Bluffer's Park

What's this now?  Could it be that I'm actually writing a blog post?  Before any of you panic, I want you to realize that nobody is putting a gun to my head.  You can all relax.  I just realized that this something I need to be doing far more often, and there's no reason that I have to use this blog solely for sharing vacation photos and stories.  I should be practicing my photography more often, just as I should be practicing my writing more often.  I also know myself too well to realize that if I don't post some photos and provide a small write-up within minutes of getting home that it will never happen.  So, in the spirit of self-improvement, here's a trip I took today, just moments ago, only a short drive from home.

The outing was actually Jay's idea, so all credit goes to him for this.  We drove down to Bluffer's Park, which is right on the lake here in Scarborough, and provides a great view of both Lake Ontario and the spectacular Scarborough Bluffs.  It drizzled on us a bit, but when the temperature manages to claw its way above zero in January you don't let a little rain stop you from getting outside.

I'm going to start things off with some pictures of ducks, but I feel the need to clarify one thing: there were people throwing seeds just a few feet from where I was standing.  I am neither carrying a 1200mm lens nor a stealthy hunter.  Oh well, I had to take the opportunity when it presented itself.

Mallard ducks really are spectacular.  They're not shy when people are throwing seed around, but I'm still thrilled to be able to get up close.

The oft under-appreciated female Mallard.  She may not have an iridescent head, but I think this plumage is spectacular all the same.

I feel like this is a metaphor for something...

We eventually moved on from the easy-pickings and wandered around the park.

The stark beauty of the Bluffs in winter.

It's a little unnerving being at the very base of these bluffs.  You're wandering around on a carpet of bluff chunks, and when the wind blows you can see little trails of dust detach themselves from the sides.  People die here by walking too close to the upper edge and causing it to give way, but I'm not sure the bottom is any safer.

Froze a splash of water... you may have to enlarge this photo to get the proper effect.

This bicycle has seen better days.

I couldn't get close enough to these guys to get a really good shot, and the fact that they were swimming away didn't help.  Going to post this shot on Facebook and see if Dad can help my identify them.  I really don't know my birds.

Further out in the lake there were dozens of them!

Caught a couple of geese coming in for a landing.

There you go folks.  Just a reminder that you can always take a mini-vacation right in your own back yard.  Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!

Photo Round-up - Part 2

Back again!

Having covered the night sky contributions to my photo collection, I'm now going to post some of my favourite pictures from the rest of the Whitehorse trip.

Starting off with Euphy at Muktuk Adventures, visiting the sled dogs.

Their batch of puppies: Mork, Mindy, and Gilligan

I'm still not clear on how I managed to get Euphy to ever leave this place...

Our mighty Ford Focus.  Renting a car up there was a great decision.  It really have us the freedom to explore, and we had a great time doing just that.

We wandered around an area that had been devastated by a forest fire decades earlier.  The trail led us to this beautiful overlook.

Zoomed in shot of glaciers in the distance.

The colder temperatures have a serious impact on the number of insects, and the amount of time that they're active.  This means that things like dead/burned trees don't decay at the rate that they would further south.

The results of my ill-advised trip to the lake.  The road got so bad that we weren't able to push through, and we ended up stuck in the mud.

Elk at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.  It was an incredible place to visit, an absolute must-see for anyone in the area.

Where the buffalo roam.

The deer were not particularly shy.

Ground Squirrels are everywhere up there.  I managed to get this shot with the zoom lens...

...Euphy managed to get this shot by walking up to the squirrel and sticking her cell phone in his face.  Tame animals will have a substantial impact on the necessary equipment for wildlife photography.

We were very lucky to see this lynx.  They are shy at the best of times, and like to stick to cover.  Our success was due in large part to the lack of foliage.  September really was the perfect time to visit.

There's only one moose in the whole park, and we were fortunate enough to see him.

Boreale Mountain Biking Lodge is a great place to enjoy a pint.

They also had dogs... Euphy seemed pleased with this.

The view from a small hill above the lodge.  They call these peaks The Seven Sisters.

Emerald Lake, just south of the Mountain Biking Lodge.

They couldn't fit "Carcross Not-Technically-a-Desert" on the sign.

The "desert" stretching out before us.

Carcross.

Our time on horseback.

So there you have it folks!  I was able to type up a number of stories from the trip while we were there, but posting photos wasn't in the cards.  I'm now caught up on Whitehorse, and ready for the next adventure.  I'd like to think that I'm learning from all my attempts to blog while on the road, and I remain confident that one of these days I'll have a trip where every day culminates in a blog, complete with photos.  One of these days...

Photo Round-up - Night Sky Edition

Howdy folks!  I realize that I'm way overdue for a recap of my photos from Whitehorse, but I'm hoping that "better late than never" still applies.

Blogging with photos turned out to be more difficult than I'd anticipated while in the Yukon, due entirely to my poor choice of equipment.  Unfortunately I'm also terribly lazy, so once I got back to Toronto I didn't jump right on the computer and get some photos posted here.  My apologies.  It's time to get caught up now.  I've got quite a few pictures I'd like to show you, so I'm going to break this up into two posts.  This first one will focus entirely on the night sky photos that I took.  I absolutely love taking night sky photos, which is a terrible choice of hobby for someone who lives in the city.  Still, it was such a treat getting up to the Yukon to get some shots.  We were extremely lucky to have both clear skies and active Aurora while we were up there, and so I got some photos that I'm really pleased with.  The bulk of these are coming from our first three nights while we were staying at the Sundog Retreat, but the last two are from our one night at the Boreale Mountain Biking Lodge.  Since they don't really need any explaining, here you go: