Sylvia's Simple Shots

Easter Monday I headed out to Lois Hole Provincial Park to see what birds I would be able photograph.

I needed to out of the house today because the inspection of my condo was taking place to finalize the sale.

I found this pair of Golden Eye ducks on one of the ponds.  

It was very busy on the board walk because many had the day off.  Not so great for taking pictures.

I headed over to my aunts for tea and a warm up after my walk in nature.

I gave up a chance to attend my brother in law's birthday party in the city to the south so that I could get my taxes done.  My regular online process did not work so I booked an appointment with a tax preparation company because they just had to be done in a short amount of time.

The appointment went well and in 20 minutes I was on my way with a considerable charge for the work and a bill to pay on Tuesday.

It is done!

I called my sister for her birthday and I had just received the news that my condo was sold.

It's been one step after another.

I now need to find a place to buy and I can tell you that I have put a full effort to prepare my place, leave it immaculate for potential buyers but some of the places I am viewing are not left in great shape.  It is amazing.

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline is the book I finished this week.

Angela is stuck in a job she does not like in New York.  She has a photo of a cottage by the sea tacked to her bulletin board - the dream. She has warm memories of spending time in the kitchen with her grandmother and learning Italian cooking along the way.  

Rich is a guy who lives in Maine and runs a sailboat operation.  Enjoys the sea, the sun and a rugged outdoors lifestyle. 

Angela is fired and decides based on one hookup with Rich that she is heading to Maine and her dream cottage. Well, the reality is not what she expected. Things don't work out with Rich but she finds a job in a cafe and a small old dilapidated cottage to live in.  

She offers cooking classes through her connections at the cafe and that goes well. With the help of new friends she creates a life more in line with her values and priorities. Nice read.

The pussy willows are out which means it is spring.  Some are white and some a puffy yellow already.

The song birds are back as well. 

I did not get a great shot of the black birds.

I think this is a sparrow but it managed to hide well enough not to be photographed or identified.

Next time.

Slow Stitching 2025 - Feb - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - Week 4.

I visit several wetlands with my camera during the summer.  It seem appropriate to add this element to this piece.

I have birds, clouds and a sun in the sky. I have trees and water ripples in the center.

In the foreground I put a duck and cattails with water ripples.

Since this was the last week on this piece I added a fall leave and a winter snowflake on the right hand side.

I think I will be assembling my 12 piece together at the end with a backer fabric to hide all my stitching.

Next week we move on to March's piece.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I found White Pelicans at Beaumaris Lake this week!

The water was blue and it was very good.

Not the best shots but they are only the firsts.

Teatime for Firefly by Shona Patel

A story set in India. In prewar WII Layla Roy lived with her grandfather and she was educated. They had great discussions and she was able to debate and express her self.  One day, a young man came to visit her grandfather - Manik Deb. He was handsome, well spoken, had very good English and could rub shoulders with the British.  He is betrothed to a girl down the way.  He has a good job.

Suddenly, it is heard that Manik has taken a job on an Assam tea plantation.  Why? The marriage is eventually withdrawn as the girl is not moving to hinterland of northern India.  What was he thinking.

He had his eye on Layla.  Now with his future clear he can marry Layla.  He does and takes her far away from her home and she is meant to mingle with wives of tea planters.  She is in charge of servants and Manik works long hours.  It all works out in the end.

The White American Pelicans have arrived in Sherwood Park as well at the Heritage Hills Wetlands.

The story continues with not great photos but I will persevere.

My plan to give away the cards I make is working well.

The recipients are appreciative.

This set is headed to my niece.

The Red Winged Blackbirds are back in all the wetlands.

This was a the Heritage Hills Wetlands.  

I only had a bit of time so that is what it is.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A walk to the community garden is always inspiring.  Plants are blooming, producing edibles and folks are harvesting at this time of year.

I just capture the wonderfulness with my camera.

Found this beautiful red poppy this week.

Speaking of harvesting.

I spent some time with my niece on the weekend and she helped me pick chokecherries.  In the end, I had 4 cups of berries to make pancake syrup.  This is the Chokecherry Syrup recipe I used.

With another camping trip under my belt I have honed my supplies and equipment.

I bought a larger tote to hold the kitchen stuff.  I added a stainless steel kettle, a 4L water jug, a second cooler and a mat. 

I am happy with my progress and hopefully I will get a trip in after school starts and things quiet in the travel business.

Maybe campsites will close after the September long weekend. I will have to check that out.

I received and paid for my first set of prescription glasses this week!  I have been making do with readers for years.  Not having sunglasses for driving was getting to me so I finally bit the bullet.

They are black frames with checkerboard pattern on the sides. I got progressive lenses which I was quite unsure about but it is working out well.

The lenses darken in the light and even in the car behind the windshield.  They have a scratch resistance coating and anti glare coating for night driving.

A lovely microfiber cloth to clean them with a special spray, along with a sturdy case to store but most of the time they will be on my face.

I had to make a few adjustments at home as well so the computer monitor had to be lowered so that it aligned with the bar on the progressive lens for that distance.  

It took a bit of fiddling and something that was adjustable so it is a stack of old Somerset Studio magazines which came to the rescue. 

It was nice to spend time with family.  We celebrated my grandniece's birthday which is in April but was postponed due to COVID restrictions.  With all of us vaccinated, we were free to enjoy time together.

I visited the wetlands near my niece's house during my visit on the weekend. What a lovely area with wide open spaces but still within the city limits!

A female Redwing Blackbird, the bulrushes are tall, and the ducks are swimming around after raising their young.  

I expect the red berries are not edible but very pretty.  Update - Red Baneberry - poisonous.

The theme for Flickr Macro Monday this week was "foil".  With foil used as packaging for all kinds of things there was a good variety of pics.  You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see my entry. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #142 and

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #300. 

Have a great week and be safe!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I think of June as lilac month. 

I brought some into my place for the beautiful scent and wonderful color.

This hand painted vase works well with these blooms with similar coloring.

I finished this book this week. It holds 4 modern romance stories.

Gift of Love by 4 different authors. 

The short stories vary from young love to romance with older folks.  City and country settings are featured.  I enjoyed the stories despite that they were pretty predictable.  They were tastefully written with Christian values which I appreciated.

I came across this cool idea this week.

To add a nice scent to your bathroom by just placing a few drops of your favorite essential oil on the inside of the roll.  Every time you pull the roll the scent will be released.

I used my Bergamot & Grapefruit oil which I am enjoying everyday instead of having it sit on a shelf.

Great idea.

I found these Mikasa Crystal Tea Bag Holders this week at the thrift store.  I could not resist as they were on half price. 

I have several tea bag holders so I will have to do some culling. I have too much tea related stuff such as cups, mugs, tea pots, etc. There will be a culling soon.  

I got my 2nd COVID Vaccine shot this week!  Feeling better about this whole thing.
 

I went for a photo shoot with my aunt this week.  We tried a new wetland in hopes of it being a little less busy than the big ones.

We met at 8:00 am which was late for me and early for her. 

It took us about 45 minutes to walk around the 2 ponds.  There were many types of ducks and water fowl.  There are places where it was difficult to get close to the water.  Also, the early morning light was not great because it was in our faces when we were close to the water so an early evening visit may be better.

The number of people was low but I'm not sure that would be the case later in the day. 

This is a female Redhead Duck.  It was a very pleasant hour with social distancing and masks. 

I found a few pink flowers this week for my mosaic.  Gerber daisies and geraniums.  I am so grateful to those who plant flowers in their from gardens for others to enjoy!
 

 

The challenge at Flickr Macro Monday this week was Board Game Pieces.  Of course that leads to a great variety of options.  I was surprised at how many themed Monopoly Games have been produced. 

One of the shots I took for this challenge is chess pieces - you can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) for the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #134 and

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #292

Sylvia Simple Shots

I found Black Terns at the John Poole Wetlands on Sunday.  They were being very protective and almost dive bombing me so there must be a nest close by.

This is a new bird for me.   I have not seen them before in my area.  Black Terns eat mostly small fish and insects. Male and female select the nest site together.

I know that we have more flattened bull rushes in this wetland compared to other years.  It makes it easier for us on the platform to see into the wetland.  That is how I saw the Sora Rail the last time I visited. 

Loved learning more about this bird and it's life and behaviour.  You can see the rain.

I made Bavarian this week and brought a few over to my sister's while we had a social distance visit. 

I have one more package of raspberries in the freezer so I will have to find a source.  The friend where I have picked in the last couple year has moved down east.  A call to my other sister may be needed.

This was a combo of raspberry and rhubarb.  I added a cherry as that was the only fresh fruit I had.  You can check out the recipe in this post.

I normally serve this with store bought chocolate wafers but I was not headed out for just that!  I found a great recipe for Chocolate Wafers which was really tasty!

This is the book that has been on my night table in recent days.  It was a nice change from those I read recently. 

Each chapter is a story of an incident from his small animal veterinary practice in England in the 1940's.  He was in practice for nearly 50 years.

Some hilarious, some moving and touching, some just plain hard work. 

Most of the stories are set in the fictional town of Darrowby.  James Herriot is a pen name for James Wight.  He wrote many books.

I have seen animals other than birds this week.  On the top is muskrat eating bull rushes.  We were all wet myself included.  I was prepared with a plastic bag for the camera and my rain jacket so I was comfortable.  

A Barn Swallow fledgling was taking refuge from the rain in a small hole in a municipal sign designed to remind dog walkers to pick up after their pets. The holes I think were meant to hold plastic bags.   On Sunday they held small birds.  There was 3 holes and birds filling 2 of them.  I felt for these little ones.  Having to sort out feeding themselves and it has rained for 4 days.  Miserable weather.

The coyote I was warned about by a fellow walker in the river valley.  She was walking a fairly large dog and the coyote had not really been intimidated by her or the dog. Great! I thought.   I walked on fully aware of my surroundings.  Just a few minutes later he came out of the bush on one side of the trail and stopped to eye me.  Thankfully he just moved on across the trail and headed down towards the golf course.  

I am due for a large grocery shopping trip so some ingredients are in short supply.  I had bought an avocado and wanted to make a salad.   Found a great recipe but the dressing was the best part.

Veggie Salad: The grain is quinoa, tomatoes, the last of the celery, red onions, and a bit of dried rye bread for crunch.

I was supposed to put dried cranberries but totally forgot!  That would have be even better.

Fortunately, the ingredients are things I always have on hand.  The recipe did 2 large bowls but I should make some ahead.  The dressing was tastier on the second bowl the next day.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #87 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #247

Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was Squared Circle.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream SMDPics to see the image I submitted.

You can check out my Instagram SMDPics100  I post a photo a day of my wanderings and being out and about.

Have a great week and be well!

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.

Mosaic Monday - May

I have visited the Community Garden several times.  Here's a nice group of tulips which arrived early in the month.

Today, the strawberries were turning red, there was plenty of chives, and there were a few rows with markers indicating seeds had been planted and soon green sprouts will be sticking their heads from the soil.

I took this photo at the Morrison House Cafe.  My sister and I had lunch there together on the May long weekend.  We talked about our craft projects and a bunch of other things.

This was taken at the Heritage Hill Wetlands.  A very attentive Canada Goose on the beautiful water. 
No Pelicans on this visit.  I will have to try again.

This is a barn in Ontario on my quick trip across the country last week.  The barns in Alberta just don't look that same.  Love the Canada Maple Leaf flag painted on the addition.














This was an unusual sight so I took a picture so I could investigate later.

Here and there across the Canadian countryside you’ll see these bright blue shelters placed in patterns in pastures. Their openings all face the same direction and their presence has a rather otherworldy feeling about it. What are these things?

They are plastic shelters for alfalfa leaf-cutter bees, a native North American bee that has been domesticated. The blue dome is used in western Canada, variations in other parts of the continent. The shelters, usually found in alfalfa pastures, are needed for their warming ability and as a place for the bees to build their nests out of alfalfa leaves. One shelter for every 4 to 5 acres contains about a dozen nests.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Share Your Cup #198

We are finally getting some clouds in the sky which I hope will lead to some much needed rain.  I caught the moon just behind some clouds.  We had some rain over night.

A friend mentioned this book a few weeks ago and I asked to borrow it.  This is a good read.  Marie presents a method for tidying up through decluttering and organizing your space.  She presents a quite extreme but effective method.  I quickly was able to clear some clothes from my closet.  The question to ask is "Does this object bring me joy?"  I wholehearted support the idea to surround yourself with objects that bring you joy.  I find I have less trouble keeping on top of my kitchen now that it has many things I love.






 

These were taken during my first trip to the wetlands this year.  

Mrs. Robin came to check me out and I got a good shot. 

This is a Ruddy Duck with that distinctive blue bill.

Canada Geese were feeding.










The Red Wing Blackbird has been very difficult to photograph. This shot turned out really well especially with his wings just opening.

Submitting to Share Your Cup at Art & Sand hosted by Carol.

Mosaic Monday - Ducklings

I went for a trip to the wetlands after a BBQ a week ago.  It was later in the day so the lighting was different.
There were ducklings swimming around with mama duck keeping a real close eye on me.  The Ruddy Duck was a new bird to me, so that was exciting.  I would have preferred to have the Red Wing Blackbird on a reed but I will take what I can get.  The Grebe looks like a juvenile so I'm not sure if he has parents around somewhere.

Joining Mosaic Monday host by Judith at Lavendar Cottage.