Twelve lessons I learned from Mother Nature in 2018 (Part 3 of 3)
Dear Readers: I apologize for publishing this final part 3 days late. I was distracted for a couple of days, then drawn to southern Alberta by the possibility of seeing a special owl. Welcome to the final post! If you missed the first two, you can read them here: Part...
Twelve lessons I learned from Mother Nature in 2018 (Part 2 of 3)
Welcome to part 2 of this 3-part series. If you missed part one, check it out here. 5. Believe in the possibility May, 2018 I was heading towards home after a long day in Waterton when a hint of a black entered my vision, just before I turned around a bend in the...
Twelve lessons I learned from Mother Nature in 2018 (Part 1 of 3)
Four thousand words was the initial length of this blog post. 4000 words! I could not subject my blog readers to such a long read, hence my 2018 reflections and twelve lessons have been chopped into three parts. I hope you enjoy part 1 or 3! 1. Combined energy is...
Two Photographers out-smart a Northern River Otter (sort of)
'That's an ffing otter!!!!' I blurted, spotting a dark, oblong body in the middle of the snow-covered road. Within seconds, the figure slid from our view, disappearing through the trees towards the large lake that lay beyond. It was late April and Jamie and I had...
Beyond the photo: Moose in water inspires renewed faith in humanity
I was just so pissed-off, sitting there at the edge of paradise. A glacial lake cradled in the arms of an expansive mountain valley lay before me, inviting me into the ephemeral beauty and eternal calmness of the green-hued water. I should have been filled with a...
My dad, a 420 granola bar and Banff grizzly bear 136
I strained my eyes to focus beyond a thick network of leafy tendrils, anxious for visual confirmation of what I was told was a resting grizzly bear. As the dark figure materialized between the branches, excitement infused the core of my being - this was my first...
Two porcupines inspire a Master’s Project in ethical wildlife photography
Blobs in trees. As a child, I always fantasized about observing and photographing wildlife when I grew up, but I never imagined I would become obsessed with examining blobs in trees. This process is, however, essential to scanning the environment for wildlife...
Beyond the photo: two left-over bohemian waxwings blow my mind…
Dark figures in the branches, combined with a high-pitched whistling, drew me towards a patch of berry bushes at the edge of Glenmore reservoir. I squinted upwards through the harsh sun, trying to get a view of the bohemian waxwings' brown-powdered face, with eyes...
Alberta Bobcat triggers a tirade of sailor-level swearing
When we spotted a carcass on the side of the road, we slowed to a crawl and cautiously drove closer. From a distance, the carcass appeared to be nothing more than a brownish hide - on closer inspection, we could see a rib cage attached to a larger piece of raw bone,...
The coast of BC brings me back to my birding roots
I thought my jacket was water proof, but the moisture leaching through the layers of nylon and cotton proved me wrong. My neck hurt from craning my head into unnatural positions, examining the full expanse of every tree, hoping the network of lichen-tinged branches...
My top ten wildlife encounters of 2017
I was among a semi-circle of four photographers, laying flat, belly-down on the icy ground, heads awkwardly propped in front of our cameras, lenses aimed towards an opening in the water. If any of the people on the nearby path questioned our sanity, they were kind...
Injured black bear elicits inaction from the province of Alberta
I was immediately struck by the rich, chocolaty eyes imprinted with a miniaturized reflection of the world beyond the road side grasses - a world made up of this black bear's natural territory in Banff, interrupted by a busy highway traveled by thousands of...
A journey to conscious wildlife photography: oh, the mistakes I have made
I saw the sharp points protruding from an elongated bowl of antlers, swaying gently back and forth among the rosy brush, the bearer of this elaborate crown nibbling on a feast of willows. This was my first ever sighting of a large bull moose and my excited response...
World Animal Day: Celebrating Creatures Great and Small
A calm and gentle demeanour betrays the secretive nature of this elusive cat. Their eyes, a looking glass to the ethereal realm of Mother Nature, reveal the perfect balance of curiosity and cautiousness. Silver and brown streaked fur envelopes the delicate facial...
Kananaskis grizzly bear 104 and her cubs highlight the need for respect & personal responsibility
‘I think I see her!!! No, never mind, it’s just a cow – again…’ Variations of this phrase catapulted through the vehicle as Jamie and I watched a distant slope. It was late May and we were hoping for a closer glimpse of a grizzly sow with two itty-bitty COYs (cubs of...