Flowers At The Park, and a Butterfly!

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We only knew about the car show because we went to Kildonan Park on Canada Day, early in the morning, to take pictures of flowers.  Thought I'd be clever, beat the crowd and the heat, but we got there before they even turned the sprinklers off!  Took a break for Tim Hortons and came back to some lovely, water drop laden blooms!

How nice, they're sharing!  Said the spider to the (butter)fly!

So happy, finally got a nice butterfly pic!

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Car Show!

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For a change of pace, and because I didn't have any car photos, we attended a car show on Canada Day.  Very hot day, but lots of neat cars in attendance! 

Apologies, but I don't know what any of these are!

Very cool, a rainbow!

I really liked the extreme angles on the front end of this one!

This one was one of my favorites, all Bonnie and Clyde style!

Would LOVE to know the story behind that!

Got a real kick out of the matching expressions on the doll and the car!

Another one of my favorites!

Check out that rumble seat - too cool!

A Jeep!  A Willy's Jeep!  Too cool!

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Wood Ducks at the park!

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There's always a few Wood Ducks tucked in with the Mallards at our city parks, LOVE those colors!  These pictures were taken at St. Vital Park and Kildonan Park.

Ain't he cool?

You have to look close, but you can see a bit of iridescence on this female's wing feathers.

I was surprised to see that red orbital ring on that female!

Darn!  Almost got both in the frame!

This handsome male was keeping a very close eye on his lady who was feeding up on the bank with the Mallards.  Looked like he had a broken tail feather.

Love the spotty belly!

Another look at the broken feather.

 

 

A different male.

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Dancing Cranes!

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We don't see Sandhill Cranes every year, but this was a great year for them!

The best sighting was this pair, who decided to do a bit of dancing for us!  I didn't catch any of the exciting bits, hops and such, but it was still fun to watch! 

This next one is DEFINITELY my favorite!

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Chipping Sparrow!!

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Just popping by to say hello, check out my New Years (okay, day after new years) visitor, a Chipping Sparrow!  First time I've seen one of these cuties later than JUNE!  Looking over my records, that seems unbelievable, but all my sightings are reported for only May and June!  How odd...  This little one threw me for a loop, for sure!  Caught my eye in a bunch of House Sparrows, but couldn't get good looks, just the red cap, a line through the cap, and light beak.  My first thought was Juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow, second was American Tree Sparrow, it wasn't until I saw that eyeline that I realized it was a Chipper!  Pretty cool, and a darn good start to the year!

That House Sparrow on the other side of the feeder looks freakin' HUGE!



S/he was quite active.  Got chased by the House Sparrows a fair bit, but always came back.  Stay warm, little chipper!

And yes, the feeders have been refilled! 

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