I sure hope that the deep freeze that just ended has been the last for this winter.  The four evenings in a row with temperatures in the -40Cs and the days of mid -20Cs with windchill made for serious cabin fever.  I learned that when I do not move a vehicle for 3 days, I must still go out to start and run it for 15-20 minutes or the cold drains the life out of a battery.  Apparently I was not the only one that did not know this.  The tow truck driver that provided the boost said he had been doing a lot of that.

I also hope the cold has frozen all the 'bugs' out there.  I've had more than my share of stuffed heads and runny noses this winter. I am looking forward to being outside again in the fresh air to counter act the daytime close encounters of office germs.  

Almost three inches of snow fell over the past couple of days in addition to the cold temperatures.  Neither seemed to bother the backyard wildlife. The deer continued to visit their grain tub and the chickadees created a frenzy at the feeders.

I learned a couple of things from watching the action.  Those cute little black-capped chickadees can get aggressive.  The pot of sunflower seeds sitting on my deck rail was guarded by some black and white bullies.  There was quite the flurry of feathers when intruders tried to sneak in for a snack.

I also learned that white tail deer have large bottom teeth.  One of the young deer happened to 'smile' as I snapped a photo.  I was surprised to see the size of the teeth.  I would think that each could use a toothpick after eating all those sunflower seeds shells!

The warming trend is welcomed.  My granddaughters are coming for a sleepover this weekend.  They are registered into some x-country ski lessons and having comfortable weather will make the time outside all the more enjoyable.

 





 

I never thought that I would be grateful for the -38C temperature yesterday but I am; due to the fact that it made me stay home.  If I would not have been home, I would have missed all the action in the backyard.

The only time that I was outside was to fill the feeders for the deer and the birds throughout the day.  I didn't want them to be without food in such a frigid temperature.  The air was so cold that when I breathed in, it hurt the inside of my nose.  I was bundled up in layers and was warm as toast which made me wonder how the deer manage to stay warm with such short coats.

I set a tray of sunflower seeds out on the deck rail just outside the kitchen window.  I wanted to see how long it would take for the chickadees to find it.  It turned out to be less than 5 minutes.  They were not afraid to be so close to the house and they provided me with some entertainment.

A pair of pileated woodpeckers flew over the yard.  The blue jays squawked in a nearby tree.  The downy and hairy woodpeckers visited the suet feeders.  Black capped chickadees and nuthatches made countless trips from branches to feeders and back.

Earlier in the week, I noticed something unusual in the yard.  The little herd of 5 deer that visit my yard are neat eaters.  They eat everything in the tub and clean up anything that falls onto the ground.  I noticed that there has been a lot of grain on the ground so have been thinking that there may be new visitors.  I found the answer yesterday.

One doe and one fawn came into the yard at about 2pm.  They were very hesitant and skittish; looking around and standing on guard with every little sound.  They fed at the tub and made no attempt to eat from the bird feeders.  This was unlike the 5 musketeers that come regularly.  They don't pay any attention to movement in the window or me on the deck for that matter.  

Something scared the 2 newbies before they were finished eating.  I did not realize how fluffy their white tails get when they are scared.  I've never been close enough to see this.

The usual bunch came around 6 pm.  They cleaned up what the previous two dropped on the ground.  They emptied the bird feeders.  One doe that has been aggressive to the fawns was in a very bad mood yesterday.  She kicked at the young ones and lifted her front leg to stomp on them.

The temperature dipped below -40C again last night.  I went out to refill feeders.  The wood on the deck creaked and the neighborhood sounds were amplified in the cold.

The forecast is beginning to look decent for the end of the week.  Yesterday was the coldest March 1st since I moved out here almost 12 years ago.

 

 

At 10:25am this morning it was a balmy -25C; -33C with the windchill.  The sun was out and the sky was cloudless but the wind whipped between the buildings creating a dangerous situation to be outside.  

The blowing wind rocked the glider deck furniture back and forth.  The gusts made the bird feeders sway back and forth like the pendulum of a clock.  

As I sat at the kitchen table, I watched the chickadees at the feeders.  They had to have perfect timing to land. 

The wind kept me inside except for the brief time that I went out to fill the feeders and the grain tub.  I was out for only a few minutes but the wind made my head feel like I had an 'ice-cream- headache'.

The deer came by a couple of times through the day.  I was grateful for the wildlife coming to visit me today since I wasn't venturing out.

Tonight at 8:45pm it was -29.4C.  The forecast says it is supposed to dip to -38C overnight.  As the temperature is dropping, I can hear the creaks and cracks of contracting wood in the house.  I'm hoping this is the last blast of winter.  These windy, cold days are robbing me of my outdoor time.

I didn't pay any attention to the backyard when I opened the door this morning.  As I stepped onto the deck, I noticed some movement.  My deer friends were in the back yard, eating their breakfast bright and early today.  That was a great way to begin the day.

That little inner voice of mine told me to keep the camera handy this morning so I placed it on the front passenger seat when I left.  It also told me to leave for work a bit earlier.  I'm glad that I did.

I came across a moose about 8 kilometers from home.  It was busy munching on the tasty branches at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre.  I ended up driving by and then backing up.  When I stopped my vehicle and rolled down the window, the moose glanced up but didn't move.  It stayed put the entire time that I snapped my photos.

It was a great beginning to a sun-shiny day.  The air was warm and the sky was blue.  It was the kind of day that I'm hoping for at the end of the week.  Looking at the forecast, I don't think that is going to happen.  I see an overnight low of -39C.  I better re-stock the wood box.  

 



 

The last three nights have had temperatures dip to the low -30Cs.  Brrrr.  If we were going to be hit with a deep freeze again, it happened during a good week.  I've been busy with an event at work so have not been able to get outside anyway.

The daylight hours have been filled with sunshine and blue skies.  With the sun being higher in the

sky, the daytime temperatures have been decent.

The forest creatures have been coming out more often.  I haven't seen moose for a few weeks but over the last 4 days, I've seen 7 of them in addition to a couple of porcupines and coyotes.  As I drove down the range road toward home today, a moose crossed in front of me from one ditch to the other.  It joined a second one in a willow thicket.  I love watching those clumsy creatures!

The deer in my backyard have been doing overnight raids.  They must know that I have not been home during the day to see them.

There is no power in my garage.  I got home early enough today for it to still be light in there.  I noticed a pile of sunflower seed shells on the garage floor.  Beside the bag, a hole chewed through the wood floor.  The backyard squirrel has found its way into the garage again.  The last time a squirrel made its way into the garage, it constructed a beautiful nest from the pink insulation in the attic.  In the middle of the nest was the food store.  I filled a construction size garbage bag with the chewed insulation.  At that time, I plugged every hole there was in the garage.  Looks like the little rodent was persistent to gain entry again.

I'm looking forward to some outdoor time this weekend whether the temperatures are frigid or not. 

 

During my recent road trip to Jasper National Park, I had some free time to drive the scenic highway to Maligne Lake.  All the visitor amenities at the lake were closed but the views along the drive were worth the trek anyway.

I came across a beautiful mule deer in the middle of the highway.  It was licking the snow/salt mixture on the road surface.  I pulled over to watch.  It did not move until it was ready to.  Eventually it made its way to the embankment on the west side of the road.  The snow was so deep that the deer sank up to its underbelly as it made its way to the forest.

There were a number of spots that had avalanche warning signs posted.  That did not deter visitors from heading out on the trails with skis and snowshoes.  There were a number of vehicles in the parking lots along the way.

The evergreen branches held up a layer of snow.  The mountain tops in the distance were covered in white.  The scene was as beautiful as a Christmas card.

I pulled into the parking lot at Medicine Lake.  In the distance I could see three park visitors on snowshoes trekking across the lake.  Without the use of binoculars, they looked like little ants on a white blanket.

The drive to Maligne Lake and back took almost 1.5 hours.  It was a great way to enjoy the winter scenes and the majestic Rocky Mountains.

There is truth to the statement that you learn something new everyday.  I found out what muskrats do during the winter season.  In the summer, they can be seen along roadside ditches, munching on fresh grasses and reeds.  In the winter, they are busy as well.  They do not hibernate.  If you drive by a snow covered pond and see small mounds on the surface, they are probably the

handiwork of a muskrat.

I wouldn't want to find out how sharp those little teeth are.  Obviously, they are not only capable of chewing up the reed stalks, but they are also capable of chewing through the ice that forms on lake and pond surfaces.

I was on a pond surface today.  There were numerous mounds

on it.  I took a closer look and saw that the dark areas of the mounds were underwater plants that the muskrats had brought to the surface.

There were many animal tracks in the snow today; coyote, elk, bison.  They criss-crossed the open area like roadways on a map.  The coyotes had checked out all the muskrat mounds.

I took my skis out today.  I use adventure skis that are made for either groomed trails or breaking trail.  They work much better when I'm breaking trail.

I created a large loop that started along the shoreline, went south up to a beaver lodge and then back to where I began.  There is the perfect amount of snow on the pond for x-country skiing.  I went around my loop a couple of times; soaking up the sun and admiring the blue, cloudless sky.  

The temperature was above zero again today.  When I got back from skiing, I enjoyed a cup of coffee on the back deck.  The chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers were busy at the feeders.  A squirrel chattered up in a tree.  A couple of magpies were raiding the grain that was put out for the deer.

It was so beautiful that I looked for more tasks to keep me busy outside. I took down the decorations from my backyard Christmas tree.  I chopped a bin full of wood for the indoor stove.  I could hear water dripping off the garage roof and the snow on my neighbor's metal roof was sliding over the edge; landing in a big bank on the ground.

It sounds like there will be some fresh snow this evening. Another few centimeters would make for excellent skiing in the days to come.  

Sunshine and melting snow was testament that the temperature made it to the plus-side today.  The day was beautiful and many people were out enjoying the extra day off.  I've never seen so many vehicles driving through or parked in the lots at Elk Island.

I pulled into the parking lot of the Amisk Wuche trail and found 6 vehicles there.  I'm usually the only one.  Keeping that in mind as I put the snowshoes on, I decided to break a trail on the lake surface.  

There was a packed trail down the embankment to the shoreline.  That's where it ended.  I could see there had once been another trail that went across the ice but the wind had drifted it over.  I created a new trail along the shoreline.

That turned out to be a really good choice.  Nobody else was out on the lake but from my vantage I could see numerous hikers on the trail.  That is one reason why I opted for the open space but it

wasn't the only one.  When I hike in the trees, the upper canopy does not allow the sun to shine through.  On the lake surface, the sun was bright and warm.

I created a big loop on the lake.  In some places, there was very little snow.  In others, the wind had created drifts but they were hard-packed and it was easy to stay on top of them.  As I made my way round the shoreline, I planned what I was going to do tomorrow.  The day is supposed to be sunny if the forecast is correct; making it a perfect day to try to snowshoe out to the island at Astotin Lake or take the skis out on the lake surface.  

I'll have to toss a coin to decide what to do unless I head out early which means ample time to snowshoe in the morning and ski in the afternoon.  That way I wouldn't have to decide!

I was planning on taking the snowshoes out today.  That didn't happen.  I drove into the Wilderness Centre parking lot and drove right back out again.  The parking lot was full.  The overflow lot was full and people were beginning to park on either side of the driveway.

I had my skates with me so decided on some ice skating.  My first location was a bust.  The parks staff had not cleaned the snow from it.  I tried the snowbank rink by the local elementary school.  It was perfect.  I had the ice all to myself.  I love skating there.  There's nothing quite like skating on an outdoor surface.  This one is well maintained; cleaned and flooded on a regular basis.  I'm always amazed at how little it gets used.  There are picnic tables set up beside it so families could make a morning or afternoon of it.

The ice surface that wasn't cleaned off is at the Cooking Lake - Blackfoot  Recreation area.  It is larger than the one that I skated at.  There are picnic tables and outdoor fire pits with wood provided.  There is also a large picnic shelter with a wood stove inside.  Both are perfect locations for a family outing.

When I got home, I filled the bird feeders.  I heard a very loud, hollow tapping sound.  The pileated woodpecker was at it again.  Rather than coming to the old rotted stump or the suet feeders, it was rat-a-tat-tatting on a power pole.  

My backyard deer friends showed up during the late afternoon.  I had the pail of water back outside for them.  Only a couple of them came for a drink.  The others preferred to grab mouthfuls of snow.

The forecast shows sunshine for tomorrow.  I hope it is correct.  I'd like to take the skis or snowshoes out for a couple of hours.

I've been dog-sledding in the Canmore area a couple of times.  What fun I had watching the excitement build in the dogs when they saw the harnesses coming out. 

Today, I drove out to Pigeon Lake to watch some dog sled races.  The local sled dog club hosted a weekend race.  There was quite the assortment of dogs but they all had one thing in common.  They LOVED to run!

The race began with a ski-joring event.  It looked like such fun.  I do believe if that was me on the skis, the dogs would have been dragging me behind them.

In the sled categories, there were two-dog (juniors), four-dog, six-dog and eight-dog races.  The dogs were so excited to race.  They howled and jumped and barked until the starter gave the go ahead to begin.

As the sleds came in through the finish gate, the dogs were grabbing mouthfuls of snow to quench their thirst before getting some nice bowls of water back at their kennels.  There were a lot of very long tongues hanging out as they ran by. 

The youngest racer on a sled was only 4 years old.  She had a smile from ear to ear when the starter gave her the go ahead.  What a little trooper!

The sun was shining in the blue Alberta sky.  The temperature was great.  The dogs were entertaining.  What a great way to spend the day!