Giving You The Bird

What can I say?  I like herons. And this one that I espied in the Halifax Public Gardens last October was heroically heronic.

I like it when they arch the neck in that classic s-curve,

or maybe it's more like a cedilla hanging off a French "c."

Here, that snaky neck is more elongated, 

but still pleasingly curvy...

stretching a little further, but still graceful, don't you think?

(reminds me of my old ballet teacher's admonitions to stretch our necks long)

The almost perpendicular pose is not without appeal.

Front on doesn't really capture a heron's best features,

but I thought the reflection made the picture interesting.

Oh, now he's got his feathers ruffled, in a huff due to the previous less-than-flattering photo.

Well! he's giving us the bum's rush
and mooning us at the same time!

Never mind, he only flew to the other side of the pond where I was able to get a few more, more flattering shots of him to feather my blog with.

I do hope, my fine feathered friends, that you will come flocking back to see them in a few days' time.

Winging something up

I had the great good fortune to get quite a few pictures of a splendid heron in the Halifax Public Gardens in October.

It was almost as if he was posing.

I caught him in many stances...in his heron trance...

and will share some more pictures of him here very soon.

Meanwhile, make like a heron

and please stand by...

Oh, Go to Halifax!

Since I got back from a fun time in Halifax with good friends, things have been a bit up in the air with me.

For one thing, I've been hunting high and low for my shoes.

Oh, and speaking of shoes, there's a very popular pub in Halifax called the Economy Shoe Shop.  It was once a real shoe store but now caters to the thirsty and hungry (well, yes, I do realize that one could hunger and thirst for a certain pair of shoes, but one would have to go elsewhere).  

Just as with shoes, there are all sorts of beers to choose from in Halifax.

With 60 varieties of brewskies on tap in this pub, one could certainly end up tap dancing around the locked door of the occupied washroom!

But a visit to Halifax is not just about beer (and shoes)...one is also encouraged to "eat like you're family"!

Clearly, this woman has brought a very large bag lunch with her,perhaps having interpreted the sign to mean "eat like you're a family"including all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and pets.

Yes indeed, the good folk of Halifax really do their best to butter up visitors

 and tempt them to stay just a bit longer than planned.

Good thing Halifax is such an interesting city to walk around,

what with all those calories to burn off.

***

I still have plenty more Halifax pix on tap but am packing up for another trip,

heading off to la belle province (Quebec)
for a couple of weeks.

Am taking my laptop with me so will try to keep in touch...

but no promises because promises are like pie crusts--

easily made (easily bought, in some cases) and easily broken

xo

Winnie the Poohed

Saw this statue of Winston Churchill in Halifax last autumn.  It was the pigeon perched on his head that particularly delighted me...

though Winnie himself looked less than amused.

***

The following just arrived by pigeon post from Hilary at The Smitten Image:

Dog Day Afternoon

At the Halifax Jazz Festival, in the free tent, it wasn't just the music that was attention-grabbing.  The onlookers were a show in themselves.  I was particularly enchanted with this young woman and her dog.

The dog's attention was elsewhere, probably wishing he could get out of the loud noise and home for a nice quiet nap.

The jazz band had a variety of tempos and moods,

 some taking us back to the groovy sixties,

while other tunes were a little more mellow and nostalgic for quieter, gentler, sepia-toned (?) times.

Our furry friend quietly and discretely expressed his opinion on some of the numbers

(see that little pink tongue sticking out and the expression that clearly shows he is not impressed? 

"Bleh," he says.)

Now he's obviously looking for a way out, while even his girl is pondering whether to stay or go.

Or maybe something else entirely is going on in the girl's mind.  Perhaps a melody has reminded her of her family, living far away while she carves out her own path on the other side of the country, or the ocean, or the world.  Dreaming of home that is no longer "home" and wondering what she's doing all alone in the middle of a beautiful summer day.  "Thank god for my dog," she thinks.  

Though it's equally possible that she's pondering what  to buy at Pete's Frootique on her way home  to her fabulous apartment where she's hosting a supper party for her very good friends tonight.

( I prefer blog posts with happy endings, don't you?)

***

Just remembered to link up with Bonnie's
Photo Art Friday 
virtual art gallery where you can see other people's creative photo editing.

Jazzed

On my recent trip to Halifax, an unexpected bonus was the happening of the Jazz Festival.  On a sunny afternoon I had the great pleasure of groovin' to 2 differently styled jazz groups under the big top down by the waterside, enjoying a refreshing glass of local brew (Garrison's Red Ale) when things got hot.  The admission was free and the music free-flowing.

Nothin' like a good drummer to lay down the back beat and keep the rhythm on track.  

A cool-dude hat can only enhance the vibe 

(Bill Stevenson Trio).

Boots the Cat could do nothing but manufacture an irresistible groove.

Here we are, horning in on some of the brass.  (I used to have a pair of shades, similar to the dude's on the right, that I bought in Paris, circa 1966! Only mine, of course, were way cooler!)

One of the percussionists did an awesome job of chanelling the John Belushi look.

My friend and I sat way at the back of the tent so the photos I took were taken at the maximum capacity of my little camera's 12 x zoom range.  When you're at the back of a venue, obviously you're going to get a lot of heads in the way of the shot.  Here I liked the patterns of the plastic chair backs and the evident engagement of the guys in front of me listening intently to the music.  Throw in the cool colours of the t-shirts, echoed by the blue shirt in the middle distance and, for me, it adds up to visual pleasure.  Sorry I can't throw in the acoustic as well.

I've laid down the base line here (pun intended, of course).  

More to come soon from my Jazz Fest experience.

Wishin' y'all a groovilicious weekend!

Light Brigade

My friends' house in Halifax is beautifully decorated, filled to bursting with all sorts of original art and craft.  Just before apéritifs one afternoon, I noticed a little patch of ephemeral art being created on the wall by the sun peeking through the blinds.

The shadow stripes turned red against the picture frame, echoing the colour of the flowers in the foreground.

Stray rays spilled beneath the shelf, 

continuing the light play above 

and repeating the stripes on the clay pot.

The clay sculpture in the corner looked on,

 laughing  in delight,  albeit rather hollowly.

The red flowers demanded a dramatic moment in the spotlight

and then burst into their solo act of art imitating art,

doing their best to look like a painting.

Not to be outdone, the clay flowers (photo on left) transmogrified into a painting of themselves (right)

(with a little editing help from me in Photoshop, that is).

Wherever you may be this weekend, I hope it is in a place filled with de--light.

***

Linking up with Bonnie's Photo Art Friday whose theme this week is "light."

Shut The Front Door!

In popular parlance these days, the expression "Shut up!" has come to signify disbelief, awe, wonder, and other such amazements, replacing the more familiar exclamations, "Oh my god" "Holy cow!" "No way!" when confronted with someone who has just uttered an unbelievably bad, good, lucky, or inane statement or, similarly, performed some impressive or dubious feat.

For the more verbally exuberant, though perhaps vocabulary-challenged, a certain eff-word, combined with "the," is often inserted between "shut" and "up" thus lending even more emphasis.  However, for more polite exclaimers, or those who don't wish to be "bleeped" while expressing themselves on television, "Shut the eff-word up!" has transmogrified into "Shut the front door!" 

As I recently experienced considerable awe and wonder when confronted by numerous firmly closed, brilliantly hued front doors in Halifax, I could think of no more fitting hymn of praise to them than

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! 

Take a tour with me and you'll see what I mean.

It is, apparently, very good feng shui to have a red front door.
Lots of juicy yang engergy, especially useful if you live near a hospital.

The main doors should look strong, be large--though in suitable proportion to the house size,
and make a bold statement. 

Although the example above is making a distinct statement,
it is still rather plain-spoken

whereas this entrance compensates for its modest door expression
with an impressively colourful foreign accent.

Colour schemes for the entrances are often contrasts of hot with cool in unusual combinations. 

Some decorators choose to temper the contrast with a neutral hue between the hot and cool colours.

This is a very grand entrance with its wide double doors, intricate Celtic-themed details, stairs leading up to it,

windows to let the light in, a hand railing (though a second one would be better), and a visually interesting, as well as structurally strong, combination of brick and wood. 

What other entrances lack in size,

they make up for with charm.

This door seems rather overpowered by the big house looming over it, but it's doing its best to be strong with its bright colour.  Personally, I think a lime green or unexpected lilac might make more of a statement.

We'll finish up our tour of doors with this heritage house entryway, just waiting to get its colour groove on!

What colour would you paint it?

Really???  Shut the front door!!!

Let's Get the Show on the Road!

After much ado, and adiuex, here's a little tour of my recent escape to Halifax.

These odd looking tour buses seem to be popping up all over the Maritimes. It would be cool if they were actually amphibious in nature, but then I guess passengers would have to be outfitted with scuba, just in case.  Well, it's not as if they don't look crazy enough already, riding around on these things!

One of the popular attractions in Halifax is the Public Gardens.  I wandered through the paths there, on my way from my friends' house to the nearby downtown area.  The picture to the left is taken from the main gates to the gardens.  I think the Latin translates to,

"Have mercy on your spouse."

The gardens make a lovely little oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Shall we take a tour?

A timeless sight anywhere is a bandstand.  There are free concerts here on the weekends during the summer.

This guy makes me a little nervous, though. 

Especially after I saw what happened to this damsel!  Target practice gone awry?  Lend a hand!

Here's a tongue twister for you: Toy boat, toy boat...tay boot, toay boyt!  Try it, you'll see what I mean.

I believe this is a tiny replica of the Titanic.  Halifax citizens were involved in the rescue and recovery of those who were aboard the Titanic when it went down.  There are 150 Titanic victims buried in Halifax, the largest number anywhere in the world, 

while 1523 others are swimming with the fishes in their watery graves. 

Well, this is turning into a cheery little post, isn't it!

How about if we leave a sweet posy in memoriam to all those we have loved and lost and continue on our way.  This is a dogwood blossom blooming merrily on a dogwood tree in the Gardens.  I know what it is (a rare occurence) because the dogwood is the floral emblem of BC, where I was born and raised.  More commonly, they're white, but isn't this a lovely pink example?

(To see my artistically altered version of this image, go here.)

I don't know about you, but I've worked up an appetite from all this strolling and pondering of life & death.

How about if we take a little break for lunch?

What could be more appropriate on the east coast than indulging in a big bowl of seafood chowder?

Bon appétit!