Mural Festival 2015

Photos: June 14, 2015

This is the third year that Montreal is holding a mural festival. St. Laurent, one of our major arteries has been closed for 11 days for several blocks with a combination muralfest, street festival and Fringe Festival. Some of the murals from previous years are still visible; others have been painted over.



It's fun to see the many different styles. Many seem to favour the slightly macabre. Sunday, the day of my walk, was the last day of the festival so most of the murals had been completed.



We did come across this work in progress. In the background is another mural.



Social commentary, abstract, cartoon - every style can be found as you walk the neighbourhood.



These are just a few of the many - it is a delight to tour the area.

Now if those graffiti ego trippers would leave these murals alone... No tagging, please!

At the Summit

Photos: June 13, 2015

My walk yesterday took me to the top of Westmount Mountain (mountain being somewhat of a misnomer - according to this site it is 201 m or 659 ft high). Still it was a good climb. I've been wearing a fitbit for some time and find it does motivate me to walk more. The climb from where I live gave me about 50 flights of stairs.



I love all the things I notice when I walk. This section used to be a road for cars. It will slowly become part of the woods under a three year plan.



Reflections and shadows- things that are not there and yet we see them. Lots to muse about as I walk...

No Respect

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I love public art. This sculpture attracted my attention when I first saw it. I featured it here. Now it is defaced by a tagger who has no respect for the work of others.

I am outraged by this attitude. And it is prevalent - whether it is defacing other people's art work or defacing buildings taggers destroy. In contrast are murals by street artists - that is something to celebrate.

Fauna: Parc-nature-de-Île-Bizard

Photos: June 3, 2015

I'm not much of a birder. I can identify the most common birds (robins, crows, pigeons...) but many others were just birds to me. After training my camera lens on the variety I saw in the park, I felt compelled to learn more. Above is an eastern kingbird. We saw several on our walk.



I am not sure what this one is. He stopped to have a drink.



There a number of bird houses around the park. This tree swallow was checking things out from the safety of his home.



while this one was flitting from tree to tree.



A barn swallow was enjoying the sunshine. It was chirping away on this tree branch.



Another eastern kingbird did not want to pose. When it stopped to groom a bit, I managed to take its picture.



It takes patience to photograph birds. It's another part of the zen experience of walking through nature. Stop, wait, focus, snap and then try again and again.

Flora in Parc Nature de l'Île-Bizard

Photos: June 3, 2015 

It has been a while since I visited the nature park on Île Bizard. I went with my friend Judy. As we both go with cameras, neither of us minds the constant stopping to look, to find the subject and just to be. We may not have added up as many steps as walking at a steady pace, but we gained in getting in that zen space of being in the moment.



It takes time to notice things. I would not have seen this snail had I just walked straight ahead. The camera stills my thoughts, focuses me.



It clears my head to see things differently, to find the ambiguous, to revel in the details.



David Suzuki says we should spend at least 30 minutes in nature each day. While I don't always manage that, I do know that even stopping to enjoy the flowers on my balcony or those indoors, calms my mind and lowers stress.

At the Quartier des Spectacles

Photos: May 26, 2015

I walked through the Quartier des Spectacles on my way to the metro after a concert of Les Boréades (not the sort usually held in this outdoor space). I love to see the side of this building - each "window" featuring a well-known musician. This is the area where the outdoor concerts are held for the Montreal Jazz Festival and many of these artists have performed in Montreal.




It was a hot night. The rows of red are fountains. Both on my way to and from the concert I saw children playing in the water - fun to see their joy.




We are fortunate in Montreal to have such a vibrant downtown, places where people can gather and enjoy the warm evenings and take pleasure in the visual delights. When festivals are on, and there are many in Montreal, this area is really hopping with crowds and music! and the fountains retreat....

Trillium Hunt

Every year I go hunting for trilliums. Perhaps hunting is the wrong word; I know where to find them. It is just that the season is so short, I never know if I might be too early or too late. Our spring this year has been unusual with a long cold spell followed by sudden heat. I almost missed the trilliums - a number of them were turning pink and starting to wither. The tree coverage has happened rapidly and soon they will all be shaded.



It is odd to think that this beautiful blossom is turning pink because it is fading. While it still looks healthy, this is a sign of it being past its prime in the last stages before it will wither and drop off.



Healthy and white this trillium still has a few days of blooming ahead.




Each year I marvel at the trillium carpet on the forest floor. They are here for such a short time; I make my annual visit to celebrate them.