Alberta's beautiful foothills and mountains
A hazy view with Dandelions
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Maskinonge Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Upper Waterton Lake, seen from the town
A different view from Maskinonge lookout, Waterton
Cameron Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
A view from Red Rock Canyon, Waterton
Smoke from the British Columbia wildfires reaches…
Alberta foothills in smoke haze
Vanishing landscape
Clouds over the mountains
The beauty of our mountains
Wide angle on the Bighorn Sheep ridge
A favourite road
Our precious Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta…
Road through Kananaskis
Waterton Lake from the townsite - before the fire
Kananaskis before the snowstorm
Lenticular (?) clouds over the mountains
The charred remains of McDougall Memorial United C…
Cattle drive in the mountains of Kananaskis, Alber…
Alberta foothills in the fall
The beauty of erosion
Autumn in Alberta
Walking in a winter wonderland
A white world
Dazzling sunlight on distant peaks
A sunrise sky that lasted till sunset
Glorious scenery for a Christmas Bird Count!
Ghost Reservoir
Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton
A favourite view, Waterton Lakes National Park
Beautiful Peyto Lake
Heading into the mountains
Clouds over Chain Lakes
Two of my favourite things
Another see-through barn
Wide open spaces
Kananaskis, through the windshield
Gravel and dust - a favourite road
Storm over Canola
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond
Beautiful Alberta - prairie, foothills and mountai…
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Stubble pattern
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
The beautiful mountains of Alberta
Winter in Kananaskis
Afternoon light on the foothills
Our beautiful Alberta
Nanton Christmas Bird Count
Sunrise colour over the mountain peaks
TV's "Heartland" series location
Before the snow
Jagged little peaks
A lone Larch in fall colour
Before winter officially arrives
Plateau Mountain, Kananaskis
A favourite mountain slope
Just like winter
A few craggy peaks
And here comes the snow
Before the snow came
One spectacular fall day
Reflecting the sun at 'golden hour'
Running free
Freedom
Magic hour
Two winters ago
02 Hidden in the clouds
Gap Lake
A patterned sky
When fall colours are just a memory
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
When winter comes to the mountains
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
Distant Larch trees in their fall colour
Distant haze
The beauty of Kananaskis along Highway 40
Periglacial feature, Plateau Mountain
Looking towards top of Plateau Mountain
The long hike down the mountain
Our beautiful foothills on an overcast day
The long road south
Lower Kananaskis Lake at Peninsular
Peninsular, Lower Kananaskis Lake
One of my favourite meadows
Mt. Buller, Buller Pond, Kananaskis
A view from Mt. Shark
Above the tree line
Mt Lorette Ponds, Kananaskis
Fading into the distance
01 Middle Lake, Bow Valley Provincial Park
Layers of colour
The difference the sun makes
Prince of Wales hotel, Waterton
Challenges of a photographer
Wildflowers galore at the Bison Paddock
Waterton Lakes National Park
Ram's Horn Snail shell
Middle Lake, Bow Valley Provincial Park
One of my favourite views
Hike on Erik Butters' beautiful land
Meadow Creek area, Benchlands
Still standing
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Kananaskis - a winter wonderland
What a day I had with friends, Cathy and Terry, on 7 December 2014, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was very low cloud lingering in some places, too, which I always love to see. This was one of the many photos I took through the windshield, that actually came out OK, other than having to remove a lot of dark spots from the dirty windshield, that were visible in the sky area. Not sure if the colour was affected - could be - but the light was absolutely amazing. I always think you need the sun on the mountains, to bring them to life.
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter and very early spring months, to protect the wildlife) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding a beautiful female and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they walked by the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All the female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance : ) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable, and Moose can cause a lot of damage if they become aggressive..
Most of the time, the female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun.
We saw the female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around, either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.
The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter and very early spring months, to protect the wildlife) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding a beautiful female and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they walked by the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All the female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance : ) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable, and Moose can cause a lot of damage if they become aggressive..
Most of the time, the female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun.
We saw the female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around, either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.
The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
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