4 short stories

After being "out & about" today, I am now at 2095 kms covered to-date in 2024.  My goal was to cover 2024 kms this year and once I reached that my goal became 2087 kms to surpass what I did last year which was 2086 kms.  Now I have a new goal, I want to cover 2120 to beat what I did in 2021 which was 2119, the most distance I have ever covered in a year.  This new goal will be easy breezy and after that, I guess I will just make it a free for all and go for whatever!  Now on to my "4 short stories" ! 

checking out & searching for

On this day, I had two main objectives to accomplish in addition to the usuals of getting fresh air and exercise.  I went to Confluence Park to "check out" the Siberian Larch Tree.  As you can see it is looking quite vibrant in the morning light which is so great for being very late in October. The other main objective was to "search for" the two Great Horned Owls which were reported to be living somewhere in the Park. I had no luck with seeing them but I did see a mink.  A flock of Northern Flickers is hanging out here too.  The autumn shades are in full force for as far as you can see.  Temperatures during the day have been well above freezing and there is no rain nor snow in the forecast for the foreseeable future.  I will be back for more "checking out & searching for"!  

woodland wandering & swishing

Most leaves now lay on the ground and that makes for great "swishing".  I've been doing lots of that lately when the opportunity is presented. I have been aiming for "woodland" lots too lately.  While I do like being out in the open for the views that go on forever, I also enjoy "wandering" through the "woodland".  On this day up on Nose Hill, I aimed for the aspen-lined trails and went "swishing" until my heart was content.  I created this watercolour painting from the special split seconds in time I savoured.  When I was "swishing" shades on the paper, in my mind I was back "wandering" at that "woodland" forest!

my reference photos

what's new with you

These days weekends work better for visiting the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.  The traffic on the Deerfoot 500 has been out of control and scary the past few weekdays that I drove it. That's really nothing "new" though.  Upon arriving at the parking lot, the first thing I noticed was the moon.  It is on the verge of being a "new" one come November 1st. A few weeks ago I purchased "new" hiking shoes, but I bought them for walking.  I have been going through walking shoes like there is no tomorrow and needed something more substantial.  These are warm & waterproof, have a good sole & grip.  There have been four muskrats in the lagoon, three of which are smaller than the other.  This is one of the small ones.  I believe the small ones would be "new" borns this summer.  While at The Sanctuary, the "new" weather began to come in, in one swoop.  With that cloud came much cooler temperatures.  

for my eyes only

What would I witness on this day up on Nose Hill?  There's always some kind of sighting to treasure!  I arrived at the tail end of the golden hour where my shadow lined up directly with the trail.  This was a shadow only "my eyes" saw!  With the golden hour gone, the sky now had a look of bursting open with pinks & purples forming an arch and sending an invitation to enter under.  Filling the sky, not only was this for "my eyes" but for everyones.  There to the west for all to see was a mountain peak peeking through the clouds with a touch of alpenglow hitting it!  I waited for the clouds to dance away and make the reveal.  Well, that was what "my eyes" saw!  The clouds did dance then the mountain disappeared! That was no mountain, it was just another cloud!  I still like what "my eyes" saw better! The two deer were down slope when I spotted them so only "my eyes" could see them.  A few seconds after I captured their beauty, they ran up hill to the wide open space for all others walking in the area to see.