Although not officially summer, the Victoria Day Weekend (aka May 2-4 weekend) signals the beginning of warmer weather and summer breezes in much of Canada. It is the weekend that everyone starts to plant their gardens, and when people abandon the big city for cottage country.
It is also the first of two weekends of fireworks (the other being July 1, Canada Day), and I am fortunate enough to live down the beach from one of the biggest fireworks shows in Toronto. Here are a handful of shots (blasts) from last night.
While visiting Louisiana last week, my friend Mike and I visited the Rip Van Winkle Gardens, an estate turned tourism site founded by Joseph Jefferson in 1870, in large part funded by his success in turning the story of Rip Van Winkle into a world-traveling stage play. And that’s where all references to Rip Van Winkle end.
The estate is beautiful, although the weather and time of year conspired to make the gardens a tad underwhelming. That being said, I did manage to grab a few photos.
The trip offered a bonus, however, for my friend Mike, who is into what I call “disaster porn”.
The estate abuts Lake Peigneur, the site of an incredible engineering disaster when an oil rig on the lake drilled accidentally into a salt mine. You have to watch the video below to truly appreciate the scale of the disaster.
Everywhere, you heard the cries of excited peacocks
A beautiful yellow crown adorns the prickly flesh
There were just enough blooms to keep the bees busy
A few frogs hid below the lily pads
The gardens had an Asian flare with gods and bamboo
Distinctly Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors
When you least expected it, geckos would leap from trees and walls
This past week, I had the luxury of visiting New Orleans on behalf of a magazine for which I write (DDNews). And not one to let an opportunity pass, a friend and I decided to take a swamp tour in Breaux Bridge, a small town outside Lafayette.
My thanks to Cajun Country Swamp Tours for what easily has to be the most enthralling two hours of my life.
Only 5 of 30 original siblings had survived the Spring
Our boat overstayed its welcome as mama slowly rose from the water
Not even close to the biggest dragonflies I saw around the swamp
The little blue heron watched us take off from the jetty
The eagle was so high above me, I was surprised to get this much detail
The red was so much deeper than that on the cardinals back home
It was so still, I wondered if the guides posted it there
The great blue heron is complete focus as it watches for its prey
The cormorant dries its wings under a canopy of Spanish moss
The great blue heron launches from the shoreline
The snowy egret does a dance across an island of weeds
The sun was too bright to capture the green plummage
Any square inch of water surface could hide a predator
The great blue heron practically skims the water in flight
In an ironic twist on an otherwise mild winter in Toronto, the month of April has been our snowiest month…and we’re only half way through the month. That said, it was gorgeous on Thursday, so I took advantage and wandered down to the boardwalk with my camera.
Unlike his skittish neighbours, this one was patient with me
He seemed as inquisitive of me as I of him
Buried among the branches, a sparrow spies on me
A grey squirrel munches atop the trees
Remnants of winter decorations
Downtown Toronto rises along the waters of Lake Ontario
Closing out a 12-game regular season series on Tuesday, the Toronto Marlies played host to the St. John’s IceCaps, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Despite Toronto’s amazing record – still first overall in the AHL with a 0.730 win percentage – the IceCaps have been a particular thorn all season long. But not this night.
Although the game was closer than the final score may indicate, the Marlies came out on top in this game 4-0, the two teams splitting the season 6-6.
Tim Bozon just misses a rebound as Ty Stanton fights for possession
Shane Conacher trips over Eddie Pasquale chasing loose puck
Matt Frattin ties up Brandon MacNally as Antoine Bibeau focuses on the shot
Brett Lernout swipes a rolling puck from a yawning open net
Richard Clune watches a puck sail past Eddie Pasquale
Through traffic, Antoine Bibeau makes a glove save
Kasperi Kapanen tries a pass through traffic
Tobias Lindberg opens the scoring with a shot through the five hole
Brendan Leipsic gets 5 for boarding Gabriel Dumont and a 10-min misconduct
Frederik Gauthier leans into the faceoff against Gabriel Dumont
Despite being first in the league, the Marlies had been playing poorly lately and needed a win, which they managed by coming back from a 2-0 deficit late in the third period to win the game 3-2 in overtime. (Game highlights here.)
Alex Stalock watches a play develop in practice
Anthony Stolarz works on his mental game in warm up
T. J. Brennan takes no chances in checking the Lehigh forward
From one knee, Eric Faille just misses on a one-timer
Colin Smith refuses to give up size, chasing for the loose puck
Tim Brent takes his chances, diving into a crowd of defenders
Dalton Smith and Taylor Doherty challenge each other as teammates look on
Alex Stalock holds back, letting Marlies Captain Andrew Campbell clear the puck
Brendan Leipsic just misses on a juicy rebound and wide open net behind Anthony Stolarz
Anthony Stolarz just manages to block the shot with his toe
Alex Stalock scrambles across his crease to prevent a late wrap-around attempt
Just over a week ago, I took a few days to wander through different parks and nature trails crisscrossing Toronto…and even with a warm spell melting the snow, I was surprised at how many local birds had already started to make their presence known locally.
Dazzled by its own beauty, the swan feeds slowly
One of a cluster of robins feasting on last autumn’s remains
Emerald shimmers greet the day
A sparrow finds refuge among the tangled branches
A national symbol not too proud to beg
A gull awaits the first sign of food or threat
Securely out of reach, a female mallard rests
A wary robin watches from the underbrush
Deep-diving ducks do their best to elude the photographer
Mother, Nehiyaw, Metis, & Itisahwâkan - career communicator. This is my collection of opinions, stories, and the occasional rise to, or fall from, challenge. In other words, it's my party, I can fun if I want to. Artwork by aaronpaquette.net
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