The Noses & The Crocuses

I was secretly hoping to find crocuses this past week as it would have been the earliest in the season if I had success!  On this last day of March at Nose Creek I had my first sighting of the season and the second I saw the crocuses, I expressed a shriek of joy!  Firstly though, I enjoyed a hike along the paths by the creek and meandering through the birth forest.  Being here on this morning was not my plan, I landed here when the Deerfoot 500 was at a standstill. I had not completely committed to the second lane so was able to veer off.  Nose Creek became my "save the day" place for an urban hike, it became the "consolation location"!  From my experience here, this was the winningest park to be today!  The area is dry and on the brown side but it is so alive with the smells, the buds, the running water, the bird songs and then there are the crocuses! The following photos show a few of my favourite sights today while saying goodbye to March!

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I was raring to get out the door to catch what ever Mother Nature had to offer for this first day of April up on Nose Hill!  I was sure I would see birds and I hoped I would spot crocuses.  The first photo shows the trail marker with the crocus cut out off the top.  While the sun was up, I captured this photo when I dipped down a steep hill and looked back.  When I turned again and looked forward, I saw the hills I wanted to ascend because I knew they would lead to where the birds hang out.  As I crested a hill, right in front of me sitting in the middle of the trail was a coyote basking in the sun.  It sprang to its feet as I am sure it was just as shocked as I was.  I yelled and pretended to go forward and it took off into the forest like a bolt of lighting.  I carried on up the hill!  I believe these may be Trumpeter Swans flying overheard. These male (with the red) and female Downy Woodpeckers played chase and offered me entertainment.  It was then time to cross country over the hills and aim for where I thought the crocuses might be and yes there they were!  The following photos show a few of my favourite sights today while saying hello to April!