Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park January 10, 2022

It was my wish to be at The Ranch to watch the sunrise then hike for a few hours.  As I started out, little did I know my timing would be perfect for enjoying the calm before the chinook!   In a twenty-four hour period the temperature changed by +25 degrees.  That meant no need for extreme nor legendary snow pants, nor down jacket, nor heavy mitts, nor heavy hat.  Donning regular winter wear and being out here at sunrise made life almost seem normal!   

view to the east as I arrived at the valley bottom

view of the trail to the north which I passed by

I opted to gain a bit of elevation so aimed for Yodel. 

No flash nor spotlight needed, the rising sun did the work. 

view along Yodel ridgeline

With the sun now fully up, the pink hues had faded away. The trail and loop along The Bow were open so I ventured down that way.  Others had not been recently and there was no beaten down path.  The snow had drifted across the trail so it took wobbly work to get through numerous long stretches.  

This was the prettiest section along the river.  The wind swept the ice clean.  Further west the river still had a narrow opening and was running. Large snow-covered ice chucks lined the shore.  The chucks were not yet at their prime for photographing.  I stomped my way back to the trail where I could finish the loop.

The view to the west was so crystal clear and beautiful!  

A light breeze began and the clouds were beginning to set up.....

.....to form a chinook!

I made it up out of the valley then took one last short trail to where I could get a grand view to the west.  After enjoying a bit of time here and capturing one last location photo, I began to head back to the parking lot.  Just as I left the lookout and then just like that,  the chinook hit hard and the wind whipped with fierce force.  

that's a chinook arch

I pushed against the wind, at times it near blew me off my feet.  In the short distance between the lookout and the parking lot, I worked the hardest I have worked in a long time.  I arrived back to the parking area and noticed the reflection in the windows of the new education centre.

I struggled to prop the car door open long enough against the wind so I could quickly slip in.  I felt for those just arriving to begin their hike. With a day of chinooking , I now wonder what all this warm weather will bring!   

Skating The Ice Trail January 9, 2021

It's been eighteen days since my last skate!   That phrase makes me think of what it sounds like to make a confession!  My skates have been waiting at my front door all that time while I waited for a forecast that was user-friendly enough to safely get my skates on with out getting my fingers nipped or bit by frost.  I like early morning skating when it's quiet and the lights are still lit to show the way along The Ice Trail.  

When I woke and saw the forecast was not as nice as promised, I bit the bullet and drove to Bowness anyway figuring I could assess the conditions once I arrived!  I put my skates on in the car then gingerly worked my way to the ice.  

I never get tired of this section!  

I was able to get a few laps in before the lights went off for the day.

As the sun began to rise, a beautiful hue of pink filled the sky which made the ice glow. 

I set the timer on my small camera then sat it on a pylon sitting in the snow.   

I skated away then managed to turn around just as it snapped a shot.  

morning glow on the trees and steam rising from the river

I wasn't stopping for long so did not bother to start a fire.  

It was OK the weather was not as warm as promised first thing in the morning, no one else dared to brave the cold.  The  lights lit on the trees adds to the experience and the solitude of a sunrise skate on a Sunday holds something special.  

 

bone-chilling * frost-biting * breath-taking

Yes, I know I am behind!  I have excuses!  It's not been a great start to the new year and my "Aussie Coastal Bushwalk" Virtual Challenge.  Lots of time was spent inside my home since January 1st.  That time has not been idle time and I will share more on that at a later date.  While our weather has been brutal, the views have been beautiful.  I hit trails close to home, that I could walk to.  The weather did not stop me to a certain "degree" but it stopped my car, full stop!  The time frames that I did spend outside were on the short side to avoid frostbite.  Two days saw me not even opening the front door when windchills remained in the -40'sC for extended periods. So yes, I am behind but with user-friendly weather conditions approaching, it's time to catch up! 

The blue sky and sunshine is deceiving and draws me outside!  It did a few others too, one who cross country skied the winding creek.  We have not had much snow yet this year in the city but what we have is enough to give that winter-wonderland look.  I stuck to the sheltered trails as much as possible to avoid the wind.  Even still, I could feel the wind cut, like a knife!  This is the first time ever I could feel the sting through my long underwear and extreme snow pants.   I move fast these days but still stop, only long enough to capture a few special seconds in time. 

Wth temperatures in the mid-20'sC and windchill in the mid-30'sC for a couple of hours mid day, this was the perfect window of opportunity to get out the door.  It was a deja vu day!  I stuck to the sheltered trails as much as possible to avoid the wind.  Even still, I could feel the wind cut, like a knife! This time I paired my legendary snow pants with long underwear yet I could still feel the sting.  My fast movement startled the white tail deer who jumped from its napping position, but it did not scare the Great Horned Owl who remained napping.  With frost built up on my exposed hair, eye lashes and eye brows and feeling the sting through my pants, it was time to walk back home and get inside to a cup of hot chocolate! 

After a couple of days, it was go time for my vehicle!  Whew!  I ventured a tad south on the Deerfoot Indy 500 which was quiet during these early morning frigid hours.  I would like to visit the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on a weekly basis this year so this day was this weeks visit.  The place was alive with bird and duck activity.  My first sighting was of three adult Bald Eagles and one Juvenile perched on the tree tops as I rounded the corner by the Lagoon.  I was not camera ready and in a matter of a few seconds they were gone.  The sun was up over the Bow River but there was no added warmth from it.

There were many Black-Capped Chickadees dee-dee-deeing about and hundreds of mallards with a couple other species scattered amongst them. This one male Mallard in particular, I watched for awhile.  It had a difficult time moving on a section of sheer ice and just looked like a sprawled out mess.  Finally he gathered his feathers and feet and waddled to the open water.  Like the past few outings, this one also was on the shorter side and moving fast was necessary.  The end of this Siberian Arctic cold snap is in sight!

doing what it takes to stay safe & warm

For a second year in a row, my neck of the woods has experienced the coldest temperatures ever for the longest stretch ever!  There is an end in sight but we need to be patient for another couple of days.  When venturing out the door to exercise my body is out of the question these days, I exercise my brain!  I have taken numerous tutorials on how to work with watercolor brush pens and graphite pencils then put what I learned to the test.  I have four projects to share:

When I look at this, I think of the days when there was not a care in the world!  For this sketch which I did from a tutorial, I used a graphite pencil, a white gel pen and lead shavings from a navy coloured pencil.   To get the blue look, you use a tissue with the blue shavings on it and smudge it in a circular motion. The tutorial used black but I experimented with blue and prefer that look.

This  project was done more for the practice of laying and blending colours to get a background and for that I used watercolor brush pens and a paint brush that I dipped in water. The brush pens were also used for the flower.  The lady is done in india ink and a white gel pen was used for the hair highlights.

Sketching faces is not my thing nor my interest! That was until I followed a tutorial with the outcome being this!  The only media used was a graphite pencil.  I am feeling I want to explore this angle a little more and see if there is hope for me in making progress on face sketching. 

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee! I enjoyed sketching a Chickadee with coloured pencils and thought there could be as much enjoyment using watercolor brush pens.  The verdict!  There was!  Even with the brush pens, it is a challenge to get small details precise.  

Now on to something not as colourful nor as enjoyable, the weather! Staying safe these days means avoiding frosh bite, praying pipes don't freeze or that water mains don't break.  My staying safe thoughts are not that I might catch something but rather that my car starts when I get back to it from being out & about and that the key does not snap in half when I turn it to open my front door once I am back home.  This is what it looks like to be "out & about" these days!

I saw movement in a bushy area that was wind blown.  

A porcupine was curling up to brace against the wind.

These Canada Geese were flying in a northerly direction!!!

adding a splash of color to a very white day

berries laden with snow

when the forecast calls for ice crystals, this is the outcome

early on while I am still warm

I have many more sketching tutorials lined up 

but I do hope for more windows of opportunity to safely be "out & about"!  

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary January 1, 2022

Visiting the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary first thing in the morning of a brand new year could become a tradition! That's what I did on January 1, 2021 and that's what I did today.  I debated whether to tackle the sketchy Deerfoot drive and if I wanted to deal with the high windchill.  I went for it and was so happy I did!  For two hours I shared the Sanctuary with only five other people.  I saw beautiful sights and also some birds so I could begin my bird count for this year.

 view just after passing through the gate

my camera is not blurry, that's steam rising from the open water

view from the trail along the Bow River

bundled up to stay warm

When I moved, I moved quickly, when I stopped, it was not for long. There were mounds of snow on some of the fence posts and I brushed off the snow to see three painted rocks.  Everything that could, either had snow on it or frost build up.    

As soon as I entered the Sanctuary, I spotted the Bald Eagle.  To get the photo of the eagle at this angle high in the tree, I swished through a few inches of snow for a few feet.  The Male Mallard Duck, the Male Downy Woodpecker and the Black-Capped Chickadee were easily accessible for photos right from the trail.

With sights like this, I just sigh!  

It makes being "out & about" in -26C worth it.  

Where the ice meets the open water, it looks like delicate intricate lace.

What have we here!  I can identify deer tracks and where wings of a large bird swished over the snow.  I tried to imagine what might have transpired here with all the wildlife markings.    

I competed another course!  

After taking the course, I was ready to set up my profile on eBird and begin keeping track of my sightings for the year.  This is a better approach than the excel spreadsheet I designed and used for 2021. 

Taking the two courses that I did, was a great start to growing as a birder.  I'll look for other ways too that will be beneficial in expanding my interest.  That being said, I am not ready and may never be for a fancy dancy camera nor big binoculars!  

Aussie Coastal Bushwalk Virtual Challenge 2022

It's time to reach for the stars with a lofty goal!  Instead of joining in on numerous virtual challenges throughout this year, I am taking on one big one.  One challenge!  One goal!  One medal!  Each year the Conqueror Staff offer a virtual challenge that runs from January 1 to December 31. You pick your distance, you pick your place, you do what it takes to finish before the end of the day on December 31st.   The medal was designed by a fellow conqueror with a few tweaks by the Conqueror Staff.  The latin phrase "per aspera ad astra" translates to "through hardships to the stars".  When I look at the medal and the wording, I think to myself "don't just live through 2022 but CONQUER 2022!

I named this virtual challenge "Aussie Coastal Walk"!   The route I picked starts at South Stradbroke Island near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia and finishes at Great Otway National Park near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.  This bushwalk measures 2553 kms in distance.  I have 365 days to complete this distance if I want to receive the medal and a finishers certificate.  The trek mostly follows along the coast.  I built my own map which measures 16 inches by 20 includes in size.  The orange line is the route and you can see the orange tack at the start which will be my progress marker.  I did my best with filling in some name places as close to their actual spot as I could figure.  I will add more names as I trek along in a north to south direction. 

I received my race bib this morning.  At the moment I received my number, there were over 6000 conquerors who had picked their own place and their own distance.  I am pretty certain, I will be on my own with the route I planned out.

This is the spot I picked on South Stradbroke Island to start this virtual adventure.  Back in 1998, I had the good fortune to stand in this general location and look across to Brisbane which is where I am virtually heading.   I chose this photo from google earth.  

This is a photo I took when I was there.

This is a photo of the Gold Coast which I took while on a helicopter tour.

I picked Australia to virtually go where in reality I have been.  It will be a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar.  I have been from the northern part of New South Wales up to the southern tip of Queensland.  Once I reach just south of Wollongong New South Wales, I will be venturing into unfamiliar territory.   I still have my diary that I wrote in each day and will refer back to it. 

There will be no postcards received for this challenge, yet I will have access to their postcard generator to make my own.  I will receive monthly progress reports so my thinking is I will stick with only monthly postings for my "Aussie Coastal Bushwalk" Virtual Challenge.  I will be able to access photos from google earth. It will take a bit of work to figure out where I virtually am in Australia as I post my distances after being "out & about" mountain hiking and urban hiking in reality.  At this point, this feels like a work in progress and I may add ideas as I venture along the way.

Covering 2553 kms in 365 days seems a bit intimidating right now for me.  I think it is a healthy goal in many ways and it feels right to reach for the stars.  The only way to know what you can accomplish in life is to find ways to make life happen!