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.