Grateful

Recently I had an enjoyable evening with neighbours. When asked how I was doing, I surprised my self by saying that I was feeling grateful. Some explanation was needed. 

Canon EOS M10, 14-45mm, 15mm, ISO 200, 1/60, f/8. July26, 2022. Linden Coulee Campground

Mostly I am grateful for having nothing left unsaid. For our entire married life we started each day telling each other how much they were loved, and we ended each day the same. Toward the end we talked about everything and multiple times during the day we ensured that each knew how much they were loved. The last words Maria heard were how much we loved her, and the last words she spoke was how much she loved us. How many couples can say that? I am so grateful for that!

I am exceedingly grateful for the time we spent together. Each of us left work early and we got to spend lots of time with each other, going many places and doing many things - so many adventures. When time was becoming short, we saw many sunrises together. I will  always be grateful for the Linden sunrises!

Canon EOS M10, 14-45mm, 44mm, ISO 200, 1/13, f/8. June 13, 2022. Linden Coulee Campground

Canon EOS M10, 14-45mm, 15mm, ISO 200, 1/25, f/4. June 13, 2022. Linden Coulee Campground

Also, I am grateful for the support of family and friends, and the support of total strangers who took the time to reach out and support - us first, and then me in my grief.  I don't think you get through grief on your own, and our family has been amazing.

Canon EOS M10, 14-45mm, 41mm, ISO 400, 1/800, f/13. Masy25, 20222. Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Mostly I am grateful for having nothing left unsaid.

LaFarge Meadows June11

Wanting to get out of the house, I walked at LaFarge Meadows this morning. It was really smokey, so any distance in the photographs and they were pretty hazy.  I wore an N95 mask to help with the smoke, but my eyes still feel pretty gritty. But the birds were amazing this morning.

As I started walking I saw this patch of Wild Roses on my way to the river. Such colour when the flowers are new.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/250, f/18. June 11, 2023, 9:00 am.

One of the prettiest little birds in Alberta is the Savannah Sparrow. Such understated beauty! This little one was singing for me, but it took a little while to finally catch my eye so that I could get a picture. The splash of yellow colour over the eyes really sets off the head. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:10 am.

At about the same time, this little gray/black bird flew across the path and then started to sing in the bushes. I didn't know what it was, but opened Merlin from Cornell Labs and recorded the song. Merlin identified it as a Gray Catbird and it looked just like the picture. This is a new bird for my Life List (116 species and counting). I love the black cap on the head.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:12 am.

Across the Bow River this Great Blue Heron was disturbed by some fly fisherman and it headed up river. It was far enough way that the smoke impacted the sharpness of the picture and saturation of the colours. Without any smoke, this would have been a much better picture. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:15 am.

As I walked some distance up river toward downtown, the Great Blue Heron had landed and was checking out the shoreline. It is still a little hazy due to the distance and the smoke in between. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:35 am.

As I got to the turn-back point, I was lucky enough to spot two separate Blacked Capped Night Herons. These are quite a large, shy bird. I usually don't find these in the trees, but both were up in the branches keeping an eye on the activity on the river. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:40 am.

It is always fun to see raptors on these trips. There are a couple of Osprey nests and I was lucky enough to spot three different Ospreys.  As I watched one fly, I thought it might swing back toward the nest, so I got the camera ready and was able to get a shot of it landing on the nest. You can see the head of its nesting partner peeking up over the edge of the nest. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/4000, f/13. June 11, 2023, 9:40 am.

This picture of a Cedar Waxwing had to be added to the day's pictures. This is just such a pretty bird - it is like a painting. Such lovely colours.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/250, f/18. June 11, 2023, 10:20 am.

It was a good morning, lots of tree therapy and bird time. Such a magnificent diversity of birds in the Calgary area!

Superman

Where is Superman, Superdog, Lois and Birdy?

When Maria and I would walk along the path to Prairie Winds Park we would say high to everyone. Some were regulars and we gave them names. One man who ran every morning would get hot and instead of taking his t-shirt off, he would take his arms out and let the shirt flow back from his neck; like a cape. We called him Superman. At times he would walk his beautiful Burmese dog.  The dog just had to be called Superdog. Sometimes his wife would walk the dog on the path and she we called Mrs. Superman -- I guess we didn't think she had superpowers.  One lady always walked in the left lane; the wrong lane. We kept her in the Superman franchise and called her Lois Left Lane. And Birdy was Birdy. That was actually her name. A tiny senior who always said hello and when Maria wasn't able to walk due to health reasons, Birdy always asked about her. 

For the last four years I haven't been able to walk on the path; first due to my health problems and then Maria's.  I have now been walking for 71 days (yes, it has been 71 days) and where are all these super-heroes? I find it amazing that after only four-years, everyone on the path system is new -- except me. I am not new, just old.  Does the universe have so much entropy that not even one of them is still walking.

I hope they are all okay. Maybe they are walking somewhere else.

Yesterday while walking at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, I took this picture with my phone. We are lucky to live in a city with such great green spaces. 

iPhone 14, ISO50, 5.7mm, 1/5076, f/1.5, 9:50 am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

Pretty Bird Day

At the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary today it seemed like all the pretty birds were out.  It seemed like the birds were out to brighten my mood.  There were a lot of Spotted Sandpipers around the ponds and quite a bit of aggression defending territory. These two were not happy with each other. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/800, f/13. June 09, 2023, 9:10 am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

This Sandpiper has quite the fan display of its tail. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/13. June 09, 2023, 9:15am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

Just to brighten the day, the Baltimore Oriole finally made itself visible. I had heard it last time when I was at Inglewood, but could not get eyes on it. Unfortunately today it was high in the trees and I could not get a shot without a branch in the way. It is too bad, because they are such a colourful bird.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/13. June 09, 2023, 10:15am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

Continuing the colour theme, this House Finch shows just how colourful their reds can be.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/800, f/13. June 09, 2023, 9:25am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

And finally, a solitary Cedar Waxwing was hanging out by the ponds, watching the Sandpipers. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1600, f/13. June 09, 2023, 9:15am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

All in all, an uplifting morning!

Coffee?

So many male birds get a lot of attention, but a lot of the females are quite beautiful. Perhaps not as overstated, but beautiful for sure.  This Common Goldeneye is very pretty. She also looks hyper-awake, and I thought she may have overdone the morning caffeine intake. Both the Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser females were acting a little unusual this day; perhaps that means we will have ducklings pretty soon.  Both species nest in trees and their ducklings will be coming to the water in the near future. 

 Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/400, f/18. June 06, 2023, 8:55am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

This Common Merganser is also a pretty female. It appears that she is practicing her streamline, aerodynamic look!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1250, f/18. June 06, 2023, 8:55am. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

This morning I walked at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. The Wood Ducks were very present, lots of ducklings! The ducklings are a little more independent this week and are sometimes quite a way from their mom.  I love how the wave in front of the duck distorts the image of its head -- kind of like a fun house (dear young reader, a fun house was....). 

 Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/20. June 06, 2023, 10:15am.

One hen climbed onto a downed tree and all her ducklings followed her. There seems to be too many to count.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/500, f/20. June 06, 2023, 9:25am.

This male Wood Duck was facing the sun just right and his feathers just sparkled in the light.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/14. June 06, 2023, 9:15am.

I only saw one raptor while at the sanctuary, a soaring Swainson's Hawk. The Olympus OM-1 has many setting that help you maintain focus on a subject. For birding, there is actually a focus assist that looks for birds.  Amazing!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/2500, f/18. June 06, 2023, 9:00am.

A family of European Starlings were living in this tree. The largest nestling plugged up the hole with its size to ensure that it got fed first. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/250, f/20. June 06, 2023, 9:40am.

Horse Time

 There is something about the outside of a horse 

that is good for the inside of a man. 

(Winston Churchill)

Olympus OMD-M5II, 14-150mm, 80mm, ISO, 2500, 1/640, f/11. June 03, 2023, 10:15 am.

Forty-hours old, up, nursing, testing out those long, long legs!

Olympus OMD-M5II, 14-150mm, 29mm, ISO, 2500, 1/500, f/11. June 03, 2023, 10:45 am.