magpies & mining

The first thing you will notice is the magpie who struts his stuff and is willing to pose for tourists. When he flies the midnight blue reflects from his wings. When you look at the woods along the river, you will see spots of gold. In the fall, the tamarack turns golden-orange and looses its needles. The tamarack tree belongs to the larch family, it is a deciduous coniferous tree that can survive -65 weather, even in swamps that freeze.

Canmore is a growing town on the Bow River, nestled in the Rocky Mts. near Banff. It was a small coal mining town. On the trail is an abandoned mine and some of the old equipment. The climate is dry, so metal rusts and wood dries.There are benches along the river of black gritty leftover materials from the mine and you can sometimes see outcroppings of coal One creek that emerges has salt deposits in the water that spouts from pipes. Trees cling to the river bank. We are walking from the south to Canmore . Much of the river is parkland with trails. Near to Banff and winter skiing, many buy 'holiday homes' in the area. Other residents are retired and just love the scenery and ease of getting outside to walk the many trails.Below is a rock face - one of the abstracts of nature. I enjoy playing with photoshop!

Let's take a walk ... along the Bow River

The Bow River winds though the Rocky Mountains. We are going to walk along the trails just north of Canmore Alberta in western Canada. You can sit on a bench and appreciate the small things in life ...
A bird taking a bath ...The rugged roots that interlace to fight the spring flooding ...

A seed pod, ready to generate new life ...

The sky is amazing - like an Emily Carr painting.

The weather is below zero, the sun warms you.

Mesmerizing sunbursts at river edge encourage you to get lost in a daydream.

Our lives are re-energized when we take the time to be in nature's backyard.