The warm sun rays were shining through the kitchen window this morning.  I was toasty warm while eating breakfast so I thought it would be a great morning to go for a hike.  Little did I know how deceiving it was.  

I gathered my camera gear and dressed for what I thought the temperature was going to be.  My thought was to head to Elk Island.  The closer I got to the park, the more I noticed how windy it was.  My attire for the backyard was not fitting for the trail so the hike turned into a short road trip.

I was still closer to home than to the park when I saw a moose sunning himself.  He was lounging in a sunbeam on a small hillside.  Traffic on the Yellowhead was zipping by in both directions but it didn't appear to bother the moose.  If I could have pulled over, I would have gotten a good photo but sadly it's only a memory.

The ice on some of the ponds has melted, yet some are still frozen over.  I found numerous geese and a few pairs of mallards in the open water.  There was no sign of any beavers or muskrats for that matter.

The bison were off in the distance so there were no crazy 'bison jams' like the 'bear jams' in Jasper.  The only other wildlife I saw today was a lonely coyote running across the parkway from one side to the other.  By the time I got to where it crossed, it was no where in sight.

I took the scenic route home with the hope of seeing more moose but that was a bust so here's hoping that the backyard wildlife will pay a visit this afternoon.