'Fog Advisory' banners on the weather website were numerous this week.  It didn't make for good driving conditions but it sure made for a scenic landscape; especially when the clouds disappeared and the sun came out.  Lucky for me, my days off were mid-week and I got to enjoy the beauty first hand before the wind redecorated.

The plan was to clean my house but plans changed.  I did get the mop and bucket out and was prepared to get started but then the sun came out and the outdoors beckoned.  I didn't need much convincing to hide the bucket in the closet and head out the door.

I loaded the hiking spikes, snowshoes, kicksled and numerous cameras into my vehicle.  I wanted to do it all.  I left home at 10am and returned at 3pm.  What a day!

The first stop was the Beaver Hills Biodiversity Trail for snowshoeing.  I tried out a smaller pair of snowshoes since the snow was not deep and fluffy.  The snow was crusty and it crunched loudly under the shoes.  There was no sneaking up on any forest creatures.  The squirrels heard me coming and scattered.  The noise echoed through the trees; so much so that I ended up taking the snowshoes off and carrying them back to the parking lot.

The frosty crystals created by the fog covered the branches like thick white blankets.  I could hear them crackle and fall to the ground when a breeze gently stirred them loose.  They 'rained' down to the trail below.

The next stop was Elk Island National Park.  I hadn't been there for awhile so I stopped at the gate to pick up my free 2017 park pass.  You would think that the free admission would draw more people but there were no vehicles in the Astotin Lake parking lot; only a single mule deer munching on some twigs. 

I pulled out the kicksled and took it down to the oval on the lake that has been cleared for skating.  What a wonderful hour I had on the ice with the sled; gliding over the surface.  All I could hear were the runners over the ice. 

Methane bubbles formed and were captured in the ice; creating some amazing patterns to watch for.  The oval has its bumpy patches but it was great to glide over with the sled. 

I didn't want to head home yet.  I contemplated lighting a bonfire by the lake.  The wood bin was full but a number of vehicles were pulling into the parking lot so I opted for a quieter location.  I drove over to the Amisk Wuche Trail.  I hadn't been there for a couple of months so I wanted to check it out.

Frosty trees greeted me.  Chickadees sang from the underbrush.  Blue jays called from the upper branches.  The sun streamed through the trees and cast long shadows across the trail.  The snow was hard packed and icy in some sections but I wore my trusty hiking cleats.

After five hours of fresh air, I made my way home.  That cup of coffee that I had sure tasted good.  It was a glorious outdoor day.  I don't regret choosing to spend it outside.  The mop and bucket are still in the closet.

Happy trails 'til next Friday.

The sun shining through the frosty trees created a magical moment on the Beaver Hills Biodiversity Trail.

Hoar frost coated the branches.

A mule deer grazed at Elk Island National Park.

Someone got creative in the snow on Astotin Lake.

It was great fun to take the kicksled out on the lake.

Amisk Wuche Trail

 

What a week it has been; from overnight lows of -33C to daytime highs of +14C. January in Alberta leaves everyone guessing how to dress in the morning. 

The weather is confusing the animals as well. On my way to work one morning my headlights caught some movement on the pavement. A lone muskrat was moving as fast as its little legs could take it down the middle of the road. There was no pond in the vicinity. It had quite a distance to travel to get to the nearest one.

There has been lots of action on the trails. I made it to the Beaver Hills Biodiversity trail twice last week. That was before the snow began melting. There were tracks of all kinds on the trail; moose, deer, squirrel, hare and coyote. 

The moose were active; leaving broken trees that they were feeding on and melted snow where they bedded down to rest. 

The squirrels chattered in the tree branches and the woodpeckers searched for food in the snags alongside the trail.

On my way back to the parking lot I felt eyes watching me. A young bull moose kept a close watch as I snowshoed by.

I went for a drive to Elk Island National Park after my snowshoe outing. I haven't been there since the beginning of December. I thought more people would be out and about with the free admission to the National Parks this year but things were no different than before.

I wanted to see if the skating oval was cleared on Astotin Lake and was excited to see that it was. My next outing will be with the kicksled on the lake. Fun times. One can pick up a lot of speed on the ice!

Have you checked out the Participaction 150 website? There might be a new sport/activity listed that you would like to try. Hiking? X-country skiing? Snowshoeing? Kicksledding? Ski-joring? Ice skating? Kite flying? What will you try in the great outdoors?

Happy trails!

Deer tracks on the trail.

Porcupines were eating tree bark.

Hares were nibbling on the low branches.

A hoary woodpecker searches for food.

Coyote tracks across the pond surface.

A young bull moose watches from the trees.

Last weekend was a little frosty but not as frosty as it has been during the week. There was fresh snow and fresh air on my agenda even though it was -20C on both Friday and Saturday.

I love layering up and heading out when it is cold. The scenery is usually covered in icy flakes, the forest sounds are louder because of the cold and you can hear the creaks of the tree trunks.

I dug out my snowshoes for the first time this winter. There wasn't enough snow to warrant having them out sooner. I broke a snowshoe trail at the Beaver Hills Biodiversity trail. Over the two days it became packed and three snowshoe-widths wide so I'll be able to take the kicksled out this weekend.

The trail was covered in animal tracks. The mice/voles had dug holes through the snow. I saw a couple of them trying to run across the surface.

Squirrels chattered in the trees. A moose was enjoying a willow snack on the opposite side of a pond. 

As I walked, I watched for color in the forest. The yellow-orange lichen on the tree bark stood out against the white landscape. The red rose hips wore a blanket of white, fluffy flakes. Some of the shrubs alongside the trail were still holding brown leaves from last autumn. It was a winter wonderland.

I'm hoping to get out there again tomorrow. Severe cold warnings this week were the result of the gusting wind. It was -36C plus the windchill; making it more than -40C.

On my drive in to work, it was just light enough for me to see the loose snow swirling up like mini tornadoes into the sky. On the drive home it was drifting so hard that I couldn't tell road from ditch so I centered myself halfway between the two fence lines on either side of the road and hoped that nobody came from the opposite direction.

It is supposed to be on the plus side of 0C tomorrow and I'll be out with my winter toys hoping for stories to share with you next Friday. Happy trails!

I spent New Year's Day on snowshoes in the woods. What a great way to begin a new year.


There was fresh snow on the trail and I was the first human out there. The deer, moose, coyotes, hares, mice and squirrels got a head start and were out before me. What fun it was following the tracks to see where they had wandered.


The morning began with clouds in the sky but the sun came out by the time I got to the Beaver Hills Biodiversity Trail. The sky was clear. The air was crisp. It was perfect.

A slight breeze rustled the last of the fall leaves that were clinging to branches. The tall, bare aspens creaked as they gently swayed back and forth. A squirrel rested in a tree. I marveled at how the spindly branch did not bend with the squirrel perched on it. A woodpecker worked at the bark at the top of a tree; raining wood chips down to the trail.


The snow that fell the day before filled the vacated bird nests and settled on the shelves formed by the fungi growing on the tree trunks. It crunched under my snowshoes and sparkled in the morning sun. It covered the ponds. Animal tracks criss-crossed through it creating a 'road map' effect. 
 
I didn't want to leave the forest but eventually had to. As I pulled into my driveway, the deer were coming into my backyard to raid my feeders. They don't appear to mind me in the yard, especially when food is involved. I watched as they emptied the sunflower seeds. I found that as long as there are seeds in the feeders, the deer leave my trees and shrubs alone. They come, they eat, they leave and move on to the next yard.


The rest of the day was spent watching the birds. Chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, woodpeckers and a dark eyed junco took turns at the tray feeder on my deck. The pileated woodpecker is my favorite. Its movements are quite comical.


Spending the morning in the fresh air and then watching Mother Nature's creatures was a great way to begin a new year. I'm hoping that you too will have the opportunity to spend some 'rejuvenation time' outside. It does a body and mind good.


Happy trails 'til next Friday!