2024 OH the Joys you Brought!

Creating this post to highlight 2024 turned out to be much more monumental than I anticipated!  A week or so ago, I began to gather some memories while perusing my photo albums.  What transpired was mentally becoming joyfully lost in reliving this year.  I eventually managed to select a shot that stood out for each month to share in this summary.  The photos I picked may not be the prettiest pictures but each evoked a feeling that spoke a truth of some sort.  

JANUARY:  I stopped by the Ice Bar at Lake Louise just after arriving to savour an adult beverage as my kick off to a few days stay to play.  The Chili Chocolate Orange drink, the ice sculptures, the snow, the cold and the mountain scenery all packaged together ignited a fire & spirit within! This was my first visit to Lake Louise this winter! 

FEBRUARY:  I experienced so many wonderful times skating to date this season but this day offered up everything to enjoy a perfect Canadian iconic winter sport.  I took this photo along The Canal at Bowness Park.  The Ice Man had completed working his wonders making it magical for me.  

MARCH:  I made a return trip to Lake Louise for another few days.  I captured this image while cross country skiing along the Upper Tramline.  It was truly a winter-wonderland. The track had been groomed the day prior yet a new light dusting of white gold decorated the track, the trees and the mountains.  I have skied the trails at Lake Louise many times and know what is around each corner but I still can hardly wait to get around that next corner as if I would be seeing what's there for the first time!    

APRIL: As soon as this month arrives, it's time to go crocus hunting!  This was my first sighting this year which was during an early morning visit up on Nose Hill.  In some areas the crocuses were still covered in a touch of icy snow but the sun shone brightly on this one and melted winter away.  I feel a sense of optimism when I first see the new crocuses!

MAY:  I became consumed with monitoring the Robin's nest. I checked in on the nest every other day or so.  I created watercolour paintings from photos I captured.  Seeing four eggs in the nest filled my heart with much joy!  I googled to gain knowledge about what I was witnessing.  This side of Mother Nature was a learning experience in so many ways.

JUNE:  Visiting Austria was a dream come true!  Hiking in Austria was the sweet icing on that dream!    This was a solo trip to The Netherlands and to Austria. I have been called "intrepid", this trip felt like it fit that description of me.  This trip fueled a spark that I will not deny! Here I am on a mountain summit with the Dolomites of Italy behind me and Innsbruck Austria far below me. When dreams become reality it makes me feel like I am on top of the world!

JULY:  Passing hours at Forgetmenot Pond always brings joy!  Spending time "in" Forgetmenot Pond creates memories never forgotten.  The only ripples in the water were made by my paddle. When the hours of daylight are long, it's easy to be the only person "out & about" very early morning which was the case on this day.  Aaaahhh, stretched out in my kayak listening to the sound of silence and savouring the scenery!  

AUGUST:  Luck was on my side with securing accommodations in Many Glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.  I hiked to Grinnell Glacier a few times many years ago which was long enough ago  I could not remember much about the trail.  It took digging deep mentally and physically to accomplish the hike on this day as the temperature was scorching hot when I hit the trail at 7:00am.  Reaching Grinnell Glacier and Grinnell Lake then holding the slice of ice in the shape of a heart was so rewarding!  

SEPTEMBER: Along with September comes Larch Season and also comes the closing of the gondola ride up to Sunshine Meadows in Banff National Park.  The closing date was late enough that the Larch Trees already began to turn colour.  For the last day of summer and the second last day of the gondola running, I hit the trails high on Sunshine to witness Larch Trees in their prime of the season shades. To also have a touch of brand new snow made for a photographer's dream!

OCTOBER:  There was no time spent, not even a second, wondering what October's highlight would be!   The night of October 10th was an experience that added a whole new dimension of evoking a feeling that I cannot put words to.  When I was standing on top of Nose Hill surrounded by the Aurora Borealis where I felt I could reach out and touch them, I felt them touch me!  

NOVEMBER:  To see, you need to be, to be out there!  It was a morning that took extra effort to get out the door. I had been seeking out an Owl sighting at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and at Carburn Park numerous times with no luck.  Seeing an Owl was the furthest thing from my mind while meandering through the Birth Forest on this morning.  To see, you need to be, to be out there, I was out there and I saw this Great Horned Owl!  

DECEMBER:  I took a mid month trip for a few days to Banff National Park.  I went in search of the spirit of the season which I found a bountiful of.  Of all the sights I saw, this photo spoke the loudest to me.  It speaks a truth!  When the child within comes out to play, there is not a care in the world!  

2024 Felt like a year of learning, gaining, exceeding, excelling to an extent not matched before.  I got back into macrame, learned to knit, gained a wealth of knowledge about birding and took many watercolour painting lessons.  Creating the 2025 Many Moons Calendar was a fun project.  I finished knitting three pairs of mittens, one scarf and I am now knitting a child's size pair of mitts. I set a goal of covering 2024 kilometres in 2024.  At the closing of 2024 my final count was 2401 kilometres.  Skating 68 kilometres in the past two weeks did the trick with getting the number up there.  

I continue to enjoy the pleasure that comes from blogging. I found much joy in following your blogs, both those I have followed for years and those of you I newly discovered.  Reading your stories and seeing your photos brought inspiration and motivation to gain knowledge and try new things. You have opened my eyes wider! I give lots of credit to you for some of my accomplishments in 2024. While I blog for myself to have a place I can go to relive experiences, your interest and comments keep me motivated to continue sharing what life is like in my little part of the world. 

2024 OH the Joys you Brought!

some seasonal sights

Things that remain constant are making time to treasure the gifts of nature, delight in the bonuses from continuing to learn, relish in the rewards from being active and cherish the Spirit of this Season no matter what may cross your path in life!  Through it all, the "key to my heart" always opens!  While my eyes were fixing for a few seconds on Christmas Tree decorations, they lingered longer on the decoration I purchased in June at a craft store in Neustift im Stubaital, Austria.  I noticed these German words reflecting in the bauble to the left.  I then took time to reflect!

treasure the gifts of nature

there is wonderment in both our eyes

Christmas morning crescent moon

delight in the bonuses from continuing to learn

I finished knitting the "Northern Lights" scarf! 

This was my first time ever knitting a scarf, I am delighted with the outcome.

Time came to begin knitting a third pair of mittens.  

I wanted to learn a new pattern for the cuff.  

More delight to enjoy! 

relish in the rewards from being active

December 24 skating The Ice Trail

December 25 skating The Ice Trail

that's a Bald Eagle flying over the trees on the right

December 26 skating The Ice Trail

cherish the Spirit of this Season no matter what may cross your path in life

My brother will always be by my side even though he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away nine years ago on December 24th.  I cherish this photo of us at Christmas when we were wee.  He made a difference in this world for many.  He continues to add value to my life in ways unexpected! 

receiving the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal

a 2015 "Nova Scotian Crystal" Christmas Ornament 

with an angle on top and his wings are made of Nova Scotia tartan

Spirit of the Season 

sights, sounds, tastes 

are still to be savoured!   

Time to continue 

treasuring

delighting

relishing

cherishing

transitioning from autumn to winter

Yet it feels like we are transitioning from winter to spring!  Over the past week as the days got shorter, the weather got warmer, the sun shone brightly and the snow continued to disappear.  I did manage to keep focused on staying in the cold winter white frame of mind! With warm temperatures forecasted and no snow predicted for the next several days in the city, I will continue to look for true winter in my mind!  

 

I arrived on this morning at Carburn Park during the morning golden glow.  The Park was alive with wildlife already in the midst of their routine. The first thing I did before getting into my Carburn Park routine, was to head to the river's edge to scope out the Bald Eagle activity. Do you see what I see?  One Bald Eagle is sitting on the old nest.  I reported back on November 9th, that the tree holding the new nest the pair were in the process of building had fallen due to beaver activity.  Other birders reported seeing the two Bald Eagles adding twigs to the old nest.  This old nest is their forever home!  

the Black-capped Chickadee is a bit more fluffed up against the cool morning

Trumpeter Swan

(two have been hanging out along the Bow River)

White-breasted Nuthatch

The resident Buck's morning routine was following the ladies around.  When I got home and looked at my photos, the first thing I thought was, keeping in the spirit of the season, his antlers need a decoration! 

The skating rink at Carburn Park is still closed.  The Parks People are doing their best to prepare it.  I do not see it opening soon given the daily about freezing temperatures.  

The Ice Trail at Bowness remains open!  I ventured back there for my second skate of this season.  Upon arrival, the Ice Man was completing his lap around the trail.  That meant I had a fresh clean canvas to etch away on.  I forgot how less work it is to skate on freshly flooded ice compared to what I skated on, on Monday.  

the fresh clean canvas

just having fun

my etchings on ice

The temperature is always colder along The Ice Trail as it parallels the Bow River. The area has a winter look and feel.  Since skating here on Friday, I now notice The Lagoon is open.  I will monitor the Parks' postings given the warm weather conditions, but soon I will go down to the The Lagoon.

When the true winter weather arrives, I will be ready!  My "Northern Lights" scarf measures just over two feet long.  I thought I would have enough left over yarn from knitting the "Northern Lights" mittens to complete a scarf but I misjudged.  I purchased another skein to knit another few inches and add tassels at both ends.  I needed to rest my pointer finger on my left hand as the tip of it is taking a toll from the point of the knitting needle.  Time to google what to do about this!  Do I need a thimble!   

Once my scarf is compete, I am ready to start another pair of mittens. I want to try a different pattern for the cuff and make it a tad shorter.  I have a little homework to do on this before I get started. 

⛸ 🖌  

I last spoke on the telephone with my friend a year ago and we last emailed a couple of days later on Christmas Day.  We had a plan to get together very early in the New Year after the hustle and bustle settled down.  We did not have that get together, she passed away on December 30th.  This will be the first Christmas without her.  I am not quite there in my head yet with this.  I felt I needed her by my side so invested lots of time remembering our friendship and the wonderful times we shared.  She loved to skate but had not in many years.  She still had her white figure skates. She always wanted to hear about my skating and wanted to see my photos and the short video clips.  Maybe this brought back memories for her of that feeling of gliding across the ice.  I always thought of her when I skated and still do. Sometimes I don't feel like I am skating alone. I created this watercolour painting with her in my mind! Her favourite colours were yellow and pink, bright cheerful shades that matched her personality. 

always near forever dear

The wooden skates always hung on her Christmas Tree, now they hang on mine! 

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!