Radically Retired

Tag: #powerwalking

  • Sometimes Nasty

    Sometimes Nasty

    Blue green is one of my favourite colours except when it applies to the type of algae on the river that meanders lazily through our prairie city.

    I still enjoy my early morning power walks on the trails and paths alongside the Souris River.

    I’m just not enjoying the views as much now that the annual algae bloom has set in.

    The Souris (turns into the Mouse River in North Dakota) is very shallow here. As a result, a rainy summer (which washes nutrients from nearby fields into the river) followed by heat in excess of 30°C (86°F) for an extended period, and an unusual zero wind for weeks on end, makes for perfect conditions for an extreme algae bloom.

    And blooming it is! This year, in places, the algae mat is so thick it looks like a wrinkled carpet.

    The next photo shows opposite sides of one of the bridges I walk across on my trails.

    It must get trapped under the bridge for a bit before it moves on

    Blue green algae is toxic to pets and livestock and the usual big flocks of ducks and geese have chosen elsewhere to have their last summer swims before making their way to warmer climes for the winter months.

    Thankfully, our drinking water supply isn’t sourced from the mighty and currently nasty Souris.

  • Friday Freestyling … A Healthy Trade Off

    Friday Freestyling … A Healthy Trade Off

    Morning golden hour is the best time for me to catch photos.

    I’m a very early riser, so heading out just after the sun comes up isn’t a difficult feat.

    I don’t go out at that time regularly, but when I do, I’m always rewarded with peace, little to no vehicle traffic when crossing streets to get to my trails, and then that glorious, energizing, early morning sunlight.

    When the sunlight gently caresses the trees, the flowers, the river, and the walking paths, I have a hard time keeping up my walking pace because I want to stop and photograph every sun-kissed scene that catches my eye.

    Yes, the light is distracting from my purpose of walking for exercise. The stops to enjoy and try to capture on my phone camera what I’m seeing with my eyes, keep me grounded in the present and appreciative of the beauties in nature.

    I see that as a healthy trade-off.

  • Read My Sign

    Read My Sign

    According to The Beatles in 1967, it’s all you need.

  • The Hammer Lane

    The Hammer Lane

    Many years ago, when I hopped in for a semi trip with hubs, he explained the USA interstate highway system to me.

    He also explained what the drivers in their unique CB radio lingo were referring to in terms of the lanes on the highway through cities.

    The left lane next to centre was the “hammer lane”, meaning that you had to hammer down (accelerate) in order to pass.

    The right lane next to centre (excluding exit lanes) was called the “granny lane”, because this is where the slow traffic should be.

    The centre lane was appropriately, the “sandwich lane”.

    Our indoor track has three lanes, but they operate opposite to the highway. Our hammer lane is to the right of centre and granny lane is to the left.

    The gal in the hammer lane in my feature photo had just passed me.

    This gentleman was correctly in the granny lane

    I’m usually a sandwich lane kinda gal, unless someone’s speed has them in the wrong lane. Then, I’m hammer lane all the way.

    And then there are those who don’t play by the rules of the road and take up all three lanes at a less than normal pace.

    They looked like they were capable of walking faster

    As I come up behind groups like this, I call out “passing”, and the person on the right moves to centre.

    Next time I’m going to call out, “hammer lane”.

  • In My Mind’s Eye

    In My Mind’s Eye

    On yesterday morning’s power walk, there wasn’t a breath of wind, which resulted in stunning mirror reflections on the river.

    Because I didn’t want to slow my pace, I didn’t take the time to adjust the exposure on my iPhone camera before I took the shot.

    The result was a slightly more washed out photo than what I had hoped for.

    Our province’s motto is “Land of Living Skies”, so my goal in many of the landscape images I capture here at home is to honour that motto.

    In addition to not taking the time to adjust the exposure, I didn’t wait until there were no vehicles passing by. I don’t mind vehicles in a landscape photo that showcases reflections on water, but only if the vehicles themselves are also in the reflection.

    A bit of post processing brought the photo to how I envisioned the scene. I first removed the cars using the eraser in my phone’s native photos app. I then took the photo into the Lightroom mobile app for minor adjustments to exposure and colours. I added a wee bit of vignette at the end to draw more light to the main subject. Within less than five minutes of simple editing, I was able to achieve what was in my mind’s eye for this scene from yesterday morning (feature photo).

    In some instances, I edit out telephone and power lines. This time, the lines were also a detail in the perfect reflection so I left them in.

    Here’s the original.