Sylvia's Simple Shots

I went looking for pelicans at Beaumaris Lake but found none.

I found other waterfowl.  Here's a Red Necked Grebe with it's mournful call.  There were several pairs on the water. Did not see any nests yet.

The apple trees were all in bloom as well as the cherry trees with their deep pink blossoms.

Great walk around the lake.

American Coots vying for territory.

There was a look of splashing, posturing, and charging going on.

As you can see in this shot the water was being churned and the flapping wings of the retreating male was he headed across the water.

There were several pairs of these waterfowl on the water.

If You Believe by Kristin Hannah.  This is about the 3rd or fourth book I've read from this author.

Mariah Throckmorton lives with her father Rass on a farm with an apple orchard. They grow apples and the harvest is a source of income for them.  Her mother passed away recently and they both miss her terribly.  Rass has posted a help wanted ad at the general store in town.

Mad Dog Stone has been wandering from place to place for many years. He takes odd jobs to earn money for the few necessities.  He answers the ad and appears at the farm.  Mariah runs the house and farm by rigid rules and with Rass getting older sees that hiring Mr. Stone makes sense. 

Mr. Stone and Mariah dance around each other for a while.  Pushing and pulling for who is in control. She should lighten up a bit and he should apply himself a little more. A young boy appears at the farm which Rass employs as his assistant for categorizing and organizing his archaeological finds. 

These three characters become a family under difficult circumstances.

After a lot of negotiations I have finally had my offer accepted for a new place to live in a small town east of the city.

Now the work begins in earnest.   Packing, moving utilities, renovations before moving in, and cleaning this place before I leave.

Working on contractors for painting, flooring and some plumbing to be completed before possession.

A walk to the Community Garden and Paul Kane Park this week.

The lilacs are in bloom and it strikes me as a bit early.

Their scent is lovely.

Pretty flowers.

Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohansesian is a book I finished this week. It is a historical novel. 

It has 2 story lines one in the 1915 and one in 1990's.  The first is set in the Armenian and Turkey war. The peaceful relationship between these 2 countries breaks down and many innocent people are killed and many endure great suffering. This tears lives apart.

In the 1990's Orhan's grandfather, Kemal, dies and leaves the family home to a woman no one knows. She lives in the USA and who is she?  Orhan travels far to find a ninety plus year old lady living in nursing home.  She had been a young Armenian girl during the war. She suffered great losses and Fatma has saved her life. 

The book has some surprises, the truth comes to light and the relationships are not what they seem.  Great read. 

My sister and brother-in-law dropped by for lunch while they were in town visiting my other sister and her husband who has been pretty sick. We always have pick up an drop off items when we connect.  

They picked up Wendy's on their way over. The linens had been sorted through that morning and the tablecloth had been set aside for packing. I sent a red tablecloth to my niece.It may the last time they visit at this place.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

It rained over night so all was wet and dewy this morning on my walk.  I headed to the park and community garden.

I found wet chrysanthemums in this gorgeous shade of purple.

I needed a jacket this morning which I have not worn since May.  The times they are a changing.

I found ducks on the pond at the park.  Mostly Mallards but there was this one that was different.

It is a Greater Scaup female.   I did not see the flashier male version this morning.

A large duck comparable in size to the Mallard.

The smooth head is a characteristic that identifies this one as a Greater than a Lesser Scaup.

Nice find this morning.

The leaves are turning color! This is a Virginia Creeper vine on one of the apartment building on my walk.

It is a perennial vine that stages stunning fall color. Blue fruit adorns the vine in fall.

Some leaves have not decided to change yet so it was nice to see both colors in this vine.

Come Thirsty by Max Lucado.  

Physical thirst is familiar to all of us.  A tall glass of water works wonders to help with the need.

Spiritual thirst is also a life threatening condition. It comes with a quick temper, worry, guilt and fear, hopelessness, resentment, loneliness, insecurity and isolation.

God provides refreshment for dehydrated hearts. Come to the WELL and take a deep drink.

Our spiritual lives need tending just as our physical bodies.  We need to spend time being quiet, hearing the small voice, processing our days, reflecting on our experiences and doing self awareness work.

Great book!

I have been truly blessed this summer and fall to be gifted good food.

This is apples I received from my aunt who picked them at her grandson's acreage.

Beautiful red apples with a red tinged flesh on the inside.  

Here, my snack is a wedge of Brie cheese with a beautiful red apple.

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!

Silent Auction Donation

I am participating in our Mission Possible Sale this weekend and they requested a donation for the silent auction.

I am donating this photograph of a red poppy.  It was taken in July at the Community Garden in my neighborhood on my morning walk.  I generally don't leave the house with out the camera.

It is framed in a 12x12 inch black metal frame with a white mat with black insert.  The photograph was printed at 8x8 inches.

There is some great stuff up for auction.

Recent Photos

I found these napkin rings at the thrift store the other day.  I just could not leave them there.  The price was good as well.  The box contained 10 of them.

Silver wire Bee Napkin Rings.  The bottom ring is flat so they will sit nicely on the table.  I used a black napkin so that they would contrast nicely.





A stop at the Community Garden yielded some nice shots.

Lovely red poppy was terrific. 

Now thistles are not necessarily welcome at the garden but the bees were checking them out.

I found purple in the Sweet Peas, the delicate Alium in a purple shade, and burgundy crab apples.


On the right is a nice red, very large rose hip.





Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday #92.

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.

Mosaic Monday - Community Garden

These photos are from my walk through the Community Garden in my area.  It likely contains about 50 small plots. Everything is so dry but there were red strawberries, blooming chive, and a few green tomatoes.

Many of the plots are decorated with garden ornaments.  I chose this cat face.  It is metal with a solid face and wire body which mostly disappears with the busy background.  It is about 12-14 inches tall.

The blue flower is wonderful.  I'm not sure what plant it is but it could be flax.

The bee was quite still for longer than usual which is why I got a decent shot of it.  They are buzzing about very diligently collecting pollen.  The purple chive flowers seemed to the most popular as there was constant activity.  Fortunately, many plots in the garden has some so I could move from plot to plot to get a photo or two.

The garden has very spongy rubber paths which is interesting.  They have a small building for storage.  We did get some rain over the weekend so that should help the green.

Submitting it to the following challenges:
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage hosted by Judith