Of all of the pictures I took of the Barred Owl, I overlooked this one at first because the owl wasn’t looking straight at the camera. But it is a nice close-up of her gazing off somewhere, and I like the contrast of her feathers in black and white.
I’m off to enjoy this sunny Saturday afternoon.
Two weekends ago I spent some time in Perth. I walked through Stewart Park, and took some pictures of the pond. The weather was a bit warmer that day, so the ice on the surface was melting and cracking into an intricate little pattern. Click the photo to see it larger:
I also saw this lonely goose, who I can only imagine was left behind for the winter. Her right wing seemed damaged in some way, which is perhaps why she didn’t make the trip.
The sun was shining so brightly today, so I took a long walk through Old Quarry Trail after work. About 50 feet in I spotted two White-Tailed Deer coming toward me on the path. I quickly realized there were about six of them wandering and grazing off the trees and ground shrubs.
Rather than shying away from me, some of them came closer to see who I was. One of them (picture below) actually approached me, and even as I backed away, she kept coming closer. I know you’re not supposed to get too close to any wild animal so I moved along.
A bit further down the path, I just happened to look up, and what I saw literally took my breath away:
I stood there, completely astounded by a magnificent Barred Owl who was nestled in the crook of a tree, squinting at me like a sleepy cat.
It was such a beautiful moment; it was so unexpected and peaceful, yet overwhelmingly emotional. I felt a little bit silly, to say the least, as I stood there in the middle of the woods, with tears starting to well up in my eyes.
It was my first time seeing an owl in the wild.
All of those dark, wintery words that come to mind:
cold,
bleak,
dreary,
blustery,
grey…
…are all but forgotten when you witness a violet sunset.
{View of the Experimental Farm}
Congratulations!
An unusually short workday afforded me a couple of hours of daylight. Although somewhat grey and damp, it was also warm, so I decided to try and visit the ducks again. Pinecrest Creek is a lovely little tree-lined stream that runs along the Transitway (between Baseline and Carling). I noticed the other day that there was quite a large duck population spending the winter in its shallow waters.
I had never taken this particular route; it had footpaths, small bridges and lookout points. After a bit of walking I stopped at one of the bridges to see if the ducks would let me take some photos. To my surprise, they actually started swimming toward me At this time of year, I imagine they were hoping I had brought some food with me.
I took a few photos when I realized someone different was among them. Amidst almost a hundred mallards (and a few black ducks which look like dark female mallards) was one Wood Duck. I was amazed by his gorgeous plumage and striking red eyes:
He and one female mallard were practically attached at the hip, which makes sense because he was the only one of his kind. It was comical to see them together though, because she was so much larger and plumper than him. I never saw him move any further away from her than this:
I can’t express what a thrill this was for me. It was well worth taking a new path!
One of the things I love about this time of year is that without leaves on the trees, their secret hiding places are exposed.
Delicate and intricate, I imagine the time and labour that goes into building a home, and wonder about how such small creatures are able to create such a masterpiece.
I am having my first Etsy giveaway this week. Enter to win two 4x6 prints of your choice from my shop. All you have to do is visit my Etsy Shop ~The Paper Butterfly~ and choose your favourite photograph. Come back here and post it in the comments section below. I will randomly draw a name on Wednesday, January 20th.
Good luck!
*this giveaway is open to everyone over the age of 18*
*limit one entry per person*
Today I was interviewed for the Style Sunday post on the Female Photographers of Etsy blog. This community of women has been such a wonderful resource of advice and support~ Thank you, Jen Kiaba for providing me with this opportunity!
Today was one of those sunny, perfect blue-sky days~ the kind that we have been missing for a couple of weeks. Our spirits were due for one, and I am so glad it came on a Saturday.
We took the dog down to the trails behind Nepean Sportsplex (the one I mentioned here). We took an abbreviated route, because we only had one hour, and we weren’t sure how long it would take us to trudge through the deep snow. Turns out it took exactly an hour!
It was that magic time of day, between 2 and 3 pm when the sun starts to sink in the sky and shines through the tree branches.
Yesterday I went down to Westboro Beach to take a walk with my camera. The shoreline had disappeared, as the snow blanketed the frozen surface of the water. The sky was pale and overcast, so it was white as far as you could see.
One of my favourite photographs is this Aspen leaf; the pattern and colour remind me of Dalmatian Jasper. I started flickr’s 365 Project and I chose this photo for Day One. Hope I can stick with it!
Happy New Year!
