(Day 197) The real thing

Friday July 16, 2010

You may (or not) remember me mentioning that one of my daughters, who is a community nurse, took up bird carving as a hobby over a year ago after a chance encounter with a former carving instructor. One of the carvings she completed last year was of a pair of white-breasted nuthatches. Today, on our last day at the cottage, she ran up to me excitedly to tell me she had just spotted the real thing in a large cedar tree back up the hill from the beach. I took off after her with my camera but the little fellow had disappeared. We searched for a while but found none.

I went back down the trail still looking up into the trees. Now I could hear chirping but it sounded like chickadees. I stopped and watched a while longer and thought I could see some movement of a bird coming headfirst down a tree. I'd never seen one before but my daughter had described this behaviour. The lighting was rather poor under the trees and the bird was flitting this way and that - I just kept firing away at it and finally managed to 'capture' it. Another memory made, and a fitting close to a wonderful family vacation.

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/320 sec  ISO400)

(Day 196) Fruitful trees

Thurs. July 15, 2010

Everyone knows that pine trees bear pine cones and oak trees bear acorns. I’d never really taken a closer look at cedar trees to see what fruit they might bear, even though they represent the vast majority of trees on our land. It wasn’t till I had to find an out of the way spot for our dog to relieve herself some distance from the cottage that I took the time to look at the surrounding cedars. I was surprised at the clusters of ‘fruits’ I found on them. Early this evening, while my granddaughter looked after Sasha and tiptoed carefully through the ‘minefield’, I made a few photos of the fruits, if that’s what they can be called.

(60mm  f5  1/50 sec  ISO400)

(Day 195) Bushwhacking to babbling brook beauty

Wed. July 14, 2010

I have to thank my son for the inspiration for today’s shots. He had asked me earlier if I had seen the small brook yet, because it was quite scenic; he had seen it on one of his walks in the area and I hadn’t been out that way yet. I hadn’t had an opportunity to get the camera out today - it was guys’ day out for a round of golf which was followed by hours of fun in the water afterward. So after dinner this evening, and the ‘obligatory’ walk into town for an ice cream treat with most of the family, I grabbed the tripod and camera and made my way over to it before dusk set in.

While it was certainly scenic from the dirt road, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to make my way through the undergrowth to follow the brook downstream a little. I had been sure to ‘bathe’ myself in mosquito repellent since the welts all over my body attested to the fact that they had already feasted on me earlier in the week. And while they swarmed all around me, the repellent held them at bay. I think the views from just a little off the beaten path were worth the bushwhacking required.



(18-55mm  f8  0.6 sec  ISO400)

(Day 194) Bringing up the young

Tue. July 13, 2010

Although we had some more thunderstorms this afternoon, the day started clear and quite warm. We made our way to the beach to take advantage of the warmth, and to watch our children and grandchildren enjoying themselves in and around the water. It seems we weren’t the only ones doing that - a mother duck had also decided to take her four ducklings for a swim across the bay, no doubt pointing out dangers along the way. They must have been accustomed to sharing their environment with people, because they paddled very close to the beach, seemingly oblivious to the youngsters frolicking nearby. I suspect though that mother was keeping a wary eye on all around, ready to sound the alarm and lead her brood out of danger if required - very much like her human counterpart.

(70-200mm  f8  1/320 sec  ISO320)

(Day 193) A midsummer evening’s dream

Mon. July 12, 2010

After seeing the beautiful sunset last night, I decided I had to return by myself tonight for a longer look, and to shoot from a different area. Some clouds had lingered from thunderstorms earlier in the afternoon and they contributed to another gorgeous sunset. I’ll have to share some of those shots on a future Sunset Sunday.

As the sun set and the light started fading away, I made my way slowly along this portion of the Trent-Severn Waterway back to our cottage. This waterway is always a bustling scene during daytime in the summer as vacationers enjoy this very scenic route. However, now that dusk was settling, all was calm and people relaxed on or near their boats. It provided a wonderful opportunity to capture the mood of a summer day coming to a perfect end.

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/13 sec  ISO800)