Getting back in the groove

As per usual, Christmas has come and gone, whether we were ready for it or not. I was mostly ready and it all went off in quite a satisfactory fashion. I’m sure I’m a trial to my family when it comes to purchasing gifts, as generally if I want/need something (usually in theart/photography or horse line) I get it. If I haven’t yet got around to buying the item for myself, good luck to anyone who tries to get it for me, as my specifications will be *very* specific as to what I need, and there would be many ways for the unwary but well-meaning to go wrong.
This being the case, I was particularly pleased when Jim followed up on a random suggestion I made about a possible gift that I would enjoy, and purchased a wonderful crow artwork for me as my Christmas gift from him. It is second from the top here. I’ve been planning a corvid and tree “shrine” in the area over the fireplace mantle, and this will round out the collection nicely. Plus he gets extra points for actually paying attention to my suggestion.
It’s not often I complain about it not being cold enough, but now that I’m getting back into photo mode, I found this to be the case over the weekend.We were driving past the river weir just around sunrise on Christmas morning, heading to the town north of the city where our local daughter and her family live. I glanced toward the shoreline and spotted a wonderful photo op, but of course I had “Nikon minor” with the smaller lens for indoor shots with me, and it wasn’t going to be up to the job. Plus we were on a bit of a timeline and it was 33 below zero. I decided I would follow up on the visuals I wanted to get (a line of waterfowl along the rim of the ice right near the open water, with billows of steam rising from the water and the rays of the sunrise shining through) over the weekend. Sunday morning I headed off with both cameras (just in case) and got myself situated for the shot. Dang. No billows of steam backlit by the rising sun. Too warm at minus 11. I did get some shots but not the ones I wanted. Word has it we’re heading back to the minus 30s for New Year’s day, so I’ll try again then. Think I’ll get some better mitt liners before then, too.
That being said, on to the shots I did get. I’m starting to be a bit less cautious about the new camera, having spent the first week tiptoeing around it worrying about abusing it like I did the last one, and am relaxing and just going out and getting shots and familiarizing myself with its capabilities.
Shot one is my “grand-dog” Brodie on Christmas morning. He is enjoying his new hedgehog, a near-exact replacement of his “precious” of several years ago. Seems to be a satisfactory substitute for the loved and lost. As per usual, when I downloaded the Christmas family photos, I found I had far more shots of the dogs than of any of the family members.
Shots two and three are from the “warm” river shot day. I worked my way home from the river the long way, and my eye was caught by these trees on the university campus (shot two) and their shadows in the warm early morning light of the sunrise. Shot three is from the other end of that day. I headed out to visit Alpac at the barn in the later afternoon, and again went home the long way to check out a herd of bison that I had spotted earlier in the year. No good bison shots that day (light was fading and they were a bit far off behind some trees) but I like this shot of the road that goes past the bison ranch (shot three). This is not a busy road by any means, and in fact I felt if I got too far off to the side I could be in trouble, but of course as soon as I stopped, a farmer in a truck appeared and I had to account for my presence. He seemed a bit puzzled as to why I would be out in the middle of the road taking pictures, but after we chatted for a bit (me having to establish that yes I was a city person but I did own a horse that lived vaguely in the area) he seemed satisfied with my credentials and continued off down the road. My experience of shooting in the country is that no matter how remote the location (and this one wasn’t actually that remote) you are never really unobserved or un-noted, so you’d better be out in rural territory with good intentions, because someone is going to be watching you.
The final two shots are from this afternoon. Since it was still warmish at minus eleven today, it seemed like a good time to try my luck at the zoo. I am never sure whether the grizzlies will be out since it seems to me they should be hibernating at this time of year, but there they were. They have dug quite an extensive multi-room den or pit in their enclosure, and were at their leisure in it when I got there. One of these young bears has only grudgingly accepted his lot as a zoo bear, and he was sleeping in one area of the pit with his back towards the viewing area. The bear in this photo has always seemed quite relaxed and philosophical about his life. He makes good use of the recreational and entertainment options of his pen, and generally lounges about seemingly quite content with his world. Today he was in the pit, his back leaning against the side of it, and his feet up on a tree stump that he was using much like a footstool. He had a small conifer branch which he was manipulating and occasionally chewing on. You can see it as he holds it up in this shot. I have a particular fondness for this bear, who exemplifies a good-natured acceptance of that which he cannot change.
A pair of baby cougars were taken into the care of the zoo earlier in the year, having been orphaned in their native home in the southwest of the province. The only previous time they were visible when I was visiting the zoo was of course one of the rare occasions I didn’t have my camera with me. That being the case, I was pleased to see them out and about today. They have lovely plush winter coats, and were having a good time being teenage cats, exhibiting much the same behavior patterns that you would see with a pair of domestic cat siblings of the same age. No lions to be seen today, so it was good to have the cougars to represent the big cats.
It will be a new year by the time I post next week. New for our calendar system, and another notch in the belt for me, as tomorrow is my birthday. I try not to dwell on the passing years one way or the other, as there’s not a lot I can do about it, other than be glad that I’m still around to *be* another year older! Onwards and upwards.