Capt Mondo's Photo Blog

Finally managed to get a decent picture of a Small White (Pieris rapae) Butterfly, better known to most people as the “Cabbage White”. The damned things keep flitting about, and are very sensitive to anyone near, so I feel lucky that I was able to catch one who held still on a nearby flower long enough for me to crouch down and take a shot with my telephoto lens.

Small White (Pieris rapae) Butterfly

Saw this little Bullfrog leap onto the boardwalk at Woodbine Park. He stayed still long enough for me to take some shots, of which this one was the best:

Bullfrog on Boardwalk

Took the dog down for a walk down by Woodbine Beach, hoping to see some waterfowl. Instead I caught a group of people who were obviously practicing for a Dragonboat race. Took several pics, of which this was my favourite:

Dragonboat Practice

I predict that you are going to see many more pictures of the Mallard Ducklings that are calling the pond in Woodbine Park their home. There are clearly two small flocks of ducklings, each with its own mother protectively looking after them.

This was my favourite shot from the day, with a group of five ducklings heading one way while mother Mallard looks on. The white thing reflected in the water is the pond’s fountain.

Mallard Ducklings and Mother Mallard

Had a chance to walk the dog down by Woodbine Park again today, and finally got a good look at the Mallard ducklings that I have only seen from a distance before, occasionally peeking out from the bulrushes. The mother Mallard was keeping a close eye on her little flock, which included making sure a seagull didn’t get too close.

Here are the pics:

Mallard Ducklings 1

Our dog YoBob is back from the cottage as the girls head to Camp Couchiching for the rest of the month, so he needed a walk. A good excuse for me to head to Woodbine Park, where I took pictures of the various fauna I saw down there on what was a hot day.

Here’s my favourite, of a Monarch Butterfly on an Echinacea Flower:

Monarch Butterfly on an Echinacea Flower

Here’s the rest:

I had to do an errand downtown, and since I had the time I went to the Royal Ontario Museum, where I knew that they had just opened a new Ancient Rome/Byzantium gallery space. I had thought it was to be in a whole new gallery space, and was somewhat disappointed to find that they were filling in a space which previously had been set aside for temporary exhibitions. Still, in addition to items they had on display before the renovations, they also had the chance to show other things which had been in storage.

I took my camera along and took many pictures — especially of the Roman-Egyptian items as well as the new display on Nubian/Meroë culture — but was struck by the scene of a number of artists who were sketching the Imperial Roman marble busts in the middle of the new gallery. They sketched, and I shot pictures. Here’s my favourite of the bunch:

Artists Sketching Roman Marble Busts at the ROM

There’s been a lot of dragonflies up here, but so far none have let me get close enough to take a decent picture of it.

Then Annie found this one, dead, down on the island. It must have been freshly dead since it still had lots of colour. Don’t know what killed it, though “old age” seemed the likely culprit, as its wings were certainly chewed up from use.

We put it up on the mantelpiece where I took some shots.

Dead Midland Clubtail Dragonfly (I think)

I think it is a Midland Clubtail Dragonfly (Gomphus fraternus), though there are so many similar-looking Clubtails it is hard for me to be sure.

Discovered that I had not brought along my camera battery re-charger, so was being very sparing of the pictures I took today, as my battery indicator was low when I shot this.

Arrived yesterday, chiefly because I couldn’t miss this event: the Junior Regatta at the Ojibway Club, where Annie and Vanessa would compete in various water-based competitions. Annie had been practicing her dives, and Vanessa was all keen on tackling some canoeing events with a friend her age from another island.

Vanessa was keen to show me this year’s regatta poster, as we were both featured on it. I finally got to see it when we were there: it was taken at last year’s regatta, during the canoe tug-of-war. Vanessa’s on the dock, chearing on her team, and there I am in my bright red shirt, holding my camera and laughing at the scene. Here’s a scan I stitched together of the full poster:

Junior Regatta 2011 Poster: Vanessa Can Be Seen to the Left, and I am in a Red Shirt, Holding a Camera, on the Right

I’m pretty much a weekend visitor to this region — especially this summer — but after several years there were several other parents there I knew and had the chance to chat to. Am beginning to feel like part of the larger community here. At the conclusion of the competitions I also got corralled into handing out the ribbons for the third place winners of the various events.

Vanessa came away with a second place win for the canoe crab race (where the canoe-ists use their hands rather than their paddles) and did the marathon canoe race with her friend Ana. They didn’t place but I was proud that she tried her best. Annie only won a “Participant” ribbon for her efforts, but she had lots of fun, which is the whole point. As a treat I bought Vanessa a cool-looking “OJIB” t-shirt, and Annie a neon-pink “I ♥ PauB” (Pointe au Baril) baseball cap.

A fun day was had by all. And to prove it, here are the pictures:

Here’s a link to the pics I shot at last year’s event.

During the Junior Regatta at the Ojibway Club, Annie spotted this fellow in the water by the docks. Managed to snap a few quick shots before this Northern Water Snake dived into deeper waters: