Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

May 30, 2021. This is a view of Larose Forest west, the first time we've walked along this hiking trail near Limoges. It did not disappoint, especially with some rare ladyslippers evident along the trail. Here's the full set: www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_downes/albums/7215771930601... We wallked 6 or 7 km. https://flic.kr/p/2m2Gmdh

May 29, 2021. I have no idea what these purple flowers are. I saw them on the side of the road near the eastern Larose forest on a bike ride, and they were striking (I took a number of photos). Then, from the same location (basically standing in the ditch by the side of the road) I took photos of another four types of flower and a butterfly. One more stop for lunch later on, where I got another butterfly photo, and that was my photography for the day on a brisk and very pleasant 52km ride. Visited family in the evening with some St. Hubert chicken. Very nice. https://flic.kr/p/2m2PSSr

May 28, 2021. This is a tiny white flower growing near the back of our back yard (see the blades of grass as a size comparison), This photo replaces the one I actually took of the same flower on Friday, because I accidentally deleted it. I spent all day Friday focused on the list_records() function, getting the JSON API output right (I built a viewer to assist in that) and then formatting the text in client-side Javascript. It all went pretty smoothly and I'm happy with the outcome. https://flic.kr/p/2m2sFCN

May 27, 2021. This is looking down into a parking lot rose at the Timmies in Gloucester. Just a short walk today; my lower ab muscles are still bothering me. The highlight for the day is the Jay-Yankees double header (still on as I type this). https://flic.kr/p/2m28cmi

May 26, 2021. I don't know what this flower is but I found it on a forested hill overlooking the Nation river on my short daily walk. Today was a bit of a wash as I struggled with some code to make my find function work properly. This should be easy, but it never is. https://flic.kr/p/2m1Myrw

May 25, 2021. I spotted this tiny lodgings for insects along the road just outside Limoges on my longest bike ride of the year. In all I put in 55km wrapped around a short visit to see family in Embrun (and yes, they're doing fine). I'm still very bruised from last week, but there's no real lingering pain from it (but my ride irritated my lower abdomen, so there's no relief yet). https://flic.kr/p/2m1PBqT

May 24, 2021. We spotted this mallard on our hike in Pinhey Forest North today (Greenbelt trail 31, near the Nepean Sportsplex). Ironically, it's the only photos I shot without using the new macro lens. But that's OK, there are many beautiful shots on the full photo set here: www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_downes/albums/7215771926457... https://flic.kr/p/2m1pron

May 23, 2021. This is at the far back of our back yard, where it's shady and damp. I took it with the macro lens but it's large enough the 50 would have done just as well. We were planning to hike today but being tired and sore I figured we should postpone it until tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit beat up these days (the bruise on my leg has been growing and now almost encircles my mid-thigh). Watched the Jays lose in a gut-punch of a game and made a video. https://flic.kr/p/2m1jxyA

May 22, 2021. I was out today taking photos of small things, including this bee on some lilacs near Reveler Conservation Area. I'm getting better with the new macro lens, but like everything it takes practice. You can see them all here . Went for about a 50km ride today, still sore in places but feeling well all things considered. https://flic.kr/p/2m14Pgw

May 21, 2021. The macro lens arrived today and this is one of my first few shots with it, our resident toad in the back yard. Today was supposed to be a vacation day, but it was all messed up because I didn't get enough sleep, missed a meeting that had been rescheduled because I missed that meeting as well (ack!) and waited all day with no music or distraction for a knock on the door (and in the end they never knocked, they just dropped off the package). At least I completed my No Man's Sky expedition. And took some photos. https://flic.kr/p/2kZMVJs

May 20, 2021. If you look carefully you can see a beetle knee-deep in the white flowers. This is the ash in our back yard. Yesterday's bike ride left me a little sore so I took the day off today but should be back out tomorrow - I'm taking a couple of days around our long weekend to give myself a five-day break. https://flic.kr/p/2kZFPqg

May 19, 2021. This is a fungus growing on a cut tree near a small unnamed creek just north of St-Albert. I was able to retrieve my bicycle today from the Russell Fire Station and felt well enough to do a loop to St-Albert and back. I've been pretty productive this week, doing writing for three separate projects. Not much coding, though. https://flic.kr/p/2kZGSRV

May 18, 2021. This is a look inside our tulips on the front lawn. It was taken with my new 50 mm lens, a replacement for the one destroyed in my crash on Saturday. The photo also benefited from a polarized filter, HDR and Topaz Denoise AI. After all that, the colours *should* be deep and rich. Other than that I didn't really get out today but I think I'll be able to get my bike back tomorrow and I should be out and about by the weekend. Maybe earlier. https://flic.kr/p/2kZp85B

May 17, 2021. This is the weir on the Nation Rivcer at Casselman. I took a 2km hobble there and back this afternoon to try to work my aching muscles back into shape. Today started out with back-to-back meetings first thing, then I got some project writing done and the newsletter. Not bad, considering the weekend I had. https://flic.kr/p/2kZesiY

May 16, 2021. The lilacs in the front yard are almost in full bloom. This might have been my 50mm lens's last photo, as it appears to have been a victim of yesterday's crash - the glass just popped out; I pushed it back in to take the photo, but it's not like it's really usable in this state. Today was a bit of a recovery day today as I did nothing but putter on the computer and watch the ball game. We got new bird seed this week and were rewarded with new birds - the gold finches really like the mix, and we also had a pair of white-crowned sparrows (see my photo stream on Flickr for photos). https://flic.kr/p/2kYW6DG

May 16, 2021. It was a beautiful warm sunny Saturday, perfect for a bike ride. I thought I might visit family; there was no answer when I called so I figured I'd swing around Russell and see if they were in on the way back. I never made it past Russell; a big black pickup squeezed me toward the curb right in the centre of town and then my front wheel fell straight down into a gap in a sewer, flipping me and pinning me to the road. My leg was bad enough and I was stunned enough to require an ambulance ride to Ottawa General, but the x-rays turned out negative and I took an Uber home. That was my day, but I will say, my experience renewed my confidence in the health care system. I've had zero experience in the past with our whole system of trauma response, and am not looking forward to a repeat, but this was uniformly high-quality expert care. It could have been so much worse. An hour of so earlier, I stopped on the highway to photograph this piece of farm equipment; as I stood ...

May 14, 2021. I liked the way this small cluster of apple blossoms were set against the trunk of the tree. This was taken on a short walk during a Costco trip. I had a couple of meetings today and did some project writing, along with the usual newsletter articles. https://flic.kr/p/2kYSY56

May 13, 2021. I was sure a couple years ago that the crabapple tree was not long for this world, but it has rebounded and this year has given us a spectacular blossom. I finished up the autopost feature today (which was more complex than I would have liked, and meant I couldn't get out for a bike ride). I also took Andrea to the dentist. And I ordered a new macro lens so I'll be taking beautiful close-ups starting some time in June. https://flic.kr/p/2kYu9MV

May 12, 2021. I was able to get away for a brisk bike ride at the end of the day. This is the Little Castor River where it crosses a back road near Casselman. Today was Andrea's vaccine day, so now we're both partially protected (second jabs for both of us are in August). Started work today reinstating the autopost feature in gRSShopper; this time I have the framework to make it reliable and useful. https://flic.kr/p/2kYpkbe

May 11, 2021. I saw a number of pink trilliums in Forest Park today on a bike ride after work (which for the record was cold and wet). Got some paperwork done this morning and wrote a blog post this afternoon; a good day overall. The 30 km bike ride in the rain was just a bonus. https://flic.kr/p/2kXWGDZ

May 10, 2021. These tiny flowers (see blades of grass for comparison) grow all over our front lawn and back. Far better than plain grass! Today started with a presentation to EDEN, and in the afternoon I wrote a section for a report on AI for learning in the public service. https://flic.kr/p/2kXKCqq

May 9, 2021. We went for a hike in Pinhey Forest South today and found parts of the trail a little, um, wet. We had to trek through the brush to detour around this flooded bit. Still, it was a nice day, only a little rain and we found a lot of variety in our 7k walk. Evening: prepared slides for tomorrow and watched the Blue Jays lose. https://flic.kr/p/2kXH59P

May 8, 2021. Riding in the rain on gravel today I discovered this hidden gem behind a cedar hedge half way between Tayside and Moose Creek. It's on a little back road called Norman Drive, and there are several other beauties along this rode. Overall, went just over 40 km today, a good training run. https://flic.kr/p/2kXtsFz

May 7, 2021. This is my well-worn Blue Jays cap sitting on the shelf behind my chair at the kitchen table. As you can see, the cats use that shelf a lot. Kind of a busy day today, all indoors, as I did a meeting and got actual working versions of gRSShopper in Docker - for real this time! https://flic.kr/p/2kXp1Nh

May 6, 2021. These believe it or not were in the parking lot at a Tim Hortons. Nice day, a little cool, but good enough for a short walk. Did a disastrous video in the morning, then spent the afternoon figuring out what went wrong in the morning. Yes, I'll be trying again. https://flic.kr/p/2kWZ1D3

May 5, 2021. The crabapple tree in the back yard has appeared to have regained its health and looks like it will give us a full tree of blossoms this year. If the photo appears a bit dark it's because it was taken outdoors on another cold, wet and grey day, not suitable for anything. Still, I corrected some longstanding bugs in gRSShopper. https://flic.kr/p/2kWScHR

May 4, 2021. This is the Nation River at the boat launch in St-Albert. The launch is still closed for the winter season but I entered under the gate to take a short break by the water. I had a meeting and finished my evaluation and wrote some good newsletter posts and had time at the end of the day for a brisk 26km round trip on the road bike. As you can see, it was cool and grey and windy during a short-lived gap in the rain showers. Not complaining a bit. https://flic.kr/p/2kWCUJc

May 3, 2021. It was chilly and rainy all day but the tulips in the front yard added a nice splash of colour to the outdoors. I meanwhile spent the day chasing down a stupid Javascript problem that came out of nowhere to afflict my web project. It's like that old saying repeated on social media today: "Give a man a program and he'll be frustrated for a day. Teach a man to program and he'll be frustrated for the rest of his life." https://flic.kr/p/2kWzSNG

May 2, 2021. This is a white trillium, Ontario's floral emblem, blossoming alongside the western train in Ottawa's Greenbelt. This is the first time we've walked the trail. I have dozens of beautiful photos from the 13 km route from the Fallowfield rail station to the Rideau River and back (you can find them here though it will take a bit to upload them all). It's the longest walk by far we've taken since I hurt my back. https://flic.kr/p/2kWvuAE

May 1, 2021. I was just riding by on a small dirt road and the white cow to the left came trotting up to greet me, followed by the other two, so I had to stop and say hi. It was cold and windy today but I put 40 km on the gravel bike. My back still bothers me but it's doing a lot better. Meanwhile, my highlight for the day was finishing the No Man's Sky Expeditions challenge and winning a gold S-class fighter. Sweet. I name it Pelican. https://flic.kr/p/2kW5FEp

April 30, 2021. If you look closely you can see large white flakes of snow. It didn't stay but that's an indication of how awful the weather was. I finished off what was a pretty hard week by recording a video and learning about the HTML canvas element. https://flic.kr/p/2kW2aiV