More Shots on the Water

Are you tired of boating yet? I hope not, there are still plenty pictures to show you!

Here are a few of the sun - I had fun playing around with my camera settings to get these just right. I love the textures in the shot above & the double sunburst below.

The wildlife was everywhere we looked - I just wasn't quick enough with the camera to capture it all.

This great blue heron was kind enough to pose for us as we crept up the river (oh! I just noticed the pale tree on the right - it looks like a person with their arms raised!).

Can you see the small disturbances in the water, circular waves right beside the beaver house? That was a beaver I saw on the bank of the river, slipping into the water before I could lift my camera.

More photos can be found on my Flickr photostream!

Marshes

We took our time in the marshes Sunday morning, enjoying the fresh, crisp air.

The mist & reflection in the water made the weeds look like brush strokes.

The fog cleared with the warming sun.

Some of these weeds are wild rice. Actually, there was a lot of wild rice - the stalks were just picked clean by the birds.

Head on over to my Flickr to see more.

Friday Five

I know I say this every week, but this one was crazy-busy! Most likely because it was a short week: Pat & I traveled back to Hamilton Monday evening. Here's what else I was up to:

1. Pat & I made a trip to our storage unit to drop off the winter tires (& rims) my brother found for us. He got them for free too - so that saves us $700. Sweet!
2. Denis, my supervisor (& the program director) for the course I TA, gave me a book on Wednesday - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. His house looks like mine: lined with bookshelves. Every so often, he clear out a whole bunch & always asks if I want any (as if I'd say no). He knows me well! I'll start reading it as soon as I finish The Secret River by Kate Grenville (as recommended by my mom).
3. I've been running a proliferation assay where I have to be in the lab at 5:30ish to count cells - for 6 days straight. Day 2 today. Ugh - seems so late when I typically get home by 3.
4. I expected 2 fat samples yesterday, but the surgeon forgot for the first one & the surgery was cancelled for the second one. Since that surgeon is leaving in a week, I have to find someone else to get me the last few samples I need... arg.
5. I usually like ending these Friday Fives with a new listing I've posted... but I haven't even done anything crafty this week. Wait, that isn't true - I've been working on a paper globe for a friend. I just need to glue it together now.

In the Marshes

Here's another small fraction of Sunday-morning photos for you. Expect many more over the next couple of days.

Here we're puttering along the canoe pass.

There were lots of ducks (& hunters).

Nothing like taking a genuine Giesler boat out on the water...

Check out my Flickr account to see more!

On the Water

I have a busy morning planned, so here's just a quick look at a few of the pictures I took while driving out to the marshes last Sunday morning.

Since we were heading East most of the way, it was difficult to see.

Especially since the mist turned everything to white.

Luckily, my dad could probably make it to the mouth of the river with his eyes closed.

I promise, there are tons more pictures where these came from - more later!

Wordless Wednesday

My long weekend

Well, I don't know about you, but I had a great long weekend! I have tons of pictures - most of them are from Sunday morning though. My dad & I woke up with the sun & took the boat out to take some pictures in the marshes. It was absolutely breathtaking - frosty, misty & dreamlike.

However, I still need to weed through those 500 photos, so in the meantime here are a few good ones from Saturday morning. Since we pulled in so late on Friday, the kids still hadn't seen me yet. Here they are running from their place to my parents:

"Auntie Amanda!!!" Let's just say Jaden was a little excited to see me.

The weather was beautiful - sunny & only a little cool. We soaked it in while the kids played. Dustin wanted to see my camera, so I let him play with it. The following photos are by him (he's 13).

me, Jaden, my dad, my mom & Edward

our shadows

Edward

Jaden

My dad was working in the garden that morning & found a big toad.

A big, warty toad who let me poke & prod him during his photo shoot.

He was huge! Here he is in my dad's palm:

Speaking of my dad's garden & giant things in it - take a look at these monster potatoes!

You could make a whole pot of mashed potatoes & feed a family of 5 on just these two!

My dad showed me something else really cool while we were puttering around outside:

It's hard to tell what it is in the picture (click on the photo to see it bigger): the original structure is a bird house. The white paper / bark looking stuff is the work of wasps! Apparently, the inside wasn't big enough for the nest & they started expanding...

My dad & I were also talking cameras & he pulled out his old camera bag. Inside, there were a couple of filters, including one with a grid to get this starry effect:

I'm going to have to steal that filter... especially at Christmas to get sparkly photos of the tree!

Here's a sneak peek at my Sunday morning:

That's the backyard, just before we took off in the boat. Stay tuned for more!

Mosaic Monday

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

1. Canadian Thanksgiving, 2. happy Canadian thanksgiving, 3. Happy Thanksgiving, 4. Canadian thanksgiving