Flood Plain

No. 2548 - 31 May 2011 - 14:02:17

The Assiniboine lurks in the background, behind the trees, but the water in the foreground is the breach. Pounding rain and gale force winds were blowing in Brandon today but the saturated earth of southern Manitoba can no longer absorb additional moisture. Fields are filled with water, the rivers and lakes sport white caps and family homes and farms are at risk of ruin. The flood plain is like a giant, water-logged sponge and the water has no where to go.
Although I left the province today my thoughts remain with the brave and hopeful Manitobans who may not reasonably see the end of this mess for many months.

Tiger Dam With Lawn Ornament

No. 2154 - 29 May 2011 - 16:44:05

A planned trip to the family ranch at Cayer, Manitoba is adjusted due to flooding around Lake Manitoba. But cousins in Toutes Aide, at Lake Manipogo just down the road, are busy with related flooding and the damage is overwhelming their summer cabin.

Toutes Aides

No. 2394 - 29 May 2011 - 17:47:56

It's all fun and games until the kids find out there will be no summer holidays at the cabin this year.

* Photo of moi is by Leslie (Hammerquist) Currie.

La Forche At The Forks

No. 1930 - 25 May 2011 :- 18:32:39 * No. 1917 - 17:04:46


No. 1919 - 25 May 2011 : 17:04:58 * No. 1921 - 25 May 2011 - 17:05:39

Almost bilingual city of the Canadian West.

Le Printemps

No. 1870 - 25 May 2011 - 16:41:46 * No. 1880 - 25 May 2011 - 16:48:32

Shy Ginger

No. 1451 - 16:02:04 - 16:02:04 * No. 1472 - 24 May 2010 - 16:05:52

No. 1556 - 24 May 2011 - 16:24:57 * No. 1532 : 24 May 2011 - 16:22:39

Birds are smart in their own way. They have good eye sight and seem to be aware of most everything around them. Now that most of the migrating species have moved on, there remain only House Sparrows, Grackles and Blue Jays who are becoming more relaxed in my presence. So when a new visitor shows up I notice and immediately grab the camera. This "foxy-brown bird that lurks in eastern thickets" * is reluctant to have its picture taken on the ground where its long tail and "rufous-brown above" are so well set-off. The moment it spots me at the window or door, it hops off into the greenery and up to the treetops where I manage to collect a few angles in any case.

* BIRDS of North America by Kenn Kaufman

Fresh

No. 1053 - 21 May 2011 - 10:08:58

Discreet birthday greetings to my dearest one.

UniverCity

No. 0417 - 14 May 2011 - 15:29:18 * No. 0399 - 14 May 2011 - 15:25:18

Some of the architectural choices made to turn existing buildings into this modern university campus are questionable but the act of bringing a centre of higher learning into what was a crumbling downtown core is a good thing. The surrounding West End neighbourhood
is slowly transforming as well.
The exodus to the suburbs will be a 20th century phenomenon corrected by the slow trickle back to town where people can live, work and play without commuting.

Untitled XIII

No. 0943 - 18 May 2011 - 19:34:57

Blackpoll Warbler

No. 0071 - 12 May 2011 - 13:01:42

This particular member of the warbler family is a long distance migrant. In fact, the further north a Blackpoll Warbler nests, the further south it will winter - some fly from Alaska to Brazil and back every year.

Misspelt and Misdirected

No. 0670 - 16 May 2011 - 13:34:48

I checked the spelling of Wolseley, a neighbourhood in downtown Winnipeg, only to find the graffitist doesn't know where exactly he/she is asking this fatuous question.
No winners here I fear.

White-crowned Sparrow

No. 0301 - 14 May 2011 - 09:36:39

Not to be confused with the White-throated and Harris's
Crowned Sparrows.

Harris's Sparrow

No. 0264 - 14 May 2011 - 09:32:42

American Robin

No. 9900 (detail) - 10 May 2011 - 16:21:37

My host Blogger and their host Google have been problematic recently.
They call it "maintenance".
This post was meant for yesterday.
Regards.

Urban Nature

No. 0009 (detail) - 11 May 2011 - 10:50:08

Technical Difficulties

No. 8823 - 22 Apr 2011 - 15:42:38

Dimechonicle was conceived as a way to exhibit a growing body of photographic work along with occasional points of view, salient to the contemporary images displayed.
I have been without a residential internet connection for over one week and the distress this causes begs me to question the worth and necessity of continuing with this mode of expression. The current era of media communication is altering the very way our brains work and creating new pathways to human contact and, as usual, no one knows where it will lead us. I enjoy experimenting with the directions it takes me but however much I enjoy posting new pictures, there is always frustration when the technology fails to work as anticipated. At some point I began to feel obligated to post in spite of overwhelming difficulties such as a broken computer or failing internet connections.
Recently I recognized this obligation to be more of a privilege and that what I get out of it is greater than what I put in. Therefore I am grateful and will continue to post as long as it gives me pleasure and in spite of the faster things get, the more they don't go anywhere.

Common Grackle

No. 9838 - 07 May 2011 - 18:35:13

This "Bronzed Grackle" of the common variety is widespread east of the Rockies which is why it is uncommon to me. I am mesmerized by its white-yellow eyes and purple-blue head feathers. It was in the back yard making a racket and stirring up dead leaves
when I took this picture.
All behaviours are interesting during mating season.

Waiting For Mother

No. 9744 - 07 May 2011 - 12:59:34 * No. 9779 - 07 May 2011 - 13:54:59

According to my copy of BIRDS of North America by Kenn Kaufman, this is a Cooper's Hawk and a juvenile. I suspected as much because I would not have seen it but for it's frantic alarm call. When I came back one hour later it was still near its nest and apparently waiting for its mother (or so I would like to think - this being Mother's Day).

Thelma's Garden

No. 4386 - 09 May 2010 - 14:10:12

A place I miss and look forward to seeing again soon.

Dark-eyed Junco

No. 7850 - 11 Apr 2011 - 07:43:02 * No. 7922 - 12 Apr 2011 - 11:08:55

This small gray sparrow, a native of cool climates, is more elegant than showy. It flashes white tail feathers when it flies off and has become one of my favourite backyard visitors.

White-throated Crowned Sparrow

No. 9440 - 04 May 2011 - 11:45:10

Tossing a handful of sunflower seeds into the backyard every morning grows a bird garden.

Blue Jay

No. 8917 - 25 Apr 2011 - 08:50:03

Nos. 9300 - 9310/9379 - 03 May 2011

Tough Guys

No. 6662 - 12 Jul 2008 - 06:41:05 * No. 9286 - 02 May 2011 - 09:02:08

One man's crime is another man's profit.

The tough guy on the left is probably a member of a drug cartel and is apparently free to do business as long as he stays within the boundaries of Vancouver's "downtowneastside". As well as selling drugs he will be involved in the abuse and drug addicting of very young girls who have landed in this hell zone often due to family abuse and lack of education. Many refer to these female persons as "prostitutes" or "hookers" but really they are sex slaves and no more than children with stuffed animals hanging off their bags. They do not actually work for money but for the drugs that anesthetize their misery. When they are arrested and thrown in jail their male clients go free while their cartel bosses wait for them on the street. They will be beaten when they return without drugs or cash and then this pattern will repeat. Reviled by everyone and unable to escape their penury, most will die young and desperate within a short period of time from the bad dates, dirty drugs and impossible living conditions on the street.

Meanwhile the tough guy on the right is focused on property crime. He will tell you we need more prisons - built by corporate interests for profit. He will ignore studies suggesting a comprehensive national daycare program would help raise up hungry and unsupervised children whose parents, many single, make up the working poor because he disapproves on moral grounds.
At least girls can look forward to careers with the drug trafficking, money-laundering, sex-enslaving cartels which also give boys opportunities in drug dealing and pimping.
Both the federal and civic police forces can be witnessed standing by and watching because in many cases as one cop told me, off the record,
"if our political bosses tell us to sit on our hands, we sit on our hands".

No. 6677 - 19 May 2010 - 18:18:59

I lived over the intersection of Main and Hastings Streets for three and a half years and documented plenty of the above scenario. Eventually I was forced to walk away due to the stress and frustration of living amongst the most stricken citizens in our country. I am lucky - the young women in these pictures are not.

"Tough on Crime" is a bill of goods and yesterday a slim majority of Canadians bought into it at the polls. Today I am a Canadian who feels neither strong nor free.