Hume Park

It’s the first day of summer (2024) as we know it (and I feel adequate)

Good news: My favourite season has arrived. Yay! Yes yes, climate change, heat domes, etc. I don’t care, summer is still my favourite season.

Bad news: I am still sick, though improved. I was able to go out and aboot without any issue. At home, I was coughing occasionally, mostly when sitting in certain specific positions that told my body, “Now is the time to cough.” They were all the most comfortable positions, too. 🙁

Neither good nor bad news: The weather today was very summer-like, with a high temperature of 28°C and “felt like 32”. It was pretty warm compared to what we’ve been getting. We’ll get one more day of sun before YMS (Yet More Showers). I don’t think I’ve ever seen grass so lush and green on June 20th before.

Anyway, here is another shot of Hume Park, this time the lower part.

It’s the last day of spring (2024) as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)

It was actually a pleasantly sunny day for the last day of Spring 2024, with a high of 26°C (not a record). The not-fine part is related to the allergies/cold/flu/alien incubation I currently have. I slept horribly last night, but I think I am on the mend now and will hopefully at least be back to somewhat normal by tomorrow, the first day of summer.

I will frolic about if that’s the case.

In the meantime, here is a wide-angle photo of Hume Park, with the grass unusually green for mid-June:

Signs of summer, signs of weirdness

Also, signs:

This is at the pool at Hume Park. The pool was filled a few days ago, and it being filled is one of the imminent signs of summer (the pool usually opens near the end of June).

The additional commentary is, well, let’s see. As best as I can tell, the first line is:

HUME PARK SHIRTS OFF JACZ

The second, clearly in reference to the “no trespassing” part, is more easily identified as:

IF They catch You, Especially

Both suggest interesting tales, the latter one of people being chased out of the pool during off hours, the former being less clear. I mean, one would assume shirts would be off in a swimming pool, so maybe “JACZ” is advising people on how to dress appropriately. Maybe JACZ is a perv who likes ogling naked chests. I don’t know. All I know is it’s summer tomorrow, and I better feel better than I do now.

Also, while on the same walk, I saw this historically accurate depiction of a dinosaur battle:

Trees and the river, June 9, 2024

A few photos I took on a pleasantly warm and sunny late spring afternoon with an iPhone 12 that Tim Cook is really hoping I’ll upgrade in September.

Birds on the river, March 19, 2024

These shots were taken on the first day of spring. The weather was sunny and pleasantly warm, so I grabbed my camera and went to Lower Hume Park. Lo, there was a heron out fishing in the Brunette River, and a few other birds about.

Great blue heron up close, watching for fishies
The heron about to grab a snack
A humble dandelion, looking slightly more dramatic in the bright sunlight
Female mallard sunning on a dry section of the river
A robin listens in the courtyard of my condo complex
Still listening…
Striking a pose

Mini-birding, March 2, 2024: A rare robin

Rare because it was in focus! Also, the outing was mini, not the birds. They were full-sized.

I gave my camera a thorough cleaning and took it to Lower Hume Park this afternoon to test it out and see if it would behave or go berserk.

It behaved!

I saw a Northern flicker, a pair of mallards, a bunch of robins and a song sparrow. I got pictures of all of them, but the song sparrow refused to stand still, so every shot is either an action shot, or it has its head down or facing away.

Here are three of the flicker, a robin and the male mallard.

Northern flicker searching for bugs and things.
A robin alert for worms.
A mallard gliding in a small pond that only exists after a heavy rain.

A river rages, plus birds in a field

Shot yesterday (Jan. 23) on my iPhone 12, on a gray, wet winter day.

The Brunette River, misty and rising. The tent on the far bank is now gone.
View from the bridge on North Road. The construction on the left is for the new Millennium Line maintenance yard, set to open in 2027.
Ducks in the field at Lower Hume Park. The crows and gulls got very twitchy when I stopped to take photos. The ducks just kept sticking their heads in the muck.