Walking With a Camera

 Still Running? Not Me. But my Walking Habit -

With a Camera - is Very Regular. Steady Eddie!

"Walking the TVP" is now a popular video series : )

Introduction:

Occasionally I will run a few short distances, each followed by a walking break, just to see if I have it in me to run a 10 K or half marathon - my favourite 'long distance' race now, after several years of the training I went through to prepare for 13 marathons, including Boston. And while running a bit I admit to myself that I'm really not interested in a half marathon, not even a 10 K.

And the day after running a bit I get the feeling that my regular walks - usually 4 to 6 miles in length - are more than enough to support a fun and fitness routine that will last at least another 10 years. I really like walking, especially on days that I take a camera or two. There is a lot of wildlife out there that I enjoy tracking down, including a bird species, deer, fish in the Thames River (e.g., spotted gar!) and turtles.

Especially turtles. Snappers, red eared sliders, Common Map and Northern Map, painted and spiny soft shell turtles, most of which are listed as endangered species in Ontario.

As I walk about town on the Thames Valley Parkway I am aware of when I have walked 4 - 6 miles, hoping to maintain my 30 - 35 mile average each week. Currently my ten-week average is at 32.0 miles and I'm hoping to gradually bring it up to 35.

A spiny soft shell turtle in the Thames River
 

"There's always something going on at Turtle Point"

Because I have 16,000+ photographs and 667 videos taking up storage space on my iMac, and I keep getting reminders from Apple.Inc to buy more space, I have been trimming the numbers (very gradually, down from 24,000+!!) by making YouTube videos.

Especially about turtles : ) I've been at it so long that my family now buys me 'turtle gear' for birthdays and Christmas! Turtle t-shirts, PJs, stuffed toys, socks!!

Below I have provided links to a few recent videos. I now say that 'fun and fitness and cameras' go together. Whatever gets me out the door!

Walking the TVP, 2026 (11)

Turtle Music (1)

Even More Turtle Tours, 2026 (17)

Questions or comments can be dropped off here - gordh7700@gmail.com

Unattributed Photos GH 

YouTube Videos: Turtle Tours and More : ) (2)

When Out for Walks I Take Lots of Photos of Turtles!!

And I Keep Turning The Albums into Wee Videos

Looking for turtles everywhere, from spring to fall. But

it's 'slim pickins' during the winter months in Canada

Introduction:

I am sure I am not the only one who has a hobby or interest that kinda runs along relentlessly because it's fun or related to fitness or educational or it's something retired people do to get out of the house and out of chores that are not as urgent as they used to be. 

Surely - I'm not the only one because I see other people out on the Thames Valley Parkway in London, Ontario, Canada with cameras and bicycles and expensive running shoes or hikers, stopping at coffee shops or, e.g., Burt's Bar for a pint on a hot summer's day. 

Surely!!

Just learning how to use AI keeps me busy too.

Then there's sending stuff off to YouTube:

Please click here to view one of my recent entries: Even More Turtle Tours, 2026 (7)

Please click here to view another recent entry: Even More Turtle Tours, 2026 (4)

The Monster from the Murk

And now for something completely different, and very short: "Great idea. Not!" Gord's Shorts (2)

Please click here to view my most recent entry: Turtle Tour Photo Gallery, 2016 (2)

More videos will appear in the near future, surely! The guy's on a roll!

Please click here for more links to YouTube.

Unattributed Photos GH

YouTube Videos: Turtle Tours in London, ONT (1)

Thames River is Home to a Healthy Turtle Population

Gord Walks the TVP in Search of Soft Shells and Snappers

"What you lookin' at, Bub?" (a snapper's intimidation tactic)

Introduction:

I started looking for turtles along the Thames R. in earnest in 2022 and over the course of a few months - and after getting better at spotting them - I learned that my fair city's population of various turtles (Northern Maps, Spiny soft shells, Red-eared sliders, Common Maps, Painted turtles and big, old, Snapping turtles) seemed to be doing pretty well.

In the years since I have also learned that Spiny soft shells are an 'endangered species' but - thanks to the help of the Southern Ontario at Risk Reptiles program - beginning to make a comeback. Overall however, the turtle population is still at risk.

"Even with thousands (of Spiny soft shells) released each year, according to recent studies, only one to five per cent of hatchlings survive to maturity - a process that can take 15 years. For spiny soft shell turtles, five thousand hatchlings might yield about 50 breeding adults... Predation remains a fact of life - birds, fish, frogs and mammals will eat young turtles - but climate change is adding unpredictable dangers. Flooding events can wipe out nearly all natural nests, while extreme heat can cook eggs laid too high on gravel banks." (From 'Turtle Program makes Slow, but Steady Gains', Aug. 28, 2025, by A. Sathiaseelan, The Londoner)

I have photos (they will appear in a future video) of a large female Spiny soft shell trying to dig a nest on a gravel pathway, and it didn't look easy or in a safe, secure area. And with more fishermen walking the banks of the Thames each year (over the last four years of careful observation), often with large dogs, safe and secure egg-laying areas seem to be declining... in my humble opinion. 

Old cement debris makes a fine basking spot... at Turtle Point

Thanks to a medium-sized zoom lens, the number of good photos is increasing so I think the number of videos I produce and share on YouTube will gradually increase too, for awhile. And just wait until I get an even bigger zoom! You've been warned : )

Please find below a few of the many links to my YouTube videos related to my 'Turtle Tours' series:

1. He's Back!! More Turtle Tours (9) 2023

Bigfoot walks the TVP* toward Turtle Point on the Thames R.

*Turtle Point is on the Thames R. in sight of the downtown:

2. Final Turtle Tours (4) 2023

Painted turtles getting up close and personal

3. More Turtle Tours 2024 (1)

Turtle Point under high water

As the water lowers the number of turtles rises

The answer is, "Yes!"

More links to follow, to a few more of Gord's YouTube Videos

Unattributed Photos GH