Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Birds

thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/03/08/wednesday-challenge-the-birds/

Some birds hang out all winter long, especially the waterfowl. On my walk recently the ducks were close to shore and didn’t seem to mind me being there.

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Walking on a Snowy Day

I started out in the morning when the snow was still light

I knew that as the snow accumulated throughout the day I was less likely to get out for my walk so I bundled up and headed out mid-morning. On the way as the snow started to accumulate on the plants and trees I stopped to take a few shots of the freshly fallen ice crystals.

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Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Resolutions

thanks to Sue W. and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/01/04/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-resolutions/

Every year I find myself making the same resolutions….lose weight, continue to walk daily, eat healthy. This year I’m going to add two more resolutions. Make art at least weekly and visit my family in New Brunswick and in London once or twice. Of course making resolutions doesn’t work if you don’t have a plan to meet your goals.

For Christmas I received a new Fitbit so sticking to my plan of walking at least 10 000 steps a day makes that goal easier to track. My course of action is to try and get out before noon for a walk with my camera, walk instead of driving to shop at the top of the street and when I do need to use the car park as far from the entrance as possible.

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I already eat pretty healthy. I just need to stop snacking in the evenings. To do this I’m going to make art in my studio or read a book in a room away from the kitchen. In the past I resolved to make art every day but I found that goal was unattainable. Instead I’m looking to work at my art table at least once a week. I’ve also signed up to do another solo show in May so I’m motivated to make more art.

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A Healthy Meal
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White asparagus salad
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My first solo art show in 2022
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Visiting our son in London last April
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Visiting our daughter in New Brunswick last October

I always find it helpful to post a photo of me so I have a before photo. Not the most attractive photo but it was taken a few days ago. It clearly reminds me of how I need to make better food choices and stop eating in the evening.

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A Walk Through the Conservatory

…thanks to Becky B for hosting Walking Squareshttps://beckybofwinchester.com/2022/11/30/walking-squares-30/

This is the last day for the Walking Squares Challenge. I needed a pick me up because it was lashing down rain for a good part of the day. I took a quick trip over to the Centennial Park Conservatory hoping to see the Christmas displays. Unfortunately they won’t be ready till December 9th. I did, however, enjoy a stroll through the main greenhouses.

A Cold Walk Downtown – November 17, 2022

….Thanks to Becky B for hosting Walking Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2022/11/17/walking-squares-17/

My husband came home from the hospital yesterday. I wasn’t planning on going to the concert that I had tickets for but he didn’t want me to miss it. When I woke up this morning I was still in the mindset of not going but then a good friend, who is one of the organizers called me to see if I could help them out. They had a bit of an emergency and I couldn’t say no.

I normally love this walk after I get off the subway but I have to admit that I do prefer it when the weather is warmer nut it’s still picturesque nonetheless.

The emergency was resolved by the time I got there so I was able to enjoy a wonderful concert.

Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Peaceful

….thanks to Cee for hosting CBWC https://ceenphotography.com/2022/06/02/cbwc-peaceful/

Walks in the park, along the beach and past the marina are all peaceful to me.

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Monday Murals – In Search of The Stik

….an adventure of epic proportions

While living in London, my husband decided he needed to find some street art created by the famous artist Stik. He went on the internet to locate some Stik murals that were not too far from our flat in Islington/Highbury.

Stik is a British graffiti artist based in London.[1][2] He is known for painting large stick figures.

One of his works fetched £150,000 at auction.

We started our search for a Stik mural at Shakespeare Walk. We got on a bus and made our way using Google Maps. When we got there we found ourselves walking through a nice residential neighbourhood with a community centre and parks. We thought we might be close because we did see some street art made by children.

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We asked a couple of local residents if they could help us but they were at a complete loss and had never heard of Stik. We ended up walking through Butterfield Green before getting back on the bus and heading home.

Two days later, Kevin found another area where he thought we’d have more luck. This time we got on a bus that took us further east towards Dalston. When we got there I wasn’t sure where Kevin was taking me. We walked through back alleys and abandoned lots but didn’t see a Stik.

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We went back to the main street and passed a colourful gate to a city garden but it didn’t open for another 10 minutes so we walked a little further and down a dead-end street where we passed some quirky shop windows and some graffiti art on the buildings.

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We returned to the Curve Garden Gate and looked up and saw this amazing mural on the wall outside the gate. Later we found out the people in the mural were famous local residents of Dalston.

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Kevin was certain that we would find a Stik mural behind those doors. What we did find was an amazing garden space that had been created by the community back in 2012 to make up for the fact that Dalston had no green spaces for the residents to enjoy. Inside there was a cafe, a tiny ‘museum’ of sorts, a play area for children and wonderful pots of spring plants. The walkway inside twisted and turned around trees and plants and areas to sit and enjoy this green space.

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While I was enjoying the scenery and taking photos Kevin was off looking for a Stik. When I caught up with him he looked dejected and not because he couldn’t find it. He found it buried behind scaffolding and overgrown plants. Unfortunately we could only see the bottom third of the figure. Apparently the wall it was painted on was deemed unsafe so the city covered it up for safety reasons.

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The search continues…….

Thanks to Sami for hosting Monday Murals https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/2022/05/monday-murals-ellenbrook-ii.html and Marsha for host Photographing Public Art Challenge https://alwayswrite.blog/photographing_public_art_challenge/?wref=tp