Bliss

October 2, 2016 by Created by RCW

mourning-cloak-butterfly

I had an amazing moment earlier today that I wanted to share, a moment of complete peace and sheer bliss.

As I may have mentioned before, I am an amateur photographer and a lover of nature. In wandering along Toronto’s waterfront this morning, I passed some butterfly gardens.

Not my first time visiting these small gardens. I’ve even taken photos there.

But for whatever reason, today was magical because there were dozens of butterflies having the time of their lives flitting from flower to flower.

The movement attracted my eye and I wandered over to the gardens to enjoy the sight and grab a couple of shots with my cell phone. But as I stood there, the world fell completely away, and it was just me, the garden and the butterflies.

And rather than flit away to keep their distance, the butterflies accepted me into the moment, a few even briefly landing on my arms and shoulders.

I had somewhere to be, so the moment couldn’t last too long. I have every confidence, however, that if I had had the time available to me, it would have lasted as long as I chose.

Complete bliss, joy and comfort.

I’ll visit the gardens again. Maybe the moment will happen again; maybe not. But I have available to me this one time that it did, and that will sustain me.

monarchs

Sweltering on the boardwalk

August 12, 2016 by Created by RCW

This summer has been unbearably hot and humid in Toronto, but I was going stir-crazy without my weekly walk. So, throwing caution to the (complete lack of) wind, I grabbed my camera and hit the boardwalk and some nearby wooded areas.

: A cooling dip interrupted

: Too impatient to wait for the blooms to open

: The cormorant takes wing (well, two)

: Damselfly dares unseen frogs to make a move

: Dragons flew in profusion

: Light danced on the compound eyes

: Viceroy (or is it a Monarch) samples the flowers

: The pollinator slowly climbs the stem

: Mallard mucks for a meal

: My camera prefers to focus on wings, not faces

: Red dragons were easy to pick out against the greenery

: Squirrel watches me while chowing down

: A bed of botanical nails

: A sparrow prepares for flight

Visiting the Rouge Valley

October 12, 2015 by Created by RCW

Last week, I spent the day on the eastern edge of Toronto in a large conservation area called the Rouge Valley, which basically extends from the north end of Toronto (near the Metro Zoo) down to the shores of Lake Ontario.

And yet, for the 6 or 7 hours I wandered, I can only really say I explored maybe 10 percent of the region. Perhaps, I’ll get back before the snow flies…I know I’ll be back in the Spring.

Twirling spiders and battling butterflies

September 19, 2015 by Created by RCW

So as I checked the mail earlier today, I noticed that our entire front porch has been taken over by a huge spider web…perfectly timed for Hallowe’en, it would seem. Even better, the spider was still in the web, wrapping up it’s lunch.

Honestly, I only planned to take one photo…and an hour or so later, I had several one-photos.

: Bad photo but had never seen this behaviour before

Sidewalking

August 2, 2015 by Created by RCW

Of to visit with a friend at a local baconery (not bakery, but baconery…a restaurant called Rashers dedicated solely to bacon) and decided to take my camera with me, catching some of the gardens and a surprise guest along the way.

: Was happy with the detail I could get

: Looks like the world’s most floral cake

: Wandered through a swarm of dragons

: Someone was watering their garden and jeweled droplets caught my eye

: Reminds me of a character from Charlie Brown

: Loved the spray from yellow to red

: Colour in my neighbour’s garden

: Two of a tree full of sparrows

: Even in colour, the whiteness of this flower was astounding

: Can’t believe the veins of the wings

Glen Stewart Ravine

July 24, 2015 by Created by RCW

Took my camera around the corner to a nearby nature walk and then down to Lake Ontario for a few minutes.

: My fav pic of the day

: Loving the colours and stripes

: Slow start to season but bumbles are back

: Some dead leaves aren’t quite dead

: Looking for a snack

: Stinger meets thorns

: Vibrant spider awaits its next meal

: A moth I’d never seen before

: Almost stepped on the little fellow

: Two heads are better than one

: Some of the dogs frolicking on sand and water

: Gentle breezes and sun shine to power you away

Crunchies, High Park, Toronto

September 14, 2014 by Created by RCW

And of course, what would a photography trip of mine be without a survey of all the things that crunch at Toronto’s High Park.

: Spiders may be less pretty from the victim side of the picture

: This gal seemed to clutch for dear life when it hit a flower

: Looking more monarch than moth, this one took a moment to rest

: Can’t figure out what type of wasp this is

: Hard to see here, but the wings are transluscent

: If two limbs were less than 3 feet apart, you probably found one of these

: Background matting doesn’t help photo, but not my choice

: Slow to start the summer, monarchs are popping up everywhere

: Had to really drop exposure so moth wouldn’t blot image with whiteness

: Yellow on yellow makes for a very surreal image

: Luckily, the web seemed empty as this monarch tried desperately to break free

: One of the many spiders packing its lunch today

In-sects

August 14, 2014 by Created by RCW

Having spent a day photographing bugs and other creatures outdoors, I was surprised to find while sweeping the hallway (a surprise unto itself) that I was witness to a battle for life.

Thus, I present the inside insects (arachnids) or in-sects.