Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

July 31, 2015. Some paperwork, a productive meeting, and then I took the afternoon to enjoy the beautiful warm weather to have a nice 70 km rise out to Pointe-du-Chêne and back. I just love the deep rich shades of blue in this photo; it didn't require any tweaking at all! From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Ie7piJ

July 29, 2015. Another day of spectacular flowers in the front yard. This is a single plant, looked at from directly above. Hard to ask for better. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1KACxMz

July 27, 2015. Long day in the office getting caught up on all sorts of small tasks. When I finished there was only this tractor in the parking lot. A bit surreal, but there you have it. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1JMBypy

July 26, 2015. Day of rest. Looked at lilies. Watched some baseball games. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1D0lfZu

July 25, 2015. Long trip back from Spain, with two 5-hour layovers, including this one in Toronto. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1D0liEG

July 24, 2015. Took the train to A Coruña on the north coast of Spain, overlooking the Bay of Biscay, and walked 10km from the train station to this promontory on which stands the 1st century Roman lighthouse called the Tower of Hercules . It was rehabilitated in the late 1700s and is in excellent shape, and of course, I climed the 284 steps to the top. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1RYRfDS

July 23, 2015. Mostly a day to recover and have a very long dinner with my hosts, but I also found time to take a walk around the northeast part of the city, where I found these stairs. As soon as I saw them I knew I would be climbing them. Nothing but brush and farmland on the other side; the stairs were alongside an old aquaduct that fed water into what otherwise would have been a dry valley. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1IqstIb

July 22, 2015. I walked 13 kilometers through Santiago today but this photo was taken in the Square after a nice meal (my first meal featuring squid ink) in the city centre (with live music in the background). From Flickr http://ift.tt/1IeYQmN

July 20, 2015. This is probably the closest I've ever come to an apostle, the remains of St. James, in the basement of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral os a special place, and I spent some time watching people as they arrived at their destination after days or weeks of walking (I felt a little guiilty for flying, but maybe one day...) From Flickr http://ift.tt/1SxRmkD

July 19, 2015. Jet lag day. Up bright and early at 2:30 in the afternoon. Walked 7.5 kilometres up and down hills in and around Santiago de Compestela, a beautify and lively city in the hills of northwestern Spain. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1HKrihk

July 18, 2015. Arrived in Santiago de Compestela after an extra-long trip from Moncton (sadly my flight to Madrid was delayed 3 hours, depriving me of an afternoon in that city). I had a chance to walk around for a bit in the evening getting to see a Saturday night in Spain. My first impression of Santiago is very favourable. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1HKrihi

July 17, 2015. Got a bunch of stuff done in the morning, arrived far too early for my flight, and spent quite a bit of time doing more stuff in the airport, including looking at these tables and the reflection of the airport between me and them. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1gJCPXz

July 16, 2015. Another gem from the front yard, this beautiful tiger lily is the first of what will be several dozen in the front yard this year. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Jl3tN0

July 15, 2015. It has been the hottest week of the year, so of course this is the week they hauled the old air conditioning unit off the top of our office building and hoisted a new one onto it. Made for good photos. But inside it was hard on my office plants, which are only subtropical. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1M6AfXB

July 14, 2015. This is the iris in the front yard garden. No, this is not shot with flash at night, rather, trhe iris is in bright sunlight, which makes the background dark by comparison. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1I0IB2T

July 13, 2015. A quick trip to Fredericton and a productive working lunch in Cora's on Queen street. If you order the blueberry pancakes, be careful - with the layers of cream cheese, it comes out like a large cake. Thankfully, I was not the one who ordered that (I had a modest tuna melt and fruit). From Flickr http://ift.tt/1TyGSUx

July 12, 2015. For the third year in a row, I made the 75 km bike ride to Point Fort Folly and this time found it with the tide fully out. It was a particularly rouygh ride today - there's a 15 or 20 km stretch of dirt road near the point, but whis year they ran a grader over it, presumably to repair it, but all they managed to do is chew it up, leaving it difficult and unsafe to cycle. Still, it's a beautiful area, with its own microclimate and spectacular views. They should clean it up, get rid of the garbage pit, and make it the attraction it should be. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1HVZmfN

July 11, 2015. This is the old rail bridge over the Petitcodiac, as seen from the Salisbury side, taken on my bike ride (56 km) today. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1guKVTN

July 10, 2015. I liked the way the sun caught the roses and took the picture with my phone. Unfortunately the roses didn;t come out that well. But still, it was a very nice scene. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1guKXLc

July 9, 2015. Back home, early night, pretty exhausted, took this photo of the bedroom curtains before going to sleep. One day I'll be glad I have this photo and remember what they looked like. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1JWUJT8

July 8, 2015. Wakefield, Quebec, on a beautiful July summer day. Meetings through morning and noon, but I had a couple hours in the afternoon to walk around before heading back to the city. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1HkNr7S

July 7, 2015. This is the hotel where I stayed for the all-day Portfolio retreat, as seen bright and early in the morrning. I spent pretty much the rest of he day inside the building, alas, missing a beautiful Gatineau summer day. Good meeting, though, and the time disappeared just like that! From Flickr http://ift.tt/1KRo01J

July 6, 2015. Arriving at Ottawa Airport, waiting for luggage, and I spotted this puppy which was the model for this advertisement . So I couldn't resist catching a snapshot. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1CrDOFA

July 5, 2015. Thunderstorm day today, so I was around the house most of the day. In the back yard a thicket of rose bushes has developed; it's a very impressive bunch of roses, and I'm not sure what we can do with them. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1G2arEC

July 4, 2015. Back home, did the Salisbury loop, this was some queen anne's lace up on Lutes Mountain. And a bee. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1JFWeox

July 3, 2015. Meetings this morning, bt I had time to get out this afternoon and go back to Casselman for another look around. It's about a 30-40 minute drive from NRC's Ottawa office. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1CguzIn

July 2, 2015. Spent the day in meetings in Ottawa, and then drove out to Casselman in the evening. Not much time for photos, but here's one of the scene outside my hotel window in the evening. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Ta7fjE

July 1, 2015. Canada Day in Ottawa. This is actually the first time I've every done it Ottawa style. This is Kiesza (far right) who led off the show at Parliament Hill with Hideaway . Brilliant day today walking around in thunderstorms and taking a pile of Canada Day photos. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1JyrBkH