The Path to the Dog Park

 It was pouring rain today with the possibility of snow in the morning, so I took a different way than normal to the dog park. We came across  this young buck Mule Deer (3X3 points), probably a three year old. The dogs saw him, but they are fairly well trained to "stay" while on the leash.

He let us walk right up to him without startling. You can see Missy's head in the picture

All the time I was saying 'stay" to the girls. When he did bolt, they just watched him go with out yanking or pulling on the leashes, All told I saw 9 Mule deer in the Park today, mostly does. I like these impromptu training sessions! 

Still here!

As I was taking my daily stroll around Rotary Park, I could here a baby bird crying. It was like "Feed me, Feed me". by the time I got to the Osprey nest, the deed was done and this not-so-little guy was noshing down on a fish! He was very hungry!

I t looks like somebody delivered a Rainbow Trout from the pond.

Osprey Profiles

I figure the Ospreys will be leaving for southern climates before too long. I was surprised to see this one still here and even more surprised to see him sitting and posing.

 He was quite the ham

 There was another one circling over the pond in Rotary Park probably looking for fish. It was not cooperative and stayed too high and didn't even stoop for fish.

 I am going to miss these guys. Its hard to believe that two days ago last year we had a snowstorm in Whitecourt!

 Stretching is probably good before a long flight.

 Hopefully, I will be able to get some action shots before they depart.

Bear in the Park!

I thought I would take my dog for a walk in Rotary Park in Whitecourt today, Sept 7,2019. There was a lot of discussion on bears being seen . I hardly ever go anywhere without my camera and caught this guy chowing down on crabapples. You can see what he thought about having an audience!

These are nature's pruners.

He is hiding, but still wants those apples!

 Yum!

Unfortunately for him Natural Resources arrived to put a live trap in place. He will be soon relocated.

There were a fair number of kids, dogs and parents using the trail beside the apple trees.

A Real Downer!

 I was out birding in the local down town park when I noticed this Common Loon behaving oddly. I snapped a few photos and did not realize what was wrong until I got the shots on the computer at home. The Loon was lethargic and allowing me to approach to close. It was obviously in distress.

The problem was a big fishing plug wedged sideways in the mouth with some of the leader wrapped around the bill. I contacted the Wildlife office today. They were aware of the issue, but I didn't get any answer what, if anything, they were going to do about it. I mentioned that a bird in distress and flopping around in the Park was not a good thing for children to witness. I will keep an eye out, and if I can catch it, I will, and get it to the vet. My canoe is not big enough stability wise to deal with a bird this size.

Ideal Conditions

This is Saturday and Sunday all ready for Family Day Celebrations in Whitecourt. Rotary Park pond is ideal. Over the last 10 days, it has warmed up and most of our snow is gone. The skating rink and touring trail (about a half kilometer has also melted and frozen back into a glass like skating surface.

A few brave souls were out skating. Come Monday (Family Day) it is expected that the ice surface will be crowded. The fire pits will be glowing and about a thousand people will be enjoying the warm weather and out doors.


However:

 There always has to be a "However, or a But" involved somewhere!


The forecast for Sunday is 4 to 7 cm of snow! All is not lost because the crews can plow it off. Still, it would be better as is. Oh yeah, all activities in the park are free!

Fall Colours and Assorted Things

A walk around Rotary Park in Whitecourt was pretty dazzling. 

 The water slides are all shutdown for the winter, but the fountain is still going.

 The dog park was pretty much deserted as all the kids are back to school and things are settling in for the Fall season

 Speaking of dogs, the gruesome twosome really enjoyed the outing. Daphne played fetch the Kong until I thought she was going to pass out. Brooklyn is too dignified to lower her self to chase things, Besides, she can't keep up to Daphne! She is starting to show her age.

 Brooklyn believes in conserving energy i.e. sitting

 The day out hunting today didn't produce anything other than colours It appears that the deer in this area must have been hit hard by last winter's deep snow and severe cold. Not much sign around even after 10 miles of walking.

 I could have walked by a lot of deer without seeing them.The visibility in the bush is a matter of feet.

 The fall is one of my favourite times of the year. Look at the contrast between Loblolly Pine and the yellow in the Aspen Trees.

 I heard this  Black capped Chickadee long before I saw him. He was very hard to pick out.

 This is a reforestation project from about 4 years ago. It's hard to spot anything in this mess!

 This is another view of the planted area. The grass is about 3 feet high!

 I'm not sure what type of natural grass this is. It is rather pretty.

I'm not sure what this bug is. He sure looked cold and was staying in the sun.

 I hate to say it, but we need a high wind, colder nights (below-10C) and a good dump of snow to get the leaves off and the grass flattened so that there is some visibility in the forest. 

We did get a light dusting of snow last night that melted as soon as it hit the ground. Think SNOW everybody!

On another hot, hot day we went to Rotary Park to give the dogs some exercise before the afternoon heat storm hit. Actually, it looks like ALL of Alberta is on a Tornado watch due to conditions.

 I was really surprised how much the baby geese have grown! 

 Our little town pond hatched out quite a few this year.

 Nothing to report on the Osprey nest. I can't tell if she is sitting on eggs, or keeping chicks cool. 

 It appears that Daphne is joining Brooklyn as a water dog. She loves it! Some dogs retrieve sticks. These two fetch logs.

 It is going to take Daphne a long time to dry off.

Sunday Updates

Three days ago, spring was well upon us. Some of the local "wildlife" have shown up out testing the ice. The snow was pretty much gone.

 The local dog park had a little bit left, just enough to keep things from being muddy.

 The local ( like in crazy) dog was enjoying the sunshine and chasing her Kong.

 She will retrieve right to hand which is a lot easier  on her owner.

 The heat started to get her down, and she wore out pretty fast.

 Rotary park is identifiable again, although there is no one skating due to thin ice.

 These European Grackles have re-appeared. I haven't seen them for a few months.

 They are quite sociable and don't mind piling on.

Incoming. Make room!

 Over the last few days, we have received 20 cm of snow, which changes the scenery :-{