Sometimes...

You see a particular subject that you just know would make an interesting focal point for a photograph. Even better, sometimes the photo turns out exactly as you want it to!

That is all, just felt like sharing this photo. And in case you're wondering, these are tiny LED lights. The range of colours is supposed to be ideal for hydroponics.

An evening walk at the park

Sometimes it's so nice to simply enjoy a walk at the park with one of your oldest friends. And even if it's been 5 months since you last spoke, it doesn't even matter, you can always just pick up the conversation where you left it.

And, if you happen to see some nice sights and some adorable baby animals along the way, you might as well take a few pictures, right?

Here is a goose couple enjoying the St. Vital duck pond.

Here are some not so small goslings. I have to say, the geese are certainly a lot friendlier once they've had their babies, I didn't see any of the usual hissing at people.

I liked how this scene looked with the sun just peeking through the trees and a little bit of the river reflection coming through.

And here's a duckling enjoying the green algae.

Finally, here's the "boat launch". If you're at all familiar with this area, you realize how high the river still is here. Generally this area goes downhill until you reach the river. Well, right now, you basically turn the corner, and there it is. I guess at some point the river went over the main road within the park. At times it seems like the river has come down so much, but it's really still not at a normal level.

Adventures in... Carman?

Today, we decided to drive out to Carman to bring my Grandma to Aunt Verna's home for a visit. We planned to visit as well, but figured we'd let them be for a little bit- that way they could talk in Low German without feeling like anyone was excluded from the conversation.

So off we went, driving around Carman. We headed to a park, King's Park, it sounded promising... Except it was more of a campground/fairground. Oh well, onwards!

We ending up parking on 2nd St. SE and started our wandering from there.

We could hear some rushing water and went to find the source. Of course, it was the Boyne River. There was quite a nice path all along the river. There were some small rapids -the source of the rushing water.

As we ventured further into the forest, a small furry creature came bounding towards us. It was a very happy, friendly grey cat. It ended up accompanying us along the entire trail.

(This was its "You shall not pass" pose)

Everything looked so beautifully lush and green.

The forest floor was covered with moss, Creeping Charlie, and small white flowers.

There were also interesting fungi on some of the fallen trees.

It was such a nice little gem of trail to find. I could have kept going. I was kind of curious where the trail would end, but it was time to head back. When we got back, we were treated to some Faspa- sausage, buns, tea, muffins, and rhubarb cake.

Here's one last photo, we were parked near this building. What can I say, I have a bit of a weakness for photographing brick. I love the contrast, especially when viewing this photo with all the green ones above.

Photo Update Time

I've been meaning to post the next "x" days and I keep putting it off. I figure, I'm still wide awake at this ridiculous hour, why not do a bit of a blog post. I have too many pictures in my Project 365 photostream, that they now show up in rows of 9, with smaller pictures. Oh well.

Alright, so like I said, I kind of procrastinated on posting this, so there'a whopping 60 days worth of photos...

Row 1: Magic 8 Ball, Houseplant, Crescent Moon, Curves of Light, Wooden Drawing Mannequin, March Sky

Row 2: Small White Blossom, Inside the Drops, Brown Eyed Girl, Bouquet, Clear Your Mind, Golden Rod Abstract, Cupcakes, Light Beams, The Fridge

Row 3: Work, Blue Eye Shadow, Resin Flower, Glass, Sandals, Sepia Masks, Thawing River, Fizzy Drink, Glasses on a Nighttable

Row 4: Easter Wreath, Spokes, Snow Globe, Wine, Lawn, Self Portrait, Circle, Sandals, Dispersal

Row 5: More Dispersal, Hope Grows, Textures, Rubies, Ipod, Easter Decor, Snowy Bike, New Growth, Strawberry Jam

Row 6: Green Goo, River-3 weeks later, Mini Cupcakes, Birch, Geometric Reflection, Rainbow Pens, Felt, Buggy Sculpture, Silverware

Row 7: Dial, Wood Knot, Droplets, Gummy Fish, Domo and Zombie Meet, Still Waters, Christmas Cactus, Flowers, and more Flowers

What do I predict in the future... a lot more green and other vibrant spring and summer colours. I am just waiting for those first tulips to burst open. If we get a little bit of sun in the next week, it should happen!

Ramblings

So I haven't exactly been super awesome about updating the blog. I'm sure that's okay though, since there's not exactly a huge following.

This weekend was somewhat of a roller coaster, weather wise. Friday I got home from work just after 2:00, after a lovely 20 minute walk home from the bus stop. You know that wonderful feeling of sunshine on your face, a warm breeze, and that almost humid fresh smell. That's what it was like on Friday. I had caught a glimpse of the upcoming forecast, so I figured I'd best make the most of it. Off I went into the backyard and had a bit of a rest on the swing. Nothing quite refreshes you, like beautiful weather!

Saturday came around and it was rainy. I went out with Tamara to do a few errands. Every time we were between destinations, the rain got harder. And of course, some time early Sunday morning, that rain turned into snow. Sigh... we just couldn't have a May without a little bit of snow. At least it happened on a Sunday, so it won't screw up traffic flow too much.

May was going to be a month where I followed a challenge set up by a co-worker. She was challenging people to be Vegan for one month. It was set up as a "see how it makes you feel, health-wise/trying a lifestyle before rejecting it" type challenge. At first I was all for it, then I thought, maybe I can just try Vegetarianism for the month, and then I figured out that unfortunately it wouldn't quite work. The easiest way to make life-altering changes (even short term ones) is when you don't have to work/force other people into it. We've got a good dynamic of everyone sharing with meal preparation. It's hard to suddenly bring about something as drastic as Veganism or Vegetarianism. I don't want to encourage food waste, and I really don't like the idea of having 2 separate meals planned all the time. And yes, I'm aware that you can make some meat-free dishes, and then cook some meat on the side. BUT- they wouldn't really be properly balanced for one group. . You can't just make 1 meat dish, 1 protein dish, 1 starch, and 1 vegetable dish. It's not that simple!

I figure I might try the challenge eventually, when I don't need to worry about inconveniencing others. In the meantime, I'm trying doing little things. My morning muesli I take with soy milk, instead of milk (it actually tastes better too!). I am trying to cut down on cheese. Given the choice between yogurt and cheese, I'm actually leaning towards keeping the yogurt. I am still going to try to incorporate 2 vegetarian days a week. We'll see how that goes....

The next 30 days

Before I go on with the next 30 days of Project 365, I have a work related statement- I think I prefer yellers to cryers. As a side note, I really don't have that many issues with people from work, most customers are pretty average. You tend to notice and remember the extremes on either side of the scale.

I don't think I've actually dealt with this type of cryer before. I've had a handful of cryers when it comes to claims. I understand that, it can be a very emotional time. Without going into the details, I came to this conclusion because of how I end up interpreting my role. When you have a yeller, it's easy to identify them as the "bad guy". If you have a cryer, suddenly you've become the "bad guy". Both scenarios tend to involve someone who doesn't accept responsibility for their actions, so it's hard to stay feeling like the bad guy.

Onto the photos!

Row 1: A Swirl of Rhinestones, Chalk, Nail Polish, Cupcakes (Pre-decorated), Decorate Cupcakes, Dinner Out

Row 2: Pizza, Rose, Orange Bubbles, Margarita, a Card, White Out

Row 3: Funky Hat, 8200km, Brass Headboard, Transporting a Bus, Star, Lion Eyes

Row 4: Small Samurai, Rainbow Braid, Mutant Grape, Pin Cushion, Leaf, Silver Bowl

Row 5: Clock, Handle, Lightswitch, Onion Rings, Sammi, Quote

Seeing this group of 30 makes me feel like I'm a bit odd (like I didn't know that anyway). There are a few photos in the group that I really love, and others I was really just satisfying the "take a photo everyday" element. You can't make everything into a masterpiece. All you can do is continually practice and learn how to view the world in different ways.

The first 36 days

So, despite saying I wouldn't do a Project 365, I decided to anyway. I have to admit, it's getting kind of hard finding something new, interesting and inspiring to take a photograph! When you don't go out all the time and you don't have little ones to take photos of, it can get a bit dull. I think it's also because it's the middle of winter. There's only so much snow one can capture, and there haven't been very many pretty days. I am still just itching for a hoar frost where I have the day free to go to St. Vital Park. The last time it frosted, I had to work in the morning!

So here is a small glimpse into what the first 36 days of 2011 looked like...

In case you're wondering what these are:

Row 1: Glitter, Candles, Salad, Tiara, Domo, Bathroom Lights

Row 2: Corkscrew, Tea, Snow, Ice Block, Presents, Tea pot

Row 3: Bananas, Toy Story Characters, Footprints, Sunrise, Light Streaks, Water Droplets

Row 4: Dripping Faucet, Window Frost, Water drops, Book, Baubles, Keyboard

Row 5: Numbers, Strawberry, Hoar Frost, Cat, Legislative Building, Dishes

Row 6: Flame, Jessie, Sign, Boots, Chocolate, Ribbon

I ended up getting myself a macro lens. I figured I was going to buy it sometime this year anyway, might as well get it sooner than later (especially with the rumour that Canon lens prices were increasing.) So you may notice there's quite the macro theme to my shots.