successes

Delightful 

Blissful

Joyful 

Gleeful

Cheerful

There is not much more I can say to express how it felt to lace up my skates and skate The Ice Trail for the first time this season!  I was a tad apprehensive until I completed the near to one kilometre loop then I was in my element, in my glory, where I belonged! The ice had not yet been swept nor flooded since the day prior.  My favourite time to skate is right after the Ice Man works his magic but I was absolutely fine to skate on it the way it was.  There were no cracks nor bumps nor hazards of any kind which made the conditions great for mid December.  I skated for an hour, that was enough for my first time out this season.  By the time I finished, I felt I was glowing from such fulfilment and the beginnings of frosty fringes were apparent.  I declare this outing a success in every way possible!  

 

You can be sure whenever there is an opportunity to be outside in the middle of the night to witness the Northern Lights, I will be ready with my "Northern Lights" mittens which I finished knitting. In fact, I won't be waiting for the Aurora Borealis to make an appearance, to wear them, I will be donning them immediately.  I see improvement over the first pair I knit, but there is still a long road ahead of me with much to learn and I am ready to venture down that road.  My initial thought was to knit a pair of child's mittens with the left over yarn but I believe I have enough to knit a scarf instead.  I am already on my third try at getting the scarf going. While it is an easy pattern, I faltered along the way, thankfully very early on.  While creating this blog post and using a free clipart of yarn and needles, of course I now need to make my own watercolour painting of my own knitting logo.  I declare knitting these mittens was a success and I will strive for success with the scarf. The scarf will be as long as the amount of left over yarn will make it.  (That's the same blanket in each photo, the mittens are in morning light and the scarf afternoon light. The true colour of the blanket is mid way between both.  The same can be said for the  mittens and scarf.)

all in a day's work December 14, 2024

After an amazing spirit of the season filled few days in Banff National Park, I made quick business of getting back on track once I returned to the city.  I left in spring like conditions and arrived back to the same.   Over the course of the week, ice became water and white became brown.  It's nature and no matter what, there is still beauty to behold!  This is what my "all in a day's work" looked like yet none of it was work but rather play! 

birding

I don't know if I should call it birding at this time of year when I do go out birding!  I spend more time admiring the scenery and looking for other wildlife than I do investing time in enjoying what birds there are.  They are scare these days except for the Geese and Mallards, they run in the hundreds.  The last time I was here the creek running towards the lagoon was frozen solid and covered in snow and rime ice.  It is running again offering up pretty refections.  

the coyote looked mangy

I hope this is its' "I just woke up" look! 

a took a double take when I saw this

female & male Hairy Woodpeckers

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

mooning

I made it an appoint to check for the last full moon of 2024, the Cold Moon!  With iffy sky conditions forecasted, I checked a few times over a couple of hours during the early morning also during the early evening.  

This shot was snapped on the morning of the 14th with a light layer of cloud cover and I thought this may be my full Cold Moon photo to keep.  I had hoped for a better picture.  

This was a short time later, not zoomed in and showing Jupiter beside the moon.  

This photo was captured early evening on December 14th. 

This is my official Full Cold Moon photograph.  

Throughout the afternoon and evening, I created this watercolour painting of the Full Cold Moon lighting up the sky and the Christmas Tree while snow flurries gently fall.  The snow flurries gently falling was wishful thinking!

knitting

Between waiting for layers of watercolour paint to dry, I got back to knitting my Northern Lights mittens.  I completed the first mitten and began the second.  I am so pleased with how the first mitten turned out, it looks much nicer than the first grey tweed pair I made.  I will have enough Northern Lights yarn left over, my plan is to knit a child's pair of mittens then drop them off someplace where a child's hands could use them. Using the circular needles rather than four needles makes all of the difference in the world.  I am surprised how fast they knit up.   My mind is already wandering off to thoughts of what else could I knit!

Banff National Park December 12, 2024

 

spirit of the season in snowy surroundings

I found what I was looking for!  I saw it! I felt it!

  I found the vision in my watercolour painting along the trail at Lake Louise! 

 This is it, the spirit of the season in snowy surroundings!  

It began to look magical the further west I drove this morning and when I arrived at Lake Louise, I felt that magic.  While the snow is not new, it still looked pristine. It was unusually quiet in the townsite and at the Lake itself, but this could be the calm before the storm. I had been monitoring the webcams so I knew I would not be skating, there would be no ice castle nor ice bar.  I was happy and content to be where the snow was!  

This will eventually be ready for skating. 

 Right now it looked like a mess of frozen slush.  

I always enjoy seeing the mounds of snow collected on rocks and wood 

in the water near the edge of the lake.  

The above photo is a close up of the wood & snow in the middle of the photo below.

The last time I hiked up to Fairview Lookout was in November of 2010. I was due for another visit so did that before walking along the Lake. The trail followed up through the forest where the trees were adorned with snow.  You can see the yellow trail marker near the bottom of the photo.

This is the view from Fairview Lookout! From here that skating surface looks so ready but distance makes it deceiving.  That’s the ski hill at middle right.  

After capturing my selfie shot, I enjoyed a snack and a hot beverage.

It was still very quiet when I arrived back down at the lake.  I saw workers beginning to prepare for where the ice bar will be built.  I saw blocks of snow off to the side that were being supported by large slabs of wood. No ice bar yet but I hoped to see ice climbers at the far end of Lake Louise.

Someone’s Snowman along the trail!

It measured about six inches high.

This is what it looks like when the child within comes out to play!

snowy crystal icy creations 

finding my muse after already creating the watercolour painting 

(painting is the Christmas ornament at beginning of the blog post)

the ice climber on the ledge near the top

I stayed on the main trail rather than walking on Lake Louise.  It looked rough with either frozen slush or soft ice.  While walking back, I met this outfit on their way out.  That would have been a bumpy ride for the guy being pulled in the bucket.  They were employees heading to the end where the horse drawn sleigh rides stop then turns around on the edge of the lake.  The area needed maintenance before the horses and sleigh dare venture onto the surface.

cross-country ski trail groomer

she was freshening up the track across the lake

down time at day’s end

Banff National Park December 11, 2024

 

spirit of the season in snowy surroundings

A short distance west from Banff looks more like the view in my promo painted photo I have been using to start each of these Banff blog stories.  It was a gorgeous drive along the Bow Valley Parkway to Johnston Canyon. By the time I was ready to start hiking, a bit of morning pink still remained in the sky. I was feeling on the lazy side today so made the viewpoint above the Upper Falls my destination.  This was the view from the first bridge over to the main trail.  

Strolling along the catwalk was so enjoyable!  The trees were dressed in winter white, there was more open water than normal running through the Canyon which created a soothing sound.  I was first to arrive in the parking lot, so shared the catwalk with no others.  

I descended down to the Lower Falls for a quick visit but I prefer to spend more time at the Upper Falls.  This stretch of catwalk leads down to a viewing platform at the end.  

view from the viewing platform 

After looking up at the Upper Falls, I ascended the trail that leads to a view of the Upper Falls at eye level.  I made this my destination location.  I settled in on the bench to savour the sights, snacks and sips of my hot beverage.  I secretly hoped I would see the fox I saw the last time I was in the area, no luck though.  There were two squirrels that entertained me.  

On the hike back, I veered off through the forest to where the cabins were located.  I probably should not have been there.  I meandered about and found the cabin I stayed in during early October of 2022. If there was a chair on the deck, I would have settled in for more snacks and sips.  The cabins are closed for the winter season.

a pile of firewood near my cabin 

I found my way out of the cabin area and aimed for the parking lot.  I continued west along the Bow Valley Parkway.  I owned the road so stopped to capture this view of Castle Mountain through my windshield.

after crossing this bridge, I pulled off to the side where there was a trail down to the river

These views greeted me from the riverside.

enjoyed time by the fire to end my day