For Ernie

Today I would like to share the ravine with you one glorious winter's day.  It has been warm.  A few degrees above or below zero for the last 2 weeks.  The morning I took the photos it was about minus 5 and all the foliage heavy with frost. I do not normally walk with the camera but this day I wanted to photograph my path. I was intentionally more attentive and observant, I was looking for photo opportunities and it opened my eyes.  There is very little colour differentiation, and as you know I love a muted and subtle  landscape.  This morning I enjoyed the subtleties but I also found remarkable contrasts.  

Some of our Slow Book Club  will be visiting next month.  Due to some temporary mobility issues Ernie and Barb will not be here.  This post is dedicated to you Ernie so grab your tea ( sorry no wine ) and walk with me through the ravine.

Just below the house, the woodpecker's vertical buffet table.

The bottom of the hill at the beaver dam.

Walking along the bottom on the south side looking north.

Fantastic! The band of gold against the black and white.

We have noticed a lot of ground water moving to the surface this winter.  We don't know if there is more this year or if there is always this much and it was hidden under all the snow we had last winter.

We have walked along the bottom of the ravine on the south side and are now at the top again.

There I found abandoned homes and frosty leaves.

A grove of trembling aspen.

That's it for the walk, there is so much beauty in winter on the prairies.

Last post I talked about acquiring bird feeding supplies.  We got out the feeder and filled it with black sunflower seed's.  It has been a busy place, but we found this most interesting.  

Talk about hanging on by your toes

  

The woodpecker gets the seed from the feeder, brings it over to the oak, finds a place to wedge it so he can crack the shell and then consumes it.  How clever.

Ready for the next trip to the feeder

We (Pat) had a little run-in with some very hard finger drifts on the grid road.  It convinced us to take the plunge, we bought a vehicle with a bit more clearance.  We are now driving a 2012 RED Rav4.  It should suit our rural driving needs.  Our faithful Matrix will go to a new home (Carmen) in the city.

I do have a sunset photo for you this time.  This was the view out the west window January 14th.

Northwest Wind

We have been busy since the last post.  At the snowshoe evening one of our friends mentioned he had bought some farmland and would need to clear trees in the yard to improve access.  There were a lot of oak trees in that yard.  We decided we would like some for firewood and the larger diameter might be suitable for a wood turning friend. Wood gathering became the priority.

Pat spent a couple of afternoons with one of the farmer friends and then he and I spent another 4 or so hours getting some trees with a little larger diameter.  I had a table for the veranda in my mind's eye.  We have since found out that Burr Oak can be difficult to work with so the table may remain in my mind.  We will have a nice supply of hardwood for the fireplace at very least.

After that we were off to Saskatoon for Christmas.

We spent a week in Saskatoon, enjoying family and friends, it was wonderful.

Zachary and Heather prepared a fantastic Christmas dinner.

Nana and Norah waiting for the feasting to begin.

Auntie Carmen gave Brooke and Norah archaeological treasure kits. Gems buried in plaster.  The kit comes complete with safety glasses, hammer and chisel.

A great deal of fun for all. Such cleverness never existed in my childhood.  However I do recall spending many happy hours in the alley with a hammer splitting rocks (without safety glasses) looking for gold and diamonds. 

Friends Don and Lynne brought a wonderful gift with them when they came in December, a bird seed bell. I had two concerns regarding hanging it.

I didn't get it hung until after Christmas so I thought the birds might not find it and secondly how was I going to keep the squirrels from devouring it.

I was wrong, it was a hit and the squirrels can't get at it, I hung it out in the middle of the clothesline.

The downy woodpecker hangs from the bell eating, the bluejays sit below cleaning up what falls to the ground. The leavings from the woodpecker seem inadequate for the jays in this cold weather so we have been putting peanuts in the shell out.  We then watch the jays ferry them away in two or three minutes. 

There is a chickadee that flits in and then out, observing from a nearby tree.

The white breasted nuthatch searches for food in the tree that the clothesline is in, but is not part of the seed eating  They are all there at the same time and it brings such joy to watch them. 

We are going to Regina tomorrow, mostly for basement bathroom supplies (there is progress) but I also plan to buy more birdseed bells and black sunflower seeds to fill up my feeder that I haven't used since we left 213.

One more set of bird photos.  We don't think that this is the same GH Owl we got photos of last winter. the colouring is much lighter.  The camouflage colouring is perfect.

Do you spot him in the first photo?

We know from last winter that noise will get him to turn his head.  A little hollering accomplished that this time.

We haven't been out as much as we would like since we got home after Christmas.  It has been bitterly cold most days, either temperature alone or a reasonable temperature but wind.  Today there is a northwest wind that you have to experience to understand.

No sunrise or sunset photos this time just the winter wonderland that the ravine can be with a snowfall and no wind.