Tapestry of Life

We just had Maria's Celebration of Life.  Maria had it exactly right. Instead of having one or two people tell stories or emcee the day, she asked for friends and family to come together, have coffee and cakes, and share stories. I learned so  much!

Each of us, whether husband, lover, care giver, daughter, son, sister, brother, in-law, cousin, friend, doctor, fellow volunteer or fellow artist doesn't know the full story. By everyone sharing, each person got to add more colour and threads to the tapestry that is Maria's life. Such a rich tapestry, such a rich life!

Love you sweetie!

Nikon CoolPix S3600, 36mm, ISO160, 1/250, f/6.6, 7:30 am, June 10, 2015. Fort St. John, B.C.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1, 18-55mm, 18mm, ISO100, 1/125, f/7.1, 7:35 am, Aug 30, 2015. Columbus, Missouri.

To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway:

Everyone has two deaths, when they are buried in the ground and the last time someone says their name. In some ways people can be immortal.

Bow River Float Trip

Yesterday a friend and I floated the Bow River downriver from Calgary. This trip fulfilled a promise that I made to Maria, to take my friend on a Bow River float. We entered the water at McKinnon Flats and floated for a good six hours. We went with local guide Jason Nobel from Bow River Fly Fishing.  Jason is really a good guy: great knowledge of the river and a wonderful ability to read the water in such a way we found ourselves in quiet spots with water moving quickly past us on both sides as we almost stayed still. 

My birding camera and lens was left at home and I took an older camera that I wouldn't stress over if I happened to fall in (not a low likelihood). The weather prediction was 30% chance of rain in the morning and 60% chance of rain in the afternoon with thunderstorms.  Despite the forecast we had great weather all day. 

It was a little smokey during the start of the day. 

Canon EOS M-10, 15-45mm, 37mm, ISO800, 1/2500, f11, 1:35pm.

Close to 4:00 pm we started to hear thunder and see thunderclouds on the distance. The best scenic of the day came at that time.

Canon EOS M-10, 15-45mm, 15mm, ISO800, 1/2500, f11, 3:55pm.

It was amazing how much the landscape changed as we went downstream. 

Canon EOS M-10, 15-45mm, 45mm, ISO800, 1/2000, f11, 4:40pm.

Canon EOS M-10, 15-45mm, 45mm, ISO800, 1/2000, f11, 12:46pm.

This last picture is right before we left the water at the boat dock.

Canon EOS M-10, 15-45mm, 15mm, ISO800, 1/3200, f11, 4:50pm.

There were very different views and cloud formations depending on which direction you looked. 

Yes, fish were caught by my friend, but that is his story to tell. 

And no, I did not fall in!

Celebration of Life

Above is a snapshot of a life well lived.  If you enlarge it you can see: 

    - Maria’s picture from 2020 Christmas. She was not feeling well and had lost a lot of weight. I was afraid for her. 

    - our first camper that she loved so much. 

    - her balloon ride to celebrate her birthday. She was doing really well then. 

    - AVCA thank you cards. The fronts are personalized with pictures of our trips. Not everyone knows of her remarkable achievements. 

    - a picture with her two siblings, Maria is on the right with the blond curly hair. Such a cutie!

    - a picture of my sweetie with James Bond, Roger Moore. How do you compete with that!

    - a picture when we were first dating, with our motorcycle gear on. 

    - our wedding photo. Such a happy day, such a beautiful bride. So many good adventures to come. 

    - her accordion trophy that reads “1st Prize, Saskatchewan Music Festival 1965. She never threw that trophy out and would proudly tell the grandchildren "Yes, best in the Music Festival". 

    - a picture from that music festival. 

    - and a picture of our family (not shown) as Maria was so proud of the kids and grandkids! She loved every moment spent with family. 

I will take these to the Celebration on Saturday (July 08, 2023). It will be nice to hear the heartwarming stories of friends and family. 

Inglewood July 02

Calgary dropped its heat wave last night. And this mornings walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary was terrific. I saw a little bit of everything - over 16 species in all.  These American Harebells (Campanula alaskana) were on the path on the way to the Bow River on the North side of the park. 

 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/250, f/12. July 02, 2023, 9:15 am.

On leaving the Bow River side, this Mule Deer doe (Odocoileus hemionus) was munching close to the path. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/250, f/11. July 02, 2023, 9:35 am.

Towards the South side of the park, crossing one of the small bridges, I noticed a couple of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). One had grabbed a fish from the Bow and the other was trying to share rather than do its own fishing. Unfortunately they were a ways away and flying directly away from me, but you can see the fish in its talons.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/2500, f/12. July 02, 2023, 9:50 am.

Towards the end of my walk, I came across a Red Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in the trees. As I was taking its picture, it regurgitated a pellet of undigestible substances (usually bone and feathers). It is an unusual picture, and does look a little gross. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/400, f/11. July 02, 2023, 10:00 am.

A couple of less gross poses were also captured. There were a lot of prey species of birds in the tree and they were taking turns dive-bombing the hawk, attempting to encourage it to go elsewhere. An American Robin is caught by the camera as it sped by the hawk. They wouldn't want to fly too slow, the hawk is very quick. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/1000, f/11. July 02, 2023, 10:05 am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/400, f/13. July 02, 2023, 10:05 am.

Day Ninety

 

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro, ISO 1250, 1/125, f/4.5. June 29, 2023, 8:00 am. Calgary.

Spotted Sandpiper

It was a quiet morning at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I went there with friends, and it was a beautiful morning. We are in a heat wave, but it was very pleasant earlier in the day.  There wasn't too much exciting, but one of my friends spotted this tiny Spotted Sandpiper bobbing along as it foraged on the shore. 

  Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 800, 1/1600, f/13. June 18, 2023, 9:50 am.

The sun was behind the bird, so it was quite dark as it was in the shadows and I wasn't able to identify it until I got home. A very tiny delicate bird. It was much smaller than the ones seen on June 09 (Pretty Bird Day). 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 800, 1/1250, f/13. June 18, 2023, 9:50 am.

Griffin Woods

 

Friday morning, June 23rd, found me on a flower walk in Griffin Woods in SW Calgary. It took us one hour and forty-five minutes to walk the first kilometer. I love the concept of the flower walks, but walking that slow is tiring -- more so than a brisk walk. It is kind of like shopping. Regardless of if the walk is designated a flower walk or a bird walk, I try to keep my mind open to whatever catches my eye. If I was just looking down, I would have missed this view from the path. 

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 800, 1/1250, f/9. June 23, 2023, 11:05 am. 

This butterfly also caught my eye. This is a Northern Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta). *

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 1250, 1/2500, f/4.5. June 23, 2023, 10:30 am.

It was, however, a wildflower walk and one of the first wildflowers we saw was this Meadow Anemone (Anemonastrum canadense). 

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 1250, 1/640, f/4.5. June 23, 2023, 10:15 am.

Everyone wandered by this Common Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris), but I thought it was worth the time to appreciate and photograph. 

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 1250, 1/5000, f/4.5. June 23, 2023, 11:00 am.

This delicate Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala senega) is a member of the Milkwort family (Polygalaceae).  

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 1250, 1/400, f/4.5. June 23, 2023, 10:35 am.

With a splash of colour (happy yellow) this Pale Agoseris or pale false dandelion  (Agoseris glauca) caught my eye. *

Olympus OM-1, 30mm Macro ISO 800, 1/60, f/9. June 23, 2023, 11:40 am.

* Thanks to Nature Calgary and  iNaturalist.net for help with the identification.  All errors are mine.