It took an hour and a half to clear the snow from my driveway this morning.  I felt invigorated when I was done.  The fresh, cold air was what I needed.  I'm at the end of a bout of laryngitis and have not spent enough time outside.  This morning made up for it. 

Almost all the snow had melted from the warm temperatures a few weeks ago but the snowbanks along the driveway are four feet tall again.  I took eight inches of snow off the driveway so there's plenty of it for skiing.  I can't wait to get out on the trails again.  The cold air had been irritating my throat but my time outside today was perfect so I'll be giving the trails a try tomorrow.

I didn't see the deer today but they came at dusk yesterday, during the storm.  They were wearing 'snow blankets' on their backs.  The grain dish remained full through the day.  They will probably visit overnight.

The birds were busy and kept me entertained.  Chickadees came out of their hiding places in the spruce boughs.  I put some soft peanut butter at the feeding station on my deck.  The downy and hairy woodpeckers flew in to feast on it when the chickadees were not there.  Pine grosbeaks swooped from the tree tops to a tray feeder.  As four to five of them fed at the tray, others scavenged the seeds that fell to the ground.

When I was shoveling, I could hear the pileated woodpecker in the trees behind my yard.  I haven't seen it come to the deck feeder for more than a month.  The little redpolls were looking for food but arrived before I had the feeders refilled.  I didn't see them return.

Fine snow fell through the day.  The heavy snowfall warning has been lifted and I'm hoping that the sun will shine tomorrow.  I'll try the ski trails but if my throat does not cooperate with the cold air, there's always the snowshoes and my camera to keep me outside.

 

I knew that Mother Nature wouldn't let me down.  There had to be more winter.  I'm not ready to pack away the skis, snowshoes and skates.

The snow began falling at noon.  Big, fluffy, white flakes are covering the landscape.  When the shoveling is complete tomorrow morning, I'll be sure to take in some of that beauty.

I had my grand-daughters last weekend and we enjoyed some outdoor time.  The ice rinks were covered in snow so skating was out of the question but there was opportunity for sledding and skiing.

We took the skis to the Cooking Lake - Blackfoot Recreation area.  I took the girls to a little used area where we would not impede all the skiers practicing for the Birkie.  They are getting really good on their skis.

When they tired, we took the sled and the crazy carpets to a hill just off the parking lot.  It had the perfect incline; just enough for them to go zipping down at a reasonable speed.  There was lots of screaming and running up the hill which resulted in some beautiful, rosy cheeks.

With the new snowfall, there will be a few more weeks of winter fun.  I'll be sure to take advantage of every outdoor, snowy moment that I can.

The two and four legged friends came from every direction.  It appeared that the forest creatures knew that I had my granddaughters for the weekend and they all wanted to say hello.

On Saturday morning nine deer came into the yard at the same time.  The girls watched them file in.  There were two adult males in the group.  The larger of the two was a bully.  He ate first and would not allow the others to come near until he was done.  

The smaller male was an outcast; a mule deer traveling with the herd of white tails.  They provided action in the yard for twenty minutes before a noisy vehicle scared them off.  The girls watched them from the bedroom window.  "Gramma, that is so cool."

The birds put on a show as well.  While we sat at the kitchen table, seven species of birds came and went from the deck feeder within thirty minutes.  Wren named almost all of them. 

Male and female downy woodpeckers, male and female hairy woodpeckers, bluejays, chickadees, nuthatches, male/female pine grosbeaks and redpolls provided the entertainment.  Later in the afternoon pine and evening grosbeaks feasted at the same time in a tray feeder. 

The girls are becoming 'experts' on naming the backyard birds.  They watch for the red 'caps' on the woodpeckers that distinguish the males/females.  What fun we had watching Mother Nature's reality show.

It's been awhile that I've been outside for longer than 15 minutes.  My annual bout of laryngitis has contributed to this.  The temperature has still been above normal for the end of January and I'm looking forward to the snow that is supposed to fall this weekend.  I will be very disappointed if it does not materialize.

The past couple of days have been extremely foggy overnight.  This created some beautiful hoar frost that coated the bare branches.  There were no blue skies and sunshine to enhance the scenery but it was beautiful none the less.

The birds have been busy at the feeders; emptying them daily.  The deer have been absent until this morning.  Maybe they knew that I was home today.  Seven of them came filing into the backyard.  That makes for a lot of snouts in the grain dish at one time.  It's always amusing to watch them eat.

They have a routine.  Their first stop is the grain dish.  A few stay behind to clean up what spills onto the snow and others proceed to the hanging bird feeders to raid the sunflower seeds.  The small ones that cannot reach the feeders clean up the seeds that spill onto the ground beneath them while others make their way to a tray feeder.  This was not the case today.

It was very entertaining to watch what was happening.  Spike, the cat, who lives under my shed, had just finished eating his breakfast on my deck.  He made his way to the shelf at the bottom of the tray feeder.  He was doing his morning grooming when the deer came in.  

They noticed him right away.  There was hoof stomping and tail alerts but Spike paid no attention to them.  When the deer finished visiting all their usual feeding spots, a few crept closer to the tray feeder and kept watching the cat.  None were brave enough to come all the way up to it so the birds still have a few seeds to access.

Temperatures were on the plus side again and it's January 27.  There was a fog advisory this morning.  As soon as it ended, a freezing rain warning was posted.  Can it get any worse?  

My driveway is looking like it usually does in the spring.  There is ice and water everywhere.  If the freezing rain and the snow develop as forecasted for tonight, it could be adventurous driving tomorrow. 

The temperature is supposed to dip for the weekend.  With the colder temps and hopefully more than a few flakes of snow, I may get to enjoy some more winter.  By the time the weekend rolls around, I should be over my annual bout of laryngitis and be ready for some outdoor fun with my grand-daughters.

I was house-bound today but got to watch the bird action on the deck.  A number of white breasted nuthatches visited the peanut bell.  I've seen a couple of them frequent the hanging feeders but there were at least four in the yard at the same time.  What fun watching their upside down antics!

The feeding station on my deck was a busy place yesterday morning.  In a half hour period I saw a male hairy woodpecker, a magpie, a white-breasted nuthatch, a blue jay and a number of black-capped chickadees.  

The deck feeder was not the only one that was action packed.  The evening grosbeaks were back.  There were not as many as the previous visit but it was exciting to see their bright yellow color interspersed with the pine grosbeaks that

are here daily.  While they waited their turn at the tray, both species sat patiently in a nearby tree, singing their beautiful songs.

The birds appear to be enjoying the mild weather.  It's a good thing that there is a flurry of feathered activity in the backyard for me to watch because the odds of getting out on my skis again is slim to none unless there is a good dump of snow.  The trails are like an ice rink where the packed snow still exists.  Many sections have grass showing through.  

If I can't get out to ski, I hope that the outdoor rinks will freeze up so I don't have to put my skates into retirement for the season.  Am I whining?  Yes I am.

My walk on Neon Lake yesterday was a sunny, peaceful, very enjoyable outing.  It was a great opportunity to get a different perspective of the area.  I don't have a canoe and the only water I can walk on has to be frozen so being able to see the shore was a treat.

I wasn't the only one that left imprints in the snow.  Animal tracks came down to the surface from the trail.  Most had not held their shape due to the melting so it was difficult to tell who was out there.

I had a close look at a beaver lodge.  In the summer I can see the lodge from a shelter on the trail but have never seen it up close until today.  I had a view of the shoreline and could see where the beavers took down the trees to construct their home.  At the rate they are taking them down, there could be a bare spot in front of the shelter next summer.

The sun shone brightly, making the snow soft on the top with a layer of water underneath.  In the shade, close to the shore, the snow had an icy, crystallized top layer that crunched under my snowshoes.

I hiked halfway around the lake along the shoreline and came back the same way.  I could hear the adventurous skiers on the trail.  They must have made the right wax choice for the conditions today or they would not have made it up the hill that was on the other side of the trees.

When I got back to the parking lot a young fellow was getting ready to head out with his skis.  He was rummaging around in his bag, attempting to guess what type of wax to use.  We had a discussion about the trail conditions.  He wanted snow just as much as I did.  The rain and slippery conditions were impeding his training for the Birkebeiner.  He may not have to worry about training.  With all the rain of late, there may be no snow to ski on by February 14. 

It rained for more than an hour last night so needless to say the yard was treacherous this morning.  The wind was gusting but it was warm and I couldn't decide what I wanted to do.  I really wanted to ski but knew the trails would be more suited to skating than skiing.  

I finally grabbed the cleats and the snowshoes and drove to the Strathcona Wilderness Centre.  There wasn't a parking spot to be found except for the overflow.  I didn't stay.  Instead I turned around and headed for the Cooking Lake - Blackfoot Recreation Area.  

That turned out to be a good choice.  There were about 6 vehicles in the parking lot and a couple of horse trailers that followed me in.  I put the snowshoes on and trudged through the soft snow to Neon Lake.

Earlier in the month when I was skiing, I noticed that the groomer had set some tracks on the lake surface.  I decided to follow his tracks to the lake shore. 

The warm temperatures over the past few days have melted much of the snow on the east end of the lake.  The west side still has about 4 inches.

I didn't realize that the park staff had cleared an area on the lake for skating.  There is usually a snowbank rink just off the parking lot and I had been watching to see if they were going to flood that area again.  I wish they would have posted some signs that skating was available on the lake.  I would have made good use of that surface.  It is about 4 times larger than the snowbank rink that I have been frequenting

The sun was shining in a clear blue sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen.  It was a beautiful winter day and a great morning to be outside.

I ventured to Elk Island National Park today and hiked the Amisk Wuche Trail.  It's a nice little hike with lots of hills and pond views.  It also is home to my favorite spot in the entire park.  

There was nobody in the parking lot when I arrived which meant that I was going to be the sole soul on the trail.  I put on the hiking cleats to help me get up and down the hills without sliding as if I was on skis.  It was a good thing that I put them on as many sections of the trail were iced over.

I stopped at the first boardwalk to view the pond.  The warm temperatures of late have melted the surface snow.  The morning sun glistened off the ice.  I could hear a squirrel in the treetops and a blue jay in the distance.  The light breeze rustled the long grasses and made the cat tails sway back and forth.

It didn't take long to get to my favorite spruce tree-lined section of the trail.  The trees tower over the trail on both sides.  Their branches are so thick overhead that they prevent snow from falling onto the path.  The little bit that did manage to fall through has melted and creating a treacherous patch to walk over.  I was thankful for the cleats on my boots.

The boreal chickadees were flitting from branch to branch.  Their songs caught my attention and I listened for a few minutes.  I felt like I was being watched.  I looked around and spied a hare beneath one

of the large trees.  It was tucked between the roots and was watching intently.  I didn't want to stress or scare it but I did want a photo.  It stayed in place as I took a couple of shots.  What a find!  It was in the same area as the pileated woodpecker that I had the close encounter with on my last visit.

As I continued around the loop I could hear the wind rustling through the tree branches.  The sections of the trail that had snow were soft and filled with a variety of animal tracks and scat.  I made it to a bench on the trail where I stopped for water and a snack.  As I sat I heard the wind whistling.  Loose sections of birch bark fluttered in the breeze.  Grasses rustled around me.  Chickadees sang from the evergreen branches.  It was the sweet sound of a forest orchestra.


I'm always on the look out for nature's art as I walk the trails in the winter.  It might be patterns in the snow formed by the wind blowing grasses around.  It might be snow formations on the tops of tree stumps or on tree branches.  I found one today that made me smile.  A tree had fallen and the way it dropped it looked like it was leaning back with arms crossed enjoying the sights and sounds of the forest just as I did today.

 
 

Noooo, make it stop!  All the snow is melting.  This is not supposed to happen in January.  I just came in from outside and the water is running off the roof like spring day.  The gravel on the driveway is showing.  I wanted to go x-country skiing and skating this weekend and it looks like neither activity is going to happen.

I'm not liking the mild weather but the birds sure are.  There is a flurry of feathered activity in the backyard.  I was getting dive-bombed by the chickadees from every direction.  

The pine grosbeaks were singing from the top branches of my neighbor's spruce tree.  The bright red males were taking turns at a nearby tray feeder.  They appeared to be quite happy that I refilled the tray.  The deer came during the day and cleaned it out.

The pileated woodpecker hasn't been to the deck feeder in a while.  It has been busy on an old poplar snag.  I had the tree taken down about eight years ago and asked the arborist to leave an eight foot stump for the birds.  The bark has been peeling off and the woodpeckers have been feasting on the grubs.  Last summer a tree swallow used one of the big holes for its nest.  It will be interesting to see what kind of visitors the snag will attract in the spring.  There are many more cavities to be occupied this year.