Christmas Day Bird Nest

I spotted this bird nest on Christmas Day during a walk around Three Mile Bend park in Red Deer Alberta.
Here are Jet and Ted in front of it, showing how small it is!

My Dogs at Gull Lake

I usually try to post my other stuff here, but I really like this photo of Ted and Jet taken at Birch Bay, Gull Lake, November 21.

Walking on Water

A flock of geese landed on the pond near the office where I work. They walked around on the ice for about 20 minutes, then headed off after a little rest

Bulrushes

Bulrushes in a marsh near the Red Deer River, at Three Mile Bend dog park, taken November 8

World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions

Is it time yet? Two Lipizzaner Stallions peek out at the crowd.

I saw the Lipizzaners perform tonight with my friend Nancy. The show was at the Westerner in Red Deer.

There are more photos on http://spriritdancedogs.blogspot.com/ This is my favourite...
What beautiful, noble animals. I love Arabians, and can see them in some of these horses, especially in the big, shaded, expressive eyes.

Black-Crowned Night Heron Rookery near Airdrie

On my way home from Banff I spotted a bird on a fencepost and backed up to take a photo. It flew across this little pond and alerted me to a rookery on the rocks right near the road!Since I never get to use that word in normal everyday life, I have to add that I learned all about heron rookeries when I worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources in northwestern Ontario. These little guys looked hunched like tiny penguins. I looked them up when I got home and rather than being unique or critical, they are actually listed as of "LITTLE CONCERN" which I found funny. They are found all over the world and are very successful little herons. These ones lived beside highway 2, and you can see a new Airdrie subdivision in the background. However, no bird or animal should be taken for granted. Some day we may be criticized for not doing more to ensure they remain as successful and healthy as they apparently are today. Water protection is especially important for these birds who depend on it for food.

Rocky Mountain wildlife - Bighorn sheep and Black Bear

On my way home from BC, I was driving along towards Golden when I saw a bunch of people in a tiny parking lot off the highway...and this is why...These Bighorn Sheep are so used to people that they had no reason to move. I strategically faced them with my car, as I know my dogs would have barked if they had seen them, and that might have upset the animals (and made the tourists mad). About 30 minutes later, I saw a truck on the side of the road and so slowed down again - he was photographing this Black Bear on the railway tracks. I sidled along my car, and took this photo. He was closer than it looks and bears can move really fast. Mind you this one was licking salt, I believe.