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. The last two weeks of my walk were amazing as I watched spring fully take hold on the landscape. Things were greening up, buds were forming, all sorts of birds were chirping, & I even got to see my prairie crocuses this year. Finding them was a bit of a adventure as I kept trying new places, as all the previous places I went to came up with none. Finding them ended up leading me to my new favorite picnic spot that I am excited to use plenty of times on the nicer days. They were on a beautiful flat hill top that gave a gorgeous view of the valley. The birds were very active as they were out finding nests, & the sun was a little bit warmer each day. It was beautiful getting out to see all that Saskatchewan has to offer a person in Spring. I found new spots as I explored some of the beauty I didn't know that was hidden in my own backyard. I also went back to appreciate some old spots, and even finished the walk at the same location I started it at. Fresh new plants, Ruddy ducks, and Sunsets were some of my favorite parts of the two and half weeks. The deer at this point were now full from spring feeding, and a lot more frisky on the landscape. With their bellies now full, and food sources plentiful, they now made sure to dash at a moments notice. As the deer were running away there were some other new residents I got to experience in the valley. I got to experience my very first set of Saskatchewan River Otters! I also was able to get my first decent photograph of some resident turkey vultures. They apparently don't listen to signs, & hunt where they please. The last two weeks of the walk were amazing as they showed me spring in her true colors. The area opened up beautifully just like the crocus I had seen on that hill top. There was so many amazing things to see, both wild & agricultural on the local landscape. Times that I will forever remember for their beauty, and the re-wilding of my heart after a long hibernation indoors this past winter. I am so glad to participate in this walk. I can't wait for next years.
*Side Note: My May long weekend also provided an excellent opportunity to take my walk outside of Saskatchewan. That post will be a separate one as I tell of my 5 day whirlwind trip to British Columbia.
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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 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!
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. Today is Earth Day, and that means two things: 1) Time again for another big #FarmVoices day, and 2) it is Earth day. This year I am very excited that I got to actually spend my time really appreciating some natural beauty that I am in love with. The beautiful Qu'Appelle River & Valley. Today I got wander along the banks, with a friend, explore, and leave my prints next to where those of who have been there before me left theirs. It was an amazing afternoon down by the river. This past year has been a year of big change for me. Last year I kicked off this blog with the #FarmVoices movement, and so much has happened since then. I have watched the seasons change, I have been a part of watching things grow and be harvested, and I have watched the landscape of my life change before my eyes as I moved from one place to another. I went from one small town on the northern hills of my watershed, and now I enjoy the valley & the river. It is amazing how our lives can change, and just how that change can occur. Last year while on the FarmOn website I came upon a talk from a Gregory Schroeder about Seasons in our life. It is amazing how right he was when he discussed each Season of life, and how we will experience many different "planting years" within our life. Our life will only change, & grow, as fast as it can for the season it is in. If last year was a Season I would say last year was Winter. Nothing I worked on really came to bare full fruit, but lots of planning for upcoming year occurred. Lots of things that needing tending & repairing got the TLC they needed. I researched, planned, and attempted to figure out where I needed to be for when the new season came upon me. And come upon me Spring did. Somewhere in the last month Spring blew into my life with its warmth embrace, waking up me & my life. All that planning, repairing, and preparing I did is finally being put to good use. Things are starting to roll ahead for me. I may not be living on my farm yet, but I have a home that lets me hear birds sing, frogs croak, and watch sunsets over a hay field every night. I may not have my farm yet, but I am learning skills now I will need to work with the many animals I want to work with. I may not be a farmer yet, but each day I know I am getting closer. Each day, I talk with more and more people who love doing what I want to be doing. I get the benefit of slowly becoming part of the agricultural community I dreamed of. One day I will have my farm, and I will be able to be a true agvocate by putting words in to practice. My story is just beginning, but my love for agriculture, & stewardship, will be written on every page. This past year was a year of waiting, planning, learning, and preparing. Now is my time to start planting all the seeds I have picked that will bear the fruit of my life. I am incredibly blessed to be doing that somewhere I feel so free, and encouraged. I am blessed to work a job that keeps in the community I want to be a part of. This year was a big one for me. I found my way back home, and repaired myself there. I found my way back home, and found a way to start again on the path that I want to try. I will finish this blog by saying, don't rush your season. Accept your season for all the beauty, and purpose, it holds. The right season is coming, I promise. Please take a moment to enjoy some of my favorite shots from this past year. I hope that you can see my love for agriculture in every one. This is the story I want to tell the world. This is what I want to share. I hope you will enjoy hearing it.
As June winds down and the clouds wind up it always brings some very interesting weather. It is one of the signals that summer is here. The storm clouds bring rain for all the freshly planted things, along with tons of interesting skies to see in the evening. I tried my best to get some good shots of the storm clouds, but alas I never seemed to be quite in the right place at the right time. Though I may have missed the storm clouds, I did manage to find a few pleasant things. Like fresh flowers, and raindrops! Cheers for spring raindrops, and fresh plants!
The clouds in the sky made for an interesting backdrop this evening. They were large and fluffy, and were impressive to see. They carried with them the warning of the upcomming thunderstorm that hit our area a few days later, but here the rain & lightening were welcome. Yet another sign that summer has come upon us. We get to see the skies liven up with these clouds that dance across it. Another beauty that comes with June, and the promise of summer, are the lilacs that bloom all over. They have to be one of my favorite smelling flowers. One day, I will own a outdoor shower that has them that surrounds it. So in the spring when I am muddy from planting the garden I can rinse off amoungst the sweet promising smell. So much soft purple, and pink, color filled the landscape this evening. The fluffly clouds, and the setting sun, gave the colors that painted the sky. It it amazing to see so much of the landscape filled with the soft spring hues. Then I had a little vistor that joined me to take in the wonderful colors of the evening. It was a beautiful June evening.
And so begins another year of one of my favorite sporting events... Rodeo! I opened this spring season by taking in the Pilot Butte Rodeo. Those folks always know how to put on a great rodeo. I unfortunately only take in a day of this rodeo since I live away from this town. But even just one day is always a great day! Always worth the drive. The people who are apart of the event do a great job of putting on the event, and the clown always make for great entertainment between riders. The day was a little more challenging for all involved though. Though everything looks bright and sunny.. the day was not. The darker skies in the background, and the flowing bandana of the clown, give clues to that day. The day was very windy, and rainy. It rained off and on throughout the events, and at the end of the day I had to do something I never have before. I had to leave the rodeo early! The rain came down just to hard. But, considering the wind and rain the day for the most part was still a great success. Everyone worked their hardest, including the livestock, to get the job done. The horses bucked good, and the calves gave a great run. The wind challenged everyone in their events, but everyone pulled through. The pick up riders did an excellent job of getting all competators safetly off their rides. Even when it proved a bit a challenging. It really shows the amazing talent these men have for handling their own animals, and working with others. All in all it was a great day for a rodeo! Well done Pilot Butte!! I wouldn't have missed it for the world... though next time I will remember to check the weather report & bring my rain gear so I can stay in for the long haul, like so many I left behind in the stands.
The days are long, and the world is green. It's starting to look a lot like summer! As the fields are coming up, and starting to look lush everyone is pretty happy summer is here... including the ducks that are making the fields their squatting grounds. The water in the sloughs is bright and sparkling. All in all, these June days are pretty excellent. The sun kisses the earth, and you can feel the warmth of it well into the evening. Everything around promises of beautiful summer days. These days are to beauitful not to share. I can't help but think I am so very lucky to be able to live in a such a rural surrounding, and able to take in these wonderful views! Worth every bit of city life I am missnig out on. |
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