Summer Moments

Time seems to have slipped through my fingers this summer. Life is like that sometimes. Time sometimes speeds along and then it seems to fall into a morass. It takes me time to adjust to the lack of schedule of summer... no concerts, no work, no courses, just endless time to fill up. Sometimes I fill it well (I've been working my way through a music theory text) and other times hours pass with not much accomplished. Some weeks I walk a lot - my fitbit registers my many steps. Then the heat of summer settles in and I cocoon in my air conditioned home.



My walks take me all over the city. Here I passed people enjoying a cooler summer day, lingering and enjoying the outdoor space. An impromptu performance on a public piano - summer moments.



You never know who (or what) you will meet - opportunities for conversation starters! This fellow drew a crowd.



Or just times for inner dialogue.




Time for summer theatre - life moves outdoors at a leisurely pace in the summer. Even a few raindrops don't deter the majority of the audience.

August has crept up and I feel the pressure of filling up these next weeks productively... books to read before the autumn schedule imposes constraints, people to see, music to play... And get my camera out more to observe and stop and enjoy these summer moments.

Looking Around

Photos: June 14, 2015

I went to see the murals, but there was so much more to see! I always like to look at architecture, to see the details, the way buildings have character. This one also had  interesting angles, reflections and shadows - so much to catch my eye. I converted it to black and white - below is the colour version - which do you prefer?

It was a colourful day with a perfect blue sky and brightly coloured wares trying to catch your attention.



Chairs, clothing, and the aromas of street food cooking! A feast for the senses.




And people watching...This woman walked purposefully down the street, her arms behind her back. I couldn't resist the juxtaposition of this man, arms behind his back, but in much more modern attire.



Doors, gardens and more invite a stop and stare through the camera lens. I must take time to explore other areas of my city.

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.