looking up

I like when things are looking up and I like looking up things and just plain looking up!  This past while it feels like life is looking up.  It took motivation and work, it took putting plans in place, it took being optimistic and always looking on the bright side, while at times it took looking up things to find ways to make sure that life could be looking up.  

While life it looking up, I am doing lots of looking up.  That comes with the territory of being a planner, a birder plus being interested in trees and cloud formations. This past while, while just plain looking up, I admired how trees created canopies.  A few weeks ago the canopies were full and colourful with beautiful blue peeking through.  This is my creation of that canopy creation!  

Today's plan was to venture down to Carburn Park where I could do lots of looking up.  I would be looking up for birds with hopes I would have success. The local bird count is dismal.  What's here now will probably stay for the winter.   

Three Siberian Larch Trees are near the entrance to the trail leading to the river. Two have lost most of their needles yet this one remains vibrant, a few bright lights help with the vibrancy.  Parks People are getting winter decorations in place while the weather is still user friendly.  

I like visiting here to see vistas like this! 

While meandering along, I was looking up more than looking anywhere else, that was until I heard a splash.  This muskrat appeared a few seconds after I heard the splash, then he was gone just as quick with another splash.  One of the things I ended up looking up was why do their tails stick straight out of the water sometimes.  I learned it's for balance. 

 

I spent some time looking up at this male Downy Woodpecker.  

I wanted my photo to show the red, so I had to pack my patience while he moved about. 

While looking up at this Black-capped Chickadee, 

I ended up snapping the shot at the split second the sun shone in its eye.  

At another location while looking up because I heard a sound, a Doe darted towards me. She scared me so I took off in the other direction while she just as quickly followed me.  Finally she darted again but this time into the woods.  I returned from where I came to see if I could discover what that sound was that I heard.  Looking up was not needed, there stood a Buck right off the trail.  It scared me so I took off in the other direction but thankful it did not follow me.   

A little later I spotted the Buck again and he spotted me! I learned the locals call him "Downturn".  One of the small antlers growing off the main antler is curled downwards which is very unusual.  They always grow upwards. I was happy the Doe was elsewhere and all that darting was done.  

I spoke too soon!

Not long after the Doe & Buck episode, I saw a female Mallard Duck dart after the male.

There was not much birding activity that had me looking up today.  I mentioned at the first of this post that awhile back the tree canopies were full and colourful with beautiful blue peeking through.  Now that the trees have lost most of their leaves, today while looking up I didn't see full and I didn't see colourful but I certainly saw lots more beautiful blue peeking through!  I created this painting to make a pair of paintings showing tree canopies then and now.

There is so much to see and learn wherever and whenever you are doing some sort of looking up!