Sylvia's Simple Shots

I made my last visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park before the hard frost comes and does away with the blooms.  The dahlias were still pretty and in good form for the most part.

This is Blushing Princess Alyssum which is covered with heavy dew.  My runners were soaking wet by the time I had spent over an hour in the park.

It was a brisk morning so an extra layer was needed for the morning.  I added a vest and headed out.  It was very nice time with very few people around.

Not to much to see at the river this time.  A few ducks were fattening up for the long trip south which no doubt will start soon.

Mister Teacher by Jack Sheffield was a light read.  I would another book by this author.

A warm-hearted, nostalgic and funny continuation of the story begun in the popular Teacher, Teacher! With a wonderful gallery of characters in this North Yorkshire village, author and real-life headmaster, Jack Sheffield, chronicles another riotous year in the life of Ragley-in-the Forest village school.

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield is beginning his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk – one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life for ever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. So begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural center of the community. Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher and whose greatest ambition is to become President of the Women's Institute; Ruby, the twenty-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman; all these , and many more colourful characters, accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma.

It's September and that is Concord Grape season in my part of the world. 

We must have had these as a kid but I don't remember for sure.  They are expensive but I treat myself to a carton every year.

The beautiful velvety blue skins with the bright green insides and they taste great.

My sister usually share in this tradition so I brought her a cluster when I saw her this week on her way to help Mom with a big medical eye  appointment.

Speaking of seasons the Canada Geese are starting to gather.  I did not find any in the waters of the Lois Hole Centennial Park but they were heard several times way over head.

I managed to capture this shot as they passed close enough over head to actually see them.

They move pretty fast when on a mission to find enough food to get ready for their trip south.

No doubt they are connected with like minded souls for the long trip as well.

I love their call at this time of year.  They make themselves known and spreading the word about what time it is.

I was able to find this book at the thrift store the other day. An Irish Country Love Story by Patrick Taylor.

It was so good to reacquaint myself with these great characters. Fingal O'Reilly the senior doctor in this medical practice in Ballybucklebo in County Down, Ireland. Kitty is now his wife.  Barry Laverty is coming along as the next senior doctor at Number One Main Street and he is engaged to Sue Nolan a teacher.

These farm folk love their dogs and when Jasper goes missing there is a massive search.  

There is an incident that puts Number One Main Street at risk.  This building has been home to the medical clinic for last 50 years, to the doctors and is where Kinky Auchinleck used to live before she married Archie. She still comes to work every day as the housekeeper and all around manager for the practice. 

The regular set of seasonal ailments are par for the course for these doctors who still make house calls. 

I will be on the look out for more of this series. 

A Lesser Yellow Leg bird at the Lois Hole Provincial Park on Sunday.   The water is so low that it must be a challenge for birds to find water and food.  Especially now that they are fattening up for the trip south.

I have to say having mucky mud as a background in my photos does not make me overly happy either but there it is!

Love the bit of blue water and the reflection of its feathers in the water.

I was very happy to see a bird other than female mallard ducks.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was zigzag.  This subject matter has a lot of options - muffin liners, alligator clips, saw edges, patterns on paper and plastic and tons more. The picture on the right is a Tupperware Charcuterie tool.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics)  to see my submission for this week. 

Have a good week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.

Some Flower Pics

A lot of rain is putting water drops on flowers.  That works well for adding interest during my photography walks.

I am finding the pansies particularly good this year.  I have gotten some really nice ones.

The white rose was really nice with a water drops sparkling in the sun.

This rose's head was drooping. Not sure it was the water drops causing it.

This a cultured rose at the neighbourhood garden.

Love the pink.

Photo Cards - Frameable Art - Craft Sale

I love the leaves on this bush with their rounded ends and beautiful coloring of green transitioning to red as fall arrives.

My best guess is this is the Barberry - Crimson Pygmy bush.  I love the shadows captured along with small and medium leaf sizes.

With that coloring it could almost do a Christmas card if you did not expect it to have snow.

Love it.













Here I have captured a group of maple leaf tree seeds back lit by the morning sun.

I love how as your eye goes up the photo the seeds become darker and but still outlined by the light providing texture to the overall image.









A red poppy converted to the 4x6 format for this card.

It was taken at the Community Garden this summer.

These all make wonderful all occasion cards.

A note to the friend, a birthday greeting, the maple seeds could be a sympathy card.

You may recognize this image which I submitted to a photo competition this summer.

Resized into a 4x6 for photo cards.

Love the calm water and the water drops on the leaf.









These cards are easily framed in the 5x7 frame.  Arranged singly or in a trio would quickly perk up a room, front hall or office area. Great value too.  I`ve selected a small profile frame in basic black with makes the most of the Nine Bark flower in the photo.

My Walk - Water Drops

I found lots of water drops on my walk yesterday morning.  Beside the fact that the grounds are on automatic sprinkler system it had rained the night before.

The pink Impatiens flower had lovely sprinkling of water drops on it.

The grass had water drops clinging to them as the sun was warming them and soon they would be no more.

The holly plant had its points out and large drops had accumulated on their leaves.

The hibiscus looked a little soaked and not necessarily so happy about it.  The blooms are so fragile.

The plastic bag in the garbage can had condensation drops on it.

Another Impatiens bloom with lovely drops!

Sharing with these for Mosaic Monday #95 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.