My Only Photo Journey

Winter Wonderland, Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-29T22:40:00.000-05:00

Another year is over. I think it was a good year after all for us here. I was not very busy on myonlyphoto blog; however, I continue to photograph everything and anything. I am now carrying two cameras on my shoulder, the Canon 7D and Canon 20D, which I fixed not too long ago. I am still hovering around my town, with Matthew on my side, as I cannot go far from home. I think it would be a little too much for a three year old.

My focus this year was where I live. We have very rich history here in town and we are surrounded by beautiful nature trails. It will take ages to explore all so I am going to continue to focus my photographic energy in that area.

The above photo shows our local picnic pavilion in the Sheppard's Bush Conservation Area, which is about 65 acres in size and has over 3 km of hiking trails. Sheppard's Bush also has a maple syrup evaporator hut. As I said our town has so much and I have not seen all yet, one of them never attended the maple syrup making festivities.

The beauty about the winter is that you get this beautiful black and white effect that surrounds warm objects. The first photo is only cropped, no editing was done. The natural wood color makes this photo very magical. However, I discover new editing tool in Google Photos and tried some of the effects. I thought I show off my experiment, the second photo. Whoever comes up with the editing algorithms is doing wonderful job and making my life easier.

Happy New Year 2012!

'A new year is unfolding

- like a blossom with petals curled tightly

concealing the beauty within.'

Suspended, A Leaf

2011-10-20T23:36:00.001-04:00

It is not just the dancing colorful leaves that make autumn so interesting. It is a season full of spiders, mushrooms, butterflies and fungi. Thousands of subjects to photograph.

I am so pleased that many of you still visit me despite of my low posting. Every day I tell myself I will go for posting marathon, but then when the night comes all I can think of is sleep. I did not give up on photography. I carry my camera with me most of the time, sometimes two and sometimes all three of them (one is just point and shoot).

Also, for a low price of just under 200 dollars Canadian, I was able to fix my Canon 20D. They never claimed that it was the number of shutters, all it was it needed major overhaul and probably was shorting somewhere. I am missing probably one more and important lens, macro lens and I will be set for many years. Suggestions are welcome.

No I wasn't that lucky to photograph the falling leaf. It is very easy to spot hanging leaves on the spider webs during the fall season. Since the web is nearly invisible, one can be fooled, and not I am not suspending my blog. I may take a break such last, but I will be always back.

My Matthew continues to grow. We wander around the town streets, parks and we are regular visitors to our local library. My parents borrowed my small point and shoot camera for their trip to Poland, which was also used at home by Matthew. So now he is getting hands on my DSLR. He likes the zooming effect when looking through the view finder. He is almost 3 1/2 years old.

Photo was taken at Thronton Bales Conservation Area, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.

English Garden Confessions

2011-07-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

We are very lucky to have many nice attraction in our town, especially Merlin's Hollow, the English garden that is free and open to public four times a year. The English garden has gardens within. Each has its own character or theme. These are some of the photos of the flowers I captured. I probably captured over 80 different species, but believe or not the garden has over 1500. That is a lot, and it is only on 1 acre of land.

What confessions you may say? Well I have not been here for a while. Life is busy and keeping us out of trouble. I am still with Matthew. He is not going to school this year, but next year. I better enjoy this time even more. I know I will miss him.

Oh, I forgot about the confessions. The confession I have is that I started a local blog in our town Living In Aurora. I noticed that over the 13 years lot changed in our town. So for the record, I started to post pictures locally from our town and write. I write my opinions. I try to stay away from politics, as it is very confusing topic to be involve in, but I vote.

I felt like I was walking the streets and trails and saw so much. I started to share. I started to see the growth, so I started to take more pictures. I started to see flaws in our town, so I started to get involved. I think it was time for me to raise my opinions publicly.

I guess you know why I have been absent here. Yes I been spending more time there. But no worries, this blog My Only Photo and Story Blog was born with Matthew and I am not leaving the premises. I may post less, and visit less, but I will be here.

I hope you enjoyed my English garden flower showcase for today.

Protective Males - Red Wing Black Bird & Canada Goose

2011-06-07T23:55:00.001-04:00

I am always on the lookout for the new birds, but I am out of luck this year. Same birds as last year - bunch of Red Wing Black Birds and Canada Geese. Not to mention that their population have also increased more than usual.

We also have American Robins that are the most common birds hanging out around the residential areas. I remember one incident when in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia many moons ago, we met a man walking back from the four hour trail. He told us what he saw - a moose, a bear and one American Robin. We smiled. I don't really mind American Robins, because they have a very pleasant song, but I am starting to mind too many photos of them.

So far I was able to see hummingbirds only once. I found them in a local trail around my house. Saw them for few seconds and they were gone. Every year they come to see my chestnut tree, but not this year because the tree is already loosing flowers and the nuts are starting to form.

But what can I say, having the usual is better than nothing. Here on the first photo is a female Red Wing Black Bird. Amazing contrast in plumage between the female and the male red wing. Followed by the photo of a screaming or signing Red Wing Black Bird male. They usually make lot of noise when people pass by their nests. Males are very protective.

Another a very protective bird male is the Canada Goose. This one would jump on the railing close by where the nest was and would hiss on everyone passing by. I used to be scared, but I have noticed that if you do nothing and just walk, they will give you a warning only.

Well, my three year old bird continues to grow, sing, dance, and run. The latest and greatest he is the Superman boy called Matthew.

Letter to Matthew - Today Is Your 3rd Birthday

2011-05-07T03:46:00.000-04:00

Dear Matthew you are now 3 years old. When you turned two last year it was a definitely a turning point in your life. Firstly, almost exactly one month after your birthday you were totally out of diapers. It took little longer for the breastfeeding. I had to wait until you fully understood that breastfeeding is for babies only, and you did. It was little emotional moment for both of us and for the record 2 years and 10 months exactly. No worries, breastfeeding is very healthy and getting more popular in Canada, and also you were not the only one to go that far.

Matthew, the last 12 months was a great learning experience for you and for me and your daddy. You brought smiles and true happiness, and every day we love you more and more – you are a true miracle baby, oh I forgot, you are not anymore. I had to take notes on things you learned, played with, experienced, and said to us – there is no way I could remember all. This letter will only outline few things, because the last 12 months it is a book by itself.

Learning How to Spell and Read … I have to tell you, you are just one great student. This year you learned concept of spelling and reading, and every day we saw and keep seeing great progress while you spell everything you see, and slowly also memorized spelling for words like on, no, yes, off, play are just some on the list. You forced yourself to remember the difficult ones, like pingu (your favourite cartoon show) and iron man (your favourite super hero). This is because you wanted to Google them. When I read newspaper beside you, you try to read titles, you find words you know.

Learning How to Draw, Color and Trace … I introduced school to you, and you loved it, but then you realized that you were doing all the work and I was just sitting and demanding. You decided to switch with me. You told me once that ‘Matthew be teacher, Mommy be student’ – and you yelled at me ‘Mommy write!’ You are good at tracing, but you stopped at letter J. You made few greeting cards for your friends. You coloured nice winter snowflakes and Easter eggs. You can also draw faces. This year you got introduced to play-dough and painting. Sometimes you don’t like too many instructions, and you caught me by surprise with your little demand. When I was telling you to wash the brush before you put into different color paint, you told me: ‘Mommy go away'.

Story Telling … Throughout the year you enjoyed our stories to you about you. You were always a main character in our stories, and you loved them all. On your first treat or trick adventure, our neighbour gave you little pumpkin man on the bike. This pumpkin became your favourite character and friend in every story, especially this year – he is the famous pumpkin Pupi.

Reading Books … It all started few months ago when we switched from storytelling to bed time reading. The Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book made great impression on you, along with the Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. Matthew you practically memorized all the lines in both, and not to mention the author and who illustrated the book. You enjoy the Robert Munsch Books and now you are into Dr. Sues series. It is amazing to hear you talking and giving us the outline of each book we read.

Computer Skills … You know it all. You turn your computer ON; you type access code and go to Google Chrome or Firefox (you prefer Firefox). You Google for your favourite things (pingu, iron man, treehouse, tvokids, fotoflexer). You play educational games, and I am always amazed how sometimes you figure out how to do it by yourself. When you are done playing, you shut down.

Eating … You were and are a good eater. It was just about three months ago when your first molars showed up. At no time you figured out what they were for, and I did not have to make special meals just for you. For each parent these days it’s a blessing when a child eats vegetables – and we are definitely blessed. You eat carrots, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cucumbers, mushrooms and lettuce. You don’t like very salty and sweet, but just like your daddy you love chocolate. One day when we arrived at the shoe store, out of blue you said: ‘I am chocolate-holic’. I guess you remembered when we told you that you were chocoholic. You learned from TV about McDonalds. We would take you there for small fries we share among three of us. You always ask for hamburger, but never eat it. But I always come prepared with my home made meals for you in the thermos. Your other favourite place is Tim Hortons, and because of you, few times we ended up with a free coffee. Going out with you is always fun, it is not really about eating. You get to press the handicapped door button, order your favourites and pay. Your honesty always amazes us. Once when you saw the handicapped sign on the washroom door – you laughed and said ‘that man is doing poo-poo’. Now you know what it is. I am sure you will always remember your first lollypop from the A&W man. Matthew I am always thankful to see you eating all my home cooked food I always prepare for you at home and when we hit the road. Lastly, I don’t have to tell you how much you love eating chicken soup.

Daily Adventures … Always weather permitting we spent lot of time outside. Our town has boardwalks, trails and lot of nice playgrounds. You also got to see your first fireworks last summer. We took you to the zoo first time, but when we came back it looked like you enjoyed the backyard pool much more. It is amazing to see you walk long distances, especially the last couple of months. Last summer I had stroller with me, but I used it only half of the time. This spring, I don’t even take a stroller and we walk around the town sometimes as much as 2 ½ hours. I don’t know how you do it. The best is to see you collect stones, flowers and sticks that you throw into the pond or creek. You stop and look at the garbage people throw, ‘what’s that crazy man doing’ – you say. Sometimes I wonder, do you really need toys – because you really enjoy exploring the nature. You know I like taking pictures of birdies, sometimes you lean on me when I click, and sometimes you run on purpose to scare them. It is a real fun to watch you talking to the birds – ‘hey bird come here, come here to Matthew’. Or ‘what are you doing bird, you silly bird, don’t run away’. The past winter was a blast and thank you for all the help with snow shovelling? I am sure you will also remember your first snowman you made with Daddy.

Toys … The hit toys this year are characters from Cars. You got lot of super hero toys such as Iron Man and Spider Man – may be too much. When we play, I have to be Pepper Pots hundreds times a day to deliver your iron man suite in the briefcase, just like in the Iron Man 2. You have the pretend kitchen, and I am glad to share some of my kitchen tools with you – and I know where to find them too. You cook for me all the time and we very much enjoy all the ‘stinky’ doughnuts you make for us. You started to build with mega blocks. You got all the possible handyman tools with which you build and fix the iron man suite. Whatever I forgot to mention, I am sure we will see on the photographs by you. You own pretend phones - I love hearing you when you have conversations with fireman, police, handyman, iron man and the 'electricity man', Ivan Vanko, the bad man from the Iron Man 2. You also talk on the real phone with telemarketers, and unfortunately they on the timer, so they hang on on you. But then when Daddy calls, you tell him everything you did during the day and you ask him 'Daddy can you come home?'

Signing … let just say, you love signing. You even hum songs when you walk outside, or play with your toys. Lately you started to play piano and sing, and I have to play this silly guitar. I hate to tell you but we would never make the American Idol with our musical band. I don’t want to make a separate category, but you love to dance too. Your moves kills us every time we watch you.

Friends … You got many of all ages, some not in neighborhood anymore, but here are some of their names - Ryan (gone to school), Ashley (you two hug on hi and bey but never play), Brendon (a very nice older kid who likes you a lot), Riley (see her very little lately), Emily (gone from the neighborhood), Melody (you continue to win her heart, by sharing, dancing for her, as she continues to ignore you), Logan (you two are buddies, talk like old man, even though he is older by almost 2 years), Daniel (neighbor and you saw him last fall), Dimitri and Sofia (brother and sister and your neighbors who like you very much, they are almost teenagers). You make friends with everyone in the area, people wave from buses to you in the car - you never a miss a person to say hi to. You call your Daddy your friend - 'I am going downstairs with my new friend Daddy', and 'I am playing with my new friend Daddy'.

Should I go on … As I told you if I don’t stop now, this could be a book of hundreds and hundreds pages. I will conclude here, but just few more things about your demands and affection. Well, what can I say you are very demanding little boy. The other day I was washing dishes and making too much noise, ‘Mommy can you stop washing dishes and not make any noise’. Then while you were playing on my computer and trying to access some of the software, I kept saying ‘Matthew no, no’. ‘Mommy can you stop saying no to Matthew, I am running some programs’. Sometimes I demand some love from you, ‘Can you say you love Mommy Matthew?’. ‘I love you!’- you yelled the other day, but Daddy thought it was for him. ‘I love you too’ – Daddy replied. ‘Daddy no, can you not say I love you. Matthew says I love you to Mommy’. Well, Daddy did not hear this since he was washing dishes. Yes love is very important, and I know we don’t have to demand that from you. You are very spontaneous, out of blue you will always give us hugs and kisses, you will say I love you, and you enjoy saying ‘Oh we are family’, and you spread your arms and hugs both of us. When you cry at night, and when you realize that it is just a nightmare, you turn around grab my cheeks with both hands and say ‘Mommy I love you’ or kiss me, and then you follow a sleep’. My heart breaks when you call me or Daddy ‘oh sweetheart, are you okay?’

Matthew my dear little boy, I and Daddy love you so much – how much, ‘that that much’, same ‘much much’ you love us. We love every moment you are with us, and we love seeing you enjoy your ‘little’ life, but as you can see in this letter it isn’t that little.

You are the greatest miracle gift a mother could get for the Mother’s day and for my birthday too. Happy Birthday Matthew! You are now three years old and zero months.

Forty Years In The Making Of My Life

2011-04-28T16:48:00.002-04:00

I started to do lot of experimental photography with stills. I don't have lot of good objects around the house to experiment except plants, fruits or vegetables, or baked stuff. The above are orchids I took photo of few weeks ago. The orchids were against the window with lot of back light, but by playing with exposures I was able to get this beautiful effect. The best photo yet I took of the flower, and I was able to use it on the Easter cards I created for my family this year.

So what is forty years in the making of my life. Well today I turned 40 years old. All I can say I am happy. There were good things and bad things in my life. So what is the secret: I choose to remember good things, and the bad things I choose to learn from. Hopefully I can have another 40 good years ahead.

'Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.' ~ a quote by Mark Twain.

A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Must Begin With A Single Step

2011-04-05T00:17:00.001-04:00

The above title is a quote by Lao Tsu. I think it was appropriate to introduce my new Canon EOS 7D that way. The journey began about a month ago when with a bit of Internet research, and with one trip to a local store - I ended up with Canon EOS 7D in my hands. It took ma a week to actually take first pictures as I read the manual first. Okay, I also was little paranoid to start working with this little more pricy equipment. 7D is a bit more advance camera, and I been playing more with manual adjustments this time. I definitely missed few good photo shoot opportunities as I am little too slow switching between settings. However, opportunities will always be around, therefore, this time I will be trying to concentrate more on the quality and not the quantity.

The spring did not arrive fully yet. We have shiny days - great days for photography, but still cold and windy. Last couple of days temperatures were much warmer, but not enough for the grass to get green yet. Nights are still cold - let's say we got freezing rain last night. The rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week. However, lot of birds arrived here, and they are getting a little pinch of the cold weather. May be it is good that we don't have green leaves yet, as it is always easier to find birds on the 'naked' trees.

And now about the photo. I took this photo couple of days ago on the trip to playground with Matthew and my husband. I think you may figure by now that I really enjoy the earthy brownish colors of all seasons. I couldn't get good close up of the little chickadee, but I really enjoyed the layout I am now sharing with you.

Lastly, I cannot believe that in a month Matthew will be three years old. Be prepared to see one lengthy post in few weeks - my annual Happy Birthday letter to Matthew, a year full of explorations. Of course filled with photography of my little star.

Everything Has An End

2011-02-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

Winter ends, spring ends, summer ends, fall ends, snow melts, rain evaporates. I can go on and on. They do end yet they come back. Cycle of life, we call it.

Now, my camera Canon 20D finally took its last breath on February 21st after probably just over 100 thousand shots. It happened to get the continuous shutter clicking syndrome which happened when I took it outside for photographing (-15C at least). Reading about it I found that my shutter is definitely gone. Should I replace the shutter on the 20D, or this must be a coincidence because I been having a big temptation to get the 7D? May be its time for an upgrade. However, I had a plan for two cameras, because I just hate changing lenses (and getting dust), and I wouldn't mind having at least two lenses always ready to shoot. I might see, may be if I get good price on 7D, I will repair the 20D also.

Here I am leaving you with one of the last photographs I took with my original 20D. We still have winter in effect, but hasn't been that cold, and as I will be missing out on the photo shooting for few weeks, I know that winter will be back next year.

Simple Winter

2011-01-29T00:10:00.001-05:00

Once you go away from something for a long time, it is hard to get back. I have not been photographing much, not writing much and definitely not blogging much. Few days ago I decided to dig out my old lens 75-300mm and got motivated again. In addition, temperatures got little warmer, therefore, I was able to go for winter walks again. Now, the opposite is that I started to be in bed earlier more regularly, and getting much more deeper sleeps. Matthew is now older, and sleeps through the night, but will definitely not let you sleep in the morning. 'Wake up Mommy! Matthew wants to play toys downstairs' - he usually yells, and he does not have the snooze button on him.

He is growing really fast, and this year is the year of gaining more independence. It is not like we push him to do things, he wants to do it himself. In May he will turn three. Deep inside every year I miss the year before, but every year I love him more and more. What am I going to do when he goes to school? He is now eager to learn how to read. He can very well spell DAD and MOM (it is so much fun to watch him think). Memorizes 4 line verses and with his little finger points on the words and pretends to read.

About the photo. Its a pile of snow on my backyard that looked kind attractive. This also reminded me about this quote I read once by Anonymous author, 'Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.' Enjoy, and glad to be back to share my photography, my life and my thoughts again.

Gone For Christmas !

2010-12-15T23:57:00.001-05:00

Yes gone for Christmas, not far, just from blogging. Hope all of you will enjoy your holidays, and wishing you and your family healthy New Year 2011.

This is also an opportunity to say thank you for your kind visits and comments in 2010. Every of your comments always puts smile on my face - thank you again.

Winter Happy Morning Dove

2010-11-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

I thought I will play with you small memory game. I looked back into some archives, and I thought I will re-post this image of the morning dove sitting on my BBQ. This is actually variation of the one I posted back on December 17, 2007. I checked who commented back than, and it is kind of hard to believe that lot of you are still around, and visiting my blog, and never mind its been more than three years. My blogging isn't that active as before, but I am not planning to stop, but there is always some unexpected, and hopefully there will be none.

Everything is fine here, the winter is coming, flu, colds, Christmas shopping everything is piling up. But overall life is good, and if you want to hear the latest and greatest about Matthew, have fun reading Kids Say the Darndest Things - NO Bath Time Please.

Shake That Snow Off - It's Not Time Yet

2010-11-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is not time yet for the snow. Last week we had snow falling all day, however, the ground was still warm so it didn't stay. Nights are colder now and every day we wake up to the freezing temperatures, yet we are blessed with beautiful fall like days with temperatures above 10 degrees C.

Last week I was very lucky, yet I felt lucky too. I got my camera ready, adjusted ISO settings and left it on the kitchen island. By noon I had the screaming Blue Jay on my backyard, walking on the grass and on the fence, and his or her flying companion zooming by. That wasn't the end, a little Junco and Chickadees arrived also. I wasn't lucky photographing them, but at least I got something. It was windy, snowing and I was standing behind the window.

I think I mention that before. The nice thing about the fall and winter and the bird photography is that there are no leafs for the birds to hide. They are more exposed, so it is easier to see them and of course photograph them.

I am hoping for more sightings like that on my backyard. I am so tempted to put out the bird seeds again, but then do I want another mouse in my house?

Good Bye Summer & Welcome Autumn Full Of Good Memories

2010-10-20T16:11:00.001-04:00

This is what I am leaving behind and approaching fall with lots of real and photographic heart warming memories. Children grow so fast, and if Matthew continues to sprout really fast, next year he definitely will be swinging on the adult swing.

Harvest

2010-10-01T17:06:00.000-04:00

I missed September post, so when I look back one day at this photo, it will remind me what I did. I been very lucky this year to get lots of tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, squashes, apples, berries and more. My parents and my mother-in-law had a very fruitful year. So instead of blogging I been jarring everything and anything that got close to me, meaning given to me. Since I switched to glass, and I like freezing, my fridge weighs a ton.

About year ago I was into baking, I think I master basics. This year I switched into more healthier alternative, since everything grown home is basically organic. When you see an apple worm crawling on your counter top, you definitely know that your apple is organic. My garden was only okay, since I did in the small pots things didn't grow very big, but, but, I been lucky with having lots of nice basil. Even Matthew would pick on the leafs put in his mouth, and say: good basil. Not to mention, my regular Zoom-zoom visitor, the chipmunk, been a happy camper eating my small tomatoes and egg plant fruit.

Self Portrait Dissected

2010-08-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

I am back. My mistake, I just noticed date and cannot believe its been already a month since my last post. I am enjoying my summer with Matthew as much as I can (2 years and 3 months). Still hot and humid, but its better than nothing.

Today I am going to showcase something I found recently on my point-and-shoot camera. Let me give you a little clue - hundreds of other pictures on my point-and-shoot are like that, many of them are pictures of me (dissected of course); and many of toys.

Yes, these are pictures of Matthew taken by Matthew. The moment he did learn what camera was capable of, and the one time he saw me taking photos of objects around - Matthew been also taking pictures (since one year old). Not to mention he really listens to our instructions - to put strap around his wrist and not to cover the flash.

But there is more, Matthew also figure out how to get into settings and menus - something he refuses to listen. Few weeks ago we went to the zoo. It was first time for Matthew, and it was first time for me to find out that he changed the setting on my camera to the lowest pixel size. Well, all I can say to have something is better than nothing. I am sure other things been changed too. I almost killed myself for the pose not knowing that he set the timer to 2 seconds - yes we have too many toys around.

Hope everyone is enjoying summer, and winter in some cases. Soon kids will be back to school. Sometimes I wish I was going too - just thinking about all the cool school supplies children can get these days.

Beating Summer Heat In The Pool

2010-07-18T23:22:00.000-04:00

We were beating summer heat in the water, until we all got sick. Unusual spring and summer this has been. We seen it all. I remember early spring was strange, one day we get temperature over 25°C and the next day hardly 10°C. Now temperatures have been soaring over 33°C and with humidity we were in the 40s. So I complained about winter being cold and not being able to get out for adventures - well now its summer and I am sheltered inside as well. Going outside its like walking into a furnace.

For a while we have been beating the summer heat with a splash of water and sprinkler on our backyard. Until, Matthew picked up something from someone, and when he played in the water in the next round, in a matter of time he started to loose his voice. Since we are living together, it spreads, next was daddy and then mommy me got sick.

As you can see we got Matthew a small pool for a few bucks to try it out. I couldn't believe what kind of moves he was pulling in it - diving, swimming on the belly, splashing. First time and all that. I guess he must have seen it on TV. This is a best time to take photo of children when they are having lots of fun. They are so natural, and because they want to have fun, they don't care about the camera. I even was able to ask him to smile, and he did it.

When was time to come out the water, and we all know that kids don't know when to stop. 'Matthew time to go' - I said. His reply was, 'Mommy mommy get camera, take pictures Matthew'.

Eastern Kingbird Finally Arrived

2010-07-04T15:57:00.001-04:00

I couldn't remember when Easter Kingbird [Tyrannus tyrannus] will be showing his face in our area. Last week I was passing by the area where they usually are found, and I was surprised how many I saw. Usually I see one, and this time it was between 6-7 of them in different locations. I don't know what is happening but I noticed that there seems to be more birds lately. May be I notice them more too. Well, this time I will be short and sweet. I am hoping to go back and take more photos of the Kingbird before they migrate again. They do remind me hummingbird, as they like to hover above the grass a lot.

Fiscal year end for my business, so I will be buried in the paperwork for couple of weeks probably. No it isn't that much work, but I only have 1-2 hours or less a day for computer work. Enjoy your summer!

Perfect Day That Was For The Ruby Throated Hummingbird

2010-06-17T23:33:00.000-04:00

It took me my life time to finally see the hummingbird up close, and to photograph that close. Only four yeas ago, when we visited one of the provincial parks here in Ontario, Canada - there he was, ten meters away from me. Not that close. I got few snap shots (not very good ones), and you know I was happy. It was my first time in over 30 years to see hummingbird in real life, until then books, pictures, Internet were my source. Since then I was able to get few pictures of hummingbird in my backyard, but again all pictures were taken at low light.

How did he end up in my backyard (of course not the one from the park)? The answer is simple, my red Horse Chestnut tree, which in the past three years been very nicely blooming. However, I cannot take all the credit. When I look out the window from second floor the other day, I can see that everyone else has all the right settings for the hummingbird to show up, even the feeders.

The perfect day arrived. Perfect morning, no clouds, no wind, morning sun and not super bright. Sun behind me. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) flies into my garden and guess what I do have my camera with me. Since I knew that the hummingbird been here before, I put the camera into sport mode. I wasn't ready to waste my time to use manual settings, not at least not in the moment like that. It all happened in a matter of few minutes, thus the results.

'Patience and fortitude conquer all things.' ~ quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

'Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.' ~ quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French philosopher and writer whose novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution, 1712-1778)

A Simple Beauty Of The Green Season

2010-05-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

Spring is finally here and is acting more like a summer. There is so much green and so many different flowers are blooming, not to mention beautiful scents we can only remember. I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring season as much as I am.

On the other side note, I would like to thank everyone for beautiful and warm wishes everyone left for Matthew's second birthday. It will be a beautiful keepsake in the later years. Thank you.

'We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.' ~ Mother Teresa

Letter to Matthew - Today Is Your 2nd Birthday

2010-05-07T01:02:00.035-04:00

Dear Matthew, today we celebrated your 2nd birthday. Two years passed by in a blink of an eye. We still remember the day you were born, and the day we brought you to our home. First year was a blast, but the second year you surprised us how smart little boy you are - not to mention how affectionate and beautiful at heart you are. Every day if I had time I would write pages and pages of new and cute things you do. Let me outline some of them to you.

On your first birthday you were laughing but you were not talking yet. Today you talk so nice, you talk all day and nice things you say to us all the time with your little sweet voice: 'Thank you Mommy', 'Thank you Daddy', 'Hi Mommy', 'How you Mommy', 'There you are Mommy', 'God Bless You Mommy', 'God Bless You Daddy', 'Mommy?', 'Wake up Daddy', 'Mommy? A Hug', 'Mommy Stop It Please', 'Good Night Daddy', 'I love you Daddy', 'I love you Mommy'. Never mind the hugs and kisses from you. Then you greet everyone: 'Hi Lady', 'Hi Man', 'Hi Friends'. With your manners you put many smiles on people faces.

Will you be the next Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? Matthew, your musical skills are unbelievable. You definitely didn't get them from me, but probably from your dad. You can recognize so many songs. All you have to do is to hear first few notes, and in the split of a second you know what it is. Your favorite one are - 'I Believe', the 2010 Vancouver Olympics theme song, and 'Wavin' Flag'. Not to mention all the children shows theme songs you know, probably twenty of them. You almost know all the words of the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', 'Itcy Bitcy Spider' and the Alphabet Song. One day you looked up the wall, looked at the Jesus and said 'Jesus reading Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', as you thought that the writing on the Bible were musical notes. You definitely associate musical notes with piano, as you continue to search for the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' song in my piano books. We couldn't believe how much you pick up from the commercials, like the McDonalds song, and you sing 'Para Pa Pa Pa I am Lovin' It' to us when you see the big M logo. Now you know its McDonalds, but you choose to hum the song instead.

Matthew, lets talk about your other great skills. You can count to 10 very well, and almost to 20. You can actually count objects up to four. We introduced Ukrainian counting to you, my mother tongue - why not, you learn so fast. Then daddy kicked in with his Italian. We were surprised how quickly you learned to count in those languages. You are like a little sponge. Let's not mention all the colors you know, shapes, days of the week, oh and the alphabet letters since you were 16 months.

We have a feeling that you will be reading soon - and you definitely love books. The other day you spelled 'c o l g a t e', and you read 'toothpaste'. Definitely a good start. But then you can clearly recognize lot of words and read them to us - mom, dad, go, stop, open, slow, Bible, Matthew, Tonka, Google, Tim Horton, Canada and Walmart. Yes, Walmart was today's surprise to us, as you recognized the word on TV, and of course got excited like you always do. You are just too cute, when you do that.

We don't know if it is a good thing or bad thing, but we introduced a computer to you when you were less than 16 months. You picked up on it very fast. Now you check and delete my emails, watch your favorite shows on youtube, you search on Google, sometimes play games (more with daddy than mommy). Oh, I forgot, you can operate that mouse very well. You very well know the sequence how to boot the computer, and shut down the computer. However, the rule is that you can only play so many minutes a day.

Okay you little joker you. You are very creative when we ask you questions. 'Little boy what is your name?', we ask. 'My name is Matthew'. We love hearing you over and over again, but you don't like to repeat the same thing over and over again. 'My name is a car', 'My name is a poon', 'My name is a table' - sometimes you respond.

Now that beautiful spring finally arrived. You spend a lot more time outside. You are very well known on the street too. Your friends range from 2 year old to 11 year old. You visit playground every day, play with children and talk to them. You still need our assistance when walking up and down the stairs and curbs. You still fall. All the children your age or less are much better. But then you seem to be better in talking. You always ask for toys saying 'Please play shovel and bucket'. You say 'Thank you' for each toy they give you. You ask your friends: 'Playing computer?'. And you put sand on girls heads and you think it is funny, but then you say 'Sorry putting sand your head'. I really have to give you credit for sharing your toys with other children, and really really, I have to give you a credit for 'not sharing your mommy with anyone'.

Matthew you love nature. In addition to playgrounds, we visit local ponds and trails almost every day. You chase birdies, you laugh at rabbits and chipmunks. You don't have the concept of danger yet, as you keep running away from me into the fields. You would love to go into the creek or pond and wet your feet. You pick flowers, grass, sticks and leaves - and finally you know the dog poop and goose poop is not for touching. You go on your knees and try to catch ants. When you hear chirping birds you say 'Listen', and put finger into your ear. 'I still don't understand what's with the licking?'. Every time I turn away from you, next I find you licking the grass or tree trunks, or stones. I hate to tell you nature may look good, but sometimes does not taste that good. Oh, did I tell you that sometimes I tried to fool you and take different route home. No I cannot fool you, you seem to know where you live, where to turn, and where to go - and I have to follow the orders.

Like every child you love toys. Lately you been very attached to your pumpkin on the bike. You love hearing stories about your pumpkin which we named Poopi (your nurse at the hospital used to call you that). Poor Pumpkin Poopi been injured so many times in our stories, and so many times he fell off the bike and broke his bike. But then you always came to rescue with your bandage and with tools to fix his bike. After building many castles with Mega blocks, you finally started to build Robots. After me coloring hundreds of Elmo coloring pages, you finally started to color pages too. After asking for 'scissors, screwdriver and a glue' - daddy finally got you tool set. Now you can start fixing your little sports cars. Never mind, after me and daddy making hundreds of paper boats, you starting to make one too.

Matthew, in the past few weeks we finally started to take you to the church. We know you probably fully don't understand who God is, but you are doing very well getting to know Him. You know that 'God lives church'. You know that 'Sunday going church'. You know you give money to God, and you know the sign of the cross very well. 'God bless you Matthew, God bless you Everyone' - you always conclude. You often pray while on the potty, but I am sure God understands that you are still learning.

Lastly, dear Matthew. You got your time and breastfeeding little confused. Firstly, you are a big boy now, and the timeline for the African style breastfeeding is two years. Soon we must cut off the supply. I know, I know - you don't have the full set of teeth yet, and it bother's you as it is really taking a long time for each tooth to come out. We saw your eye teeth, but then with you too growing, they seemed to recessed back. But this is not the timing I am talking about. Whenever we asked you 'What time it is?', you respond '5:35, bed time, booba'. Its okay to tell this to us, but please don't tell your friends, because last time you said that, they wondered what booba was - and I have to do all the explaining.

Matthew I hope one day you, us 'together' will enjoy reading this letter. I want to tell you how much me and your daddy loves you. You were born on May 7th, 2008, close to Mother's day, and you know you were my best gift ever, and I am proud to be your mother. Happy Birthday Matthew! I love you.

Unique Dandelion

2010-05-03T15:23:00.000-04:00

My submission to the 'A Moment In Time' project by The New York Times, LENS is a photograph of dandelion from my backyard at May 2nd, 2010 at 3:07 pm. I had a very small window of opportunity, didn't hit the 3 o'clock mark, and I got a weed. Well I think he is a nice looking weed anyway.

Digital Postcard Series: Beautiful Savannah Sparrow

2010-04-29T14:19:00.000-04:00

digital postcard #0010

Facts About Savannah Sparrow [Passerculus sandwichensis]
Savannah Sparrow was named for the city in Georgia where it was first spotted. Some live in the grassy marshes and wet meadows, and this is where I spotted this little beautiful bird. I was lucky to get few pictures before my son Matthew scared him away by calling 'Birdie, birdie'.

Camera Settings
Canon EOS 20D, 400mm, f/6.3 at 1/320s, ISO 400

Geographical Location
Aurora Arboretum, Auror, Ontario, Canada.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Spring Makes Me Happy

2010-04-16T14:15:00.003-04:00

Life is too short for not to enjoy it. We all come to realization at some point or the other. Why live in the past or not to be happy? Despite of what's been happening or happens around me I came to this conclusion - to be happy. Moving forward, enjoying every day makes me happy. This means enjoying my time with family, friends and even when I meet strangers.

Here are some interesting quotes about happiness you may enjoy reading, as much as I did.

'There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.' ~ by George Sand

'Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.' ~ by Mark Twain

'Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.' ~ by Thich Nhat Hanh

'You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.' ~ by Albert Camus

'If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator.' ~ by W. Beran Wolfe

Who Is The Artist?

2010-04-06T23:51:00.002-04:00

'If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere.' ~ by Vincent van Gogh

Another beautiful day and discovery. Nature will always find a way to show off her beauty. Today myself and Matthew went out for our usual one hour plus exploration walk around the subdivision. As he was looking for his friends and calling anyone his size a friend - 'Hi friends'; I was looking for things nature will let me to take snapshot of. Sometimes, it is just the same thing over and over again, but then these grooves on the side of the curb caught my eye. It rained last night, so all the earthworms were out. They found a way to slide close to the curb on the soft wet sand. Not knowing, they created a nice abstract art work, a work I am showing off today.

'Art will never be able to exist without nature.' ~ by Pierre Bonnard

Good Luck Horseshoe

2010-03-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

Last fall we took Matthew to the Puck's Farm to see farm animals. Funny what kids choose to like. The only things he thought were funny to him were cats. As we quickly zoomed through the farm, was saw all kinds of animals like ducks, geese, roosters, chickens, sheep, horses, ponies, emus (I didn't even know they had those on the farms in Canada). They also had one cow for milking display purposes, and she wasn't looking good either. I said we zoomed because it was cold, even inside the barns.

As I was taking pictures I noticed this painted over horseshoe on the wall as shown on the photo. I remember that, I said. We used to have one in our old house. As a matter of fact we used to have one even on the side of the house, not just a barn. I know that horseshoe was always for good luck, but what I didn't know was that pointing upwards is for a good luck, and pointing downwards is for a bad luck. Pointing downwards means that the good luck will fall out (sounds like barn Feng Shui to me). Now, that is funny, because who would ever want to place the horseshoe facing downwards if it means bad luck - definitely not me.

Well, well, now that I recall - our horseshoe hanging on the house was facing down. Did we have bad luck? And why was it upside down? I don't think we did. I know its normal that people get sick, die, or leave the house as time comes - these things happen, and its all part of life. It was simply down because we just didn't know, but we had to have the horseshoe anyway.

It always amazed me what we choose to believe in. Few years ago, my co-worker came to the office. She is excited, and says to us - I got to play lottery, I am so lucky. We all amazed how excited she was. We asked - why? She replied - on my way to work, just as a pulled out the drive way, a tree fell behind me. It missed me by few seconds. It was a big tree also, and potentially could cause lot of damage to her car, never mind probably very dangerous to her too. Did she ever won the lottery? No, her luck was that she wasn't hit by the tree.

Now let me leave you with this quote by R. E. Shay, a something to think about: 'Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.'

Spring Transformations Experiments - A Red Bean Seed To A Green Plant

2010-03-13T23:35:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wonder - I always do. Let me tell you about my recent spring experiment (yes I am waiting patiently by creating my own small gardens in the house). In the jar I placed some cotton and water, placed two red bean seeds (my dry food supplies) and exposed all to sun light. Then I observed - germination (same thing I observed when I soaked my peas or beans for too long). Then I observed bean sprouting, unfortunately only one of them. The roots formed and grew into the cotton for the stem to grow freely with support. On the other side of the shell, the stem with leafs unfolded. All this from a red bean, the water and the sun. A beautiful transformation.

During the seed germination, the growing plant absorb nutrients from the seed, then once the roots are long enough they draw additional nutrients from the ground (but not in my case). Once the roots are fully formed, they are also able to draw water. But where do the extra cells come from? Not just from the water?

Plants with a help of sun energy absorb the carbon dioxide gas and release by-product well know oxygen. The carbon molecules form plants cells. Sun in addition helps to form other nutrients for the plant. All this with a help of sun energy, a process also called photosynthesis. So this is my simple explanation of the simple transformation from a red bean to a green plant you see on the photo. There is more to it, but if I go into all the details this post will be a botany lesson. On the side note I attempted to do the same with onion and quinoa - not very successful experiments. Barley, chickpeas, green peas are next (smile) - or what ever I will find in my pantry.

Let see how far will my plant grow. If I am successful and it starts flowering I may have some beans. I am glad that I do not need any honey bees or insects to pollinate the bean plant. Beans have self-pollinating flowers. Lucky me, because I do not want to be attacked again by an army of flies - something that happen to me few years ago.

However, as I see this red bean growing in front of my eyes. I yet wonder about many things.

I wonder. How does the red bean knows to produce a another red bean, and how it knows to have roots, then stem, then leaves, and then flowers? How does it know to die after few months of working hard, and grow back again from the produced seed? And how about the seed that been packaged and stored in the sealed plastic bag for months, yet after being exposed to water it is able to produce a plant. It is all part of the genetic code, just like a computer code. I guess programming was very well known before we even existed - I guess? Just in a different form. Who in the world orchestrated all this? How? Why?

Tough questions but then by the end of the day, we just have to say what Frank Lloyd Wright said: 'Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you'. And I will add: 'Photograph nature'.

Digital Postcard Series: Baltimore Oriole @ Toronto Zoo

2010-02-26T14:30:00.001-05:00

digital postcard #0009

Facts About Baltimore Oriole [Icterus galbula]
Apparently, the Major League Baltimore Orioles adopted their name and team colors from Baltimore Oriole species. And about the bird, the Baltimore Orioles build their nests on branches that are far away from trunk of the tree. Even though it is more visible to air predators, it is harder for the predators like squirrels to get into their nests.

Camera Settings
Canon EOS 20D, 400mm, f/6.3 at 1/320s, ISO 400

Geographical Location
Toronto Zoo, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Melting Athabasca Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Canada

2010-01-23T14:09:00.001-05:00

digital postcard #0008

Facts About Athabasca Glacier
There is already a lot said about Athabasca Glaciers. However, you may want to know that Athabasca Glacier will not be with us for a long time. It is sliding with gravity and its melting as much as few centimeters per day. May be another 100 years. But it will be forever with us on the photographs thousands of thousands people took. You also may want to know, that the current melting water is the purest water known, but again, the most recent snow falls are carrying lot of pollution, and it may not be anymore. Athabasca Glacier is the only glacier that you can actually walk on, and guess what you could be standing on something that is hundreds and hundreds years old; and can melt in a matter of minutes once you pick a piece of it.

Photo taken at Athabasca Glacier, Columbian Icefields, Canada.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Canada Goose In Canada

2009-12-06T14:11:00.001-05:00

digital postcard #0007

Facts About Canada Goose [Branta canadensis]
It is believed that there are as many as 11 different races of the Canada Goose. The Canada Goose often is called the Canadian Goose, however, in the ornithological standard this name is not used. Canada Geese are named for Canada even thought they can be found all over the North America. For the local people Canada Goose is a very common bird and we tend to ignore them most of the time. For foreigners this bird can be very exotic. Just imagine a Japanese visitor chasing our geese with a camera. I didn't have to, I saw it.

Facts About McKenzie Marsh, Aurora, Ontario
Photo taken at McKenzie Marsh. Located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada [44°1'8"N 79°28'1"W] on St. John's Sideroad between Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street, McKenzie Marsh is a man-made pond that evolved into a beautiful marshland full of many different bird, animal and insect species, one of them - Canada Goose.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Thanksgiving Around The World

2009-11-14T14:14:00.001-05:00

digital postcard #0006

Did You Know?
Thanksgiving in Canada is observed on the second Monday of October.
Thanksgiving in United States of America is observed on the fourth Thursday of November.

Geographical Location
My Home, Aurora, Ontario, Canada.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: The Ultimate Fun Of The Autumn - My Memories & Now His Fun

2009-10-22T14:27:00.001-04:00

digital postcard #0005

My Thoughts
Long time ago fallen leafs
were up to my knees.

Geographical Location
Hamilton Park, Soccer Field, Aurora, Ontario, Canada [44°1'21"N 79°27'13"W].

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Cedar Waxwing Fighting For Attention

2009-09-22T14:30:00.001-04:00

digital postcard #0004

Facts About Cedar Waxwing [Bombycilla cedrorum]
It is interesting to know that the name waxwing is not due to their slick appearance, but comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries. The function of these tips is not yet known, but they may help to attract mates. Also, the Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds which can survive for several months on fruit alone.

Geographical Location
Fairy Lake, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada [44°3'2"N 79°27'3"W].

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Imagine If You Can

2009-09-04T14:34:00.001-04:00

digital postcard #0003

"The Chinese pianist Liu Chi Kung was imprisoned for seven years during the Cultural Revolution, during which time he had no access to a piano. When he returned to giving concerts again after he was released, his playing was better than ever. Asked how this was possible since he had not practice for seven years, he replied: I did practice, every day. I rehearsed every piece I had ever played, note by note, in my mind." ~ by Bernie Zilbergeld

This is something I actually believe in and I know it works. I have imagine doing my school work, studying for exam, practicing martial arts, and in cooking. I can cook up a meal in my head, and when it comes to actually cook, it is so so easy to do.

On the other hand, if you have not look at the picture very closely yet, then try to look again, you will be surprised what you will find in the nature's sculpture.

Geographical Location Scilla, Calabria, Italy [38°15'0"N 15°43'0"E] lies in front of the Strait of Messina, a narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south Italy. Archived photo from my travel gallery - Italy, September 2006.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Sea Monsters, Scilla, Italy

2009-08-29T14:37:00.001-04:00

digital postcard #0002

Facts About the Scilla Town
Scilla is charming little town in Italy once destroyed by earthquake in 1908. It is also traditional site of the sea monster Scylla of Greek mythology. The rocks of Scylla, are described in ancient poems [Homer's Odyssey] as a danger to shipping.

Geographical Location
Scilla, Calabria, Italy [38°15'0"N 15°43'0"E] lies in front of the Strait of Messina, a narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south Italy. Archived photo from my travel gallery - Italy, September 2006.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.

Digital Postcard Series: Wonders Of The McKenzie Marsh, Aurora Marshland

2009-08-15T14:40:00.001-04:00

digital postcard #0001

Facts About Great Blue Heron [Ardea herodias]
Two interesting facts about Great Blue Heron's diet. In addition to fish, they also eat small animals and sometimes choke to death when it is too large to swallow. Their main diet is small fish in the small lakes, ponds, marshlands or wetlands. They also like to spend some time at fish farms, but it was found that they mainly consume sick fish which will eventually die.

Facts About McKenzie Marsh, Aurora, Ontario
Located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada [44°1'8"N 79°28'1"W] on St. John's Sideroad between Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street, McKenzie Marsh is a man-made pond that evolved into a beautiful marshland full of many different bird, animal and insect species, one of them - Great Blue Heron.

NOTE: Digital postcard copyright My Only Photo. Digital postcard artwork by My Only Photo. Download for personal use only, and ask for commercial use. To download full printable size - click on the image, then Save as. File size 4x6 inches [800x1200px], @ 200 dpi. Picture hosted at Atpic.com.