Today was a fun day! I met up with my friend Roland who is visiting Ottawa for seven days. He flew in from Iqaluit on Thursday. His goal is to visit all the provinces and territories before he dies. He’s 66 years old, an amazing photographer, and a passionate world traveller. I met him through my friend Gosia – he had taken some stunning photos at her Woman Unmasked show, a couple of which he took of me that I really loved!
My Dad and I picked him up from the bus station (he said he felt like he was travelling to Edmonton since Kanata is so far from downtown!) and brought him back to our house. My parents had to run to the Sai Centre, so my Mom quickly said hi to him and dashed off.
We had tea and caught up a little, and then he exclaimed “The sun is out! We should take advantage of it” and so we headed out to the Beaver Pond, which was the main purpose of the trip. He had seen some of my pictures on Facebook that were taken there and thought they were beautiful, so he wanted to see it for himself and try and capture some of the many birds that dwell there. I also had a secret agenda – to get him to take some pics of me, which luckily he was totally on board with.
We walked and talked, soaking up the sun and trying to avoid the mosquitoes. When we got to the pond, I spotted the white heron that lives there (it’s actually called an Egret). It’s an absolutely stunning bird, as you can see! (he didn’t take this pic, I got it from unsplash).
I’ve seen it hanging out at the edge of the pond, pacing back in forth. I have actually never seen it fly – until today! But it was too fast for us, and he wasn’t able to get the shot.
We stopped in a few spots to take some pics of me, sitting on a rock, standing at the water’s edge, looking contemplative on a bridge, perching in a tree. Oh how I love to pose! He also got a few pics of the black birds that have been a new addition to the pond this year.
Here are a few of his pics from the day:
After our walk and photoshoot, we headed back to my place for lunch (stir-fry and rice that I’d made earlier – with a little help from my Dad), and then walked over to Luna café for coffee. We had lattes and shared a yummy piece of carrot cake.
Having coffee with a friend is one of my favourite things to do. Learning about one another’s stories and connecting with another soul just never gets old. He told me about a biography piece that he’d written about his parents and their life stories, and how he’d given it to his father on his 80th birthday. It got me thinking about my parents and grandparents, and how it would be amazing to capture their stories in written form. I’ll add it to my list of a million things to do!
After coffee, we headed to the bus stop – I went to Bayshore to do some shopping, and he continued on to downtown, to the bustle of the gay pride parade, into the Supreme Court, and then back to his hotel. What an awesome day. :-)
She's Come Undone 