Feb. 28 – Coyote on the Hunt

I was heading home on #236 just before lunch when I noticed this coyote in the field to my left. I had only a Canon PowerShot SD850 with me. This is what I was able to capture at full zoom.

Stalking prey under the snow crust.

Punching through.

The kill.

Moving on.

Feb. 27 – Birthday Bonanza

Daughter Jill & her husband, Lee, are expecting their first child in August. Thanks to Ruth and my gathered childers for a lovely birthday.

Feb. 26 – Acting out Acts 8:32

Sadie gets clipped.

To paraphrase once again, "And as a Maltichon before her shearer is dumb, So she openeth not her mouth."

Feb. 25 – One Colour, One B&W

Feb. 24 – Variations on February's Cold

The high on Ruth's Ridge for Feb. 24th was -17° C., but at least the sun was brilliant and the skies blue.

Feb. 23 – Weather Front & Cat

The day was full of house-finishing activity and helping Dad get his new hearing aids. So, a photo on-the-fly on the way to Dad's appointment (heading south on #236 at 1oo kph) of a weather front and, after a fine dinner at Jim & Johanna's, a quick photo of Catalan, the former barn cat enjoying the cat chair beside the fireplace.

I feel the need to restate that these photos are not posted as examples of fine photography, but rather as evidence that a camera finds its way into my hands at least once every day. No quality without quantity through practice.

Feb. 22 – Sundogs have Landed

I've never before seen sundogs as large as this and interacting with the terrain (like rainbows often do).

Feb. 21 – Epoxy Grouting

Mundane, yes. Try working with epoxy grout, and you'll think this photo is a major achievement.

Feb. 20 – My Dad

A get-together at Mom & Dad's to celebrate a family member's birthday.

Dad turned 90 on December 30th.

Feb. 19 – Shark Drift

The heavy winds the night before last and yesterday created an exquisite, two-tier shark drift at the northwest corner of the house.

Feb. 18 Bonus 2 – Wanna come up an' see my etchings?

Snow etchings, that is. I'm afraid, however, that they will leave you cold.

Feb. 18 Bonus 1 – The Second Blowing

After making Ruth's latté this morning, I went out to blow 75 yards of tightly compacted snow from the driveway. Then, at about 3 p.m., I did it again.

Feb. 18 – A Rheumy, Histopathological Eye

So... the first prerequisite is a keen, insightful eye, eh?

Well, I seem to be failing in that respect. I am having trouble seeing through the edematous cornea, the puffy lids, etc., etc.

The diagnosis is ocular rosacea. The majority of the symptoms of same had been dealt with by antibiotics and a new, twice daily cleansing regime. This most recent flair-up may be the condition's virulence and/or the overlay of some allergy, likely to a cat being sat for a couple of weeks.

I could wish that it had something to do with Loudon Wainwright III's "Drinking Song":

be he broke bum or rich rake
his dinner, be it bread or cake
his beverage be the worst of whiskey or finest wine...

but the drink the toll will take
blood vessels in the nose will break
bags beneath the eyes — another sign

Feb. 17 – Redpoll

Feb. 16 – Chair Detail at Sunset

Feb. 15 – After Plumbing

Lee & I finished plumbing in the new tub's water supply and drain. I got home just before 6 p.m. to catch a few shots from the driveway before the light faded altogether.

Feb. 14 – That's MISTER Renoman to You!

My son-in-law, Lee Klassen, basking in the glow of a bathroom renovation job moving toward completion. Happiness is a shower-anytime-soon, Jill.

Feb. 13 – My Valentine

Don't ask what the card says while your mother's looking over your shoulder.

Feb. 12 – Coyotes

Ruth was at the kitchen window around 8:45 this morning and spotted something was out in the field. I was able to squeeze off a dozen quick exposures – handheld with a 400 mm lens – before this pair of coyotes headed back into the trees.

Feb. 11 – The Aging Hand as Aardvark

Feb. 10 - Two Prairie Views

The Viterra inland grain terminal just south of Stony Mountain, MB.


The view to the southwest at the junction of Road 3E and Road 86N a few miles southwest of Ruth's Ridge.

Feb. 9 – Trevis Boyd

This is the guy I wake up for every morning. Yes, let it be told. Shout it from the tree-tops on Ruth's Ridge.

How, you ask, can a truly heterosexual male be so infatuated with another guy? Well, firstly he ensures that my wife starts her day really happy. Which makes me happy.

And the reason he makes Ruth & I happy?

He gives us the best shots.

Of espresso.

Seattle's loss was Winnipeg's gain when Trevis and his family returned 11 years ago with plans to start a coffee roastery (blackpearlcoffee.ca). I met him shortly after Trevis began roasting here, but had my nose bent for Peet's Coffee – shipped regularly by a friend in Berkeley, CA. Well, it's been many years now, and Trevis is our roaster of choice without qualification. His espresso is all I care to buy, but Ruth insists on some variation for the French Press.

Oh, but the espresso: rich, sweet, nutty... with crema to the top of the shot glass. Makes me feel like Snickers of TV cartoon fame whenever I sip a shot or my first latté of the morning. What's that Elton John song? "Island boy, white man want you in his coffee world."

So, yesterday I stopped in and we got talking about Trevis' upcoming trip to officiate at the Winter Games in Halifax this month (he officiated at the Vancouver Olympics for speed skating). Then other topics cropped up.

Then, suddenly, Trevis popped over to a shelf behind the counter and, like Ron Popeil, presented this black box embossed with "Handpresso." I about lost my coffee: it is the quintessential piece of silliness for coffee-holics. Someone took a mini-bicycle pump and added an espresso shot maker to the end of it. (Check it out at handpresso.com.) Well, we started trading scenarios (pulling this out of your carry-on luggage and asking the Customs official if he's ever had a shot) and marketing tag-lines.

And therein lies my primary excuse for this image: we were laughing so hard it was impossible to get a crisp shot. And I didn't have an Image-Stabilizing lens on the Canon. Etc., etc. But God did we have a good time.

Thanks, as always, for the great coffee and camaraderie, Trevis.

Feb. 8 – Trifecta Tuesday: A Squabble of Squirrels

Ruth got excited on Sunday about the sudden arrival of a pair squirrels under our bird feeder. I got to observe them today. There is a family relationship between the two. In addition, the larger squirrel is a hog and a bully. As far as Quasimodo is concerned, Peanut is not worthy so much as to nibble the crumbs that have fallen from the feeder, and is banished behind a tree.

Feb. 7 – Can't See the Bog for the Trees

Or the creek for the snow. Or the spring for the winter.

The cold on Ruth's Ridge, as Delaeno & I worked on closing in the staircase in the garage, had an tenacious bite to it today; more humidity, one might suspect. So, I being the customer and the old codger with a now somewhat nascent case of Pernio, spent more time inside working on finishing touches on the staircase and installing the inset bookcase in the loft.

The time before sunset was warming in two ways from the loft windows.

Feb. 6 – The Faithful Few

Sunday morning worship at All Saints' Anglican, Winnipeg. Nominally 50 parishioners plus clergy and choir came together in silence & song, and sterling (stirring) words from Rector, Paul Johnson.

Feb. 5 – Eastern Boundary, Ruth's Ridge

Dull, gray, just below freezing; waiting for the temperature drop in the next couple of days.