knowing she will be there for years not just 1-3.

Wives of naval officers posted to an aircraft carrier are granted power of attorney so they can handle every situation while their husbands are gone for 6-12 months at a time.  Grace buys the house of her dreams, moves her family and sets up her relocation business which she developed on her many moves over the last 20 years.

With several secrets coming out of the woodwork and a sudden crisis which is a wife's nightmare the family needs to communicate, come to terms with the crisis, listen to each other, and love  most of all.

All things come down to family comes first.

I washed the afghan from my bed recently, which was really needed.

For now, it lives on the couch instead of the bed so the bedroom has a cohesive looks of blues and greys.

It was a gorgeous day so instead of putting in the dryer I just hung it on the balcony rail for several hours.

It was dry and smells wonderful.

I'm not sure what the neighbors thought but I think it was worth doing.

I have been enjoying this old series which I found on the Roku Channel.

Based in a fictional county in England, the seasoned detective and the rookie investigate murders in the area.

British TV is so much less sensational than American TV.  I don't believe I have seen them draw a gun or shoot any one.  Lots of talking and listening.  Questions and more questions to get to the bottom of the situation.

There are 11 seasons so I likely will not get through all the shows before it is replaced by something else.

Loving it for now!