Pink/CDP Theme Day

Little sister checking out big sister's bike

September 1 is City Daily Photo's Theme Day and participants are celebrating with the colour PINK.

It seems kids still in diapers are not too young to check out their sibling's toys.

QUIZ

Q:What's hotter than Barbie pink?
A: Neon yellow. (Or is it neon green?)

I am linking to City Daily Photo Theme Days HERE. 

Hummingbird Moth/Top Shot

Hummingbird moth

This critter has been visiting my Buddleia several times a day for the past few days. I cannot tell you how many failed photos I have taken of this moth because I have ditched most of them. This moth never stayed still!

I've been trying to capture the wings so you couldn't see see the motion, as in the photo below:

 Example of more wing action than I wanted, plus a cloud covered the sun

To stop the wing action, I decreased the shutter speed so much that most of the resulting images were very dark.  Yep, frustrating.

FINALLY, one photo nearly turned out the way I wanted.

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Kitchen Shop/Weekend Reflections

Building across the street reflected in wonky glass

The building reflection looks almost like curtains. Kinda weird but I like it.

To enjoy reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page. 

Sunset/Friday Fences

Summer Sunset

I made this photo because I loved the light on the fence and field.

I am linking to Friday Fences here.

FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page.

O/Alphabe-Thursday

 Orange raft in small farm pond

O is for ORANGE

Although orange is sometimes a harsh colour, sometimes it's very beautiful. In the top photo I like the way the orange raft contrasts with the surrounding vegetation.

 Autumn in Muskoka

Yes, from my archives. Before I know it, October will be here, though.

 Winter sunrise in East Gwillimbury

And snow will follow.

Orange house trim

I wonder if an artist lives here.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 


FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page.

Belted Kingfisher/Wild Bird

 Female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Whenever I'm near a body of water and hear what sounds like a rattle in the air, I search for what I know has to be a kingfisher. This one was easy to find, out in plain sight.

Belted Kingfishers are among the few bird species where the female is actually more colourful than the male. Here she is sitting on a branch above a shallow creek, looking for a fish or crayfish.

Concentrating on her next meal

Her territory is about one kilometer along this stream, and during breeding season she defended it fiercely from other kingfishers. 

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page.. 

Nature Notes

End of August

The nights are definitely cooler now so the mornings start off chilly.

Largest square: upside-down bee on butterfly bush (Buddleia). This weekend the Buddleia attracted a hummingbird, many bees of various types, several cabbage butterflies, a fritillary, and two hummingbird moths.  Quite the menagerie! But no monarchs, which is very unusual for this bush.

Moving clockwise: berries of bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), Queen Anne's lace (I'm amazed that some of these lacy flowers are still blooming), thistle gone to seed, high bush cranberries turning red and a cabbage butterfly on spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) - a pretty but invasive plant.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.
 
FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page.

Cobourg Mystery/Our World

 Weathered old doors

I love photographing old buildings, especially the details. These doors suggest this building was once a garage - perhaps it still is.

Sadly there were no signs indicating what the building had been in its prime. Since it was next to a parking lot, I felt it was okay to poke my lens around and take a few shots.

 Long hinges and dirty windows

The paint seems to be sticking to the hinges better than to the wood.

An addition on one end

 Here's a view of the westerly side. The addition is also old and not nearly as attractive to my way of thinking as the original building, which was built of...

Stucco over bricks

bricks as you can see where the stucco has chipped away.

 Shuttered window

Two sides of the building are plain - no windows, no doors. But the front (the southerly side, which I saw first)  has a window below and...

Above the roof

a window above, which I assume was originally a sort of sky light. (FYI: There's also a non-descript door.)

Anyone have an idea as to what this building once was?

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

FYI City Daily Photo members: September 1st is CDP Theme Day. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page.. 

What a Catch!/Birding

 Great Blue Heron scratching an itch

Last Wednesday, this young heron was fishing in a small local marsh.  It didn't seem to mind that I was there with my camera as it was focused on catching some lunch. But then it appeared to be tired of waiting and took time to scratch an itch.

Soon it decided to change it's fishing spot.  And there it discovered a small fish and swallowed it in one gulp.

Another small fish was downed quickly.

And still another small fish served as an appetizer.

 Swallowing

Delish!

 Catfish

And then it caught a really BIG fish! Doesn't the heron looked pleased with its catch?

I am linking with I'd Rather B Birdin'  HERE.

Pond Life/Top Shot

 Damselfly convention?

The pond is scuzzy but look at the gorgeous damselflies that live there!

Another view

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Cobourg/Weekend Reflections

A little insight into what Cobourg has to offer

I love the charming old buildings on the main east-west road through the business district of town.

To enjoy reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Black-eyed Susans/Friday Fences

Wild Rudbeckia behind a farmer's fence

The sky was still a bit overcast, but the storm was over and black-eyed Susans brightened the landscape.

I am linking to Friday Fences here.

N/Alphabe-Thursday

September 2011

N is for NIGHT (A sunset is the official start of night, right?)

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, our nights are getting longer and cooler, and the skies seem perfect for creating lovely sunsets.  And true, looking through my archives I did find  quite a few photos of beautiful skies taken in September

August 2009

and August.

May 2012

But I also discovered many taken in the spring  and

 January 2009

 even winter.  I think it's safe to say we have many beautiful sunsets and night ahead.

March 2010

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

Nature Notes

Summer winding down

There's no doubt about it - fall is quickly approaching Ontario. a few shore birds are leaving the Arctic and traveling across central Ontario; many wildflowers  have already gone to seed; and - to add insult to injury - the Canadian National Exhibition  (CNE - an annual event) oprned in  Toronto last Friday.  YIKES! Where has the summer gone?

In my gardens this week:

Largest quare: white butterflies drinking nectar from the blossoms of Russian sage

Moving closckwise: hollyhocks, wild sunflowers, cranesbill geranium "Rozeanne," Echinacea (a named variety but I forget which one) and Japanese anemone (another variety forgotten at the moment).

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

Still Summer!/Our World

 Proud dad taking family photos

Two days ago, my husband and I took a road trip to Cobourg on the north side of Lake Ontario, always an interesting place to visit.  Saturday was very, VERY busy there, full of photo ops. It appeared many people were eking out as much summer as possible.  School starts here the day after Labour Day.

The above family found a small corner of beach to play and take photos and...

 Alligator meets shark

these kids found a  - for a few seconds - a place to splash and tease each other.

 Crowded!

Most of the beach looked like this.

 Three boats anchored a bit further out in the water

A few clever boat owners found a way to swim and enjoy each other away from the crowds.

Breakwater outside the harbour

And three boys rode their bikes to the breakwater to play.

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.


FYI: September 1 is CDP Theme Day for City Daily Photo member bloggers. The theme is "Pink." To participate, link your post to the CDP theme day page. 

Scavenger Hunt

 1. Sky

Scavenger hunt challenges this week: sky, accessory, verb, transparent andtiny

Beautiful sky reflected on water and two boys enjoying the lovely weather: perfection.

 2. Accessory

Placed on a lawn in an East Gwillimbury subdivision, this carriage makes an interesting lawn accessory, don't you agree?  Hmmm. I wonder who moves it every time the lawn is mowed.

 3. Verb: peddle, cycle, stop, twist, turn, fiddle, adjust?

Not sure what these two guys were doing here. Interestingly enough, a sign at both ends of the bridge asked them to PLEASE disembark and walk their bikes across. Apparently they did not feel the sign was talking to them. (I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest! Note: Their faces are concealed to protect the guilty.)

 4. Transparent

Yep, I sure do enjoy photographing bubbles.

5. Tiny

I also like photographing bees.

I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Orange Trumpets

Bumble bee on trumpet vine blossom

Honeysuckle blossoms in my backyard

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Immature Wood Duck'Birding

Young Wood Duck

A few local wood ducks are  maturing, beginning to look more like adults.  Isn't this a handsome duck? To see what a a family of babies looked like two weeks ago, click HERE. Whether this duck is from that family or not, I have no idea, although they are all in the same pond.

I am linking with I'd Rather B Birdin'  HERE.

Street Scene/Weekend Reflections

Shops and post office reflected in shop window across the street

Shops and tower of post office reflected in car window

To enjoy reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Exclusive/Friday Fences

Gate at one entrance into an exclusive community in Aurora, Ontario

This is a magnificent housing community southwest of East Gwillimbury.

Between the gates

Lovely garden between the gates.

Garden on left side of gates

There are gardens  on both sides of the gates and  also along the road on the other side of the wall and gates/

I am linking to Friday Fences here.