65:365 It helps to know the right people.

Anna: We're on the third floor, facing mostly north. We get some good sunsets out here, but our views of them are marred by power lines and buildings. Seeing what looked to be a beautiful sunset in the making, I headed to the 4th floor lounge, hoping to get a better line of sight.

Unfortunately, the north side of lounge has even less of a view. There's another apartment building completely blocking the sunset in one area, and the 4th floor townhouses blocking the rest.

So I thought I might be able to get some good river views on the other side. Still no luck. The reflections where nice, but nothing I really wanted to take.



As I headed back into the lounge area, I happened to run into one of the security guards. Philippe first got to know him when he first moved out here 6 months ahead of us and spent a fair amount of time in the lounge. We don't go to the lounge that often, but when we run into him, we always stop for a friendly chat. Seeing my camera, he asked about it, and I told him about my frustration, trying to get a good picture of the sunset. So J., being the sweetheart that he is, took me up to the 20th floor patio in the south tower - and area normally available only to those in the penthouse suits!





The view of the city from up here is amazing! He told me how he likes to come up there in the mornings and look down into the river valley parks below, where sometimes he'll even see deer coming up near road level, searching for new grass.











There' s even a good view of the stadium. When Philippe was out here ahead of us, he had a 13th floor bachelor's apartment below where I was standing to take this. He was able to watch concerts and games projected on the big screens from his balcony. J. was telling me about how great the fireworks look from this height, too.










Philippe: She took over her favorite leaning post and stretched out.
:-)

64:365 Phoenix

Anna: It's been a long time since I've used the light box.

I'm not big on cross stitch. Not my preferred style. Still, I'm always wanting to learn new crafts, so I gave it a go and made a few cross stitched pieces. Like so many things I've made over the years, I usually gave away the finished products as gifts, leaving me with very few samples of my own work. All the more reason I make a point of taking pictures when I make things. *L*

Somehow, I ended up keeping this one. It's brightly colored and mounted on a circular frame edged in lace. So not only is it in a style of embroidery that doesn't normally attract me, it's flashy, vibrant and feminine. Other than bright hair colors every now and then, I'm not at all like that. Yet for some reason, I kept this for myself. I actually had it stored in the closet, along with a number of other items waiting for us to move somewhere more permanent to be hung up. In other words, it's been sitting in a closet for over 2 years. *L*

Perhaps I can find an open piece of wall somewhere and hang it up, anyways.

63:365 Testing

Anna: The kids had their eye tests today. I sat in with our younger daughter and got this while we were waiting for the dr. to come in. I've always been fascinated by the feaky looking gadgets eye doctors get to use. :-D

He walked in as I was talking the picture. There was a time when I would've been embarrassed by that. Heck, I wouldn't have had the nerve to take the picture in the first place. Instead, I laughed while my daughter told him I was weird. :-D

62:365 Aquarium

Anna: Philippe and I aren't actually sure which of us took this picture! Philippe had expected to be able to come home and get his camera before going to an appointment, but things didn't quite work out that way. The girls and I ended up picking him up from work to drive him, so we only had my camera. His appointment was in a mall with these huge saltwater fish tanks across the hall. I keep trying to get pictures of the fish, but it's such a challenge! I got a couple of shots in, then Philippe borrowed the camera to try for a few shots before he went in for his appointment, then I took a few more. Since we both tried for this fish, neither of us remembers who actually got the shot. *L* I tend to think Philippe got it, though.




At least with this one, I *know* I'm the one that took it. :-D

61:365 Henna

Anna: The girls and I have been having a bit of a henna party today. These are my youngest daughter's hands, after I finished doing the vine design on her right hand.

We're all sitting around, watching a documentary dvd, with henna paste drying on our skin. If we can figure out how to wrap them for the night, we'll take the paste off tomorrow. The hands are rather easy, but my elder daughter's scalp is a bit more of a challenge...

60:365 A day at the park

Anna: The girls and I made it to park day today. It was actually hot and sunny this afternoon, though the lake is still mostly ice. At least it's got a ring of open water around the edges again. I got quite a lot of shots today, and here are some of my favorites.


Growing Eggs.

One pair of Canada Geese made a nest in a planter next to the parking lot. Today, there was no sign of Mama or Papa, but the eggs were there to be seen. We stayed well away. Zoom is a wonderful thing. :-D










A Special Scent.

Next, we passed this goose on guard. I was surprised to find a nest here, but I guess geese aren't as bothered by smells like we humans are. See that pipe sticking out of the ground? The most awful smells of sewer gas comes out of there. I have no idea what's in this building, or what's under it to emit those smells, but I always find myself rushing to get past it.







Loaded for Bear.

Some people take their photography much more seriously! *L*

I had a chance to chat with this guy later on. He wasn't too happy with the photographic opportunities of the day. No birds! Of course, there were Canada Geese and seagulls everywhere, but with equipment like that, I don't think those were what he was after. :-D












Up Close and Personal.

Still no leaf buds anywhere, but we do have catkins!

















Checking Things Out.

There's a spot where, on pleasant days like this, we all tend to gather. With a small grove of spruce trees nearby, there's always at least a few squirrels. Curiosity seemed to get the better of this one. :-D










Ball o' Fluff.

I happened to walk around the back of a building when I saw something move across the grass. At first I thought it was something blown by the wind. Then it stopped by a pillar and waited, watching to see if I were a danger. I was able to get a few shots before it dove into the crack in the concrete right at the corner at the base of the pillar. If I hadn't seen it go in, I wouldn't have believed it could fit!






Feed Me!

There's always food to share with the group of us, and the seagulls know a good deal when they see one. This one seems to be demanding another Cheezie. *L*

59: 365 - Nature Centre

K.. You know the old adage that goes "If you can't say anything nice..." ? Well, we went to the John Janzen Nature Center. The birds they had on display were all injured in some way and would die in nature; instead of having them euthanized, it was decided to care for them and allow people to see them up close.



Philippe: I actually got lucky with this shot since I'd forgotten the camera on a setting of F:20, so *all* my other shots were blurry :(.
















Philippe: This guy had the camera with proper settings, so I was able to get a wack of absolutely crystal-clear shots. The down side is that with my slower lens, I had to F:4 the shots, so the base of the bird is somewhat blurred.
















Anna: Today, we decided to take in a local nature centre, as I'd heard good things about it. Even taking into account that the trails would be in poor condition because of the weather we've been having, it was a real disappointment. Somehow, I just expected to see... well... more than a bunch trees with signs (This is a spruce tree. They grow slowly...) and one squirrel. The ravine and parks beside our apartment are a lot better. :-/ It wasn't until we'd finished the short trail (no attempt to take the long one in current conditions) that we saw birds, and they'd been brought in by the local zoo for today's events, all of which were aimed at indoctrinating really, really young kids ... but that's a whole 'nother story, and a huge pet peeve of mine.



This is Mariah, a peregrine falcon. She's been with the zoo for 16 years. It's believed that she'd injured herself by running into a power line during her first migration. She can fly, but only for very short distances before she's completely exhausted. Today was her first trip out for one of these events this year, so she was a bit skittish. Especially when some kid's animal balloon suddenly popped! *L* Poor thing just about jumped out of her feathers.














This is Meg, a kestrel. I'm really happy with how this picture turned out - enough that I just cropped it, but didn't reduce the size like I usually do. It's still hard to see, but it you look at the picture full size, you can sort of see her damaged foot. You can see it better in Philippe's picture, above. She was found injured and brought to the zoo. The damage was permanent, and she's unable to fend for herself. She's about half the size a kestrel would normally be, due to malnutrition before she was found and cared for. They chose not to kill her off, but kept her for their education program. Her handler mentioned that a lot of people object to this. Apparently, this bird would be better off dead than being "used" by humans.

Meg in particular seemed just as curious about the people gathered around as we were about her. :-D She was constantly bobbing her head around, looking at everyone with intense interest while her handler told us about her and answered questions. All the more reason I'm glad I managed to get this picture.

Besides some good pictures of the two birds, we left with a few freebies. We didn't get a chance to look through everything until we got home. They passed out cloth bags with some glossy pamphlets, bookmarks, fridge magnets and removable tattoos in them, most promoting 2008 as the Year of the Frog, but also reminding people to leave baby animals alone, because they're not really abandoned.
The bag was some sort of unbleached cloth - possibly cotton, but I'm not sure - with a design screen printed on one side. Inside, I found a label that read "Made in India" on one side and "do not wash" on the other.

I found that remarkably funny, for some reason.