Inglewood Bird Sanctuary March 7, 2025

🎵The Sanctuary was alive with the sound of music!🎵  

That is if birds' songs are music to your ears! 

Today's wander around The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary was purely about wandering the trails while wondering about the birds! The scenery was not the focus, it's not the prettiest right now anyway.  There were no deer, nor coyotes, nor rabbits, nor muskrats. There were enough bird songs and activity to distract me from paying attention to anything other than what The Sanctuary is truly all about.    

Upon arriving at the junction then veering south along the trail that leads to the Colonel James Walker House, the sounds from the Canada Geese echoed loudly throughout the area.  The pair were perched on the roof and chimney as they have done in the past at this time of year.  The grassy area and forest section are pleasant and popular places to wander as they are pleasing locations for the birds and many can be spotted here.  I aimed for there then needed to make a mad dash away when the Pair of Geese swooped down towards me and claimed their space. 

I moved on and then I saw them move on!  OH! OH!  They landed on the bridge rail and perched there as they have done in the past at this time of year.  They watched me walk by hissing at me as I did so.  Whew at receiving only hisses and no pecks.   

This Canada Goose was going no where.

It sat in the snow, shortly its partner joined in.  

There were wars between this pair and the pair on guard at the rail.

I was ready to move onto greener pastures or I should say open waters.  The waterway that runs through The Sanctuary is beginning to open up.  The very small section housed a pair of Common Goldeneyes swimming circles where they could.  

male Common Goldeneye

female Common Goldeneye

The Bow River running outside The Sanctuary runs wide open. The hundreds of Geese and Mallards that hung out along side it over the past number of months are gone.  Common Mergansers have settled in.  I always smile when I see the hair styles on the female Common Mergansers. 

Every bird, duck or goose has a story! I have a story for each too!  I watched this male Hairy Woodpecker fly from a tree near me to this log.  This log is located down the trail, across the waterway, on the other side of the sidewalk over there.  I like my large zoom, on this occasion thanks to it, I got almost up close and personal with the Hairy Woodpecker.   

A lady told me, just up ahead there were eight White-breasted Nuthatches feasting in the area.  This is one of them!  They were all flitting about, singing and feasting.  Seeing eight at once was a feast for me.

The Northern Flickers were plentiful today and appeared to be ruling The Sanctuary, well, other than those two Canada Geese.  Between the Flickers and the Starlings, signs of spring have obviously sprung.  This pair did the dance over and over again.  

"Little Robin Red Breast sat upon a tree!"  Oh how sweet is he or she! I only saw the one but no doubt there is a partner somewhere or there will be soon.  The gold beak and the red breast bring much cheer to the dull brown season.   

Before leaving to head home, I stopped by the Colonel Walker House again with hopes the Canada Geese would leave me only.  They did leave me to freely and safely wander about.  The male House Finch was perched high on a tree branch enjoying the warmth from the sun, the snacks from the tree and the songs of the ladies around him. 

'Tis the season! 

As each day passes, more and more birds will be arriving, 

setting up homes for the spring and summer.  

It is an exciting time for birders!  

Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park March 6, 2025

The only debate I had this morning was which boots should I wear!  Do I go for the winter hiking boots for warmth, waterproof and to safely trudge through ice, slush and snow or do I opt for my regular hiking boots!  I laced up my regular hiking boots, packed my spikes in my pack and headed out the door for the drive west to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.  The early on trails were clear and dry which I assumed they would be, it was the trails down by the river that I expected to be on the sketchy side.  These assumptions were made from past years' visits here in early March.  

early on trails as I assumed they would be

on guard as I hiked by

This was about as sketchy as it got with snow on the lower trails heading towards the river.  From here I could see the river  which is that small blue section in the middle of the photo. The Rocky Mountains line the westerly view.  I thoroughly enjoyed my stay out there last week.  I am already itching to head somewhere again but that will have to wait.   

It was along here where I thought I might need my winter hiking boots!  The entire trail was clear of snow,  ice and slush.  It was when I veered off trail and meandered down towards the river where conditions changed. 

There would  be no going further on the trail through the trees out to the river.  There are nice spots to sit out there and watch the river run by. The only tracks on the snow covered ice belong to wildlife. 

You can see the faint trail I followed in the grass on the right.  

Bald Eagle

Common Redpoll

It may not look like it, but it is a long way down from where I am standing to the river below.  I hiked the entire Bow River Loop.  My favourite part was along the river where I had views like this.  The sound of the river running, blue sky, the fresh air, a slight breeze, the vistas, sunshine, thirteen kilometres covered!   

Aaaah!

Just living life! 

UPDATES: The 2026 Calendar The Bald Eagles The Wall Hanging

The 2026 Calendar

Five down seven to go! This is the five watercolour painting for my 2026 Calendar, it will represent an early spring or late autumn month.  I used a photo from my latest hot beverage pouring occasion at Lake Louise last week as my reference.  This pouring was recent enough that I can still almost taste it!  Occasions like these have been a ritual while being "out & about" during cold weather. The location picked to settle into always has a perfect view.  I will bundle up, place my therma-rest pad to sit on then settle in. I like the sound from unscrewing the cup, lifting the red seal and the sound made when actually pouring the beverage. The sips soothe the soul!  

my reference photo

I have three short videos to share with you from my pouring occasions last week while visiting Banff and Lake Louise in Banff National Park.  The majority of the time over the years the pourings have been perfect then there is the odd time when it goes off the rails! Maybe the times it goes off the rails would be the perfect times, those are the occasions that laughter becomes a part of the whole experience.   

The Bald Eagles

I paid a visit to Carburn Park on the weekend to check out the two Bald Eagles and also to see if new visitors have arrived during the warm wave of weather.  Upon arrival to the Park, I first made my way to the location where I last saw the Bald Eagles building their nest. The last time I was there was early February and I watched them busily build.  During this weekend's visit, no one was home but that's not unusual.  I checked back later and still no one.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw activity in the trees further to the west so made a bee line to that area.  See those two red dots in the tree in the centre of the photo!  Those are the two Bald Eagles!  I talked with two guys and they shared with me that the Bald Eagles abandoned their previous nest two weeks ago and have been building a new one in this location. They have been working hard to build the new nest as time is getting short for when eggs could be laid.  

I watched them for a lengthy time! I wondered when would they rest!  They must get tired! They did not rest while I was there. I believe the Bald Eagle perched and watching is the female.  At times she assisted with getting the branches perfectly placed. I was getting tired of standing and watching and moved on down the trail.  

These are just three of the many times the Bald Eagle flew off to collect branches. 

The Wall Hanging

In my last blog post, I mentioned I wanted to create a knitted wall hanging of some sort that depicted nature in some way.  The first piece was the Great Horned Owl that I knitted using cable stitches.  I completed three more pieces using up yarn that I had left over from previous projects.  There is so much to love about nature that of course the Wall Hanging has to include a knitted heart.  I am in the process of knitting another piece and I think I will do one more after that.  Then it will be time to brain storm on how to attach them all, what to hang them from and where to hang the finished product!  

2 stories : ending & beginning

ending

Today I will retire my skates to the basement until next season!  Lots of savouring went into skating at Lake Louise on Tuesday, sensing it would be my last skating session for this season.  Yesterday upon arriving home from an amazing few days get-away, I checked the ice conditions for The Lagoon and The Ice Trail at Bowness and saw they were closed.  This was not a surprise seeing as the local temperatures have been reaching plus double digits celsius each day.  There are no cold forecasted temperatures in the foreseeable future.

How do I describe this skating season? The easy answer to that question is I covered more kilometres this season than I have in any season in the past.  Between December 16, 2024 and February 25, 2025 I skated 241.5 kilometres. Twenty times I laced up my skates and excitedly etched away.  That's the easy answer!  It is a challenge to put into words the feeling that comes from each skating session throughout the season.  It does me the world of good, especially this season when our world needs good!   A collage of photos tells the story best of the beauty to be seen and felt! 

beginning

This past Saturday, I teased you with this photo!  I had just learned to cable knit and this latest project would incorporate that latest lesson. I want to begin this story with this photo.  I began this project before leaving for Lake Louise this past Monday.  I had a few rows done and the plan was to pass a little time by knitting at the beginning of my get-away days before heading out to the ice or the tracks or the trails.  Yesterday before leaving to hit the highway home, I drove up to Lake Louise one last time for one last visit.

It was during this last visit that I noticed an ice sculpture that I did not see when I arrived on Monday.  

I was not quite sure what the sculpture was until I read the display that was near it.  

The display says this:

"The great horned owl, a top predator in the Banff and Lake Louise area of the Rocky Mountains, plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance by regulating prey populations, which is crucial for local biodiversity.  

These owls hold cultural significance for Indigenous communities, symbolizing wisdom and strength.  Conservation efforts in the region aim to protect their habitats, underscoring their ecological culture, and recreational importance."

This is my photo of the Great Horned Owl. You can understand why I was not sure what I was looking at.  Since the sculpture was completed, weather took a toll, now with one wing missing and a light layer of snow covering it.  After reading the display and realizing it was a Great Horned Owl, I felt a tinge of tingles!  

This photo of the Great Horned Owl ice sculpture is from the Lake Louise Tourism site. 

The cause for feeling the tinge of tingles was no doubt due to the fact I just finished knitting my latest project before packing up and checking out of my home away from home in Lake Louise.  This is my cable knit Great Horned Owl!  I finished knitting it at Lake Louise but blocked it for a few hours when I got home and then added the eyes.  Learning to cable knit this Owl is the beginning of a new project I have in mind. 

The Great Horned Owl square measures 9" by 9".  I would like to knit more projects similar to this one not necessarily the same size and I don't know how many squares I want to do. I want the squares to incorporate nature in some way.  I want to include cable knitting and I also want to begin to learn other stitch patterns.  Eventually, I would like to attach the squares together and create a wall hanging.  And so this journey begins!   

Lake Louise February 26, 2025

With the way the weather has been weathering, it was best not to put off getting out to cross-country ski.  Tracks had been groomed on Tuesday, this morning would be on the colder side for a couple of hours, it was go time!  I started at the top of Upper Tramline with plans to do a clockwise route, which is my favourite.  I loaded on lots of layers to start for the gradual downhill couple of kilometres.  

I shared Moraine with one person, 

that’s her the tiny blue dot a touch up and left of my left ski.

along Fairview

perfectly delightful newly groomed track…..

…..until it wasn’t

something very large had walked in the track for most of Fairview 

I was on guard!

A lady told me later, it was a moose!

from etching yesterday, to gliding today

view while skiing 

When I finally arrived at the “snowfa”, 

I settled in for awhile to catch some rays….

…..while sipping a hot beverage!

The scenery is so pretty along Fairview!

The clouds were dancing!

By the time I was getting closer to the end of the route, I could tell the track conditions were changing so I was happy to have done the entire route while the track was at its best.  After a visit around The Village, I headed back to my home away from home.  With the window open, I could hear the melting taking place. A little later all icicles were gone!