Evening

We decided on an evening walk. First up to Summit Park to check on the state of the trilliums (the blooms are starting to emerge). The sky still was partly painting with the colours of the setting sun.



I learn through my photography adventures. Just before the sun rises and just after it sets is the blue hour. I have seen better blues but this was my first search for blue hour photos. This was taken from the lookout in Westmount.



And here is a longer view. Next time I should bring a tripod. And work more on camera settings... So much to learn.

Going to the Ballet

A passageway at Place des Arts has screens which feature light and sound exhibits. The current one, Lumen, is by three students at the school of visual and media arts at Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM).



It is always fun to walk through this passageway and see the creative use of the screens.



We were on our way to see Don Quichote - presented by the Cuban National Ballet Company. Alicia Alonso (now 94), the founder and director of the company, was in the audience. I remember learning about her when I was a child and, like many other girls, enamoured with ballet and ballerinas. I believe I saw her dance in 1967 with the American Ballet Theater.

The dancers of the Cuban Ballet are strong. It was a delightful evening - nothing too profound - but fun to be out with my daughter.

Flora and Fauna in May

Walking in Parc-nature du Bois-de-Liesse

I have rarely seen a pileated woodpecker this close (last time was from a window). It was happily pecking at some rotten wood on the forest floor, unperturbed by our presence.



They are really majestic creatures - large birds compared to their woodpecker cousins.  The forest is just waking up. Green is slowly replacing the sepia dried leaves.



This time of year I am on the lookout for trilliums. They grow quickly and last but a short time. The red ones were visible - the white ones merely buds. Only a few days more and the forest floor will be covered with their white, perky blooms.



The red flowers are hard to spot once the white ones open. There are many fewer red trilliums around. Apparently new trillium plants take up to 7 years before they start to produce flowers.



I'm not sure what this flower is.  I am just amazed at how things grow - pushing through the dried leaves of fall and finding light. Their season is short as they only last until the tree canopy fills in and covers the light.

Addendum: I'm told this white flower is Sanguinaria Canadensis or Bloodroot.

The Wild Flowers are Emerging

Walking on the mountain (Mont Royal) I found some patches of wild flowers. After our coldest April on record in over seventy years the flowers are finally emerging. I have seen these identified as dogtooth violets and as trout lilies. If anyone knows which is correct (or is there a third option?) let me know.



These bright yellow flowers could be seen poking through the dry leaves. The insects, too, are emerging. With temperatures returning to seasonal averages, the parade of seasonal flowers will march to a faster tune.

Addendum: The official name for the flowers on top is Erythronium Americanum and the yellow flowers on the bottom are coltsfoot or Tussilago.

Flowers on a Grey Day

Photo: May 2, 2016

Some days are just one photo days. A grey day with off and on light rain... a trip to the market and cooking. No thoughts of the camera - a day of waiting (not for Godot - though I have been reading that) but for my brother whom I had not seen in over a year. Good family time.

Music in the Church

We were at a concert at Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation church. I hadn't noticed these windows before. What an inviting message to musicians - this place welcomes live music.



The window in the opposite wall also had a musical instrument as the theme of the window. Both, in fact, featured instruments from the past. The acoustics in the church are great for small ensembles. The church is wood, not stone so the sound is bright without being overly reverberant.



Today's concert featured Passiflore, an ensemble made of up 3 violins (sometimes 2 violins and 1 viola) and basso continuo. The repertoire they chose was delightful and beautifully played. The music muses must have been happy.

Before the Crash

I am assuming the 1929 means the date the car was produced - imagine life before the crash and after. This car was one of three waiting outside a church - I assume waiting for a wedding party.



It looked somewhat incongruous between the two stretch limos. Just by its date this car is now a luxury. I wonder what roads it travelled, who were its owners, how it managed to stay in such good shape. And does embarking on your marriage in an old car ensure the longevity of the union? Just a bit of musing...