Glenmore Reservoir Loop June 15, 2026

Our twenty kilometre loop around the Glenmore Reservoir today offered up many marvellous sights of all kinds.  We started just before 7:00am from the Weaselhead parking lot and walked the route counter-clockwise. By aiming for the Weaselhead Park first, we got to enjoy the quietness along the dirt trails plus get the hills out of the way before the heat hit. The red line shows our route with the start and finish where the name and date are. 

view in front as we left the parking lot behind

By veering off the main trail onto the dirt trails through the Weaselhead, 

we added distance to the main loop route. 

After only a hop, skip and a jump once we veered off, my friend spied a racoon up in the tree going about its business.  By the size of this racoon, it leads me to believe the one I saw yesterday at Carburn Park must have been a baby.  Today's racoon crawled up the tree and disappeared into a hole.  With in a matter of a minute.....

....we could see its face peeking out from a different hole a couple of feet lower on the tree. 

A very short distance after spying the racoon, we heard a familiar song which we determined was a Yellow Warbler.  When we spotted where the song was coming from and then saw the singer, we knew it was something other than our original suspicion.  My friend checked his Sibley site confirming this bird was a Chestnut-sided Warbler.  How exciting, a "lifer" for both of us!

The trails were lined with Alberta's flower, the Wild Rose!

Blue-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

view from the boardwalk just before leaving the Weaselhead behind

With the Weaselhead section now complete, then working our way up the hill, 

we arrived to the wide open spaces where we could see forever.  

Avocet

view from along side the Glenmore Reservoir

There were kayakers and rowers enjoying their sport!

A portion of our route cut through a residential area, that's where I found a Little Library with the perfect book to turn into a watercolour journal.  Stayed tuned, one day I will share the outcome of this transformation. 

view of the Glenmore Reservoir with the snow capped peaks in the background

As we crossed the dam, a disoriented young buck came towards us. We stood to the side as it tried to find its way.  It displayed signs of being stressed.  At one point it went towards the edge and looked over the barrier.  I said to my friend "don't let it jump!" I don't know what I expected my friend to do! The deer eventually figured things out.  It turned around then ran in the direction it came from then descended down a hill into the grassy field.  

The S.S. Moyie Paddlewheeler making its first trip of the morning from Heritage Park.

The Reservoir is very low. Water was let out a few weeks back in preparation for that torrential rain event.    Soon the full on snow melt in the mountains will begin and the Reservoir will fill.  Of note, there was record snowfall in the mountains this winter and spring. Sunshine Ski Hill near Banff in Banff National Park closed after the long weekend in May to prepare for summer hiking season, which it does each year. Due to this years record snow depth, the Ski Hill is opening again on June 20th to July 5th for a summer ski season.   

20.02 Kilometres were covered by the time we arrived back at the parking lot.  It had been years since I completed this loop, for me it felt like a brand new hike.  After I arrived home, cleaned up, ate lunch, my reward was a mug of Big Rock Honey Brown Beer! 

new & renewed June 13, 2026

As a new day was dawning, I was in the midst of driving to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.  I had hoped to arrive in time to be near the water for sunrise. I was not successful with that yet had success in many other ways, some which were new to me.  I did manage to experience the tail end of golden hour.  

I have been to The Sanctuary a few times recently but have not shared photos of the scenery. I am ready to do that again now that the area has that renewed look!  While the water level is still very high and running fast, it is no longer brown  The reflections are once again pretty.  

The new births this season are growing, they appear to be thriving. I have never seen so many Ducklings and Goslings as I have over the past few weeks.  With the clearer water, it is easy to see the little feet of this sweet Wood Duck Duckling paddling away.  

To see a Gosling at this awkward stage in life was new for me. 

It was almost the same size as the parent.

Mallard Mom and her Ducklings had just completed a long journey along the water.  It was a precious sight to see the little ones scramble their way up onto the log for a well deserved nap.  Soon they will feel renewed and ready to carry on along their journey in the water and in life.

New Starlings are everywhere in The Sanctuary.    

The Inglewood Eaglet stands tall and on its own. It almost looks ready to start a new chapter in its life. Soon it will fledge and soar as its should, soar like an Eagle. When I walked by a second time a bit later, an Adult was in the nest feeding the Eaglet.  

This was a new sighting for me so I will call it a "lifer".  It's a Nighthawk. It was right there, I did not zoom in much at all. The Nighthawk is not in the hawk family nor the owl family, it belongs to the nightjar family.  It hunts at dusk and dawn then roosts motionless during the day which it is doing in this photo.   

Once again I saw the celebrity in town.  The Red-headed Woodpecker has drawn many birders to The Sanctuary.  For the majority of them, this is a new sighting which we all get to call a "lifer".  I had my camera on full zoom then cropped the photo when I got home. The Woodpecker was such a distance away, this is the best I could do with my camera. 

What a new tiny bundle of joy this Mountain Cottontail is!  

There was no adult around so I cannot make a comparison in size.  

I will say it was about the size of two tennis balls.  

This guy was showing off its new spring edition of antlers.  

I saw many nests this morning and heard many cries for food coming from the dense bushes and trees. In the days to come there will be many new births.  I enjoyed many more wonderful sightings this morning that were not new to me nor brand new to The Sanctuary.  

The Cedar Waxwings always catch my eye.

The male Wood Duck glowed in the morning light. 

In a few days I will return to The Sanctuary to see again was is new and renewed!  

finding its way June 11, 2026

There needs to be something within that you tap into when you want to fulfill your dreams! It takes an inner strength and determination to turn that dream into a reality.  If you have that spark for life, you will find your way to that day when you make the dream come true. 

If you read my last post, you will recognize this painting!  The swept back petals of the Shooting Star flowers  resemble a meteor streaking across the sky, finding its way.  These flowers symbolize fulfillment of dreams.

Calgary has a celebrity in town!  This Red-headed Woodpecker found its way to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary a few days ago.  A few of you bloggers that I follow, from other locations far from here, have shared your sightings of Red-headed Woodpeckers in your area.  My thoughts when reading your posts were, oh I will never see one of those unless I travel to where you live.  I saw the Woodpecker two days ago but did not capture good photos.  I went back today, knowing I could do better and I did.  This photo is cropped quite a bit.  I was so excited to see this celebrity!

The red star shows where it found its way to here in Calgary.  You can see from the chart where it should be.  While admiring the bird, we wondered how long would it stay here.  When will it carry on finding its way to where it should be!  

This is my watercolour painting of the Red-headed Woodpecker. I used my photo above as a reference.  I knew nothing about it, so did some homework.  I learned because of its bright crimson head, it is often tied to the spark of life and an inner strength. We love having this celebrity in town, yet I do hope it finds its way home!

As with the Shooting Star painting above, you will recognize this watercolour painting of Forgetmenot Flowers from a photo in  my post dated June 8th.  Of course, something named Forgetmenot is going to represent lasting connections.  I find when I get to live out my dreams, many connections are made in the journey along the way to getting there and also when I arrive. These connections in whatever form, at whatever level, in some way or another, capture a piece of my heart.  

I had that need today to go back to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary with hopes the Red-headed Woodpecker would still be there.  I found my way there and eventually was happy to see the Woodpecker had not left to find its way.  A few of us gathered, chatted,  kept our eyes peeled for the prize, connected by having a common goal. After spending loads of time admiring the Woodpecker as it flew from tree to tree and capturing many photos, I was ready to leave and find my way home, leaving behind a little piece of my heart!

Powderface June 8, 2026

Today was a gift weather-wise, scenery-wise, experience-wise, well I will just say today was a gift everything-wise! During the drive out to Kananaskis along Route 66, I eyed my objective which I marked with an orange star.  It is the lowest summit in the Powderface East area.  The forecast was to be ideal. My thinking was best to hike this route today before the next rain event begins later tomorrow. 

The breeze was brisk and the temperature was a low single digit, how perfect to start off. I took a look back down at where I parked just before ascending into the forest along the steep, rugged route.  

Where there was an opportunistic sneak peek, I grabbed hold of it.

The Forgetmenot Flowers were blooming everywhere, they numbered in the thousands! 

This is my first favourite location along the route. When I popped out of the forest, the views were almost forever.  By now, the rugged, muddy, steep, stream covered, root filled section of the route was complete. It was now time to take time to devour the views!

view behind me

Forgetmenots and a Buttercup

the orange star marks where I want to get to

In addition to the Forgetmenot Flowers, the Shooting Stars shot up everywhere! 

view to my right of Banded Peak (on the right) as I ascended the last stretch to the summit

The trail along the last stretch to the summit was lined with Western Anemones.

Western Anemone

my Summit Shot

This was my snack time view!  See that very tiny bluish torquoise spot in the centre just above the bottom part of that long light green slope, well that's Forgetmenot Pond.  

we shared the summit only, I did not share snacks

panorama photograph from the summit

Today was one of the best kinds of gifts to unwrap!