Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a trip to the country for a family reunion on the weekend. 

I did take several walks during my visit to the country which yielded several different nature photos.

Here I captured a Blue Heron winging it's way to a new pond of water for sure.  It has rained quite a bit recently so there also standing water. A bit about that later.

I could tell with my eye that it was a big bird and I took several shots as it moved away from me.  Generally, I see these in ponds standing in water so I was grateful to find this one flying.

It was a gorgeous morning and at least on the road the mosquitoes were not so bad.

I finished this book when I took a day of rest after getting back from the hectic weekend.  I was glad to find out he is a Canadian author.

I thought that I had read a book from this author but I don't recognize any titles. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay was a good read. It is fantasy story set in France was a good start.  Main character Ned Marinner a fifteen year old boy on a trip with his photographer Dad. Of course, he meets a girl but also discovers some ancient characters who come to life on the festival Belaine. This Gaelic festival marked the start of the summer season and took place on the full moon in May. Beltaine is intermediate between the end of winter and the summer solstice.

I enjoyed the references to art, history, photography, and Celtic festival.

Filled with mystery, intrigue, danger, and interesting family dynamics which kept things interesting.

The mosquitoes were vicious. 

Every hole in my sandals allowed me to bitten many, many times.  This photo is a couple of days after I got home.

I had bites through my jeans and many bites were red, swollen and very painful.  I felt like I was injured.

I found that if I spread Aloe Vera gel on them then put socks on that helped a lot to easing the pain and the swelling. It also helped with the itching which was really bad.

I am writing on Wednesday and today I finally feel better and the pain and itching is gone.

The canola fields were in full bloom around us.  They are so iconic to the Alberta landscape.

The farm next door had horses so we took a walk to see them.

They were casually eating grass and not paying us any attention.

It was a situation where we had to wait till they lifted their heads so we could get a decent shot.

There was a white one as well but I did not get any good shots of it.  I ended up with wires and weeds between it and my camera and it blurred the shots.

This book - The Perfection of the Morning - An Apprenticeship in Nature by Sharon Butala was different.

She covers many years in this book.  Being one who is considering moving from the city to the country I was interested in the insights from one who has done it.

I was very happy for her to be able to reconnect to nature as she enjoyed it in her childhood.  She found she belonged to the Great Plains of south western Saskatchewan. I understand the challenges and disappointments when what you thought does not come true.

As one who enjoys my morning walks in nature - seeing birds, flowers, animals, insects is all very interesting to me, I could relate to her walks of this vast landscape.

I found some of the aspects in the book - emotional, spiritual and psychological less relatable.

A Savannah Sparrow.

This one has captured lunch.

They were plentiful and I got a lot of shots of these. On power lines, fence posts, in brush and trees.

It was good to see family we have not seen since 2019.

The food was excellent, the hall was great, the outdoor space was plentiful, and the campfire was challenging with the bugs. 

I had a great time, numbers were down but that is alright.