iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

#KidicalMassHfx And to the twit who got mad that we were “bringing the kids into [our] agenda,” behold, the kids’ agenda:

An elementary-age girl is riding her bike in the centre of the lane, with her left fist proudly and powerfully raised over her head. She is wearing a black tutu, teal helmet, and probably high heels. A stuffed penguin is in a doll seat on the back of her bike. She is plainly thrilled.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I call this “People shouldn’t have to be locals to know if they’re driving in a bike lane,” or perhaps “Signage and paint aren’t very effective.” This afternoon, Vernon & Quinpool, Halifax, NS.

View from the handlebars of a frontloader cargo bike on a sunny afternoon. The road ahead is split into three lanes: left-turning, right-turning, and a narrower lane in the middle marked with a fading bike stencil and a forward arrow. Signs in the intersection indicate only bikes are allowed to go straight ahead. A silver sedan with Ontario plates is waiting at the red light in the middle lane (bike lane.)

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

A couple afternoons ago at Vernon & Quinpool. (I don’t know the riders in front of us.) Truck had Alberta plates and was pulling a boat (towering over us on the left, out of frame). Note that the light is red, but the only lane where the users are behind the stop line is the bike lane.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

It would be so cool if we had shade on the south side of the Commons pool.

A white woman with glasses is sitting in the sun, draped in a rainbow beach towel.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

And this one, P’s little brother, Rex, when he was a 2yo.

A toddler in a snowsuit stands between the wall of a parking garage and the front end of an SUV. The toddler’s arm is raised and reaching up the grille but does not reach the hood.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The others might make the point better, but here’s what I found:

A little girl in a sparkly green tutu and teal helmet rides her green bike on a residential street. She is passing the front end of a light-coloured SUV.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Antidote to my grumpy rant, here’s some #bikejoy! P has been practicing one-handed (and sometimes no-handed!) riding and has been using her new skill to wave at everyone we pass. She is so proud and feels *fabulous.*

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

First ride to camp of Summer 2026. We’re back, baybee! #hfxbike #kidicalmasshfx #bikejoy

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Spotted something useful in traffic this morning. (Passenger photo ofc.)

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Puppicorn was prepared for the bike ride to a birthday party today. #bikejoy

A stuffed black and white spotted puppy/unicorn stuffie toy wearing a pink bike helmet. It looks psyched for the bike adventure that awaits!

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Having the best lipstick day of my life, so you must all see it before I put my face away and go to bed.

A white woman with short, curly brownish-red hair poses in a home hallway. She is wearing tortoiseshell cat-eye classes, blueberry earrings, and bright red lipstick (which truly is *perfect* today). Her other makeup is minimal, and she is wearing a dark turtleneck sweater. In the background the hallway is painted white and a framed jigsaw puzzle of a dragon is visible over her shoulder.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

When DQ doesn’t have bike parking, you find your own bike parking.

A parking lot in front of a Dairy Queen (out of frame to the left) on a sunny afternoon. Of the three visible car parking spots the foreground one is empty, the furthest away has a dark coloured SUV, and the middle one has an Urban Arrow front-loading cargo bike. The bike has a big colourful floral sticker on the side of the bucket, and a children’s bike is being towed on the back.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

“Scritchy, noblest raccone in France [Halifax], you will have your VEN-GE-ANCE!”

An illustration from a Madeline children’s book, in black, white, and butter yellow. A young girl with a bow on her head is standing on a chair below two cris-crossed French flags and a sculpture with a trumpet. She has a tear on her cheek and is pointing vengefully in the air.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Kids are at the grandparents’ this morning. The sun is shining. I feel alive and have free time. This can only mean one thing: It’s bike build day! Pebble’s new 20” bike, coming to a bike lane near you (if you are in Halifax.)

A green step-thru kids’ bike, partially unassembled for shipping, is propped against a bike box on a dark laminate floor. Bubble wrap surrounds the handlebars and a clear plastic cover is draped over the seat.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Hey #bikehfx, I’m a bit out of the loop but here’s a Scritchy sighting in case they’re still MIA. From FB just now.

A traffic cone decorated like a raccoon with a high vis vest on an a sign that says “bikes only” is perched atop a road sign pole in a residential neighbourhood.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Just another bike lane in Halifax, full of snow and drivers. (Photo from Friday, Jan 23, around 5:45pm.) #bikehfx

A city street at dusk. In the foreground a front-loading cargo bike is stopped at the beginning of an unprotected bike lane. A sign on the right indicates that the space is indeed a bike lane, but it’s hard to tell because the paint is nearly entirely worn off, and there are three large piles of snow dumped in the lane between the photographer and the end of the block. A car with its “park anywhere” lights blinking is parked between the second and third piles of snow.

The car lane to the left is entirely cleared and dry.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Just two electric vehicles stopped at a light in Halifax. #BikeHfx

A line of vehicles are stopped at a light on Oxford Street on a winter day in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is early afternoon and the weather is clear. The second vehicle is a Cybertruck, and right behind it is a man on an ebike with a dog in a trailer on the back.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Absolutely delightful I Light Hfx tonight. A little dampness can’t keep Haligonian cyclists from a shiny party. It was lovely to see so many #BikeHfx people tonight! I managed to chat with more folks than usual tonight but I still missed a bunch of you. Hi!!!

A bike party outdoors on a rainy night in the quad at Dalhousie University. It’s the end of the night and the crowd in the background is starting to dwindle. In the foreground a toddler with red pants and a black raincoat is skipping around a paved area, jumping in puddles. The child is blurry with motion.

A peek inside an Urban Arrow cargo bike rain cover. Two children are visible, mostly just their bike helmets. They’re bathed in purple and red light from the LED lights hung inside the canopy. The bike helmet in the foreground is light blue, with bike stickers on. The helmet in the background is orange-red and its wearer is hunkered down, dozing under a yellow Lark bike blanket.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Sooooo much! And so did I. There are a zillion reasons a Carrie wasn’t the right daily driver for us, but it was so fun to borrow for a few days!

A toddler sits in the basket of a teal R&M Carrie front-loading cargo bike. We are standing just to the right and behind him. He is wearing an orangey-red helmet and grey-green shirt and pants. His blue and black winter boots are propped up on the front of the bike basket. The black rain cover is installed on the bike, and it is raining.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Pebble, this weekend: Mom, if you were me you’d be spectacular!

A 6yo white girl is mid-swing on a playground jungle gym on a sunny Fall day. She is wearing her brown hair in two braids and has a purple and blue fleece hoodie and dark leggings, Converse All Stars on her feet.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

This isn’t Dal campus, but right next door: The nook outside the NAB at King’s has lots of bike parking (weird racks, tho) and IME seems to be very secure. It’s out of view if driving by, but lots of eyes on it from passersby.

A map of the buildings and pathways near the intersection of Oxford St and Castine Way in Halifax, NS. There is a red star drawn over the spot the poster mentions.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Here’s Pebble in summer 2020 surveying Oxford St outside Tart & Soul from her Yepp Mini throne. 🤣 Our childcare commute that fall involved biking up Almon, and riding up that long, gradual hill without being able to put my weight over the front wheel was what got me looking into e-bikes!

A baby girl (maybe 8-9 mos old?) sits in a blue front-mounted infant bike seat on a sunny summer day. She is wearing a yellow shirt and denim overalls, blue sneakers, and a bright pink bike helmet. There is a little black frame for her to hold and her wee hands are gripping it. Her face is turned away from the camera, looking up Oxford Street in Halifax. The bike is on the concrete patio outside of Tart & Soul at the corner of Oxford and Coburg Rds.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Just took this old friend for a spin around the neighbourhood. I’ve been riding e-bikes daily for most of the last 5 years, and they’re great, but I need to take the acoustic out more often. What a pleasant, responsive, nimble ride! Not at all fancy, but still faithful.

A navy blue hybrid bike leans against a white range in a home kitchen. It has a silver-coloured Yepp rack on the back, black fenders, and a mount for a u-lock inside the triangle of the frame.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

It’s here!!! (It’s not lost on me that this book has arrived the same day as we pick up our new car. 🤦🏼‍♀️😅)

A white woman is sitting in front of a picturesque round window. She is wearing a cream cabled sweater and tortoiseshell cat-eye glasses. She is holding a hardcover book which is white with a yellow border. In the centre of the white area on the cover there is an illustration of a hanging traffic light overgrown with vines and flowers. The book is Life After Cars by Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon, and Aaron Naparstek.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Good job, SUV driver. You endangered a handful of children and a parent, then doubled down repeatedly on the dangerous driving. Delightful to share the road with you.

An intersection in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a fall afternoon. In focus in the middle distance a red Hyundai Kona SUV has its right blinker on and is halfway through a right turn from Oxford St onto Chebucto Rd. The space they’re trying to move into is already occupied by a passing Halifax Transit bus.

Out of focus in the foreground is the handlebar mount of the phone, and the helmet of the passenger on the photographer’s cargo bike.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

I also have plastic Planet Bike fenders that can go with them. Used on the same bike, only light use, come with hardware. Mostly just looking to get tires & fenders out of my shed, so if you can make getting them to you easy I’m happy to just pass them on. Pics!

Two black bike 26x1.75 tires lie on a black asphalt driveway. They have reflective sidewalls and metal studs. See next pic for text detail.

Close up on portion of two black bike tires as they lie on a black asphalt driveway. They have reflective sidewalls and metal studs. Text on side: Schwalbe Active Winter K Guard 3.

Two plastic Planet Bike bike fenders lie on a black asphalt driveway. The hardware needed is in a plastic baggie taped to one of the fenders.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

“Can’t leave the park, Mom, the tree is in the way!”

A little boy with dark brown hair stands at the edge of a playground on a sunny fall afternoon. He is wearing green sweatpants ands a blue long sleeved shirt, as well as blue Crocs. A black bike with a child seat on the back is visible in the background. The boy’s back is to the camera and he is pressing his front into the trunk of a tree in the center of the frame. The tree stands between him and the bike, “preventing” his departure.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Wilfred the Porch Skeleton has lots of adventures with us. Here are a few. Even our Amazon delivery driver keeps Wilfred involved in the fun.

A plastic human skeleton kneels in a messy living room. A child is standing behind it, holding the skeleton posed in such a way that it is pushing a pink doll stroller with a red T-Rex plushie sitting inside.

A young white girl with brown hair is holding the skeleton upright in a residential washroom. She has placed a pink toothbrush in the skeleton’s hand and is helping guide it to the skeleton’s mouth.

A poseable skeleton statue sits at an old wooden school desk in a home. On the desk in front of the skeleton sits a book called HUMAN BODY BOOK.

A skeleton statue sits in a red Adirondack chair on a porch of a white house . An Amazon delivery bucket mailer rests on the skeleton’s lap.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Wilfred is our porch skeleton. He hangs out on our porch Sept through Novemberish, and sometimes returns for other holidays. He’s been a buddy of both our kids since they were babies. Here he is riding our old Babboe cargo bike.

A plastic human skeleton sits astride a Babboe front-loading cargo bike in a residential driveway during golden hour on a fall afternoon. It is wearing a teal child’s bike helmet.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

When we got home from the park yesterday Rex didn’t want to get out of the bike. He hunkered down for a little rest.

A 2yo is relaxing in the bucket of an Urban Arrow cargo bike on a sunny afternoon. He is wearing burgundy sweatpants, a navy blue T-shirt, and an orange bike helmet. He is kneeling on the floor of the bucket, with his head resting on the upholstered seat.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

We’re cleaning out part of our basement and found some poster board, which we gave to the kids to do whatever they wanted. Here’s what Pebble came up with: “Stop macing bad choysize pes mer” (“Stop making bad choices please mayor”).

A 6yo child is standing in a kitchen holding up a handmade light pink posterboard sign covering her torso and face. She is wearing black pants and turquoise unicorn socks. The sign reads “Stop macing bad choysize pes mer.”

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

We’re back, baybeee! It was fun to ride a different bike for a weekend, but it feels so good to get our Urban Arrow back again. #cargobike

A black Urban Arrow front loading cargo bike is parked in a residential driveway on a sunny afternoon. There is a colourful floral sticker on the side of the bucket of the bike. A young girl is perched on the front of the bike, showing a peace sign with her fingers. A dark grey car and a red SUV are partially visible behind the bike. Trees and power lines rise in the background.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Haha! As of this evening I’m going incognito while the bike is in the shop. 🥸

A 6yo in a light teal bike helmet, pink sweatshirt, and black leggings poses behind a dark teal Tern HSD with a child’s chair on the back. The bike is in a paved parking lot in front of Halifax Cycles in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Waiting single file at Almon & Connaught this afternoon, I notice a driver pull up very close behind me. Then even closer. I turn and look. A driver is pulling up next to my rear wheel. She catches my eye and bewildered frown and *wags her finger at me*, then pulls up even further & *wags again*.

A shot from the photographer’s shoulder height, from above, of a red car and black bike on a street on a sunny afternoon.

The front right headlight & bumper of the red car are nearly even with the rider’s saddle, eclipsing the rear wheel entirely.

The distorted perspective of cell phone picture makes the distance look larger than it is, but even in the photo the car is remarkably close to the bicycle.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Wrote to the construction company with decals on the first truck.

Email sent to marketing@lindsayconstruction.ca

Hello!

Yesterday afternoon I was biking my young daughter home from school, northbound on South Park, when we encountered a vehicle marked as belonging to Lindsay Construction parked in the bike lane. Please see the attached photo.

Please ensure that your employees know that bike lanes are there to protect vulnerable road users from vehicles (like large pickup trucks), and it is not acceptable or legal to stop or park in them for any length of time. Instead, my small child and I were forced to mix with buses and swift-moving traffic in a place that should have been safe.

I see on your website that you “build relationships.” Please consider the kind of relationship this builds in your community.

Best wishes,
Elisabeth

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

On our trip home from school yesterday, two commercial vehicles blocking the bike lane/path in two different places. #bikehfx

A residential street on a sunny afternoon. It is South Park St in Halifax, northbound after Inglis St. The photographer is astride a bike, but is riding in the street next to the partially protected bike lane, since a light grey pickup truck marked as belonging to Lindsay Construction is blocking the bike lane.

A paved multi-use path, separated by grade and a grassy margin from the busy road to the right, on a sunny afternoon. In the distance ahead of the cycling photographer you can see a decked-out commercial out utility truck (it is not clear what their business is) parked inside the path, facing the rider.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

A dad, a toddler, their luggage, and two violins (full size and 1/10th size) on an ebike.

A white man with red hair and black glasses stands astride a black RadCity ebike on a sunny day, on a sidewalk in a residential area. He is wearing a teal helmet, a green T-shirt, and jeans. He is wearing a near-white backpack backwards, on his chest. On the back of the bike there is a blue Yepp Maxi child seat with a toddler in it. The toddler is wearing a red helmet, teal shirt, and navy pants. A black violin case for a full-size violin is strapped onto the front rack with a bungee net. A much smaller violin case for a much smaller violin is strapped to the back of the child seat.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

When your younger brother gets ahold of your helmet and fills it with trucks.

A pink youth-size hockey helmet with metal face shield lies upside-down on a wooden floor. Inside the bowl of the helmet are several toy monster trucks and a Mr Potato Head kids’ meal toy.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Rex fell asleep after consuming a particularly good book en route to the grandparents’ place. (We got to see @envirojen.bsky.social & @cgeroux.bsky.social on the way as well, once we realized they had spotted us and were trying to say hello! It’s much easier to greet friends on bikes!)

A toddler is sleeping soundly in his black carseat inside a car. He is wearing blue sweatpants with green dinosaurs on them, and a light blue t-shirt. His face, arms, and torso are entirely hidden behind an open hardcover copy of Kate Beaton’s /Shark Girl/ book. A few tufts of his straight brown hair drape over the top of the book.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

WhY dOn’T cYcLiStS uSe ThE bIkE lAnE, pt eleventy-billion.

A bike lane on University St in Halifax, NS in front of the Dal Student Union Building on a sunny afternoon. The photographer stands in the lane, and a van with a trailer is parked directly in front of them. There are green flexposts “protecting” the portion of the lane where the photographer stands, but the van’s trailer blocks the continuation of the lane (which has no flexposts.) A sign next to the trailer indicates the “protected” portion of the lane is a no stopping zone, the area where the trailer is parked is a no parking zone, and the area is also a tow-away zone.

A bike lane on University St in Halifax, NS in front of the Dal Student Union Building on a sunny afternoon. The photographer stands in the roadway, getting a shot of the two cars and one van+trailer parked in the bike lane. There are green flexposts “protecting” the portion of the lane farthest from the photographer, and one of the cars is parked neatly inside that “protected” space. The other two vehicles & trailer fill the portion of the lane that does not have flexposts.

In the distance another car can be seen parked in the bike lane in front of the Rowe Management Building.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Took Pebble past the Monolith for the first time today. She was hangry and did not appreciate being in the presence of such greatness, but I think this is a huge improvement.

A residential street on a clear sunny day in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A newly-installed bike modal filter fills much of the road. It is a large grassy island (“the monolith”) surrounded by a curb, and offset towards the right side of the road. The left-hand side is a two-way bike pass-through with metal bollards preventing car traffic.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Thought helmet might be the cause of the rattling so I put my bag under it and secured it with a bungee cord. The rattling was so loud that I felt terrible we were riding through residential areas at night. Was the same for both bikes, but I haven’t noticed that when encountering other Birds. 3/

A light blue Bird ebike sits in a driveway on a residential street in the early evening. It is still sunny and there are green hedges visible in the background. There is a purse in the front basket of the bike and the Bird helmet rests on top of the purse with a red bungee cord holding it down.

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Elisabeth @affabletoaster.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Another posterity photo from today with even more of the underwater ones. At a rough count there are about 18 submerged. 🤦🏼‍♀️

An outdoor swimming pool in a city. There are fountains in the shallow end in the foreground, and climbing walls and swimming lanes visible in the deep end in the background. There are dozens of orange cones in the shallow end, many sticking out of the water and even more completely submerged.

A swim instructor with their face obscured and some kids with their faces & bodies obscured are in the foreground.

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