It continues to be mostly pretty nice around here, and we in the central area luckily missed the huge white-out blizzard that hit the south-east part of the province a few days ago with high winds and a huge dump of wet snow. We got a lot of wind and some clouds and coolish temps, but that was mostly it. I'm just as happy to see May stay snow-free if possible.
My grandson Mark was off school for Easter break so was with me much of the past week. He's always entertaining to have around, and I'm especially pleased that he is back into photography mode so we can go on shoots together. He's got a good eye and an interesting perspective, plus decent camera equipment (my "old" Nikon digital camera and some superannuated good lenses) so he's pretty well set up for one so young.
Shot one today was actually taken by Mark (despite me having gotten carried away and putting my own name on it when editing), with my "baby" Nikon. It's a drive-by "grab" shot, taken as we were heading home from an expedition to the west side of the city. This house has been at the top of the University bridge for many years, evolving in size, shape, and exterior finish. Now it is being moved as the site is to be redeveloped. It is sitting on a flat-bed trailer with a truck in front in the photo, although that's hard to see from the angle and the passing traffic. The day after we got this shot, there was an article in the local paper saying that while the house had to be off the property by the end of April, the planned new location had failed to be approved, so at that point the house didn't have a destination. It also apparently houses only two people, despite having seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. I haven't been past that corner lately so I don't know whether it has moved on or not.
My friend Ric has a show in a downtown gallery, and although I keep pretty well up to date with Ric's work at the sales that we both attend, I have never actually made it to one of his gallery shows. Mark and I remedied that situation by checking in one day last week. This shot shows a small selection of his whimsical and entertaining recycled materials sculptures, with Ric himself lurking (if one can lurk in a seated position) in the background. The show is on for the next couple of weeks at the SCYAP gallery, 3rd Ave South, if anyone wants to check it out.
Last week also saw our first trip to Solar Gardens for the season. This is the home of vast numbers of succulents, as can be seen in shot three, showing part of one of the greenhouses. There is so much to take in at this venue that it can be pretty overwhelming. I plan to head back before too long to see the 39 different colours of Japanese maples they are show-casing this spring, due to arrive any day now.
On the drive home from Solar Gardens, we went past this nice little scene along the highway, and Mark and I prevailed on Jim to pull over so we could get some photos. There aren't a lot of waterways in Saskatchewan, and this looked so pretty in the sunshine that it needed to be appreciated. I love the reds and yellows of the native willows along the edge.
Shot four was taken on the north side of the road, and there was a quite different but equally appealing view to the south side, where the little stream can be seen to join the South Saskatchewan river. Mark and I made our way down the steepish (and muddy!) embankment to the edge of the water, and were amazed to see vast numbers of little minnows blackening the water's edge on both sides. As we stared at the minnows, I realized that this crayfish, along with a lighter-coloured partner, was taking advantage of the abundance of fresh food there for the taking. The little fish are a bit hard to see, but you can pick out a few of them on the right, and most of the dark areas in the rest of the photo are solid minnows. I picked up quite a bit of glare off the water, so they are somewhat hard to make out.
