Friday Shoot Out - Favorite of all Time

For any new visitors to my blog, here's a brief definition of the Friday My Town Shoot Out as found on the FSO site:

Friday My Town Shoot Out is friends from around the world sharing photos of their communities. We have weekly theme assignments to "shoot" for that the members post on their individual blogs. Our shooters then add their name and the Friday Shoot Out url to My Town....Mr. Linky each week. My Town....Mr. Linky is where the weekly links of our members are for the shoot outs. Any one can join in the fun!


Rules? There are no rules! Just a few considerations ..... Use Friday My Town Shoot Out in your title and link back to FMTSO main blog and to My Town Mr. Linky blog. Be kind in your comments to one another and try to visit all the shooters to give encouragement and support.

This week the theme is "Favorite of all time" and it just so happens that I'm choosing a theme that I didn't participate in at the time - "Shooter's Choice" from August 27, 2010.

I don't know about anyone else who lives in a four season climate - translation: you get winter - but I'm more than ready for spring weather. So to help all of us who need a dose of warmer (but please, not too hot) weather, my "shooter's choice" is to share some photos from my archives of flora I see along my favorite walking trail. So just sit back, relax and enjoy.

trout lily

anemone

marsh marigold

dandelion seed head

I'll see all of these old friends soon.

Friday My Town Shoot Out - Yellow

The theme for this week's FSO is "yellow".

After a long winter, I welcome the prospect of yellow. About the only yellow I've seen through the winter has been on school buses and on the bridge that leads to my favorite trail.


There is some potted yellow about. These lovely blooms are on a desk in my office building.


But, after being down to almost zero snow, we had a snow day yesterday and now we're back to this, no yellow in sight.....


The calendar might say it's spring but, for the moment, Mother Nature has a different idea.

For more fun with yellow from the shoot out gang, please visit our Mr. Linky site.

A week of birds - and it's only Tuesday

It all started on Sunday with this male House Finch on our feeder.


Then today after work I popped over to Southside Park as a fellow bird nerd told me it would be worth stopping by. For starters I saw this pair of Canada Geese. They were regal but quite common around here year round.


Then I caught this Ring-billed Gull in flight with a sizeable scrap of something in it's bill.


Then finally the trip paid off - Hooded Mergansers. Left a female, right a male (crest down)and at the top of the photo a male with it's crest up.


But the sighting that caused the biggest stir in our house today happened as Geoff and I were standing in the kitchen supper time. He touched me on the shoulder, pointed to our front door and said "look!". Lo and behold....


We're hoping this is one of the pair of Mourning Doves that have nested here since the 2009. Last year we only saw one pair of chicks raised on this window sill and it was my fault. After the chick fledged I thought it would be a good idea to remove the nest so that the adults could build anew. BAD move. They didn't return to our house but set up housekeeping at our neighbours. Fingers crossed for this year.

Viva Las Vegas - part 3, the rest of the story

To round out the Las Vegas story I'll share more sights from around the Strip.

The Lobby of Caesers Palace


Sunrise


Penn and Teller signing autographs for fans in the lobby after their show at The Rio


A giant (freakishly HUGE) bunny in Crystals at CityCenter


Homage to Seigfried and Roy in front of the Mirage


The volcano show at the Mirage

Viva Las Vegas - part 2, trip to Hoover Dam

We decided we wanted to venture off the Strip and out of the city so we took a Pink Jeep tour to the Hoover Dam and the surrounding area.

The Hoover Dam was constructed between 1931 and 1936 and sits on the border between Nevada and Arizona, daming the Colorado River in order to control floods, provide irrigation water and provide hydroelectric power.



It's absolutely HUGE and I couldn't get it all in one shot.


The hydro plant looks like a tiny toy.


The white ring on the canyon demarks the prior high water mark on Lake Mead. For the past decade, Lake Mead has been experiencing the worst 10 year drought in recorded history and the water level is currently down about 150 feet.


Lake Mead

Viva Las Vegas - part 1, Bellagio

Last week we spent 5 wonderful nights at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio had come highly recommended by one of my co-workers and nothing she said could have prepared us for how wonderful it would be. So, for Part 1 of Viva Las Vegas, I'd like to share some photos I took in and around the Bellagio property.

When you walk into the lobby to register you're dazzled by this amazing ceiling installation of huge glass flowers. The registration desk is to the left and to the right (out of the shot) is the entrance to the Casino.


Here's a close-up of the ceiling detail.


During the week the decorations in the hotel were converted from Chinese New Year to Spring.




Gigantic butterflies in the Conservatory.


Our room was on the 14th floor and we had a spectacular view of the Strip and the famous Bellatio fountains. Please bear with me, I took a LOT of shots of the lake and the fountains - the moods can be so varied, depending on the time of day and the light. You will also notice the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris resort in many of these shots as it is directly across the street from the Bellagio.










A view of the Bellagio from the Strip after dark.


And finally, the serenity of the pool area. Anyone for a swim?

Bellagio Fountains - my video March 9/11

We had a wonderful stay at Bellagio in Las Vegas last week. The sound is not great on this video shot with my Canon camera - you can hear conversations and even a helicopter - but it gives you an idea of the beauty of the fountain shows.

Skywatch Friday - Woodstock Ontario Canada

Sunset, Tuesday, March 1, 2011

from the parking lot at Zehr's Plus grocery store

Woodstock, Ontario, Canada

for more sky views please visit Skywatch Friday

Friday My Town Shoot Out - the letter S

Sunset over Dundas Street, Woodstock,Ontario, March 1, 2011 

For more fun from the Shoot Out gang, please visit our Mr. Linky site here.