The Surreal & The Real

When I looked outside for the first time after waking this morning, what I saw, or I mean what I could not see, appeared surreal and I knew I wanted to be "out & about" to see if there was something to see in amongst where I could not see!  You got that?  A very thick fog hung over the city giving a visibility distance to the tips of your fingers at the end of your outstretched arm!  Well almost!  

My intentions for today fell by the wayside and I played it safe sticking closer to home where I could see where I was driving and the road was not quite a skating rink.  I arrived at a high point on Nose Hill just as the sun peaked above the layer of fog.   You can barely see the city centre towers at the middle right in the photo.  

When I arrived at "Nose Hill Lake" there was a sudden drop in temperature.  It was frozen and covered in snow with a dense layer of fog hovering over top.  That's it in the middle.  There was nothing to see there so I skirted the Lake and picked up a trail heading away from the area.  

When the sun shone through, oh did it shine through!  The rays emanating from the sun were amazing and presented a photographers' dream.  I made that plural as I was not the only one up here taking all of this in!   

a layer of hoar frost coated just about everything

This was the closest I ever got to wild life up on The Hill!  They surprised me and I surprised them!  I know that's not a good thing but we only became visible to each other at the last second.  As it turned out there were seven coyotes but I only captured a photo of one of them as I became flustered at the sight of then seeing such a big pack and got out of there quickly.  See the deer in the bottom photo?  See the frost buildup on their chins?

My plan was to spend a couple of hours savouring the sights and time was approaching to begin the trek back to where I started the day.  This trail leads somewhere but I know it is not the direction I need to be going.  Let's see, what direction is the sun shining from, OK I need to make a right somewhere along here!  

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Sometimes I felt a sense of surrealism when I was at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, just a forty minute drive west of Lake Louise which is in Banff National Park, Alberta.  I call it a "jewel of a place" because it glows, it is special and because it is called Emerald!  I have been to Emerald Lake in all seasons but being here in winter can be an outstanding experience.  I know that for a fact!  I was looking to do a winter watercolour painting scene and I wanted it to be based one on my visits somewhere.  A photo from my most recent visit to Emerald Lake in February of this year became my muse and this is my painting. 

This is the photo from that February 2022 day that I used as a reference for my painting.

I had the good fortune to visit Emerald Lake many times over the decades and these are photos I captured during the winter visits.  November of 2010 was the first time I saw this jewel during winter conditions. For the December 2019 visit, I spent three nights in a cabin over looking Emerald Lake.   

I look forward to another visit to Emerald Lake in the near future!