In January I had a little fun with The Wishing Well Sculpture, which I called the Bridgeland sphere until I looked up its actual name. This art is located outside The Good Earth coffee shop at the bottom of 9th Street East hill in Bridgeland, Calgary. The first picture is taken from across the street so that I could get the whole sculpture in view.
Winter arrived in December. Just to prove a point, my furnace failed during the start of the cold spell and I was living with electric heaters to keep warm for four days. Now if I can just figure out what that point was. On December 20th I went for a walk at -21C and was able to take a nice picture of the mist coming off the water.
Our good weather held most of the month. At the end of the month, the cold and snow arrived and I would like to celebrate by sharing two pictures from that first storm. This truck has been parked at the entrance to Tom Campbell's Hill off-leash dog park for months. It is a lovely old vehicle and the snow really added to the picture. The truck scene just seems meant for a monochrome image. The view with the park bench is from just north of the Bridgeland area and is a favourite spot to sit and relax. Maybe not sit too long in the cold.
November was a wonderful month for sunrises and sunsets, and a few of these made it to my list of favourites.
In November I took more shifts at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. The changes that were made to the lagoon over the last two years seem to have really benefited the Muskrats. They have been very active in the lagoon as winter approaches.
The name has not yet been changed to the Inglewood Bird and Muskrat Sanctuary, so I will end with a picture of Calgary's bird, the Black-capped Chickadee.
Although I have posted a couple of times in September, I don't want to repeat any of those photographs, so a few new photographs will be highlighted here. One of the joys of living in the inner city in Calgary is access to the Bow River and the extensive walking paths that bring Calgarians into and around downtown. The first picture was taken on the walkway to the LRT station in Bridgeland. I was on my way to catch pictures of the sunrise on the Bow River.
Following are three pictures of the George C. King bridge that crosses the Bow River to East Village. The first picture is from the South side of the bridge during sunrise. Note the very top of the bridge. The second picture is from directly underneath that centre, looking up. The second picture is becoming a favourite. The last picture is a monochrome image of the sunrise with part of the bridge in the foreground.
To finish off with something a little more unusual, I am including this monochrome image of a Black Meadowhawk on a park bench at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary -- bad place for an insect to hang out.
Perhaps the bike racks in Calgary don't catch every person's imagination, but some of them are quite unique. I thought I would like to highlight a few of them. The first picture is from the East end of Saint Patrick's Island, just by the Zoo bridge.
You don't always have to go a long way from home. Here I live in almost the heart of downtown, and the opportunities for pictures Saturday were many. Probably the most fun were these pictures from Saint Patrick's Island; first of an Osprey. This was perched along the South side of the island, and then flew off after being mobbed by a bunch of American Magpies.
There was also a Canada Goose eating in the lagoon. Yes and common bird, but I love the contrast between the extreme detail on the goose and the ethereal background. The subject also seems perfect for a monochrome presentation.
Also a pretty common bird in Alberta, this Common Merganser was snorkelling along the pond looking for aquatic insects and minnows.
Also on the island was this Drone Fly, which looks remarkably like a bee.
And finally on my way home, it seemed the colour of the day was red; lovely flowers. It was fun talking to the owners of the house about their pride in the garden.
August 2025 was a good month for photographs. The weather was good and there were some good opportunities to be outside. There were many favourite pictures, and I will share some in categories. The first category is scenic.
The first weekend of August was spent at the Nipika Mountain Resort. The first day there we walked to the Kootenay River. On the second day we walked to the Cross River.
On the second week I was lucky enough to be taken by a friend to Forget Me Not Pond in Kananaskis. I have never been there before and although we were birding, I did take my full frame camera for scenic pictures.
The last scenic picture of the month is of St. Ignatius Russian Orthodox Church from across the river in East Village in Calgary.
My favourite wildlife picture category is of this Chipmunk at Forget Me Not Pond.
For wildlife, I also love the picture of a Mallard hen taken on a morning walk on the Bow River and a Chickadee picture.
July started off with a celebration of Canada Day. I went down to the Bow River, by the Skip-stone bridge and Saint Patrick's Island. It was a hot day, and lots of people were floating the Bow. The first picture is of a couple floating the Bow and the second is of the Calgary Fire Service water rescue crew - trying to keep everyone safe. The third and last picture from that day is of a young woman taking a selfie down by the water.
In January I had a little fun with The Wishing Well Sculpture , which I called the Bridgeland sphere until I looked up its actual name. This...
