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Great Blue Heron
These pictures are admittedly blurry and not the best, but given I was using 125x optical zoom from a moving ship, trying to take pictures of a moving bird on a distant shoreline, who was blending in with the surrounding rocks, I think I did fairly well picking out the Great Blue Heron, and snapping…
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Another beautiful Rose
I wasn’t sure my camera was focusing on this little Rose buds, and newly bloomed flowers, but I kept trying to take photos as the colors were so dynamic, and the flowers so beautiful. I have no idea what type of rose they are, but they sure are pretty. Hmm, possibly a China Rose? Wikipedia…
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Château Frontenac.
With hopes I have correctly identified this building, with the help of technology (though to be honest I have my doubts). From the magic internet: It’s a world-renowned hotel in Quebec City, known for its iconic architecture and stunning location overlooking the St. Lawrence River. The green roof and the distinctive towers are characteristic of…
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American Goldfinch
These American Goldfinches were hanging out at the Halifax Public Gardens when I went to visit — they are small birds (by my estimation) and pretty darn fast when they want to be, but I think I got a few nice shots of them, particularly showing their beautiful yellow feathers. I will admit, I only…
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Sunset sailing out of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
There is something magical about the sun setting over the water, some of it is the reflection of the light on the water, the way the light dances among the clouds… perhaps it is as simple as how each night the sunset is different, as unique as the individual day has been. There is also…
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Spotted Sandpiper?
I showed two pictures to AI and found out: Based on the size, shape, and markings of the bird in the picture, it is most likely a Spotted Sandpiper. Here are some of the key features that helped me identify the bird as a Spotted Sandpiper: The bird in the second picture also exhibits the…
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Mallard – what a Duck
The Halifax Public Gardens not only has a lot of really pretty flowers, but some photogenic birds as well. Keep in mind, this are “wild ducks” and birds, and part of that means they migrate, move about where ever the whim takes them… and need to remain capable of caring for themselves, so when they…
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Mealycup Sage
This flower had incredibly dynamic and striking color that drew the eye whether it was under full sun or braving a heavy drizzle. I got help from Siri as well as Google in identifying this one as it looked like it could be one of several options, but I think the technology and I agreed…
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Apparently I find a lot of weeds attractive…
This doesn’t actually surprise me, given as a kid I complained about pulling the flowers my Dad called weeds from our vegetable garden, but it is kind of funny how many flowers and plants I think are pretty I look up and find listed as weeds. And yes, this is another one. Per Wikipedia: Celosia…
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Prairie Dawn Rose?
Yet again I find myself wishing I knew more about flowers. When I photographed this one I figured I was getting another shot of a Beach Rose, but google and the magic World Wide Web lead me to believe this is a Prairie Dawn Rose. A rose by any other name is still beautiful, and…
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Sunset over the Gulf of Maine
This beautiful sunset was shot in the Gulf of Maine sailing between Bar Harbor and Boston.
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Calendula, and a discovery, Mary’s Gold = Marigold
Per Wikipedia: Calendula (/kəˈlɛndjuːlə/) is a genus of about 15–20 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae that are often known as marigolds. They are native to southwestern Asia, western Europe, Macaronesia, and the Mediterranean. Other plants known as marigolds include corn marigold, desert marigold, marsh marigold, and plants of the genus Tagetes. The genus name Calendula is a modern Latin diminutive of calendae, meaning…
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Day Lily — Pretty in Pink
This was the only flower of its type, hanging out amid a bunch of other blooms, eye catching for its color and uniqueness. Per Wikipedia: Daylilies have been found growing wild for millennia throughout China, Mongolia, northern India, Korea, and Japan.[10] There are thousand-year-old Chinese paintings showing orange daylilies that are remarkably similar to the flowers that grace…
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Queen Anne’s Lace
Per Wikipedia: Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace, and Queen Anne’s lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World. Other interesting bits on the Wikipedia page…
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Juvenile Herring Gull
Sailing out of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada we saw a LOT of seagulls… which I discovered were Herring Gulls… and interestingly we saw some of the Juvenile’s hanging out… fishing, doing what Juveniles do (i.e. seeming to be playing and generally having fun.) There was one shot when I captured a Juvenile and an adult…
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Japanese Rose in Canada
Not a new to me flower, but it was beautiful, and rather enchanting the way the lone bloom was growing near a church. From Wikipedia: Rosa rugosa (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand dunes. It should not be confused with Rosa multiflora,…
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Zuiderdam in Sydney… Canada
It’s always fun getting a shot of the ship I’m on, added bonus when a local landmark is in the shot.
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Yellow Coneflower
Echinacea paradoxa, the yellow coneflower, Bush’s purple coneflower, or Ozark coneflower, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to southern Missouri, Arkansas, and south-central Oklahoma, It is listed as threatened in Arkansas. When the petals are down towards the ground like this I find it easy to understand how they got the name coneflower, this is one of the I…
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Echinacea Double Scoop Raspberry
Another coneflower variation. I love the colors in this flower! Per Wikipedia: Echinacea /ˌɛkɪˈneɪsiə, ˌɛkɪˈneɪʃiə/ is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open…
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Up, in the sky… it’s more than just a contrail…
I spend a lot of my travel time looking down at plants, but I also try and remember to look up, in to the distance and at the sky. Usually when I look at the sky I’m hoping for interesting birds, but this was a fun sight! The brilliant blue sky, with no clouds in…
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Purple Coneflower
From Wikipedia: Echinacea purpurea, the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States as well…
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Sunrise as we sailed to Quebec
I may not be a morning person, but I can set an alarm to get up and catch a glimpse of sunrise before I finish my night’s rest, and it is often well worth the effort!
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Pansy
This beautiful little blossom was tucked away among a huge array of flowers, easy to overlook or miss, just peeking out between the leaves to catch my eye. Per Wikipedia: The garden pansy (Viola × wittrockiana) is a type of polychromatic large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section Melanium (“the pansies”) of the genus Viola, particularly V.…
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Canadian Goldenrod
Google Lens identified this plant for me, and Wikipedia tells me: Solidago canadensis, known as Canada goldenrod or Canadian goldenrod, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is native to northeastern and north-central North America and often forms colonies of upright growing plants, with many small yellow flowers in a branching inflorescence held above the foliage. It is an invasive plant in other…
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Yellow Toadflax
I found a really nice write up about this flower at https://www.tcweed.org/blog/weed-of-the-month-yellow-toadflax where it was the weed of the month… who says weeds can’t be pretty? Yellow Toadflax Origins:Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is native to south-central Eurasian region and was introduced to the Americas in the late 1600s for ornamental purposes. Beyond its decorative use,…