A website dedicated to photographs and videos from Canada and around the world with an emphasis on nature, wildlife, food, travel and sport as well as art, architecture and culture. In culture, the focus will be on projects related to the work of His Highness the Aga Khan, his Ismaili Muslim community and Islam in general.
Videos and Photos: The Sun, the Moon and the Sea; the Woodpecker, the Ismaili Flag and the Qibla; and Human Interaction With Nature
A beautiful scene of interaction between humanity and nature, as a person paddles through the large marsh at Toronto’s Rouge Beach on a chilly morning; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
When you are in the forests, look around and observe, listen to the sounds of nature and wait patiently! There is always something happening, and if you fail to notice anything, look closely at the barks and branches of trees; their shapes, forms and specific features will amaze you. And the squirrel, a black or a brown, will be somewhere around teasing you with food in its mouth. You will also observe beautiful water dews dripping from stems and branches. Autumn is fast fading. With the trees virtually leafless, you can see much much more in the forest. I have just discovered the woodpecker, taking on trees for its sustenance and posterity.
VIDEO 1: THE AMAZING WOODPECKER
Woodpecker at work! Morningside Park, Toronto; November 21, 2021. Video: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
I was hearing “knock knock” all around me, and the video of the woodpecker is the outcome of my patience. The other day, in an earlier post, I put out photos of the woodpecker from a close range. This time, the woodpecker spent plenty of time in my vicinity, allowing me to take videos from different angles. I had to tip-toe, and I succeeded.
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Sunrise on Lake Ontario, as viewed from Toronto’s Rouge Beach; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Many hours earlier, when I left home at 6 AM, the sky was clear. I anticipated a cloudless sky in the horizon on the Sea, by which I mean Lake Ontario. I was at Rouge Urban Park and Port Union Waterfront Trail on three consecutive mornings. There was cloud cover but the sunrise was striking. The moon was on the opposite end of the lake, over a large marsh teeming with birds of all kinds. The moon’s illumination was 97% and 93% on November 21 and 22 respectively. They turned out to be truly memorable days. All is good, so long as you are well dressed for chilly days.
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Moon, with an illumination of 93% , as it continues its morning descent west of Toronto’s Port Union Waterfront Trail while the sun (not seen) has begun rising over Lake Ontario at the opposite end; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Then returning home, I would be committing a cardinal sin if I just drove along Wynford Drive without stopping at the beautiful projects Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, has built in Toronto, for the enjoyment of his Ismaili community as well as its residents and everyone who visits this gem of a city, regarded as one of the world’s great cities. Toronto is for everyone to discover, residents and visitors alike.
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The beautiful Ismaili Flag at Aga Khan Park located by Wynford Drive, the main road running along the Ismaili Centre, Aga Khan Park and the Aga Khan Museum. Not shown in this photo are the flags of Toronto, Ontario and Canada that run in the same line. An explanation of the flag’s colours is given in a special article celebrating the Ismaili Flag. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Enjoy the photos and the videos, and do visit the parks and forests wherever you live. As Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, the late Aga Khan, said, “Next I would place appreciation and enjoyment of the glories of nature. All those sunrises and sunsets – all the intricate miracle of sky colour, from dawn to dusk….then comes night – “a night of stars.” I look up at night and I know – I know the glory of the stars. It is then that the stars speak to us. All that splendid spendthrift beauty…As a very rich man treasures the possession of some unique picture, so a man should treasure and exult in the possession – his individual possession – of the sights of this unique world.”
More photos and video below
An artistic rock at Morningside Park, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A view of the creek running through Morningside Park, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Through this creek, one of a few in Toronto, salmon swim upstream to spawn during the month of October. However salmon activity was seen in 2021 into the 1st week in November. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Two colourful birds (species not known) perched at top of tree at Morningside Park, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A close-up of one of two beautiful birds perched on top of a tree at Morningside Park, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Sumac flowers among bare trees, Morningside Park, Toronto, November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
An adorable squirrel feeds at Morningside Park, Toronto; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Northern Shoveler in the large marsh at Rouge Beach, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Early morning visitors walk their dog through an artistic pedestrian tunnel underneath train tracks at Toronto’s Port Union Waterfront Trail located on Lake Ontario; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchanr/Simergphotos.
Sunrise on Lake Ontario at approximately 7:20 AM, as viewed from the shores of Port Union Waterfront Trail, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A lone trout swims at Toronto’s Rouge Beach; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A beautiful view of Lake Ontario from Toronto’s Rouge Beach shortly after sunrise; November 19, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A beautiful scene of the large marsh at Toronto’s Rouge Beach, as birds fly into the sky in unison, with the setting moon, illuminated at 97%, overlooking the entire Rouge Urban National Park; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A tree with autumn foliage and the bench stand out in this photo of a forested area at Morningside Park, Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
A beautiful picture of the Northern Shoveler swimming in the large marsh at Toronto’s Rouge Beach shortly after sunrise on a chilly morning; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
An unperturbed family of swans swims to the Rouge Beach marsh from the main beach area on Lake Ontario, as a disciplined dog and its owner watch the elegant parade pass by; November 19, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
The family of swans swims underneath a railway bridge running across the marsh area at Toronto’s Rouge Beach, while workers carry out important work as part of a major waterfront renovation project; November 21, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
Construction workers carry out necessary upgrades on a railway bridge running across Toronto’s Rouge Beach marsh on a chilly morning, as a commuter train passes overhead; November 19, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
VIDEO 2: THE AMAZING WOODPECKER
Woodpecker at work! Morningside Park, Toronto, November 21, 2021. Video: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
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A couple with warm clothing make themselves comfortable on an inflatable rubber couch at Toronto’s Rouge Beach on a chilly morning, and enjoy the scenic view of Lake Ontario; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
From left to right: The Ismaili Flag and Flags of the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and Canada at Aga Khan Park; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos.
The Qibla – the direction of the Kaaba – to which all Muslims pray, – as seen from outside of the domed Ismaili Jamatkhana prayer hall located within the Ismaili Centre complex in Toronto; November 22, 2021. Photo: Malik Merchant/Simergphotos
Date posted: November 23, 2021.
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Sir, your lens is as powerful as your beautiful and elaborate commentary.