Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: chocolate

This is a quick, telemacro shot taken last night, of a chocolate flower from Purdy's that my daughter gave me for Mother's Day : ) In Canada, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This happened to be 10 May 2015, and my daughter had asked if I wanted to spend the day out with our cameras, looking for birds and old barns and anything else that was interesting and/or beautiful. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend this special day : ) We started off locally, visiting a wetland in the SW of the city, where we had good or reasonable views of several different bird species, including Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Red-necked Grebe, a Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, American Wigeon, and a Common Grackle (which I love to see). From that location, we drove some of my familiar backroads SW of the city, where we saw a Snipe walking across a gravel road (it had such a cute way of walking), another pair of Red-breasted Grebe, a quick glimpse of a Mountain Bluebird, a pair of juvenile Swans (very distant, but I think they were Trumpeters). Our drive then took us further south than I had ever driven before. We knew we wanted to see an old grain elevator at Azure (near Cayley) and we were able to find it. Drove a few of the country backroads in that whole area, eventually ending up at Silver Lake, where we watched some American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. From there, we drove backroads all the way north to Frank Lake, where we saw Eared Grebes, a Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, Canada Geese (of course!), and RAIN! A lot of the day, apart from when we first started the drive, was overcast and we did have a bit of rain on and off. There were some pretty black clouds seen from Frank Lake. Managed to get a few photos of a couple of different Swainson's Hawks during the day. Twice, when we had a great opportunity to get photos, they were disturbed by another vehicle. The driver of one car thought it would be fun to drive past as noisily as he could, of course making the hawks fly. We called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, hoping to have a delicious meal there, or at least we drove as far as the entrance. The parking lots were full and overflowing and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. No idea if it was because it was Mother's Day, or perhaps there was a wedding being held there. Whatever the reason, we knew that there was no chance of ever getting a table in the restaurant. Thanks for the treat at Tim Horton's, Rachel : ) And thank you for spending the whole day with me - it made a lovely Mother's Day!

I forgot I had bought this chocolate Halloween ghost a short while ago, simply to use for a Halloween image on Flickr. Better late than never.

Up till yesterday late afternoon, I had nothing I could use for my Happy Valentine's Day wishes to you all. Then I had to go food shopping after my volunteer shift and guess what I saw. Perhaps not the most photogenic cupcake, but at least it had a heart on the top. After a few quick shots, i sank my teeth into it - and discovered it was like chewing sticky, tough cardboard!! So, into the garbage it just had to go. Happy Valentine's Day to my kids, and I hope each and every one of my friends/contacts (whether on Flickr or just visiting, whether near or far), has a happy, happy day, whether you spend it with loved ones or on your own. I'm taking myself out for a few hours, keeping my fingers crossed that where I go, my car won't get stuck in snow again, like it did when I drove east of the city recently. Yesterday, I bought one of those cheap, telescopic, light-weight shovels to keep in my car : ) Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

A good thing I didn't eat any more of these before "playing" with them for a photo - I only just had enough left to do it, ha. Loading my three images at just before 12:45 a.m.. My three alarm clocks are set to go off at 4:10 a.m., as I have to be up and ready for a Bird Count in the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve, north west of Calgary, all day tomorrow. Next week is going to be a really busy week, with the last two Bird Counts, my new furnace, etc. being installed over two days, doctor's appointment and hopefully a birding trip to the mountains on the Saturday (if I have any energy left).

LOL, the reason for buying this much-too-tempting dessert was simply that I was feeling desperate to photograph something different! Too many flowers, too many owls, too many ...... The hardest part about photographing something like this delicious Chocolate Checker Mousse Cake is having to download my photos and check that at least one of the photos has come out sharp enough - and THEN I can eat it, ha, ha! I must point out, though, that it is/was only about 3" diameter!! Hundreds of calories, I'm sure, but when it comes to getting a photo, sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do! Thanks, Safeway, yet again : )

I went to one of the shopping malls with a couple of friends for lunch a few days ago. Normally, I go to a mall maybe once a year, if I absolutely HAVE to - I hate shopping! They have built a new Food Court in this mall and we were in awe of the modern washrooms, ha, ha. On the way out, there was a basket full of tiny packets of the things you see in my photo. Inside each packet was a card that said: "We've created a variety of services designed to make your shopping more comfortable, more convenient and less stressful." Back at home, I only just managed to get a photo, before I ate them all. What are they? Chocolate covered Sunflower seeds - so you know you are eating something healthy, LOL. They are so hard to pick up because they are so tiny, so it takes a while to eat just a few. Delicious!!

This was the most delious Italian dessert - and chocolate is perfect for around Easter : ) I must admit that the reason I bought this was that I was desperate for something different to photograph, LOL. This was the prettiest thing I could find that was TINY (i.e. about 3" across). Don't need the calories, period, but most definitely don't need the calories from some regular sized dessert : ) I do have to admit one thing, though - I did buy a 3" cheese cake (like one in a photo I posted ages ago), just so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat this Tiramisu before I photographed it and then wait and check that one of the photos was sharp enough. Oh, by the way, this was bought from Safeway!! "Tiramisu has become one of the most popular desserts served in restaurants of all types, not just Italian restaurants. The recipe has been adapted into cakes, puddings, and other varieties of dessert. Tiramisu is made by soaking savoiardi biscuits in espresso with the optional addition of liquor and sugar, and layering them with a mixture of mascarpone cheese and zabaglione, a light custard made with Marsala wine or a liqueur. Cocoa powder is sprinkled on top of the dessert, which is refrigerated before being served." From Wikipedia.