The Art of Stillness

In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still. 

Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness 

Photos of the Week

I'm so happy that spring is finally arriving and the cold sterile days of winter are past.

I've been watching eagerly for the arrival of the crocuses. I checked on Friday April 20 and couldn't find any signs. But by Sunday April 22 they had started to push up out of the ground.





The next day they were a bit higher. However, I was checking for them on my way to work, early morning, so the flowers weren't open. I imagine they were opening later in the warmth of the day.



The gophers are out and about. This one let me get a little closer than most.



Those claws look fit for digging.



The first of the perennials are emerging at Innovation Place. The gophers usually feed on these since they're some of the first greenery, but they don't seem to have found them yet.



And the first of the trees are starting to flower. This was in the morning:



And by the end of the day they had already progressed quite a bit: (same branch)



And here is two days later. It would be interesting to see a time-lapse of the process.



A group of Bohemian Waxwings has been hanging around Innovation Place, eating last years fruit:



and juniper berries:



and drinking from the puddles:



And my friends the jackrabbits (with dirty feet!)



This one was digging in the dirt and finding something to eat. It looks like some new dandelion leaves, perhaps it's the dandelion roots as well. Occasionally it would roll in the dirt as well, but I didn't catch any photos of this.





The other morning it was a pair of Canada Geese. This morning it was a pair of Mallards checking out the pond.



Last spring there was a big "outburst" of water boatmen in the pond. So this year I've been watching for them. Up to now I'd only seen the odd one, although still impressive that they can swim around amongst the ice. On my way home this day there were a few groups of them trying to get out of the water onto some floating bark. I'm not sure why since they usually stay in the water. Maybe to warm up in the sun?



They're quite attractive if you look at them close up. I've also been watching for the fishing spiders but haven't seen any yet.

And of course, the pelicans are a true sign of spring in Saskatoon.



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Signs of Life

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. 

- Hal Borland 

Amazing how the pelicans show up exactly when the weather warms up.



I didn't notice them at the time, but the reflection make a good backdrop for this pelican in flight.



From a distance I thought this was one of the Common Goldeneye that hang around all winter. But through the telephoto I could see the red beak and slightly different coloring of a Common Merganser.



The jackrabbits are looking a little scruffy as they shed their thick white winter coat and expose their new tan summer colors.



They're pretty tame around Innovation Place, but still a little suspicious of the paparazzi.



A pair of Canada Geese were checking out the island in the pond at Innovation Place. So far none have decided to nest there. Probably a little too much pedestrian traffic. I love the patterns their feathers make.



I couldn't resist a few last ice shots. You wouldn't think it, but there is actually life under that ice - the first few water boatmen are already swimming around.





So much life on this island - pelicans, cormorants, gulls, and Canada Geese, safe from people, dogs, cats, coyotes etc.

I haven't found any crocuses yet, but other buds are bursting.



These were all taken with the Tamron 18-400 lens on my Nikon 7200.

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Waxwings

Through my home office window I could see a bunch of birds in the trees. It turned out to be a flock of waxwings. I always get Cedar and Bohemian waxwings mixed up. I assumed these were Cedar but when I went to confirm, I found they were Bohemian. The Cedar waxwings have a yellow belly, whereas the Bohemian have rust red under their tail. (Cornell says the red under the tail can be hard to see, but it was quite obvious in the photos.)



I grabbed my camera and opened the window to get a few shots. With the window open I could hear them chittering. I didn't get any great photos but it was fun to watch them.



They were obviously eating the berries in one of the trees, I'm not sure what they were finding (if anything) in the other trees. There were even some on the ground that appeared to be scooping up and eating snow.



Suddenly, without any obvious trigger, they all flew away at once.