Finally...

My busy season at work is finally over and it's taken me a week to catch up with everything that I've neglected at home.  Now I can resume my regular routine of hiking and visiting my wild friends.  I've missed my fresh air outings. 

The warm temperature has finally melted all the snow and ice in my backyard and whatever was left on the lakes and ponds.  The open water is inviting many species of waterfowl.

I drove to Elk Island National Park this evening and observed a variety of birds; many that I could not identify.  I can finally use the new bird ID book that arrived in the mail last week.

In addition to the abundance of waterfowl, the beavers and muskrats were very active.  The sun reflected off the wet fur of one beaver.  It caught my attention and I pulled over to watch it.  His antics were entertaining to say the least.

He used his long claws and gave himself a good scratch from head to toe.  As he groomed himself, he closed his eyes.  It looked like he was really enjoying his quiet time.  

A second beaver surfaced.  I could hear the calls between the two and soon they were both swimming away together toward the lodge.


The smaller birds were singing in the background at the beaver pond.  Red winged blackbirds called out to each other and robins were singing in the trees.

The leaves on the aspens are almost open.  The sunlight behind the beautiful green leaves made them look like a painting.  It is a welcome sight after the long winter that we had.

I'm so looking forward to regular outings again.  The quiet soothes the soul.  There are no ringing phones, crowd noise or emails to answer in the forest.  There are birds singing, bees buzzing, butterflies flitting and peace.  That is exactly what I need right now.