a week in the life of

Finding ways to make the most of each day and appreciating all that is good is my outlook and in this post I share what a few of those days looked like for this past week. Sometimes it takes work but that work always pays off.   

watercolour painting

I purchased this watercolour sketchbook.  

It measures 8 inches by 8 inches in size, has a hard cover, the pages are 140 lb/350 g.  

I have been looking for new ways to render mountains.  I felt brave enough to paint in my new book without practicing on other paper first.  The sky was easy while the mountain was not.  It was a hot mess but I learned before that you do not give up, you carry on through the process. Once the mountain was complete, I breathed a sigh as I knew the rest would be simple.  I like the look of the mountain and will try this method again.    

For another technique to paint mountains, I picked the Dolomites to render.  In June of 2019, I spent a week hiking in these mountains and have many gorgeous photos.  I used a few of them to come up with this painting.  Each hike that I did, I got to stop by a rifugio to sip a beer and savour a strudel.  

full moon at Confluence Park

There are two full moons this month.  This is the first!  I got up and out early for an urban hike where I would have good opportunities to capture the setting moon and the rising sun.  Others were out & about in the same area doing the same thing.   We did not want to be able to see something like this to just pass by unnoticed.  

moon setting into the birth forest

and a new day dawns with hope & promise for all that is good

kayaking

It was good to see the water level was much higher than my last visit to Bowness Park for kayaking.  I wonder do the parks people somehow raise the level, maybe with a hose taking water from the river.  I wonder this, because we have had no rain to fill the lagoon or canals.  It was a gorgeous morning to be on the water paddling laps around the lagoon and up and down the canals.  I hope to get back here in a couple of weeks.  

birding

Being into August now, soon the birds will begin to migrate south.  I had to squeeze this outing in as the days were passing by and life's happenings were taking up some time.  As I approached the trails, fog hung over both the meadows and the water.  It was crisp, there was a chill in the air and it was a tad hazy from smoke that blew in from the wildfires.  I hoped for some sweet sightings but nevertheless I knew walking here would be good for me.  As the minutes went on, sighting after sighting after sighting brought much joy!

Red Tailed Hawk

Mom and here two fawns

White-Breasted Nuthatch having breakfast

Eastern Kingbird (from its behaviour, I believe this is a young one waiting to be fed)

Black-Crowned Night Heron (seeing this is a "lifer" for me)

House Wren (Does it look grumpy?)

day dawns on Nose Hill

I was late getting to the spot up on Nose Hill where I like to watch the sun rise.  From this location, I waited for it to rise up through the trees. This was my sunrise sighting for today.  It was hot already with no breeze to cool down.  There was humidity in the air but nothing came from that.  It always surprises me  how many other people choose to start their day in the same way I do.  I am never ever alone up here yet with the Hill being so vast, I am never ever crowded by others.