I get restless this time of year. Calgary is known for it’s Chinooks – warming winds which can make winter snow disappear and leave ‘blah browns’ around for another 3 months. (Sadly, no matter how mild the winter, the green grass and trees don’t start appearing until late April or early May.)
Last weekend I decided to find ‘beauty in the browns‘ and headed west on a mini road trip. I’d seen some beautiful light & clouds over the mountains earlier in the week. Mother Nature was no longer playing nicely in that respect.
I discovered plenty of horses on the Morley reserve with a few ‘mature foals’. A little editing removed the… ummmm… ‘horse debris’ prevalent in many of the shots. There was remarkably little snow even as you approached the mountains, and the Seebe Dam wasn’t completely iced over. Sadly Bow Valley Provincial Park yielded not a single shot – and it’s normally one of my favourite places.
Had I headed out this past weekend, the snow situation would have been a whole different story. Sunshine Village Ski Resort received 42cm (16.5″) in 24 hours – and describe ski conditions as ‘epic’. Dogsledding tours were cancelled for ‘too much snow’. City road conditions were appalling so I stayed indoors and only used the camera to capture Ozzie’s enjoyment of the conditions!
I think I’m going to loosely tie this one into Ailsa’s Travel Theme of ‘Roads’ too as I managed to get my own show on the road with this mini road trip!
Beautiful, beautiful pictures Suzan, these ice boats really intrigue me. I haven’t heard of them before.
Thanks Seonaid. They have runners almost like skates and glide over the ice. I think you then handle them with lines like sailboats. I have yet to see one out – apparently I choose the wrong days LOL.
Ozzie is so much like my dog! We don’t get snow, but a few years back it hailed and there was a foot of ice on the ground. He went ballistic and ran around and played in it for hours! What a great video. I also love your still shots – absolutely beautiful 😀
Thanks Dianne. Ozzie is my ‘class clown’. He’s only 18 months old and is the complete puppy at heart. Loves water and snow. Had him out at the dog park for 75 minutes today burning energy off as he only got a very short jaunt close to home during the blizzard yesterday! He is now passed out on the floor – one very happy pooch!
Lovely gallery!
Thank you for stopping by and your kind words. 😀
Wow, beautiful pictures! I love the horses, and the sky you captured in the last image is amazing 🙂
Thanks for sharing, all the best.
Rohan.
Thanks so much Rohan! At this time of year we can get some fascinating skies. Weather systems are often small and fast moving. 😀