Gotta Get Outside

Well, everyone thinks I'm a bit of a kook this winter - we've had a REAL winter here in southern Ontario - lots of snow, lots of cold temperatures. I don't care - I've been out for a bike ride at least once a week. The only time I stopped was when we got our first great big wallop of snow at the beginning of the winter, but since then, I've been out!! The city actually plows a portion of the bike path - better than they clean the sidewalks that's for sure! The hard part is getting there, but where there's a will there's a way. I went out on the 10th of January and was rewarded with these shots!

This mallard was flying from one open area of water in Springbank Park to another!


This Muskovey duck arrived here last year with his mate and has been here ever since. I was quite taken with the iridescence of his feathers.






And I came back downtown just in time to see the sunsetting behind the fountain (the sunsets sure are fleeting in the winter!)



And, as usually seems to be the case, just as I realized I was sooooo pooped I didn't know if I could make it back home (those unplowed sections are really tough!) I saw this guy swoop down -


Now, anybody who has watched or photographed these birds at all knows just how shy they are. So, I hid out of his sight and got everything ready, slowly approached and got his, one of my favorite shots!




Happy winter!