The Challenge: Walk everyday from April 6 to May 22, and capture nature & wildlife looking excellent. The Reason: To participate in the Canadian Wildlife Federations Walk for Wildlife & raise money to help support species at risk in Canada. Find my donation page here. Preface: I am almost 2 weeks late on posting this update and I apologize (I have been pretty diligent about posting a picture a day to help track the walk on my tumblr page though on a positive note!). The fourth week of my walk for wildlife, and things started out a little rainy then turned a little snowy. The snow was wet, and dense, covering the landscape in a slushy white mess. It was to my delight that the snow disappeared by the following afternoon. I walked to work the morning after the snow came in winter boots through the snow. I left work a few hours later in the warm spring sun, with no snow around, and feeling really out of place with my boots. Out of place, and very happy that the snow was gone with the bright warm sun shining. Every week I hope that the snow that falls will be that last bit of snow for the year. Every week so far we keep getting more. However, with this being the last week of April one can only assume that with May next week this last 24 hour showing of snow will truly be this year's last. With the snow melting its winter partner, ice, was also melting with it. As I examined the lake surfaces I could see that the ice was starting to let go of the lake. The lakes were finally being freed from their winter entrapment, and getting a breath of fresh air. The water was crisp, but still made me want to walk in. It was so beautiful to see the water shimmer from the sun in the ice free patches. I am sure the lakes were happy to finally join their river friends in throwing off their ice cover. The ice has been off the river for a little while now with water flowing freely. Though the week started of cold and wet, with weather I am sure even the ducks weren't enjoying, the weather changed. It quickly turned the opposite way as the sun felt a bit warmer, shone a bit brighter, and I started to see the trees trying to get their green out. In between the death of last year you could find the rebirth of Mother Nature this year. It was a glorious sight to know that things were indeed going to turn green soon. And turn green Mother Nature did. She light up the night sky that week with a show of green, so gentle and so sweet. To watch the green lights dance across the sky while the evening wasn't so cold to scare you into the house was an amazing moment. The green washed across the sky, and made me even more excited for the green that was to wash the landscape in the near future. Each day I was out this week, be it during the night or during the day, the amazing spring season never stopped surprising me. Though the landscape looks a little drab at the moment, in its yellows and browns, I know that soon the landscape will be covered in green. I check the trees buds each day and see them developing more and more. Soon our deciduous trees will burst forth with those leaves. The grass keeps trying to grow through the old growth, and soon it will. Everything is alive, and busy, out on that landscape. Getting cleaned up, and getting ready to put on their summer's best. I will close this blog entry with a couple shots I took of some Sandhill Cranes while out on my walk. I was blessed for a second time that when I made the choice to take the road less traveled these wonderful birds would be spotted. This time I was lucky enough to see them approach over the trees, and fly freely through the wind scoping out the landscape below them. It is said that when a Crane enters your life they bring a message of good-tidings. If you see them flying they are encouraging you to lift your eyes skies to remind you to keep your spirit lifted and inspiring you to trust in the universe. Well these two definitely gave me a inspiring sight to behold. I am going to say they have been showing up in my life as a sign to keep reminding me that good things await me on the road less traveled. May these pictures lift your spirit as much as the sight of them lifts mine. May they also bring you good luck in your upcoming week!
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The Challenge: Walk everyday from April 6 to May 22, and capture nature & wildlife looking excellent. The Reason: To participate in the Canadian Wildlife Federations Walk for Wildlife & raise money to help support species at risk in Canada. Find my donation page here Preface: I am almost 2 weeks late on posting this update and I apologize (I have been pretty diligent about posting a picture a day to help track the walk on my tumblr page though on a positive note!). The third week of my walk for wildlife found me with a little less snow, and more of a spring time feeling. The week started out with a great opportunity to catch some glances at some bison. Though these were tame, and not "wild", but one can only hope to catch these creatures as such when they have been removed from the prairie landscape. Every time I see them I think how amazing it would be to catch the sight these creatures out free on the landscape, like I do with so much of our other native wildlife. This weeks walks were made special since on the Tuesday of this week it was also Earth Day! I wrote a special day only post about it here. It was great to get out, walk and enjoy nature at its finest on such a celebrated say. I got to see so much that day! I thoroughly enjoyed walking down on the river bank, and seeing a new part of the Qu'Appelle River. Much of the week was spent along the river as possible as each day felt more like spring. I started seeing more and more water life as the ducks were coming back in more and more numbers. Life along the river was waking up more each time I took my walk down by it. The sound of the water in the river, and the splashing, were very comforting to hear. I also got the very pleasant surprise of finding some fresh and fuzzy willow buds! One of the signs that spring is truly in full season mode, and I was very glad to have found them. They are probably one of my favorite things to find in the spring, and I love taking the sight of them in since they are only here for a short while. They are spring only occurrence, and one I love seeing every spring. Another sign of spring during that week was that we finally got our first true Spring Rain. No snow occurred with it. Just grey clouds, humid air, and the gentle drops of cool spring rain. To me, this was Mother Nature's way of saying Spring is truly here. I enjoyed it so much that I actually put on my rubber boots, and took some time to go and explore while the rain fell. At the end of the week while spending time in an area of the river that I know, but haven't spent time down for a while, I found something else I love to see. A busy beaver at work. Beavers are one of my favorite water mammals, and water engineers. I find them to be very cute, and the work they do on trees & building water structures to be very impressive. The patterns that are left by their chew marks on trees is always something I stop to take in. If I could have a table with wood accents of beaver chew marks I would.
The weather was dreary all week with heavy grey clouds. This, however, was something I enjoyed. The clouds give the landscape such character, and I know they bring rain that is going to turn the landscape from yellow & brown, to green & bright. Welcome back Spring! I look foreword to spending the few short weeks I get to spend with you, and your awakening of the landscape. Welcome out of the transition period, and into your own full beauty. The Challenge: Walk everyday from April 6 to May 22, and capture nature & wildlife looking excellent. The Reason: To participate in the Canadian Wildlife Federations Walk for Wildlife & raise money to help support species at risk in Canada. Find my donation page here Preface: I am almost 2 weeks late on posting this update and I apologize (I have been pretty diligent about posting a picture a day to help track the walk on my tumblr page though on a positive note!). The second week of my walk for wildlife went beautifully. Though it started off with some snow left from the previous week it gave me a sunset on that first day that I couldn't help but fall in love with on the way home. After that the week was a bit nicer, and the beginning of the week started off with some very gorgeous setting sun moments in the valley that I spent watching the whitetail deer explore the valley hills. Then just as quickly as the warming sun, and the feel of spring's warmth came in it disappeared again mid-week. In true Saskatchewan spring fashion Mother Nature gave us a reminder of the type of precipitation we were leaving behind. The middle of April brought us some wet snow, however with the temperatures still warm it wasn't that bad. While exploring new places I was blessed with the chance to get see some Sandhill Cranes that were bedded down to wait out the snow and weather. A faithful reminder from powers at be that taking the road less traveled is always rewarding. They looked amazing, but as I tried to inch closer and closer they eventually decided to pack up and fly to a new spot. In truth, the snow looked quite pretty on the landscape. That may be due to my knowledge of knowing it was not here to stay. The week progressively got warmer after that. The last bit of ice in sloughs, and ditches, was melting away and water was running even faster. Things were looking nice and warm again in the sun setting light. As the week ended of course Mother Nature had the last laugh, as again she dropped a pile of snow on us. This snow was not as friendly as the previous snow. This snow dropped with force, and came down with the force of winter's storm. It buried the landscape, and reminded us all of the season we were trying desperately to leave behind. I can only hope that this is the last storm of this kind, and with the fact we are now coming into the last two weeks of April that I hope Mother Nature thinks the same thing.
The Challenge: Walk everyday from April 6 to May 22, and capture nature & wildlife looking excellent. The Reason: To participate in the Canadian Wildlife Federations Walk for Wildlife & raise money to help support species at risk in Canada. Find my donation page here Preface: I am almost 2 weeks late on posting this update and I apologize (I have been pretty diligent about posting a picture a day to help track the walk on my tumblr page though on a positive note!). The first week is all wrapped up, and I will say it has been an amazing one. It was fantastic to get out, and be able to watch spring blow into the valley bright & warm. I got to see water running off the landscape while the snow disappeared with beautiful Canadian Geese were flying above. An all round perfect way to spend my April welcoming in spring. Each day I was out more snow was gone, and the river began to open up more and more. The sunlight warmed the valley bottom, and brought out some very friendly deer. The first day of my walk I was stunned to see all the geese & deer that I did see moving around that day. It was a beautifully warm day, and I guess everything was as excited to get moving in the spring sun as I was. As days of the week passed I was impressed by how much the valley had changed in such a short time. When spring comes in, she comes in fast! I couldn't resist myself and decided to play in some o the running water I had found... though it may have been a smarter option to do this in my rubber boots rather than the hiking shoes I was wearing. There are two things that always strike me as the most beautiful things of spring:
This has been one of the most rewarding challenges I have done in a long time. It has helped me in so many ways, and all these reasons have to do with getting out daily with nature. To take in these sites every day is to watch as nature "changes". As a rule I do spend a lot of time out in nature, but I haven't spent such consistent time out in nature during a seasonal change quite like this. I suppose that is the one benefit to being done school. I can't wait to spend many more days out in nature like this year round. Spring is such an amazing time of year. All the rebirth on the landscape, and the rebirth that occurs within myself. It is such a positive time of year. This week was no exception to that rule. Each day was amazing, and I was lucky enough not to experience a truly dreary day till the end of the week. But the rain that falls on the landscape in spring is so refreshing.
Everything about spring makes my soul soar with excitement. It makes my soul feel as free as the birds enjoying breeze. This past weekend I got to spend some time taking in the great smells of the barn, while watching & learning the finer points about the sport of barrel racing. It was an excellent way to spend my weekend getting to know some new things, & getting to know some new people. The weather could have been a bit warmer for my liking, but I suppose a person can't have everything. All round my time spent out at Sabre Quarter Horse Ranch was a great time. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with Gunner, the handsome man you see up there on the right, with him rubbing up against my leg looking for pets. Learning the finer points of the ground work that goes into preparing barrel horses for the work they do in arena was very interesting. I came out learning a lot of the weekend, and I will for sure be out for many more days like this one. After my time spent at the barn I had to do a bit of exploring of the Qu'Appelle Valley hills. With the snow on the south facing hills decreasing I can only hope that this means spring is coming in slowly. While out I found another sign of spring... the Geese are back for another season. Spring must be getting closer! I am so lucky to live so close to such a beautiful landscape, & get to watch as spring blows in more on each breeze. While out on the landscape I also got to enjoy watching some deer explore some sunset dinner. I was very happy to see their numbers, since this past winter was very cold & hard on them. It is a tough question to answer how many are truly out on the landscape after this tough winter, but as I see these guys in the spring I can only hope it wasn't as tough on them as it seemed. Each day brings us closer to spring here in Saskatchewan, & with each setting sun a part of me gets more excited to see the spring mud that is coming. I can't wait to wake up to mud & rain, and seeding season. Hopefully, soon the wind will blow as warm as the sky looks as the sun sets each day.
On a warm, and golden, October Saturday I found myself on the road. I was on my way to the Wapella Rodeo! Another rodeo so close to the last one made me a very happy camper. What also made me a happy camper was the scenic drive that I got to take through the eastern part of the Qu'Appelle River Valley on the way to the rodeo. It was the perfect fall day for it since the sun was out, the weather warm, and the leaves golden in the hills. I couldn't help but stop to take a few pictures to share before I got to the rodeo itself. After the scenic pit stop it was off to the rodeo, which at this time of year is done indoor. The arena was packed with friendly people, and there was no lack of cowboy boots, or cowboy hats, among them. It was a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon. I got the pleasure of watching the Prime Time animals give it their all as they performed beautifully in the arena. The pickup riders did an excellent job handling the animals, and getting everyone off and out of harm’s way. The calves were having a great time running, and you could definitely see the feeling of disappointment on their face when they got caught. It was a pretty darn fantastic thing to watch while sitting in a ground filled hockey arena. The speed at which the animals moved was rather impressive that day. The blur in the pictures that I caught that day are testament to just how fast they were moving. And this time I had to save the pictures from my two favorite events for last.... team roping and bull riding. I have expressed before how much I love bull riding [those bulls just steal my heart every time]. But I don't think I have ever expressed how much I thoroughly enjoy watching team roping. It would be my second favorite event [nothing beats that cute bull face in my heart] due to the fact I am always greatly impressed by the skill it takes to get this job done. Now, I am impressed by all the skills it takes to do any event in rodeo but for me this one takes the cake. Probably due to the fact I lack any general ability to rope, but also because being a person that has done mostly solo sports I always find it impressive when I see people work as a team together. That day in Wappella I saw just that, excellent team work. It was impressive to watch as not only as the two riders worked together but to watch the riders work with their horses to have them be in the spot they needed them... then on top of that get that rope where it needed to be! I was impressed every single time! I was also impressed by: a) the bulls as they bucked with what appeared to be everything they had, b) the antics of the rodeo clown that day... he put on a great performance, and c) the great job the bull fighters did at keeping the bulls distracted and away from the rider. It is easy to say I was rather impressed the entire time, and Wapella rodeo will for sure be one I show up to in the future! I thought I would end this blog post with some pictures I stopped to take on the ride home. I will admit this was my first trip to the Wapella area, and so with that I decided to make a round trip on the way home to travel down some roads I haven't been down before. I am sure glad I did because I found these amazing windmill structures along the number one highway between Wapella and Moosomin. I quickly as I could found a gravel road to detour on, and had to go take a closer look. Now I have seen these amazing giants before, but I have not had the opportunity to get this up close and personal with them. So long story short I was a very happy little camper on that drive home. Then because that day could only seem to get better with every turn... I got to experience a beautiful sunset over the Qu'Appelle valley. It was the perfect way to see the day out. A perfect end to such an amazing day of going to rodeo. It was probably one of my favorite days of rodeo chasing I have done. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to do it, and hope that next year at Wapella rodeo it will show me the same great day [I have a feeling though that it will]. So the end of my September found me spending not doing just one thing I love, but all three. Fishing, Farm time, & Rodeo. I wrote about the Kamsack Rodeo in my last post, and now I get to write about the other two here. I will start with my time down at Theodore Reservoir. I was down on there celebrating World Rivers Day by participating in a Great Canadian Shoreline Clean up Event put on by the Assiniboine Watershed Stewards. It was a beautiful September Sunday, and the day was a success. I only spent a few hours doing the clean up, and then hopped out early to do some fishing, along with go to the farm. However, with the great weather and good amount of people that showed up from what I saw the day was a great success. The reservoir itself looked like the perfect fall scene with all the fishermen along the shoreline, and all the changing leaf colors. I had lots of fun scampering along the rocks picking garbage, and stopping to capture the beauty of the fall colors. I happened to manage to find a woolly bear larva , and was able to deduce from the band & lack of spikes that our winter prediction is that we won't have much snow, and it should be a milder winter [hopefully this is correct]. It was a beautiful afternoon that I couldn't have asked for anything better. After I was done with the garbage I moved on to some fishing, and even caught myself a Northern Pike [but I let him go instead of having him for supper]. It was a perfect September afternoon. The farm looked amazing decorated in it's fall gold. It gave a beautiful "sparkle" to the yard, and surrounding fields. It, like the reservoir, looked like a perfect fall scene. I was so happy to be out there to experience it. I tried my best to capture the fall gold leaves out their true glory. Along, with spending time doing that I spent some time with my beautiful kittens that went from being garage kitty's to full on full-time farm kitties. They adapted to the change so well, and were ripping around the yard with all the full excitement that only cute kitty's can have. It was a very relaxing way to end the month, and brought much happiness to me. Then the day could not have been more perfect, Mother Nature gave me the most amazing sunset I could have asked for to end that perfect last Sunday in September. The colors were amazing, and I was very happy to be fortunate enough to be able to experience it. Rural life has so much overlooked beauty that it makes me so happy to be able to share the moments when life, and Mother Nature, line up just right. And so the long awaited season is finally here... SUMMER! It came in beautifully. The sun was hit the landscape just right, and the storm clouds gave way just a little bit to let the light shine through. The best part though had to be while on my evening bike rides [because now I have added that to my activities, since it seems much more of a favorable summer activity] I found Yellow Ladyslippers blooming so pretty in the ditches. I was so excited to see them I almost through myself over my handlebars trying to stop for them! Something I haven't done for many a year, and reminded me that breaking on a bike takes some pre-thought. While stopping to appreciate these beautiful flowers next to the local airstrip I had to take in the beautiful wild strawberries, and other flowers I found. After my bike ride I hopped in my car, and was on the road to take in the beautiful Summer Solstice. I wanted to take in a beautiful sunset. The sun slowly setting looked amazing on the surrounding country side. While out exploring I happened upon some Ducks Unlimited lands that were open for walking.... so of course I had to stop and take a quick walk. I am sure glad I did because it was there amongst the beautiful wetlands that were being conserved for waterfowl habitat provided an excellent spot to catch a setting sun. The lands were absolutely beautiful! I am so thankful that we have so many different organizations working to protect habitats that are found in between all the farms on the prairie landscape. They help give a permanent home to the reasons that attracted many to the area in the first place. It is also another great example of how conservation and agriculture can exist side by side. I encourage everyone to get out and take a walk in these beautiful landscapes to take in the waterfowl, especially since this year marks Ducks Unlimited Canada 75th birthday!! Happy Birthday Ducks!! Just as the sun was cresting the trees I heard a very familiar, beautiful sound. The sound of coyotes enjoying the evening. However, that same sound I will admit sent me back to my car. I love the sound of their howls, but I am a bit a scaredy cat when I hear those howls at what I am sure was a mile away and coming from all my surrounding directions. So I decided to listen for a bit, but then let the coyotes enjoy the sunset in peace.... as I ran tail between my legs back to my car. However, this gave me the opportunity to explore the last rays of sun hitting the earth in different places. It also allowed me to stumble upon a very patient deer who was gracious enough to pose for a few shot for me. Then as the skies brought in their last pinks I enjoyed watching some ducks on a wetland next to a field and headed home. Well after 9 o'clock.... oh how I love the summer Solstice! One evening I waned to change up my routine, and talk a walk somewhere new. Hopefully, spot something new too. I decided to take a walk on some Government of Saskatchewan land, and spend sometime with some wildlife. From every fishing, fur, and hunting licence that is sold within the province 30% of the revenue gets put into the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund. Currently, over 215, 000 acres of land has been purchased, and all of this land is open for pulic use... as long as the activities occur on foot only, and don't include camping, or littering, or intrusion on management treatment (which can include cattle grazing or haying). So I parked my car on the edge of this land, and proceeded to walk in. This little piece of land did not disapoint. It was a beautiful little piece of property. I saw many different animals, along with different plants, and enjoyed my time doing it. These lands are little hidden gems in our province, and are among many efforts to help conserve the land base that is the prairie. I not only walked in on the property, but also decided to walk along its boundaries along the grid road that runs along the south boarder of the property. It gave a new view as I spent time wondering down the gravel road. I seen many things down that short run of road. A few animal tracks, and lots of water! I was glad I went for walk down the gravel road since I got a great glimpse at the habitat that existed in the water, and in the neighbouring property. All the flowers, green grass, and water gave a nice fresh feel to the world. I also got the pleasure of seeing a beaver that night! Then on my way back home, as the sun was setting. I was lucky enough to witness some beautiful refelctions. All in all a very productive evening, and one that was definitely worth the drive, effort, and time. I am so very thankful that the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund exists and helps to provide opporunties like these to the people of the province. |
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