Early fall is pretty. I’ll savour it now before the trees get all nekkid.
A few shots from yesterday’s run (but not the run itself)
nature
Some trees and a thought (not about trees)
First, this photo I took midway down the path to Lower Hume Park, showing trees and the park further below beyond them. I like the spot of sun on the centre tree.
And looking at the photo, which nicely obscures that it was taken in the middle of an urban sprawl…
…I was reminded of an infection I got back in 2018. That might seem odd, and it is. Let me explain (or read this post, because I tend to chronicle all of my health issues and injuries for some reason). It was a kidney infection, which turned out to be a much gentler version of another I would develop six years later. This first one still resulted in me not being able to walk very fast as without a lot of discomfort while I recovered. Being forced to slow down made me pay more attention to my surroundings and I started snapping photos of local scenery and especially flowers. I dubbed this “flower therapy” because I found it very soothing to find some flowers, frame them, then snap a few shots.
And I still find it soothing. Lining up the shot of the trees above put me in an almost meditative mood. I’m sure there’s some science about chemicals being released into my brain. Maybe just plain old dopamine. Whatever it is, I like it, and it’s a simple pleasure I still indulge in eight years later, even without any infections (that I know of).
An artsy mudscape
Shot on July 4 at Piper Spit. I’ve opted not to include it in the (coming soon™) gallery, but still felt it was worth putting out there.
And for the curious, here’s the original for comparison:
More black and white nature
I don’t have any photo editing apps on the new PC yet, so I decided to use the built-in Photos app to take some recent shots and make them all arty and black and white. The results are not bad.
All shot on my iPhone 12, which has half-forgotten it’s a phone in its old age.
A reflection (in a puddle)
Shot today while out and aboot.
I used my iPhone 12, which has developed the interesting habit of sending all phone calls to voicemail and sometimes not even letting me know someone has called. More on this later!
Lafarge Lake, black and white, November 22, 2025
I was in the area of Lafarge Lake on Saturday and despite the weather being rather soggy, took the time to stroll the 1.2 km path around the lake. I saw a surprising number of waterfowl, including:
- American Coots
- Buffleheads (a pair of males)
- Canada Geese
- Hooded Mergansers
- Mallards
If the weather had been better and I’d had my camera, I could have gotten some decent shots. As it was, I took some scenery pics. Here’s one I converted to black and white to be all artsy.
Lafarge Lake used to be a quarry, which makes its adoption by so many species even nicer to see.
It’s that leafy time of year again
And here they are:
And a bonus shot of the Brunette River, shot from a different perspective, as the usual spot looked quite muddy/slippery/fall-into-the-river-y:
More assorted fall photos, October 29, 2025 (and thereabouts)
Shot over the past few days using my 150-year-old iPhone 12.
More fall shots, October 26, 2025
Apart from The Rains, I quite like the middle of fall.
A leaf’s end, while seguing from colour to black and white
Shot today, post-run.
A few more fall fotos, October 17, 2025
Taken before and after my run today, and shot on my iPhone 12, now five generations behind the curve (and loving it).
Early October clouds
Ominous!
The weather has been pretty typical of early October so far, though. Summer was also surprisingly normal, not too hot or humid. I do wonder if we’re being set up for an extended period of The Rains or lots of snow (boo, hiss). For now, though…it’s fine!
