painting and naturing

🖌 painting 🖌

When I feel in a whimsical way, watch out!  I don't know where the ideas come from, yet when they come, I go with them!  This time the idea that popped into my mind was to give personality to an acorn.  How nutty is that thought!  Before putting paint to paper, I made a rough sketch on practice paper.  Between sketching the idea on practice paper first then drawing the faint outline in a journal, my erasure is now smaller.  I know from experience, once the whites of the eyes are added the subject then comes to life. That was the case with this project. I smiled when I looked at the finished product.  How nutty is it that an acorn can bubble over with personality!  

  

 🍂 naturing 🍂

If I want to catch the last of the local colours, I better get going!  With wind, cold and snow on our doorstep, it won't take long for more leaves to be on the ground than on the trees.  It was necessary to bundle up to brace against the autumn chill.  While I did move quickly at times to cover kilometres, there were many times I stood still to embrace these final fleeting sweet seconds in time.  Every trail offered up colour.  I followed a few!

The majority of the birds that are still here will probably winter here.  The odd sparrow flittered here and there yet no warblers were heard nor seen.  I did see the two Great Horned Owls again, both were sleeping.  I learned they will probably winter in the location they have been hanging out over the past couple of months.  The photographs I was happy with during this naturing event all have backdrops or frames filled with autumn shades.  

Black-capped Chickadee 

Male Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Robin

Female Down Woodpecker

🖌 Painting 🖌   &   🍂 Naturing 🍂

This morning I made a quick trip to check a little library, I am always on the lookout for small hard covered books to turn into watercolour journals.  I also wanted to get in a few rounds of walking the trails all before the flurries began to fly which did happen off and on while I was walking.  The wind was wild and it was hoovering around the freezing point.  I graduated to wearing mittens rather than gloves.  Well, I had success with finding a book and I also had success with.....

.....spotting one of the Inglewood Bald Eagles sitting at the nest!

This is the book I will turn into a watercolour journal.

The cover is such a beautiful green.

I did a painting of some naturing to come!

Stay Tuned!

Fullerton & Bobcat Trails October 7, 2026

Come along for a hike of the Fullerton and Bobcat Trails in Kananaskis Country! 

We will see sensational autumn shades while breathing in fresh mountain air.   

No one else was in the parking lot when I arrived just after sunrise. The sun was just about to peek over the horizon.  By the time I snapped a couple of shots, geared up, locked my vehicle.....

.....it had become a bit brighter so it was go time!  Everything you need to know before hitting the trail is on the kiosk bulletin board and also on the large map behind the kiosk.  A hat, gloves and a few upper layers were necessary to stay comfortable as I started hiking. 

With no moisture recently, the trail was dry.  

Of course, I had my bear spray easily accessible just in case. Of course, I was vigilant. Of course, I always  continuously check my surroundings, even behind me. Singing a tune or two is helpful too. Already the colours were glorious, there was much promise for today's hike. 

The deer at the back could care less about me,

it was searching for and snacking on breakfast. 

Many leaves had fallen yet there were enough still on the trees to create a welcoming archway. 

After the above section, the forest became more dense and dark with no views.  

A short steep climb ensues then this was the reward. 

By now I had already taken off a jacket and the gloves.  You can very faintly see the snow-capped peaks peeking above the rolling foothills in the very far off distance.  With what's in the forecast for this coming weekend, everything could look white! 

Time to play with perspective!  

Much beauty and detail from something so small! 

 The plant measures about six inches tall. 

After a bit more climbing, the views open up even more!

The final climb.....

.....to the top! This location was worthy of staying a little while to take it all in.  I got my bearings by identifying the mountains in the distance. To acknowledge Autumn and the colours that come with it, I decorated the back of my pack with a collection of leaves I use to decorate inside my home for Thanksgiving.  Now these leaves have a little story to go along with them.  

view on the way to the Bobcat Trail

That's part of the Bobcat Trail on the right.  

After a bit of ascending and then descending through the forest.....

.....you arrive at this location.....

.....and then this spot with this view! 

Because I ascended and descended to get to the above views, I then had to ascend and descend again to get back onto the Fullerton Trail.  Now I had views to the east which were just as pretty as to the west. 

Have you ever startled a cow?  I did today!  I came upon cows feasting on the slopes.  I thought for sure this cow heard me coming but apparently it was too engrossed in chowing down on the grass. It did a little jump and shake and a double take. It stopped eating and stared at me with those big brown eyes! When I realized it was not going to come for me for scaring it, I snapped some shots then moved on.

view as I carried on

I completed the loop, made my way through the dense dark forest section then came out into the open and had views like this as I neared the end.  By now,  I had met many others heading in, many with kids and many with dogs. I was happy I had pretty much the entire time to myself while hiking.  Also, the colours are always the most beautiful earlier rather than when the sun gets high.  

I'm glad you virtually came along for a visit to my beautiful playground in Kananaskis! 

two short stories

 a twist on colours 

It seems I have blinders on against every else but colours these days! 

Once again, I am sharing stories about shades! 

This time though there is a twist to them! 

Story #1

Many minis were created to depict a recent visit to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.  This time around I am not sharing my actual photos. I am sharing my watercolour paintings from some of those photographs. Painting these many minis did not take many moments. Each one measures three and a half inches by two and a half inches. While wandering The Sanctuary's trails, I found beauty around every corner. When I loaded the photos onto my iMac, the beauty popped. Then when I began to place paint on paper, I realized a whole new dimension of beauty, I could feel it!  

autumn reflections, a Deer & Robin feasting, a splashing Goose, the Moon, colourful trees & trails

Story #2

aurora   flows   beauty   grows

There is a wake up call I will never ignore! Answering this kind of call gives me the opportunity to see shades other than the autumn colours I have been chasing recently. A call came very very early Sunday morning!  I heard the alert, I got out of bed and quickly donned warm layers. When I stepped out onto my back deck, I saw the Aurora Borealis dancing in the sky.  So many stars sparkled along with the dancing.  The flow of colours looked like music, I could almost hear the flow. As the colours flowed side to side and up and down, the beauty grew. I watched the show for just short of an hour, all the while feeling like I was swaying to the beauty.  

Carburn's Colours October 2, 2026

Of course, I have another "autumn colours" story to share! These colours are fleeting so I am getting my fill fast and furiously!  Conditions were forecasted to be ideal to capture Carburn's colours. I answered the call! It was a cool start, no wind to contend with, clouds were how I like them, it was time to capture a multiple of beautiful seconds in time. Before delving deep into the woods, I found a perfect place where I could use my phone to take this panorama picture overlooking the pond facing west.    

Still before following the forest paths, I roamed along the route by the river.

The colours were calling, as were the clouds, so into the forest I went.  

The moon was still high in the sky!

I like how parts of the trees light up when the sun hits the colours!

I stood underneath to get a view looking up!

OH! What's that I see!

This is a close up of what I saw!  There's that Great Horned Owl again!  Oh and what to my wondering eyes should I see, another Great Horned Owl a few feet to the right.  Oh how special is this!  I had heard there was another Owl yet it was skittish and stayed hidden out of sight for the majority of the time.  

This is the Owl on the left facing me with one eye open!

This is the Owl on the right facing the other direction.

I was able to find an open spot through the leaves, zoom in and see that it saw me!

I wondered lots!

Is this the skittish one?

Is this a male or female?

Are they a couple?

After loads of admiring time of the Great Horned Owls, 

I moved on down the trail that follows the river.  

Black Squirrel feeding on seeds left by a local walker. 

A Double Crested Cormorant airing out its wings!

A Muskrat mixed in with the weeds! 

After catching all the colours, admiring the Great Horned Owls, following the trail along the Bow River, it was time to head back.  On the way back. I took the route where I could have a view of the reflection while facing in the opposite direction from when I first hit the trail awhile back.  I found a perfect place where I could use my phone to take this panorama picture overlooking the pond facing east.

No doubt, this is not the last of the autumn colours!  

I still have it in me to chase more!