crocus hunting April 6, 2025

This is one of dozens of trail markers at Nose Hill Environmental Park.  The cut out is a crocus.  That tells you something right there!  Nose Hill is a sure thing when it comes to crocus hunting. That’s where I went crocus hunting today and I did not need the markers to find my way.  I know the areas where these wildflowers bloom.  I made a round about way to all the locations so not only to capture crocus photographs but also to add to my kilometre collection.

There were an abundance of crocuses on all the sunny slopes.  They were in various stages of growth with some being pretty much prime to others just poking their noses out of the ground.  Most of the snow is gone from up on The Hill so I knew I would have luck this morning with hunting. These are a few of my favourite photos which were a challenge to pick out of the close to two hundred photos that I took. 

While on the hunt, not only did I admire the wildflowers but also the wildlife.  

As I approached the pond, a flock of Mallards flew away but these two stayed put.  The lighting was perfect.  The green on the male is handsome and the female has such a sweet face.  I like the drops of water coming from her bill. 

I won't have another chance to crocus hunt for a week or so. 

I am sure by then the slopes will be a carpet of mauve, pink and purple.  

Carburn Park Bald Eagles Update April 5, 2025

While strolling along side the river at Carburn Park, I stopped a birder and asked if he saw anything exciting so far this morning.  He told me he saw an American Bald Eagle sitting in a tree away the heck down past the far end of the Park. I aimed for where I thought he might be talking about and sure enough, there was the Bald Eagle perched on a branch. What the birder did not tell me and maybe he did not spy what I spied and that was...... 

.....there was a Bald Eagle sitting in a nest not far from where the perching Eagle was perching. This was not where I watched them build a nest on the Island in the centre of the Park nor a bit to the south of the old nest where they were beginning a new one awhile back.  This was in the far opposite direction.  I am grateful to have such a great zoom on my camera so I can capture this kind of scene.  The perching Bald Eagle is staring in the direction of the nest.  About two hours later when I was getting ready to call it a day and head home, I made a quick trip back to the area and both Bald Eagles were still in the same location.  An egg may already have been laid as it is about time for that.  With fingers crossed, I uttered a little prayer, "stay save and best wishes to you both"! 

After enjoying the sights of the two American Bald Eagles, I wandered about to see what other exciting sights there might be.  I spied this White-breasted Nuthatch flitting about a tree and then poking its head inside this cavity as if to see if anyone was home.  What I saw next surprised me! 

The Nuthatch began taking the nesting materials from the cavity.  I don't know if this is an old nest or if it is a new nest built by another pair of Nuthatches. I watched it make five trips taking materials each time and placing them in a cavity on the back side of this same tree.  On return visits to the Park, this will be a location I will monitor as I pass by.  

It seems the Northern Flickers are taking over Carburn Park!  

They are plentiful, this is just one of the many.

Talk about Robins!  I love the sound of the Robins' songs as they echo throughout the forest first thing in the morning.  My mind wandered off to how I have experienced that enjoyment when I wake while camping.  Many Robins are making Carburn Park their home and no doubt in the process of finding partners and building nests.

The Black-capped Chickadees are obviously playing the mating game!  

They are chasing each other rather than flitting about from tree to tree.

This one stayed still for a second, long enough to snap the shot!

When you hear a Pileated Woodpecker pecking, you know it is not a Downy nor a Hairy nor a Flicker.  The sound reverberates throughout the Park.  When I heard it, it was like a calling and I felt I must go after it.  I did and here it is!  

such beautiful colouring 

The Canada Geese are still in charge of the old Bald Eagles nest!

As each day passes, more and more visitors are arriving to the area.  I am checking eBird daily.  I took this screen shot from that website.  It shows the birding hotspots around the city. The screen shot is as of today and represents sightings in the past week. These are the birding hotspots around the city. The colour coded chart is below.  As more and more visitors arrive, lots of the blues, greens and yellows will turn to shades of red and orange.  Exciting times to come!

  

Elbow Valley April 4, 2025

This was the view this morning as I drove Route 66 through the Eblow Valley district of Kananaskis Country.  Those far off mountains are off limits as they are located beyond the closed gate which opens mid May.  For now, the closed gate would be my starting point for a meander along the trails throughout Beaver Lodge and the Campground.  Shortly after passing the warning sign for cows on the roadways, I saw big brown movement up ahead and thought sure enough there are the cows.  That was until I got closer and saw they were not cows, in fact they were.....

....the wild Mustang horses!  It was early morning, no other vehicles were on this Route so I stopped in the middle of the road to admire them and also to let the big black one get off the road. I could see three were smaller, they were probably born last spring. The small ones were the brown one at the far back on the slope, the black one in the middle and the brown one to the right of it.   

the small black Mustang was curious about me

the small brown Mustang on the slope had no interest in me

I could have stayed and watched the Mustangs go about their morning business but I had other business to take care off.  The further west I drove, the more wintry it looked.  I came prepared with my spikes and warm layers. While I am well ready for green, crocuses, light layers and buds on trees, it is what it is out here and I made sure to savour it.  Into the forest I go!  

At Beaver Lodge the ponds that are open to the sunshine are mostly free of ice.  

I followed a broken trail in the snow, through the Campground, that lead down to the River.  I wanted to be by water today.  Between forests, hills, meadows, mountains and open water, it's open water that is calling me the loudest.  Parts of the River had a thin layer of ice and when I saw this section, I wondered why and how does water freeze creating ice patterns like this! 

walking along side the River

standing on the edge of a Beaver Pond at Beaver Lodge

circles of open water

When all was said and done at Beaver Lodge and The Campground, I stopped by Elbow Falls to see how the falls were falling then to sit and have an early lunch.  It was not until I got home and loaded my photos onto my iMac that I saw the rainbow over the waterfalls.  I enjoyed everything about this visit to Elbow Valley. I look forward to getting out here mid May when the gate opens and I can get close to the beautiful sights deeper into the Valley. 

If you have been following my blog throughout winter, then you will have seen my posts about the sweater, socks and slippers I knitted using a shade of yarn called "Seaglass".  I called the items my "Seaglass Sweater", "Seaglass Socks" and "Seaglass Slippers".  I have a thing for seaglass/beachglass.  

My latest knitting project is my "Seaglass Purse"!  I learned to knit a buttonhole and a flap. I designed the pattern myself, picking a size and figuring out the size of needles to use with the yarn, number of stitches to cast on, how many rows of the accent yarn for the flap and how many rows necessary for the size of the purse.    

In my last post "OOOH those BLUES", the last photo was of a piece of remanent fabric that I found at the fabric store.  I had an idea for the fabric and this is it!  I used it as the lining for my "Seaglass Purse".  You may be able to see at the left, I added a pocket to the lining.  All the sewing was done by hand.  I still need to add four snaps inside for closures.  Between the calling of being near open water as I shared with you earlier in this post, my mind also drifts off to the beach every now and then.  

Between being "out & about", knitting, attending to every day life's happenings, I make sure to fit in time to lay some shades on paper.  While googling I came across some seasonal sights that are not seen in my little piece of paradise.  This time instead of creating a painted scene for my 2026 Calendar, I did a watercolour painting of a pathway lined with cherry blossoms in full bloom.   

visions of cherry blossoms dance in my head 

OOOOH those BLUES

After last Friday's walk from Creekside to Hanson Ranch, I returned on Monday, solo, with my camera in tow this time.  The plan was to meander more along the way for bird spotting and crocus shooting.  Since Friday the ponds were now mostly frozen over again and a deep enough layer of snow covered just about everything.  The morning was beginning to have that "January Blue Monday" feeling until just like that it turned to be a "Beautiful Blue Monday".  Right there beside me, two Mountain Bluebirds landed on branches next to the creek. I was ecstatic and let out a quiet WOW!  They ignored me and went about their  business while I admired them for what seemed like an eternity.  I eventually carried on to where I saw the crocuses on Friday but the area was blanketed in winter white on this last day of March.  I saw no purple but it was OOOOH those BLUES of the Mountain Bluebirds seeing them for the first time this season that made my day!    

It's been two months since I visited Griffith Woods for the first time ever.  I had intentions of returning long before the first day of April.  It's been just over a week since I last saw a bright blue sky, that is very unusual for me and for here.  There were a few hours with a window of blue sky opportunity forcasted to greet April.  I thought it best to take advantage of that given the fact we would be pummelled with snow once again late in the day and into the night.  Not long after arriving and while working my way along the trails through the woods, the screeching songs of Blue Jays filled the morning air.  I spotted one, then another, then another and even a fourth.  It was OOOOH those Blues of the Blue Jays plus that sky which were beautiful welcomes to April!  

After sewing on another button and three more snaps, this knitting project will be complete.  Part way through the process of knitting this bag which I created my own pattern for, the thought of lining it came to mind.  I debated whether I wanted to bring the craft of sewing into the mix along with everything else I have going on.  I turned the debate into a win/win, I would add the lining but the sewing would all be done by hand rather than pulling out my sewing machine from the basement.  You can see the lining inside, which is a remanent piece of material I found at a fabric store.  The buttons are just for decoration, they are located where the strap meets the body of the bag. Four snaps are the method of closure at the top of the bag.  This has been an enjoyable project to work on and OOOOH those BLUES of the yarn, the fabric and the buttons bring beauty to this bag's whole package!

While sifting through the bin of remanent fabric looking for a perfect lining for the knitted bag above, my hand landed on this piece of remanent material. I took this as a sign that yes I should start that project which I have been mulling over in my mind.  OOOOH those BLUES in this piece of material will be a perfect match for what is to come! 

Back to Winter : Back to The Sanctuary

After spotting the first crocuses of the season while "out & about" this past Wednesday, and then seeing more while walking sunny slopes with a friend on Friday, I was excited to head back out this weekend for more crocus hunting. March ended up acting like March does which threw a monkey wrench into the focus on crocus!  I was at The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on Monday and it was a joy to meander there with it looking and feeling and sounding like a lovely spring day.  Throw a monkey wrench into the thought of the experience being similar for today's meander there.  

The sky was dull, it was grey, yet the sights were blinding from the white, bright, new snow that covered everything after hammering down on us all day Saturday. March will be March and March it was!   

Through the bright white and the dull grey, there were sweet sights to be seen!  You have to have an eagle eye to spy what I saw! On future visits, I will use this tree and the branch as the marker for where a new Bald Eagles' nest is. See the two orange stars?  The one on the left marks the nest and the one to the right marks where a Bald Eagle is perched in the trees.

I zoomed into the nest and look what I saw!  A Bald Eagle is nestled down in there.  I was excited to see this!  This was the best I could do with getting a photo.  It is quite far away.  I will now monitor this location when I visit again.  

The ducks are all paired up!  This is a female Common Merganser and her partner in the photo below.  I appreciated their red shades on this dull day.  

The Wood Duck pair!  He was keeping a side eye on her!

On this very cold day, the Common Goldeneye had the hots, he had the hots for a female close by and did his little ditty dance to impress her. She fluttered about a bit but kept her back to him so I am not sure how impressed she was.

Black-capped Chickadee

always a bright sweet sight

Northern Flickers were doing their dance!

This pair were very entertaining!  

White-Breasted Nuthatch with a a snack!

someone placed seeds on a branch

There were many Robins at The Sanctuary today.

This one appeared to be extra puffed up!    

I was lucky to see two Woodpeckers very near each other.  This first one is a male Downy Woodpecker and the second is a male Hairy Woodpecker. At times when I see them separately, I am not always able to distinguish between the two but when they are near to each other, the difference is very obvious.  The Hairy is larger with a longer beak.  

male Downy Woodpecker

male Hairy Woodpecker

There is always something that motivates me to get out there and as we are on the verge of April, I want the snow to be gone so I can focus on the crocus. There is lots of snow that needs to melt before the crocuses will be visible again though.