Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park October 5, 2025

When I crested Stoney where I then had an unobstructed view to the west "WOW" was all I could muster up!  The entire mountain range was covered in new white gold which fell overnight. What fell as snow in the mountains fell as a few sprinkles of rain in the city. I knew there were great vantage points along the trails at Glenbow Ranch where I would have wide open views of the white peaks.  Now long after sunrise, I arrived at the parking lot to this view.  

After gearing up which included a hat, gloves and extra jacket 

to brace against the shocking cold, 

I hit the trail. 

icy autumn designs

I looked up lots as I descended along Tiger Lily.

The gate leading to the platform over the pond had been removed, probably because it was always broken.  The last time I was here, the broken gate was locked. This time the wooded walkway was open right to the fence around the platform. That's where I went to capture this photo. 

When I drove down the few kilometres of dirt road to the parking lot, I could see the fog hanging over the river.  I hoped it would hoover around until I got to where I could see it up closer.  In fact, it hung around for quite some time and I could see it off and on throughout my hike. 

After spending much time admiring the reflections in the pond and then the fog over the river, it was time to look forward and begin ascending the winding dirt trail.  While winding around one corner, this is what I saw!  This was the closest I have ever been to a moose! It had been walking along the same trail coming in my direction.  When it saw me, it moved off to the side and then trotted along into the woods.  Before it did that, it stopped and looked back at me, that is when I snapped this shot which I zoomed in a little bit for.  I was relieved it moved off and took off.  I was debating turning around and heading back to where I came from. 

While I was watching the moose this deer was watching me.  

Can you spot the heart?

A little later on, the coyote watched me too.  It stopped periodically to check me out.  I let it have its space and never did decrease the distance between us.  Eventually it stopped looking back and went about its day.

That mountain range I talked about being covered in new white gold, here you go!  

zoomed in shot

The colours were gorgeous everywhere at Glenbow Ranch.  

The wind had picked up slightly and leaves began to fall from the trees. 

While ascending from the valley bottom, I took one last look back!

Oh, did you spot the heart?

These early October days have been wonderful gifts to unwrap!

Hello October : October 3, 2025

sisters strolling sharing stories

When given the option I prefer "sooner rather than later".  In this case I wanted that and we planned for that but when life happens like it did the past three weeks then there is no choice but going with "better late than never". Our stars aligned on this later date when my sister and I headed off for a visit to Wyndham Carseland Provincial Park to enjoy a little hike followed by a picnic.  Driving directly to the day use area is available until October 11th, after that the gate is closed until May of next year.  

We arrived at the Day Use area and drove straight to where we wanted to later have our picnic.  

We opted to head into the forest to walk for an hour or so.

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view of the Bow River that we followed and could see off and on along the way

Wyndham Carseland is in Vulcan County where we noticed a posted sign saying the fire danger is high.  I noticed in other areas west of Calgary the rating is extreme.  It was easy to tell why the high rating, the forest is tinder dry and everything crunched beneath our feet.  As I noticed in other areas, the autumn shades here are muted too given the dry conditions.  That being said, the colours were still so pretty.

Mother Nature's welcoming arch to walk under!

my sister lead the way

I followed, stopping often to snap shots.

While I stopped to snap shots 

she stopped to investigate the red berries! 

My hope was we would see lots of birds and ducks.  It was quiet on that front but we were fortunate enough to see some.  My favourite was this Red-Tailed Hawk that flew circles not far from us. It circled then hoovered high above over the River.  I expected to see it dive down but it never did. 

I then noticed this Ring-billed Gull was part of the circling with the Hawk.

the Red-tailed Hawk again 

Black-capped Chickadee

When the Canada Geese flew over us my sister said "they are flying south". She realized back when our world changed in 2020/2021 that not all Canada Geese fly south for the winter.  While she was stuck in the city that winter, we saw many Geese while out walking which surprised her. So, these Canada Geese may just be out for a Friday afternoon jaunt. 

the sun shining on the male Mallard's neck

After completing our out and back walk, we set the table! It was time to sit awhile, share more stories, savour the picnic lunch she made, feel the sun shine down on us and enjoy the shades of autumn surrounding us.  

While arranging my Cobb Salad in the bowl with her home-made biscuits to the side, 

a leaf fell from the tree above. 

This is my attempt at including a little autumn feel to the setting. 

My sister's setting happened naturally.

The trees above shone brightly in her cutlery. 

After packing up and before leaving,

we captured one last memory of the day.  

The idea of doing a watercolour painting from one of my photos came to mind while I was driving home after dropping her off at her home.  After scrolling through my photos, I decided to go with combing two of the photos and creating the painting you see at the top of this blog post.  I tried to add a little more definition to the blob people and use the correct clothing colours.  It was a joy to paint us strolling just as it was a joy to share the day with my sister!

good-bye September

As we say good-bye to the month of September, we are not saying good-bye yet to the beautiful autumn colours.  The leaves are in the midst of transitioning with some already lying on the ground. It was an usually warm, dry September this year.  In fact, Calgary experienced the driest September in history.  Another thing about the end of September is the sun sets early and rises late. For me, that means I am up savouring my morning coffee while it is still dark out.  

Yesterday morning the temperature was warm, there was no wind, I decided to sit outside in my pjs, slippers and a jacket, to sip my coffee. While sipping, I watched the stars in the sky when I saw a familiar sight begin to develop. The Aurora Borealis appeared and danced across the sky!  Saying good-bye to September with such a sweet sight! Sigh!

Seeing the Aurora Borealis as I started my day was an amazing experience.  I was ready to see more beautiful shades of September so hiked up on Nose Hill.  The sun was now up and the temperature even warmed up more. The colours were there right from the get go.

The recognizable song of the Blue Jay filled the hills.  I aimed to where the song was coming from.  Seeing the bright blue was an added bonus to all the yellows, golds and oranges.  I also saw a Townsend’s Solitaire, many Northern Flickers, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and of course Crows and Magpies.

This is today’s panorama view.  

During a not so dry September, the pond would not be so shallow.  

One more water colour project needed to be painted before I close the book on September.  The Blue Jay came to mind as did of course the gorgeous colours of leaves.  I thought about how fawns loose their spots at this time of year.  The hills are alive in so many ways and this painting portrays that! I have been enjoying doing two page spreads.

Good-bye September!

from retreating to sanctuarying

How fortunate we are to be having gorgeous weather as September winds down!  I was excited to get back out birding at The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary after spending three days retreating in beautiful Banff National Park. It was quiet for the first while, probably because it was cold, cold enough that I needed gloves and three upper layers.  The colours were a distraction and became my focus for photographing.  

Once it warmed up a bit, The Sanctuary began to wake up and become alive.  

There were a few of us admiring this Red-tailed Hawk.

I gave two guys a hard time for calling this “just” a White-throated Sparrow.

Greater Yellow Legs

I chatted with a fellow about this Red-necked Grebe.  He saw it a few times over the past few days.  He believes it is a juvenile and wondered did it get left behind during migration.  We both hope it finds its way.  

Warning: adult content!  When I saw the female Wood Duck in that position, I was pretty sure what was going to transpire.  But, it is not spring time, it’s autumn and time to head south.

she circled around to the front of the male Wood Duck

he pushed her under the water then

pulled her up by the head

She shook it off, fluffed her feathers, spread her wings then swan away!

Happily I would think!

In addition to the above, I also saw lots of Robins, a few White-breasted Nuthatches, some Black-capped Chickadees, a Merlin, a Belted Kingfisher, a muskrat, a young Buck with a Doe and loads of Northern Flickers.  It was a most delightful stroll through The Sanctuary today!