Curiosities/CDP Theme Day

 Seen in an antiques and collectibles shop

September 1st is City Daily Photo Theme Day. This month the theme is curiosities.

It's not every day you see a mannikin dressed like this, right?  But wait! There's more.

Locked down

I am linking to City Daily Photo Theme Days  HERE

Greenthumb's Scavenger Hunt

 1. Walk (the pier at Port Whitby)

I do LOVE the challenge of a photo hunt and recently I discovered a once-a-month hunt hosted by Greenthumb HERE

 2. Horizontal 

This Kayak is on Cook's Bay, part of Lake Simcoe.

 3. Square

Twist your head around and you can see the sign is a square but tipped with a 90° angle down.

 4. Diversity

Red, orange and green, definitely not all the same

 5. Rough

I bet it was a rough day when the child who lost this bear realized it was missing. Someone picked it up where a caregiver could find it more easily.

 6. Bow

You are looking at the tug's bow.

 7. Joy

Imagine the squirrel's joy at finding this peanut!  Okay, if you cannot imagine that, how about MY joy at seeing this fun photo op!

 8. Forgotten

OOPS! Someone left these sunglasses behind.

 9. Crowd

Something tasty has drawn a crowd of gulls.

 10. Colourless

Well, almost colourless

 11. Friendly

Need I say more?

12. Whatever I want

I am linking to Greenthumb's Scavenger Hunt  HERE

Bumblebees and a Butterfly

 Monarch on Buddleia

YAY! Yesterday I saw my first Monarch of the year on the Buddleia outside my kitchen door. Finally!

 Half-black Bumblebee on Japanese anemone

Thanks to Michelle at Rambling Woods who sent me the link to a poster of bumblebees found in Ontario, I am now trying to identify the bumblebees I take photos of.  Thanks Michelle!

Half-black Bumblebee on Russian Sage

It appears I have quite a few Half-blacks in my gardens.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.  

Scavenger Hunt

 a. What I'm doing today

Well, truth be told, this is NOT me BUT I am wondering what this man is doing today...or what he was doing here. Anyone have a clue? (Yes, I am cheating, but how can I show you what I am doing when a LOT of the time I haven't a clue myself.)

 b. Inside

This bumble bee is inside this Japanese anemone. In fact, her head is in amongst the stamens trying to get as much pollen as she possibly can. Perhaps you can see some of the stamens she has scattered in her search.

 c. Candid

Very Candid as I used my zoom lens to take this shot, plus it's cropped. I think they are hunting for frogs.

 d. YUM

I toyed with the idea of posting an apple here but reasoned that most of you are likely more into ice cream. Am I right?

e. Natural light

There's nothing more natural than the light over the harbour at Port Whitby!

I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Port Perry Shop

 Window above door of shop

This is both a shadow and a reflection! This shop is on the northerly side of the main street in Port Perry, and - lucky me - the sun was shining the last time I was there.

Longer view

I am linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2 HERE.

Skipper

 Delaware Skipper

Who says orange and pink clash? These orange skippers actually prefer pink as well as white flowers over other colours!  Here, however, this one is sitting contentedly on a green leaf and even stayed there long enough...

Another view

for me to move a bit and take its photo from the back.

I am linking to Saturday Critters HERE.

Beaver River

Beaverton, Ontario

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

Fields and Fences

Fields, fences, puffy clouds, blue sky

I am linking to Good Fences HERE

Rusty Car

 Rusty car in junkyard

Like a lot of you, I am a big fan of photographing rust.

Following photos: PhotoShop filter play alert!!

 Filter: Poster Edges

Played with Torn Edges filter

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

Great Egrets

 On the other side of the marsh- Great Egret and Great Blue Heron

Last Saturday Great Egrets (Ardea alba) were seen fishing in many places at Cranberry Marsh in Whitby. In late August the egrets are finished breeding and many move into this marsh for great fishing. GREAT except they were all very far away!

 A little closer

Finally an egret decided to move closer to the viewing platform.

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

Late August

 Sunflowers reaching for the sun of late summer

Who can resist smiling back at sunflowers?

 A white - not pink - bull thistle

This is not the silky seeds of a thistle but the actual colour of the blossom. I confess I have never seen (or perhaps noticed) a white bull thistle before.  Have you?

 Bee collecting pollen

This bee doesn't seem to notice the colour isn't any different from the purplish-pink blossoms on neighbouring plants.

Cabbage white butterfly

I'm still on the lookout for butterflies but I'm mainly seeing cabbage whites and a few skippers. Where are all the rest?

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.  

Straw and Hay

"Square" bales of straw, two different sizes

It's haying and straw baling season and has been since the crops have been ready to cut. Do you know the difference between straw and hay?

STRAW: the stalks of grain products  - such as wheat, oats, rye  - after the grain has been harvested. It contains few seeds so is not nutritious for animals but does make good mulch and bedding material.

Closeup of baling the smaller size

After a few tries, I caught a bale in mid air...but just barely.

"Round bales of hay

HAY: grasses - such as timothy - or legumes - such as alfalfa - baled for animal feed. The more protein the hay contains, the more valuable it is.

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

Also, please visit Through my Lens at Mersad Donko Photography.

Door #5 Streets Alive!

 Street side of Door 5

For the past few weeks I have posted some of the art doors on Orillia's downtown streets, seen there from late June to October 13th, 2015. The public was asked to  choose their favourites and the results are in!  I have already posted three of the four winners (see posts below) but this one by Marc Calverly won second prize.

Sidewalk side 

What do you think? Would YOU have voted the same way?

1st Prize - If you are a Dreamer HERE
2nd Prize - Door #5 see above
3rd Prize - Door #9 HERE
4th Prize - Door #11 HERE

Scavenger Hunt

 a. Silly

This week's scavenger hunt prompts: silly; spin; four; guilty pleasure; and rule of thirds

Head tucked in, chest out, standing on one foot on a log hanging over a small pond, this mallard looks very silly to me. She seemed fairly comfortable about me being there though.

 b. Spin

This biker is out for a spin on his Harley.

 c. Four

Four trumpeter swans: mama and three juveniles

 d. Guilty pleasure

I get a big kick out of taking photos of other photographers...especially if they haven't a clue that I'm doing it. (I bet there are other photographers taking photos of me too.)

e. Rule of Thirds

The stem and centre of the blossom are about one-third of the way from the right edge of this photo.

I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Wheels

 A jumble of wheels

A few bikes were attached to the back of a tourist's car creating an odd-shaped shadow.

A longer view

I am linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2 HERE.