Icing On The Cake

When the snow stopped falling there was just over 6 inches of it on my deck.  Two days ago, the deck was dry and I was sitting on the lawn furniture having coffee.

It was a good thing that the warm temperatures from last week melted some of snowbanks because this morning I replenished them.  The snow was light and fluffy so it only took an hour to clear the driveway off. 


Shortly after I finished shoveling, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and I had to take advantage of it.

I packed up the camera gear and headed to Elk Island National Park.  It was a bonus day for wildlife sightings!  As I pulled into the south park gate, a bull elk was feeding at the edge of the trees.  That is twice in one week that I saw an elk.  Exciting!  I didn't get a photo today but I'm hoping this will become a regular sighting.

Further up the road, the bison were on the move and one big beast was 'hoofing it' down the middle of the road.  He didn't pay any attention to me as I stopped to take his photo.

A couple of coyotes were lopping across an open meadow area.  As I slowed to watch them, they stopped to watch me.  It was a stare down until they realized that I was not leaving my vehicle.

On the way home, I detoured to the Strathcona Wilderness Centre to see what was happening there.  Four white tailed deer were grazing along the highway, inside the park fence.  They didn't pay any attention to all the traffic whizzing by just a short distance away.  

I couldn't believe that the parking lot at the SWC was almost empty.  Bonus.  That meant that my visit was going to be a peaceful one.  I was the first one out on the snowshoe trail since the snow stopped.  My snowshoes were at home but I ventured out anyway and I'm so glad that I did.

The chickadees were busy searching for food in the tops of the birch trees and the woodpeckers were drilling into the old stumps.  I stopped to watch a hairy woodpecker as it chipped the bark into slivers that fell to the base of the stump.

The timing of my visit was perfect.  The only sounds that I heard while out there were the birds and squirrels.  Just as I was getting back to the trail head, a school group was heading out with snowshoes on.  They were getting educated on the many types of animal tracks that were visible along the trail.  There were no bird sounds to be heard above all the noise that the children were making.
 
I got home and just couldn't bring myself to go inside so I finished cleaning off my deck and topped up all the bird feeders.  Every feathered friend from the forest behind my yard must have been watching.  I didn't even have the bird seed pail put back in the garage and they started flying in from every direction.  Hairy woodpeckers, blue jays, chickadees, redpolls, nuthatches, and magpies all took turns at the feeders.

They seemed to know their 'pecking' order.  The woodpeckers would leave and the jays would fly in.  The chickadees would leave and the redpolls would fly in.  They all cleared the way when the magpies showed up.  The nuthatches were smart and fed at the hanging feeders.

The jays were their usual noisy selves; squawking at each other as well as at the smaller birds.  Their feathers had so many hues of brilliant blue in the afternoon sun.  Beautiful!




When I finally did go inside, the fresh air caught up to me.  I noticed the sun shining brightly through the window onto one of the beds.  It felt so warm.  It didn't take me long to fall asleep.  I just wanted a little 'cat nap' but it turned out to be two hours long.

The day was perfect for being outside; fresh snow, fresh air and clear blue Alberta sky.  I had to add the icing to the cake, so to speak.  There is no better way to end a beautiful day than with the crackle of pine and the smell of wood burning in my stove.  How am I going to top that tomorrow?