Sun Dogs

I done know how well you can see them, but this is my attempt to capture today's pair of rainbow sun dogs.

The perfect gift

Anna hosts a Tea and Chat every Sunday for the members of our cooperative. She does this to promote socialization among members and to encourage new members to come out and introduce themselves. 

 Today one of her best friends gave her a set of earrings, one is a teacup and the other is a creamer. 

She's still giddy about them. 

:)

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The river valley

While hot-footing (let's be real, here, 1.5, 2k/h) I couldn't pass up the opportunity to capture the river valley yet again. It's just so pretty ! 

And I know I could have used HDR to enhanced‎ details but I truly like the polarizing effects a sun shot generates. 

P.

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Macro Monday

Ah,the wonderful thing it is to have access to an old coin and a macro lens.

‎:D 

#macromonday

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Caught you

The advantages of lack of sleep :p

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Hardware vs Software

Sometimes we lose sight that hardware and software, while cooperative, are no necessarily interdependent. Case in point, my BlackBerry Passport. When the Passport first came out, it boasted a high-end camera and a wonderful set of specs. Unfortunately the software that came with the initial offering was atrocious. It couldn't take  proper pictures to Save it's life. Now unfortunately, while it did try to improve the software, the current offering still remains a little better than marginal; it's improved a fair bit but it's still not perfect. Secondary software however has managed to make the most of the current hardware,allowing for some truly wonderful pictures in less than ideal conditions 

Case in point, this was taken over my head, single take, no processing, no special settings.

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Getting into the spirit

...of the season.

I blame my daughter. 😀

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When I peek under my steering wheel. ..

... this is what I see.

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Mushroom farm

I happened upon a display of mushroom farms at a grocery store a while back.  Oyster mushrooms from a company called Back to the Roots. Www.backtotheroots.com  I just had to pick it up for our older daughter, who loves mushrooms.

It took a while to get around to starting it, and this is the first crop. 

Once it starts going, it grows FAST!

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The Rack

It's actually called a negative tension table.

The shirt he's wearing says "I'm tired and my back hurts."  The girls got it for him for Christmas.

Very appropriate.

The truth is sometimes ugly

Just in case there was any doubt as to who the true ruler of the household is.

Aquila non captat muscas 

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Watching

The cats like to watch us through the bannister. 

And dangle body parts in the process.

A.

Set up

Setting up for day 2 of the Artwalk.  Check us out on 105 St. between Whyte and 83rd Ave.

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Good Morning

Testing out the HD function on my phone.

Too close

They found the gas leak.  No one knew the line was there.

People have been saying for years that the lines aren't deep enough.  Even so, you would think the powers that be would actually know where they are.

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Leak

So we have our nice new retaining wall installed.  Then one of my neighbours came home and smelled gas.

No idea if there is a connection;  the crew didn't hit anything, but it's possible one of the rebar they drove in hit something.  Problem is, nobody has any idea where the gas lines actually are.

So they shut the gas off last night, affecting about a third of the townhouses.  Not having a furnace this time of year is fine, but it also means no hot water.

Hope they can fix things soon!

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Our door

This is what we see when we open our door.

I had to walk through the taped off area where the guys are working, then duck under tape,  to come home.

But this is a good thing.  The retaining wall and dangerous stairs are being fixed.  It's all been slowly tipping into the lower sidewalk for years, and it's part of what's holding up our parking area.

Three days of this, and it should be done!

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Rawrrrr

I got some new additions for my dash, including this T Rex.

This is what I see when I look through my steering wheel.

I found three tiny dinosaurs while with my daughter at Scholar's Choice.  As we walked in, my daughter told the woman we were looking for tiny animals.  Especially frogs.

"I take it you don't mean live ones," she says, then comes out from behind the counter to lead us to the display.  My daughter begins to chuckle.

"Ah, ha ha ha huh? ah!  What?"

That's when she spotted the tiny tanks of frogs they had in an end cap.  As we follow the clerk, my daughter turns to me with, "I thought she was kidding! "

Too funny.

Hair

Freya likes my hair.  She likes to roll under it.

Which can get very painful when she starts to fall off my shoulders.

A.

This is the end...

‎...of my ability to drive the van without a certain amount of self consciousness. Anna seems to have discovered "car bling" :D 

P.

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Contributions

My darling daughters had a surprise for me on my dash.  They raided their own tiny animal collections and left 8 new critters, including these ones, for me to enjoy.

I love my family.  They put up with me. Lol

A.

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Craft open house

‎So today is open house for crafting. Anna as crochet instructor has her wares on display. We joined for a visit and daughter brought her drop spindle to spin yarn. 

Funny, the spinning seems to start more conversations. 

:D 

P.

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The start

Sooooo...

As you may have noticed in my last few posts, I have been collecting critters on my dashboard. 

And they make me happy.

As one of my daughters pointed out, for all the time I spend in my van, I may as well! Lol

This is the one that started it all.  One frog.

I like frogs.  They are so interesting and cute. 

I intended to fund more, but aside from the toad hiding by my gauges, I couldn't find any nice ones.  The toad was part of a kit of venomous creatures.

I like those, too.

I am still on the lookout for more little frogs to add to my collection.

My children laugh at me.  I wonder why?

;-)

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Turn it upside down

I see the frowny face and it makes me smile.

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Bridge cleaning

We have lived in Edmonton for more than 10 years and, until today, I had no idea what colour this bridge was.

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Teeth

My daughters are amused by the things that I do.

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I see you

It's the little things in life that make me happy.

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Framed

Freya decided to keep me company and I couldn't resist taking a bunch of photos.   I love how both cats like to lie on the couch with one arm dangling down.

I'm also playing around a bit with my phone camera's edit toys.  I don't like to modify photos in general.  A bit of cropping.  Lightening a dark photo.  That's about it.  So even just adding a frame is more that I typically do.

A.

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Some people...

A quick picture of the dissipating dust cloud from the car that did several donuts in the parking lot, then took off

Nope.  Not impressed.

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The joys of cats

So my desk is cluttered. Well, it's a table and it's cluttered. Finnigan remembers when it was clear though, so he decided to help me‎ clean things up. First he motivated my efforts by ensuring I couldn't actually do anything on the computer. Then, once I had cleared enough room for him to sit without knocking things over, he laid down and pushed the keyboard right into my lap. As you can see, he's overcome with remorse...

P.

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Dangerous beauty

Getting quite the snowfall today.  Our willow tree sure looks gorgeous, but will those newly emerging leaves survive? This photo was taken at about 7 am.  After 4 hours, a lot more snow has fallen, and it's still coming down.

All the trees had been unfurling new growth.  Now, people are reminding others to give their trees a shake to avoid lost branches.

A.

Really?

It's May 6. 

Glad I didn't finish my planting, yet.

Seems kinda symbolic right now. 😕

A.

Where's my dinner?

I walked out of the kitchen to find Finnegan at the table.

Waiting.

Watching.

A.

Gathering

The fish really like the corner aerator.  Boris, we expect, but the baby cichlids  we aquired like it, too.

Of the 9 cichlids, 8 where hovering around Boris in the bubbles.  Most swam off when I came with my phone to take a picture, then came back as soon as I left.

A.

Heaven

The cats love the new coffee table my daughter  bought for us.

A smooth surface AND a sun spot.

A.

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They don't make them like they used to.

One of my mother's antique prayer books.  Not sure of the age, though pretty sure it's more than 100 years old.

A.

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Mushrooms

Coelacanth Traveler checks out the Male mushrooms.

A.

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update:  LOL  I didn't eve notice that my spell check put in "male" mushrooms.  It was supposed to say "Maleb" which is the name of the town the park is near.

 

The joys of rural areas

‎So Anna has gone visiting her father in the country. When I say in the country, I mean middle of nowhere, Population 70 or so in the village. The access to any type of cellular connection is slim to none. She has access to slight data connectivity which means we can talk on BlackBerry messenger, but that's about it. 

At least my daughter is having fun with the 12 or so barn cats. 

:D 

P.

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Alien

Checking out the clawed foot of an alien bird... otherwise known as fresh horseradish root.

A.

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Memories

Coelacanth Traveler checking out the human food.

Stopped at Country Corner Cafe in Teulon with my daughter, before checking out my mom's new digs.  This place sure brings back memories!  When I was little, we used to stop here for ice cream on the way to the city.  The place has changed hands a few times over the decades, but it still reminds me of childhood.

A.

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I don't understand. ..

... why people say Saskatchewan is flat.

A.

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Good Morning

Stopped in the middle of nowhere for a few hours sleep.  Started out the day driving towards an amazing sunrise.  My phone camera doesn't do it justice.

A.

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Feeding Time

Stopped for lunch... or whatever it would be called at 3:30 in the afternoon... just West of Medicine Hat.

Love being able to make fresh sandwiches along the way.  Our insulated picnic backpack is the handiest thing ever. :-D

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Road trip

Coelacanth Traveler is ready to hit the road.

A.

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Assistance provided, regardless of need

‎So I had cause to do some paperwork scanning this morning. The cat, normally using this  scanner  for his own private perch, decided that the added paper was really nice and warm on the butt. 

:P

P.

Birthday Beer

It's our elder daughter's birthday this weekend. 

We got her a selection of beers to try ,  including this ... interesting ... specimen.

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Happy Pi Day

Strawberry rhubarb pie with Apple Pie flavoured liquor.

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