Monday, August 25, 2025

Sundry Walky Pics

We don't know what we'll find on our walks; some days, it is nothing. On other days, we find a number of opportunities.

One day, as we sat on the park bench sipping our coffee, I noticed a bird in the crook of branches. It was shadowy, but it looked like a waxwing to me. I don't see many, so I asked Sue to take a photo with her longer zoom (in fact, my phone has no zoom at all). In post, I darkened the already shadowy bird and lighted the sky a bit to produce a silhouette effect.


Speaking of birds, on the very next day, from a bench along the trail, we spied a green heron out on the water. It was at a distance, but it is an unusual sighting, so we did our best. I believe it is only my second sighting ever.


Also along on the trail, we met a garrulous fellow named Gordie. He was with his wife and grandkids but let them keep on without him in order to have  long chat with us Sue. I thought that he might come home with us. I liked him and his beard best in b&w.


I have various photos of Sue on benches, but I don't think I've taken this photo before. I liked framing her between the trees.


Back at Riverside Park for a coffee and shady walk, we met another fellow. We'd had our coffee on a bench and then strolled up the park and back. On our return we heard bagpipes and eventually got to the piper, Robert. We both took photos.


Once again, mono seemed to be the best way forward after I was not overly pleased with the colour rendition.


After taking the candid shot ↑ we sat on the bench to listen further. After he stopped to rest, we Sue chatted with him. He took up piping in his senior years and classified himself as still a beginner, but we found his playing enjoyable. He posed for this photo ↓ but I prefer the first ↑ softer image


I took a short video of his playing, panning a little to also catch the canoes. Panning tilted the perspective; it is what it is.


He gave us Sue his business card. He wears a kilt for engagements.

That brings us to yesterday, which took us along our main street. I decided to take a photo of the front of townhall with flowers, signs and flags.


It was a very nice morning, not overly hot, so we walked a little farther onto the bridge where I took a photo with the church spire on the left and the trail bridge in the distance. As you can see, it was a lovely blue day.


There was also an unscheduled stop at the Blue Spoon Atelier for sourdough pesto parmesan bread and two sourdough cheese scones.

24 comments:

  1. Lovely selection of photographs, all very different. I like 'Sue between the trees' and the video clip.

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  2. Very nice B&W photos, and I do like that picture of the town hall.

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  3. You live in a lovely town.

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  4. That Sue, what a social butterfly!

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  5. Wow, so many pretty things to look at today! What a great start of the week.

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  6. A bagpiper! Only you would have a photo of a bagpiper you just casually found piping at the lake. You had a couple of very interesting walks.

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  7. The bagpipes remind me of high school. I went to David Douglas in Portland, our mascot "The Scots". We always had a few bagpipe players, they must've recruited students to do it? I'm sure Sue is relieved Gordie didn't follow you home. Seeing the egret must have been thrilling!

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  8. Scones! I love the framed shot of Sue and the bird pictures. I do love the bagpipes, probably due to my Scottish ancestry.

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  9. P.S. Although I enjoy the bagpipes, Mari (sitting next to me) jumped a mile when I played the video. LOL

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  10. The heron was a treat. We always enjoy meeting the human locals too.

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  11. One of my cousins took up the bagpipes a few years ago and she loves playing at events.

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  12. What a delightful selection of photos,and even a bagpipes tune! The one of Sue just speaks of calm, serenity, and quiet.

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  13. What a lovely mix of chance encounters: birds, conversations, and candid moments, all woven into the rhythm of your walks

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  14. You had a lovely adventure!

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  15. More time and a longer walk give you more photo opportunities.

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  16. You really got some nice pictures. Nice talking to some new people.

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  17. The bird images are beautiful and the bagpiper is very cool! Gordie seems like an interesting fellow too. His hat is interesting….. RAW… Natural Rolling Papers. Never heard of them but to wear such at hat made me smile at the thought of the rather interesting stories he likely has. It would be interesting to see Gordie in full color too, as I suspect both his hat and beard would be interestingly hued.

    PipeTobacco

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  18. Really nice waxwing silhouette! And you found plenty of worthy subjects.

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  19. You have such a lovely life together, I’m glad you are enjoying retirement so much.

    I am pretty sure I’ve never seen a green heron, ours are mainly white. But maybe I just don’t know what I’m looking at.

    LOL about everyone talking to your wife. That would be my husband, he is chatty. I am chatty-ish, meaning if he is not there, I might possibly chat, but with him there I will not get a word in edgewise.

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  20. Thank goodness you have Sue...you might not have a social life at all. You've met quite an assortment of friends - some with fine feathers, some without.

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  21. Thank you for your photos of your walks, and as you can see, if you keep your eyes open, there's always beauty to be seen.
    I like the bagpiper, the green heron, and Sue with her beautiful hat and colorful scarf on the bench between the trees.
    Best wishes to you both from Viola.
    Enjoying the summer clouds.

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  22. That photo of Sue on the bench is really fantastic. I just love it.
    Finally, some beautiful weather!

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  23. I adore the bagpipes. Once, while in university in Montreal, my daughter texted me...I heard bagpipes and thought of you. Heart melted.

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