It sure pays off to be on the trail in the early morning. The warm rays of sunlight stream through the branches. Long shadows are cast across the trail. The forest is quiet and calm and the ideal place to be after spending a few noisy days at work.

I got to my favorite spot on the trail where the spruce trees tower overhead. I caught sight of two moose but they caught sight of me as well and ran off into the trees.

As I approached where I saw them exit the trail and enter the forest, I could hear them crashing through the underbrush. I knew they were headed to the same place that I was and knew more or less where they were going to come back on the trail.

I was right. The female was on the trail already and I could hear the male making his way up the steep bank. It pays to be patient as I caught him on video as he came out of the trees.
What amazing animals. They paid no attention to me. I couldn't pass them so spent about forty five minutes observing as they made their way slowly down the trail; nibbling here and munching there.

It was the best outing in a long while. In addition to finding the moose, I found the swans! I thought they were gone for the season but they had moved to another pond. All four young ones survived and are almost big enough to start their journey south.

Starting my day on the trail was a great way to get motivated to get my deck stained. I need one more sunny day and the job will be done and I can spend more than a couple of hours in the woods. Can't wait.

I was supposed to be staining the deck today but Mother Nature had other plans for me which was okay. It turned into a day of rest which means a couple naps in the tent. I thought a tree would come crashing down on top of it but that thought lasted only until my eyelids closed.

The wind gusted and broke branches. Twigs and leaves littered the deck that I had cleaned last week. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'll have to spend an hour or so picking all the leaves out of the cracks between the boards before I can bring the can of stain out.

Last week was HOT! The temperatures were unusual for the month of September in Alberta. It made for some nice days to enjoy the outdoors.

I spent a lot of time in the yard admiring the autumn blossoms. The bees are still busy gathering pollen. They are really enjoying the sunflower heads. Their pollen laden legs get heavy which makes for some slower flying.

I ordered more Alberta wildflowers for the yard. They arrived as healthy plugs. I planted them and there is lots of new growth showing. I was so excited about this that I ordered more! They should be arriving this week so I'll have to prepare some places to plant them.

I found time for a quick hike at the Beaver Hills Biodiversity trail. Some new way-finding markers and interpretive signs have been installed. 

The number of birds on the ponds has diminished. They've begun their trek south. As I sat on my 'thinking' bench, flocks of cranes flew overhead. What a glorious sound.

The leaves are turning color along the trail and the berries are ripening. I could smell autumn in the woods and for me that is a great smell because the fall/winter season is my favorite time of year.

 

It's the Labor Day weekend and most of the neighbors have left for a last chance at camping. I didn't have to leave. The tent has been up in the backyard for more than a month so when the urge to camp hits me, all I have to do is head to my private campsite.

The fire pit gets lit and my favorite chair gets pulled up close. Steam from a hot cup of coffee dissipates into the cool autumn air. I only got to go camping at Nordegg once this summer but that's okay because I accomplished a lot around the yard and got to spend the overnight in my backyard tent.

The cool night time air makes for great sleeping conditions. I like listening to the rain on the tent dome and the morning birds as they awaken. Once I roll out of the cot and unzip the door, I'm ready to enjoy the backyard and the projects planned for it. 

It's the best of both worlds; after all, I do live at the lake and can hear the water birds and can smell the lake smells. I just don't live water front but my tent is probably closer to the water than what I would be at a camp site.

I'm finally able to see the vision that I had for my backyard. The shrubs are filling in nicely. The perennials are inviting the bees and butterflies into the yard. The berry producing trees had fruit for the first time in four years. It's no wonder I didn't want to leave home.

I'm in the process of staining the back deck. The temperature is one that I can tolerate now and the birds provide the entertainment when I want to take a break. The geese and the cranes circle overhead as they prepare for their trek south.

Autumn is next favorite season to winter and I plan on spending as much of my time enjoying it as I'm able to.

I see signs of autumn everywhere. The leaves are turning color. The geese are more active. The hummingbirds and finches are having a daily feeding frenzy. The bees, butterflies and other garden insects are taking in all the food they can find.

The autumn perennials are in full bloom and the bees and butterflies are visiting them constantly. Every time I walk by them, it doesn't matter which ones, they are filled with insects.

I happened by the hops vine on my deck and noticed a stray branch growing through it from a shrub sprouting from under the deck. There were 11 caterpillars on the leaves! What fun it has been watching as nature prepares for fall. 

I came home today to find two spotted fawns in the backyard. The doe was still in the woods behind the yard. The young ones happened to venture into the yard while my 'deer sprinkler' was in the shed. I mowed the lawn and put it away, thinking that it wasn't needed anymore. It's been put back in the yard. I've still got vegies in the garden that I'm not willing to share with the deer just yet.

I visited the Biodiversity trail to see if the swan family was still around. I didn't see them but they could have been hiding in the reeds. I don't think the young ones are large enough to fly any great distance yet. I'll have to visit again this week to see if they are around.

If you've the opportunity to visit the trails or just wander in your backyard, watch for the signs of fall. There are things changing; big and small.

I stood in front of the kitchen window and watched an aerial fight in the backyard. There was a lot of diving and swooping going on. Another sign of autumn approaching appeared this week.

There are two hummingbird feeders and one oriole feeder in my yard. The orioles left when their young fledged so their feeder has been sitting with the same level of syrup for the past few weeks; until this week. I noticed that the feeder was almost empty. The hummingbirds have been in a feeding frenzy. They are preparing for their journey south.

A pair of ruby throated hummingbirds have been in the yard all summer. The motion in the yard that caught my eye had me watching four of them in action. I'm assuming that one pair were the regular visitors and the other pair were just stopping in for food.

They are very territorial and when one began to feed, another dived at it to chase it away. This continued for more than ten minutes. The divers came in swift and scolding. I could hear the chatter through the open window.

When one would give up on the nectar feeder and visit the scarlet runner bean flowers instead, it would get attacked again. There was no sharing of food happening on this day.

What a treat to watch these little birds in action. They will soon be gone to warmer climates and I'll have to wait another year to see these beauties again.

I've spent the past week enjoying the backyard. The fall perennials are in bloom and have created some new feeding areas for the bees and the butterflies.

I had the opportunity to rethink my front yard when undergoing new home construction a few years back. The ecoscaping done then is paying off as the butterflies and bees are being attracted by the beebalm, coneflowers, dogwood blossoms, false sunflowers and many natural flowers that came up on their own.

The bumblebees have worked tirelessly to remove pollen from each little beebalm petal. When done in that flower bed they move to the scarlet runner beans in the garden. I could see their plump little bodies sticking out of the bright red blossoms. The butterflies have shared the brilliant pink coneflowers with the bees. I watched the butterflies feed at the flowers and then perform their 'mating dance' amidst the dogwood branches.

The week brought a few days of rain; enough to fill all the rain barrels again. There were a few foggy mornings. I took advantage of the beauty that the fog left behind as it lifted. Tiny droplets of moisture clung to the leaves. They created little 'diamonds' that sparkled in the morning light.

The grasshoppers are abundant and seem to enjoy eating the blossoms off my petunias. The slugs have left their slimy trails over the rocks that border my garden paths. The caterpillars have been creating lacy edges on the shrub leaves.

I've left a tent set up in the backyard. Inside sits a camp cot with a pillow and a sleeping bag. It's my napping spot. There's nothing better than to curl up on the cot and listen to rain fall on the tent or hear the wind rustle the branches overhead. The rain and the wind are Mother Nature's sweet lullabies.

As I lay in the tent this afternoon I wondered what I'm going to do in a few months when the snow falls again. I may have to take up winter camping.

I visited a great little park last week for the first time. It's a hidden little gem on the outskirts of Wetaskiwin. 'By the Lake Park' provides a lovely space to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.

The lake is home to pelicans, cormorants, ducks, geese and other waterfowl that were too far away to identify without binoculars. The pelicans swam in unison, dipping every now and again to fill their large bills with fish. The lake is stocked so if the birds leave any fish, you can head there with your fishing rod.

There is a little island in the middle of the lake. The day that I was there the cormorants were sunning themselves with the pelicans. Cormorants don't have oil on their feathers like other birds so they need to spread their wings to dry them out. There was a lot of wing spreading and flapping happening.

Benches are strategically placed so visitors can sit and watch the action on the lake. There are lots of tables for people to gather for picnics.

A man-made stream flows over the rocks, producing the wonderful sound of running water. A paved hiking/biking trail encompasses the lake, taking you past the stream before weaving through the trees.

The park is definitely on the list to visit again. If you are looking for a day trip destination; pack up a picnic lunch, grab your camera, put on the walking shoes and head out on the highway to Wetaskiwin.

There was no trail time this week but there was time in the backyard and some highway driving so I got to view the beautiful yellow canola fields.

This is the first year that all the perennials are in full bloom. I planted a lot of them when I eco-scaped my yard and the fruits of my labor paid off. I've only had to water the garden beds and the containers that hold my annual flowers. The shrubs and perennials are doing what they are supposed to be doing; flourishing no matter what the weather.

The sea buckthorn is six feet tall and producing fruit. The haskap is a couple feet tall and had fruit for the first time. The ninebarks are spreading to about five feet across and are a food source for the chickadees and sparrows.

The Asiatic and day lilies brighten the yard with oranges, yellows and pinks. The beebalm and the coneflowers are about to open. The bumblebees will love that. For now, they are enjoying the red flowers on the scarlet runner beans.

This week I've seen butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and bees in the yard. The hummingbirds visit frequently. The young bluejays have finally left their nest. So much action just off the back deck.

I experienced two storms within the past week. One dropped 40mm of rain and the other 25mm. All the rain barrels are full again.

I purchased a little solar fountain for the birdbath with the hopes that the hummingbird will be lured to it for a shower. I wasn't sure how well it would work but as long as it is sunny, the pump produces a fountain that is about a foot tall.

During the weeks that I can't get out to the trails, it is great to spend the time in the yard just watching the happenings of Mother Nature outside my door.

There was some much needed rain last night. With the rain, came a light show that kept me entertained while getting drenched when I had to pump water into the rain barrels. The barrels have been empty for about a week so the downpour was welcomed. The garden didn't look droopy this morning and there was water standing on the driveway.

I hadn't been to the Biodiversity trail in a while so decided to check out the swan family. The foliage on the underbrush and the tall grasses were a brilliant green. That moisture from last night's storm rejuvenated all the plant life, not just my garden.

As I walked through the woods, admiring all the wildflowers in bloom and the bees buzzing from blossom to blossom, I scared up a hare. It hopped toward a well worn trail under the low lying branches.

The swans were in the pond. The young ones are getting quite big and their grey color is beginning to lighten. It's good to see that all four of them have survived. Papa swan did a good job of defending the nest.

As I trudged up the hill toward the bench that overlooks the pond, I saw the back half of a good sized garter snake slither into the tall grass. This is the second time that I saw that snake. I'll have to make a mental note and remind myself to watch for it next time before it disappears from the trail.
Tonight the pond was calm and quiet. The swans entertained me for a half hour and the bird calls provided choir songs on my way back to the parking lot. 

It's a beautiful night and there's no rain in the forecast so I think it will be a bonfire night.

Happy trails!

Just a couple days ago a wicked storm formed over much of central Alberta. A tornado watch, then warning, was issued. The storm was headed in my direction. The Alberta Emergency Alert kept everyone in the know as to the where the storm was going.

This has happened before but the storms usually fizzle out before getting to where I happen to be except for one camping trip that I remember vividly. It was hailing so hard that I thought the stones would rip through my nylon tent.

This storm spawned a couple of tornadoes; one of which touched down to the west of my location that evening. The sky darkened and the clouds began layering up. The layers rolled and twisted like the fibres of a rope.

While it was still safe to do so, I stood in an open field, in awe of what Mother Nature was producing. Small wispy funnels would come down from the clouds and then move back up again. The wind speed would increase as the funnels came down and then stop completely as the funnels went back up.

There were only a few small hailstones mixed with a little rain. Locations to the west had hailstones as large as a pudding cup.

The tornado that touched down destroyed some buildings and ripped out a swath of trees. It was nothing in comparison to the one that came through Edmonton years ago or the fierce storms that go through 'tornado alley' in the USA but it did provide an opportunity to think about the power that Mother Nature possesses.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3596149/severe-thunderstorm-watch-issued-for-edmonton-and-central-alberta-tornadoes-possible/