Friday, February 18, 2011

a walk on the wild side

Yesterday was a day to be outside; warm, if a bit damp, with a high of 12 celcius!
So after my 'organize your photos' class at the Apple Store, I decided to head down to Port Credit for a bite to eat and a walk along the waterfront.





They have a lovely little marina there which I think I like better than ours


The Lasalle Marina is pretty, but quite isolated, whereas the Port Credit Marina is off the main road and right 'downtown'. And more importantly, has a restaurant overlooking the water. There are many other restaurants I could have eaten at, but I chose this one specifically because I wanted to watch the ducks. (who were racing to get food from someone off to the far right in this view)

There were several different species of ducks to watch than the usual mallards that inhabit our bay. We get the odd diving duck or two, but here there at least a dozen others, like these long tail ducks
Of course, the Credit River was free of ice where it met the lake, which would allow them to dive
whereas the bay at Lasalle Park (where I stopped to get comparison shots) is still frozen.
The Lasalle Marina does, however, have way more swans
and infinitely more mallards.

21 comments:

  1. What a wonderful walk. I've never seen long-tailed ducks, so that was something special to me. And that next to last shot with the mallards and the glowing patch of water!

    Of course, being a yank, I saw "Celsius" and panic set in. I refused to look up how to convert. I pretended I knew... around 53 degrees F? Then I realized that I didn't care. I wanted to look at the pictures--my mental age is perhaps SIX. Oh! Pictures!

    Seriously, sort of, my day was kind of gloomy today. Not that the outdoors is especially bad--I am simply shut in today because of my dumb back. But your blog made me smile and gave me a glimpse into someone else's outdoors and it was enough to change my mood. Thank you so much!

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  2. Ducks on ice are fascinating to watch.

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  3. Wow!! Those long tails are amazing!! Thanks for sharing your walk!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  4. It's great that you get out on your own and do nice things for yourself. Every woman ought to take your example.

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  5. Lovely photos! How do they recommend you organize them at the Apple store?

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  6. I had to google a temperature converter. So 53 sounds pretty good, but it sure looks cold in your photos!

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  7. Jeannette: I am glad I could make your day a little brighter!

    Wick: ducks anytime are fascinating, but yes, watching them walk oh-so-carefully on the ice is fun.

    Sue Ann: you are welcome. I think their tails look rather elegant.

    Nora: I get a little antsy if I stay indoors too long. I go out for coffee every day.

    Scott: iPhoto is a bit more nuanced than on a PC I have discovered - this session we learned how to put your photos in albums and folders and how to rename and edit and delete. Now I need to find out why these have shown up so small in this post....

    SAW: we broke a 62 year record with those warm temps, but it is back to below freezing with snow again today. sigh.

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  8. When our own lake in the Park is frozen, I love watching the mallards scoot across the ice to the people who come to feed them. their little red legs look so comical!

    Of course we don't have the numbers you have in the photo, though we do seem to get a big flock in very cold weather. Sadly, the swans don't come here, we had a pair once, and they tried to nest, but there was too much disturbance, and then one died and the other left.

    Nearby we have a very big lake, and there are a huge number of swans there, mostly Mute, but occasionally a Whooper will turn up! Very exciting!

    I love reading about your walks, and your neighbourhoods. And I have no problem with Celsius - its what we use! And its 4C today, with a nasty little wind.

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  9. Loved you taking us with you. I love to watch ducks too. especially when they scoot and slip and slide on the ice. have a great week. hugs.

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  10. looks like a lovely place to walk, i like your photos, specially the one of the long tailed ducks...

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  11. How's your transition to Apple coming along? It must have been nice to have that warm weather and still enjoy the snowscape.

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  12. Gilly: sadly, there are a lot fewer ducks and swans here in the summer

    Cinner: I do feel bad for them when it so very cold

    Juliet: thanks, it feels like a mini escape from the city

    LGS: it was exciting to see where the snow had melted!
    The new Mac is getting easier to use, and I love it now!

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  13. One of the best memories of Canada was watching the geese in Kingsville. My room mates dad drove me to see them, Your photo reminds me of that day.

    Thanks.

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  14. How cool. You'd think, with wings, they'd get themselves south for the winter though.

    - Jazz

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  15. That all looks very cold but really lovely. And just what did you learn about organizing your photos?

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  16. I love seeing all the birds that are hanging around the edge of Lake Ontario right now!

    Organize your photos? Sounds like an interesting class!

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  17. U have never seen swans in ice,
    Great pictures!!!

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  18. "I" not "U" and "on" not "in" [=in previous comment]
    :-)

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  19. I have looked at that restaurant for years but never gone. Is it good? I love all the photos you got there.

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  20. Lorac: it was good - nothing too exciting, but I would go back.

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