For Monday

If all goes according to plan I should have cable up-and-running again on Monday but just in case I get busy I thought I'd go ahead and put up a couple more photos before officially signing off for the weekend.
I found this tennis ball in the garden.....what an interesting spot for it to be :)
I like this photo because I really like the texture of the weathered ball!

It's almost peony season! These are hands-down my favourite flowers and I can't wait until they're in bloom so I can *really* photograph them. We used them for our wedding last summer and I'm so happy to see them coming back. This is a dark variety, unlike the baby pink ones we used and I actually think I like these better. What I like most about this shot, excluding my anticipation of their beauty, is that the late-afternoon sun against a red brick house make the colours look very rich.

For Sunday

Anyone know what kind of 'ladybug' this is?? Or is it even a ladybug? I started off taking this picture because I thought the plant itself was so very interesting; then I found one with a fun bug....not to mention the colour combo is terrific.

I have a thing for wood/metal/rust.....add some plants to the mix and I can't tear myself away. This was also taken at Mason and Fran's house on Thursday.

For Saturday

I love when the sun shines perfectly through a little "hole" in the leaves. It looks edited but all I did was increase the shadows a wee bit...

Flowers at Fran's

While we've been getting ready to move, Brannon's brother and his wife (Mason and Fran) have been baby-sitting our cats so that they're not in the way. I was in the area yesterday signing lawyer's documents etc., and popped by to visit them (the cats, Mason and Fran were at work). I also took a few minutes to look around their yard and here are a few of the shots that I came up with.

When I was a little girl, Lilly-of-the-Valley was my favourite flower!

I wasn't quite able to get this insect in focus but I like bugs so I posted it anyway.

We're not sure what these blossoms are; it's the first time the tree has bloomed since Mason and Fran have been living at their home.

Hens and chicks

An iris for Kathleen :)

I'm a bit late for the car challenge

I bet it's hard to be inconspicuous in this.....

Circle of Life

You may have noticed that I'm a bit of a colour junkie :)
I almost always prefer to look at colourful photographs rather than black and white ones. You can understand, then, why I love these photos! I didn't get a chance to photograph the tulip festival this year but these ones are still in bloom around the corner from where I live. I know there are definitely a lot of photos today of the same flowers but I liked them all for different reasons, couldn't decide which to post, and then decided to just post them all! Also, Jenn's theme, "A Picture is Worth 1000 Lyrics" is sorta stuck in my head and this song (my title) popped into my head when I was looking at the vibrancy of both the living and dying flowers. So, enjoy my happy flowers for today!

I had to post this one too....only because most people want these to die.

Sitting Ducks

I stopped by Mooney's Bay again on my way home from the lab today. Once I move in 3 days (!!!!) I won't be driving by as often so I wanted to stop because it was a nice day; cool and windy but sunny so I was happy! Besides, there's always "material" at the beach for photographing!
This pair of ducks must have had a nest close-by because there was nothing I could do to scare them away (not that I was trying); I didn't find it unfortunately. They just sat with their backs to me the whole time....

I really like water grasses and cattails....

Not a great photo but I had no time to change the shutter speed. I like it all the same....

See-through

This is the work of a pileated woodpecker (the variety that Woody the Woodpecker is!). They feast on insects that live in tree bark; in this case they pecked right through the tree!

Snail Trail

Snails....where they shouldn't be??

Bleeding Hearts

I wish I'd had my camera with me in the car on the way home from work today. It POURED rain this afternoon but it stopped as fast as it started and then the brightest sun came out while the sky remained really dark. It would have made for some spectacular pictures and I would have even had time to take some from the car because I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic...Ggrr...
Anyway, I didn't get to photograph the sky today but I did find some pretty little bleeding hearts so that's my entry for today. I really should take some photos of my house (my current one); we're having the whole place painted and you should see what it looks like. I think it would look better if a cyclone came through......but the walls are looking very nice :)

My plants

This first photo is of some blooms on my new and *free* tree. The city of Ottawa has a campaign called Trees for Tomorrow where citizens can pre-order a tree to plant on their property. I signed up months ago and finally received my tree late last week. I chose a serviceberry/juneberry tree because it's a relatively small tree and I didn't know where I was going to be living at the time when I ordered it. Regardless, a few days after I got it home (although it's obviously not planted yet since we move in 10 days!!!) it began to bloom. I can't wait to see it next year after it's had a year to grow!

I know you're all interested in how my herbs are coming along...haha.....they were way overdue for transplantation to bigger pots but I gave away all my pots last year (long story) and hadn't found the time to buy more yet so I emptied my cupboards of mugs/little ceramic dishes that I wasn't using and will be using those in the meantime to grow our basil and cilantro. It seemed like overnight the cilantro went from being these long thin plants to having perfectly formed leaves and the colour of them all is gorgeous. I can't wait until they're big enough to eat!

Sticky

I've been trying to find and photograph a spider web for quite some time. This isn't great but it's the best I've come up with so far.

Red things I love

Just a few randoms for today...

Columbine

Neighbour's fence material

I think it's time to scrap this boat...or at least give it a paint job!

Through the fence

You can't tell that the first shot was taken through a chain-link fence; but the second is self-explanatory.

Buggy

As promised, here are the bug photos I mentioned yesterday. Again, I took these on the weekend. The bees were swarming around this flowering bush but they weren't the least bit interested in me - thankfully :)

My mom is doing her best to get these caterpillar tents out of the trees; she's losing the battle (for now anyway).

Side-by-side dandelions with lovely lady-guests.

I haven't the first clue what the bug is but he seems to be enjoying his trillium hang-out.

New Growth

I mentioned yesterday that I'd taken a number of photos outside over the weekend. Here is the first installment. The first is new hosta; I can't tell you how much I adore this shade of green!

I loved how the sun shone on this new leaf!

For those that don't know, this is a trillium - Ontario's flower. The white variety which I'll post tomorrow is far more common than this, the red one. They are early spring bloomers and will be essentially gone in a few weeks. They aren't flowers you see everywhere but there are many at the lake where my parents live.

Tomorrow I plan to show some insect shots!!

"FurBall"

Last night I attended the Third Annual 'FurBall', in support of the Lanark Animal Welfare Society (aka LAWS), an animal shelter that my sister manages. The evening included cocktails, dinner, both silent and live auctions (I won [by bidding] a Lazy-Boy recliner - yay!) and dancing. The event raised a record amount and was filled with very personal touches including corsages/bouts for each guest complete with "paw-printed" ribbons, table markers with photos to honour pets rescued from puppy mills, place mats with pet biographies, and thank-you cards for all guests "signed" by individual animals. The organizers - Cathy, Tonya and Stacie - did a fantastic job as always.
I struggled to take photos because the light was poor indoors and most of the photos are of guests which would be essentially meaningless to you but here are a few regardless.

One of the tables all set up...

A silent auction donation; a dog bed filled with wonderful doggy treats!

One of the biggest money-makers of the evening. Each balloon contained a raffle ticket; guests could purchase a balloon for $10 each. It was cute because in order to distinguish one guest's balloon from another's, people were tying the darn things to everything (including coffee cups on the tables which got pretty funny come time for dessert!). Anyway, after dinner a ticket was drawn and guests were all asked to pop their balloons at the same time and the person with the winning ticket won a diamond pendant. It was chaotic and loud but everyone really enjoyed the experience. This photo depicts one of the shelter board members and his girlfriend selling the balloons.

I spent a lot of time outside over the past couple of days so I have a number of photos to post from that in the coming days. I am so glad spring has finally sprung!

Finally a new post!

I've been delinquent for the last week with regards to taking photos, let alone posting them. We've got a lot going on and none of it includes photography. Anyway, on my way home today from picking up my free tree from the city (woot! woot!) I noticed a lilac bush that has buds. I can't wait until they're in full bloom!

I'll try to post again a little more regularly!

Herb Update

My life is so dull; today you're getting yet another herb update. The basil (first shot) is growing very nicely and will soon need to be re-potted; and luckily the cilantro (second shot) has made an appearance. I can't wait to be cooking with these!

Off I go to watch the Sex and the City girls on Oprah - I cannot WAIT for this movie!!