It’s officially 2021! I’m sure we are all glad to put 2020 behind us. I’ve started my first day of 2021 doing – you guessed it – a neighbourhood walk. Things aren’t going to change that quickly. lol
Rosehip Star
I’ve been noticing that although it’s the season of brown (the snow has melted away since Christmas), there is a little bit of red thrown in as well. The last of the rosehips are still hanging around, waiting to be eaten by a passing bird or some other little creature. This particular one grabbed my attention because of its star shape.
Sumac
There is also an abundance of red sumac flowers. They are slowly turning to brown, but until then the majority are still red.
Cooper’s Hawk
I’ve decided that I must take a longer lens with me next time. I have spotted this Cooper’s hawk at least 4 times this past year. I first saw him under a tree, and I stopped and got a quick shot, but when I tried to get a little closer, he flew to the other side of the creek. Luckily, that was where I was heading next. I startled him when found him on the other side, and he flew to this tree. I was able to get a clear shot, but I had to crop this photo so you could see him. You might not be able to see it, but in his right claw, he has his lunch with him.
It was a great way to start the new year. And it goes to show you that even though you’ve been to a place many times, you can still find something new to photograph.
Wishing you all the best for 2021! Stay safe and be happy.
I’ve brought my 105mm lens on my walk today to reshoot the leaf from yesterday. The reason for switching to the 105mm was to see if I could get more of the leaf in focus.
Pink Leaf Take Two
I think it did a much better job than the 55mm lens. You can see more of the veining in the leaf than with the 55mm lens. I’m much happier with this photo.
Japanese Spindle Tree Berry
On the opposite side of the creek, I found these pink berries. I only see them in late fall, and this year I’ve finally identified what this plant is – the Japanese Spindle. It’s native to China, Korea, and Japan so obviously someone planted this in their backyard where it’s made its way into the creek area.
Rosehip
I walked by the area where there were so many dogwood roses in summer. The roses are now gone, but a few rosehips have been left behind on the bare branches.
I spotted a lot of pink and red today on my walk. It looks like late fall isn’t so brown after all.
I’m back on the creek path in my neighbourhood today. The autumn colours are fading fast but I guess you can’t expect much at the end of October. There is still some colour but the trees are heading towards brown or bare.
Split View
There are some trees that have turned a little later so there is still some good colour in spots. I just have to be more creative finding shots by changing my perspective. In the photo above I shot through the reeds from a low angle towards the tree. This kept the bare ground directly in front and to the side of the tree out of the shot.
Autumn Creek Path
With an overcast sky today it made for some nice soft light to be cast onto our scenes There was still enough light to light up different parts of the scene above to create the effect of a short tree tunnel. This spot is great from summer to fall and I tend to take a photo of it every time I walk past.
My friend Nigel suggested a hike at Splitrock Loop trail and now that the fall colours are at their height up north, it was the perfect opportunity to check out this trail.
Country Road
On the way there we pulled over quite a few times to take some photos of the country roads. This one in particular caught our interest.
Splitrock Trail Loop
After navigating to the parking lot for Splitrock Loop trail, we were greeted by the scene above. Talk about an inviting entrance to a trail. The trail itself is only about 5km and is a loop which makes it a fairly easy trail to hike. There isn’t a lot of up and down on this one either.
Grandmother Tree
My favourite part of this trail is the gorgeous tree that we passed towards the end of our hike. Like a grandmother with her arms open, inviting us further along the path. What a great trail. I highly recommend this one if you’re in the area of Mono Cliffs. I will definitely be visiting this one again soon.
Today I’m back to my regular walk around the neighbourhood. The autumn colours and the lushness of the creek path make it one of my favourite times of the year to walk here.
Autumn Path
And it looks like we leave autumn as we entered spring – with purple flowers. Chicory seems to be around all summer right into the late autumn months,
Chicory
What’s new is the purple bell-shaped flower that is growing through the chain-link fences along the catwalk leading to the schoolyard. I’m not sure of its proper name but I love how vibrant the colour is.
Purple Bells
As autumn starts to lead us towards winter I’ll be left without these vibrant colours. Luckily I still have some time before they disappear this year.
