Baltimore Oriole - what a beauty!

I was lucky this week to see a pair of Baltimore Orioles attending to their nest and chicks. This pretty fellow, with his beak full of grubs, posed for me.

Butterfly Weekend

This must have been my weekend for butterflies. We saw quite a number of them while out hiking and at the beach, and these four obligingly sat for a portrait. Update: Thanks to TH for identifying these for me - I never knew you were a butterfly fancier! Sizes are approximate. 

Papilio Glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) - Size 3" across




Vanessa Antiopa (Mourning Cloak) - Size 3-1/2" across




Celastrina Ladon (Spring Azure) - Size 1-1/4" across




Hylephila Phyleus (Fiery Skipper) - Size 1-1/2" across



Donkey and an Apple

Nesting Swans

Summertime is Dandelion Time

Queens Park, New Westminster

I was at opposite ends of the country in the same week - here's a different sort of architectural example from near our home in BC.

Montreal Evening

We found ourselves last week amid the well-known beauty of Old Montreal. This is the Marche Bonsecours by night - just one of many fine examples of the architecture there.

Bleeding Hearts

Woodhaven Swamp (Belcarra Park, near Vancouver, BC)

A swamp is a great place to find interesting shapes, like this dead tree, reflected in the perfectly still water.

Swan Love

It is spring at last, and this pair of swans was courting and preening at the Brighton Marina. Ansel Adams, renowned photographer, said it best: "Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Supermoon - Closest in Years

When the moon is as close to Earth as it will be for another 18 years, you just have to go out and take some photos. This is the result.

Oldsquaw Duck (clangula hyemalis)

This pretty little fellow and his friend were paddling in the harbour in the sunshine the other morning. I looked him up to find his name was Oldsquaw, and then was told this has been changed to Long Tail Duck - a sadly prosaic name for such a charming specimen.

Forest Stream

While we wait for summer and warmth to return, here is something to remind us. We were in a stand of aspens in the Northumberland Forest. The trail passed the edge of a south facing cliff, and the sun poured in through the trees. You can see a bit of blue sky reflected in the water. The green tint is natural - no retouching was done. A trick of the light, I suppose, taken with my pocket camera.

Tree Shadow

Today, I was looking for interesting shadows and found this. Do trees grow on pavement? Only under the brightest sunshine.

Harbour Sunrise

One aspect of this blog is to provide a record of my growth as a photographer. Here's one to benchmark myself by. Next year, when I shoot a scene like this, I want to be able to look back and see improvement. For now, even though I think I can do so much better technically, this beauty still makes me catch my breath.

Winter Grasses

Cobourg recently installed an all-season garden at the beach. I'm not sure that was their intent, but I am happy with the result. The summer flowers gave way to fall foliage, and then winter set in. Now that spring is near, these lovely seed tassels, in the muted winter colour palette of straw and blue, are all that's left.

Ice Shelf Under The Trees

Out for a hike today, we spotted this huge ice shelf supported by the trees when the snow melted away from underneath.

First Sunny Day

On this, the first sunny day in what seems like weeks, I found our shadows on the beach walk to be worth commemorating.

Bulrushes

Out with our hiking club on Sunday, I wanted to capture the misty weather in this monochromatic scene, and plunged thigh-deep into the snow filled ditch at the roadside while trying to get the right frame. Cold and wet, but happy with the result - and the rest of the hike got me warm and dry again.

Harbour Lights

This is the result of the first date with my new love - a Nikon D3100. I was hoping to catch the sunset, but delays gave me this instead. The cold was brutal, but the spectacular blue and gold colours in the ice made the frozen fingers a small price to pay. I also really like the vertical lines of the light reflections being crossed by the lines of snow on the ice - a subtle texturing that draws me to look more closely.