Loonie Family

For the first time EVER we saw a pair of loons carrying their babies on their backs; this is a common behaviour for them but not so common to see. Anyway, they hopped off by the time I got my camera out but I still managed to snap a couple of family photos of them although I wish I'd had my zoom lens with me.

I have no idea why they kick their legs like this.....

Home Sweet Home

I went home to spend the day with my mom, and she showed me this little treasure. Sadly, she had to remove this nest from inside of their boat lift. Not necessarily because they didn't want it there but it's a dangerous spot for the nest, with the boat being lifted up and down so often. I never thought to ask what kind of bird is responsible for this incredible craftiness but it's pretty impressive! It's full of grass, moss, feathers, twigs, and even has the odd thin little piece of plastic. I love how the outside is completely covered in moss, although you might think it would be more appropriate inside for 'softness'.

Here, you can see the feather incorporated into the nest.
I like how you can see how absolutely perfect the circular opening is, and how the materials are distributed!

Thaw

It doesn't feel very warm out but the snow is starting to melt;
could spring be just around the corner?

Reflections of Bon Echo

I realize that those of you on facebook have already seen these but I'm posting them anyway :)
On our way back from our hike the water was so calm I was able to shoot some near-perfect reflections.

This one is kind of a fluke. When I took the shot I initially cut off the tops of the trees so the reflection didn't look right; I decided to crop it down to just the reflection and it's not so bad now.

I just wish this one was a bit brighter.

I uploaded this to blogger by accident but the program wouldn't let me delete it. Weird!

Bon Echo 2008

We joined our good friends, Kevin and Tracy, last night at a campsite they've rented for the week at Bon Echo Provincial Park. We did it last year as well and had such a good time then that we juggled our usual schedules to make it up for a visit again this year. The park is renowned for Maziaw Rock; last year we merely looked at it from an opposite shore but this time we actually hiked up to the top. I took quite a number of photos so I'll post a few today and I'll save some for tomorrow as well.

From the top of Mazinaw Rock...

We got there by boat and I took this from the boat.

This offers a bit of perspective as to how high these rocks are; notice the kayakers :)
From the boat, I couldn't even get far enough away to manage to capture the top of them!

I tried really hard to photograph Kevin and Tracy on our hike but they were so fast I didn't really get much.

They have the BEST dog; meet Floyd :)

Ducky

Just when I think I'm getting away from nature photography.....
I had to post this; I think the feather pattern is beautiful and the light was perfect for this shot. I also like the droplet of water falling off its beak.

Honeycomb

I didn't think I'd get a photo posted today....I left a BBQ chez Darren tonight in order to get home to see Brannon, whom I haven't seen much of lately, but when I got home he was all but snoring so I decided I might as well post this. I must thank Craig for pointing it out; I'm not sure exactly what made it but it was a great find anyway.
:)

Harry

This one's for mom. Meet Harry, up close and personal :)

Cloverfield

The pretty one, not the scary one...

Butterfly Flutter-fly

For all I know this is actually a moth....but whatever.
You get the idea.
I know most people aren't big fans of the focal B&W but I actually think it looks nice in this shot so I decided to use it. This butterfly perched itself on the ground for a few minutes, fluttering its wings....hence the title of the post. Normally I find that they don't sit still long enough to get a good shot but this one cooperated until I stepped on a twig, and it flew off.

I like this one (the same butterfly) for obvious reasons....

I haven't given you a recent update with regards to house stuff so I thought this was as good a time as any. Bailie has found her new favourite spot on our new couch...watching us all work outside on our fence in the heat.

I've also rearranged the living room furniture. I like this layout a lot better. Unfortunately, it also poses some new problems. There is too much room between the couches now to make a coffee table/ottoman useful so I think I may not get one at all (maybe some fancy tv trays for when we have company and food to serve). I will also replace that little black shelf with a sofa/console table when I find the right one, and I am desperately seeking a funky shag rug for the centre of the room, preferably a round one. Where to put my new lamps and what to put them on is also plaguing me. You fix one problem and a whole bunch more surface...the joys of home ownership.
:)

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??

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.

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.

Chipping Sparrow

At least I think it's a chipping sparrow :)
I was stuck in the city this weekend so I didn't have the luxury of hunting down a 'real' animal to photograph, hence the bird shot! I'm still not sure what I'll enter in the contest, something new or something I photographed before...but this is what you get for today. NOT easy to photograph! The little buggers don't sit still for long!! :)

Chilly Bed

When out for a walk I came across a hummingbird nest, obviously abandoned for the winter. The photo is deceiving; the inside portion isn't even as wide as a toonie!