Greg Shchepanek

  Cheers Everyone ! My beer of choice : Grolsch  I have been drinking it since I was a teenager & able to consume the wonderful golden nectar that is beer . Usually enjoy the Heineken while out due to it being more widely distributed at the pubs & bars.  Like most things, we look to the ancient Egyptians for answers. Historians point to beer as a ceremonial drink over 5,000 years ago because papyrus scrolls have been discovered documenting early beer recipes. But the Mesopotamians may have actually been the first to develop beer over 10,000 years ago, before recorded history. Enjoy some suds today you deserve it ! I am a serious beer drinker & here is my stein to prove it. I bought this beautiful hunting motif stein while I was in Koblenz, Germany. 

  Amethyst Explored with a Macro Lens So my Photo Community that I am a part of implements a challenge photo every week on Friday & they call it Flickr Friday . The challenge they put out was how to represent the colour Purple . I swiftly went to my mineral box to fetch my Amethyst crystals that I have collected over the years or that have been given to me by my Uncles' as gifts. I am very fortunate to have an extensive collection of rock samples that I can go to when there is a unique photo challenge or I just want to photograph interesting perspectives of the rocks. I have a humungous geode that was given by my Uncle from  Amherstburg that I got when I was a wee young one.  But anyways I am getting sidetracked ... The Photo Community Purple Challenge : My photo was a big hit. Not only featured on the Flickr Friday page it was feature in Explore where it got maximum exposure & views & likes ensued to make it one of my most popular images that I launched on the site.

  Exploring the Marshes & Wetlands of  Petrie Island on the Ottawa River Bronzed Tiger Beetles (Cicindela repanda) of the sandy beaches along the river at Petrie Island, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Marshes were teaming with life : American Bullfrog  ( Lithobates catesbeianus ) Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias ) stalks prey in the high reeds. Exploring Petrie Island is always a good time. The island is a complex of marshes & varied wetland habitats on the Ottawa River in the East end of the city. One of my favourite endeavours is to chase & photograph the frisky Tiger Beetles that populate the sandy beach shores of the Ottawa River . Even on the first weekend of Autumn the little guys are out hunting down their prey, flying, jumping & running so very fast.

  Just Some of the Different Bunnies I Have Come Across in my Adventures Eastern Cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ) Britannia Conservation Area, Mud Lake, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Eastern Cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ) Cooper Marsh Conservation Area, Ontario, Canada. Black-tailed Jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ) Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, United States. Ramsar site no. 347. Snowshoe Hare ( Lepus americanus ) Shirleys Bay, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Snowshoe Hare ( Lepus americanus ) Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ramsar site no. 755. Every year I venture to Shirleys Bay in Ottawa to observe & appreciate the wild Snowshoe Hares ( Lepus americanus ) their antics and the colour change of these adorable creatures never stop astounding me. I am very lucky to come across lots of bunnies on my adventures. Rabbits have always been a favourite subject of mine & every time I come across them they never disappoint. Hoping you think &a

This Week was Forest Week   Northern Leopard Frogs ( Lithobates pipiens ) abound at the Marlborough Forest, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Found well out of their water habitats & in the woods. The Marlborough Forest , Ottawa's largest conservation area just southwest of the city, wasn't very fruitful in the flora & fauna department. But did provide an excellent hike around the Roger Stevens Pond in the morning this week. I would venture to the Larose Forest in the afternoon & find more divers delights amongst the tall trees of the protect woodlands just outside of Limoges, Ontario. It was so very nice to get back to the forest for I had not been there for sometime. It was even proven that I had been negligent of my visits since my companion & I got lost on our way to the big forest. But eventually we found our way there & commenced on an adventure of rediscovering the prehistoric looking woodlands just outside the city boundaries of Ottawa district. First fo