Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Canada Geese

Showing posts with label Canada Geese. Show all posts

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Mosaic Monday #128: Montana Spring

April in Montana is a trickster. One day the warmth of spring sunlight on my face spreads hope and tranquility through my entire being. The next day? Snow, and a vicious wind tosses branches against the windows like a petulant child. But the snow doesn't last, and all around are signs that winter is losing its grip to spring. At the farm of Dear Neighbor Friend, the evidence takes the form of fuzzy chicks and kids teetering on brand-new legs.

DNF's grandchildren have a ring-side seat to the miracle of birth. They quickly bond with the animals and take caring for them very seriously. But life can be closer to death than we like, and occasionally the family must cope with the loss of an animal. This week, one of the recently born kids passed shortly after birth. Below you can see the remaining kid, Amelia, using her mama as a jungle gym.

Over the hill at my house, I found this freshly dug hole, and trained the trail camera there to determine the culprit. A bunny!

Shortly after these pictures were taken, the Moultrie trail cam acted up again, and Spousal Unit bought a replacement, a Stealth trail cam at Cabela's (the one we truly want is on back order until May.) I placed it by the lake at the bottom of our property, in the hopes of capturing eagle photos. (In my February 7, 2021 post, I wrote about golden and bald eagles feasting on fish, and I speculated about a lake awash with dead fish as the ice melted.) It began to appear that theory might prove true - sometimes we observed as many as ten eagles at a time on the thin edges of the ice. The three pictures below were taken with my phone through my spotting scope. Not great quality, but you can count as many as 3 goldens and 1 bald in one of the photos.

Unfortunately, the camera did not catch any good photos of the eagles. By mid-month, the lake was clear of ice and I relocated the trail cam to the beaver dam, anticipating that this clever engineer would begin to repair winter's damage. Eureka!!!

As the ice disappeared, other water animals have arrived - cranes, Canada geese, and mallards.

I was not familiar with the ducks below - I am sure my professional birders will tell me if Ring-Necked Duck is the incorrect identification.

As you can see in the photo above, we had some snow on the 18th - the storm I mentioned at the outset with the ferocious winds. It was enough to raise whitecaps on the lake.

I imagine the duck in the picture below was ready to pick up its wings and return south!!!

But never fear, wait a few days, and you will be rewarded with blue skies and calm waters once again!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Mosaic Monday #36: Spokane City Parks

Wisteria along the river

Do you remember my admiration for Spokane's river walkways in my June 16 post? My love affair with its city parks deepened on the fourth day of our May visit. We began with another walk along the river; marmots and Canada geese shared the morning sunshine free of the rain from previous days. After a leisurely stroll, we hopped into the truck. The Crown Jewel of Spokane City Parks - Manito Park - awaited us across town.

In 1904, ninety-five acres of land was donated to the City of Spokane. Montrose Park was re-named, "Manito", a Native American word meaning "a supernatural force that pervades nature." After reveling in the glory of its gardens, I can tell you that the name choice is ideal!

Mirror Pond: I was struck by the appearance of a park nestled in a

residential area; I assume the homes were built AFTER the park.

Wouldn't you love to have this park across the street from your house?

For many years, Manito's main attractions were its exhibition gardens and small zoo. In 1912, a conservatory was added, followed by a three-acre sunken garden in 1913. Given that we were visiting Spokane in part for the Lilac Festival, it was fitting that the Lilac Garden at Manito was in top form. The variety and the aroma was almost too much for the senses to take in! Trust me that I took many more pictures than this, but you get only the best!

In 1912, John Duncan obtained 128 named lilac cultivars from Rochester, NY.

This marked the beginning of the Lilac Garden. Today, this garden contains well

over 100 named cultivars from 23 distinct species, making it one of the most

important lilac gardens in the west.

Japanese Garden

By its Centennial Celebration in 2004, numerous additions and improvements had been made. Additional signage was introduced throughout the park; pergolas in the Rose Garden, changes in the Japanese Garden and the gazebo in Duncan Gardens all enhance the setting.

The simplicity and serenity of a Japanese garden is soothing and always appeals to me on many levels - the colors, water features, bridges, stone work. It was only later, upon reading the garden brochure thoroughly, that I learned photography is not permitted in the Japanese garden. Oops.

After 12 years of planning, the Japanese garden became a reality in the spring of 1974.

Duncan Garden was originally called the Sunken Garden. The garden was designed in a formal European style

with bilateral symmetry, a central water feature and geometrical planting beds. I am sure later in the year it

would be stunning with the annuals in full bloom.

Today the park is one of the few in the nation with such a diverse horticultural display. Manito Park has a reputation as the primary garden showplace in Spokane and is toured by over 150,000 visitors every year. It's easy to see why, right?

Perennial Garden

By now we had worked up an appetite. As faithful readers know, we tend to seek out unique restaurants. And if it's been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", all the better. And if it serves all-day breakfast, it's a lock. The Satellite Diner and Lounge fit the profile, and we were not disappointed. Strong coffee, efficient staff, and a light sheen of grease in the air soon gave us to know we had chosen wisely. Even now my taste buds can recall this eminently satisfying dish!

I had "Hen Fruit on the Red River" - an egg on chili!!!

The rest of our day was spent attending the Spokane Lilac Festival Parade - but you'll have to wait for a future post to see glittering floats, pretty princesses and booming marching bands. Until then ...

Panorama of rock garden

Horse Chestnut Tree

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

My Hiking Journal - Entries 9 and 10

Whitefish River

It's been a while since I wrote a post about hiking ... so many other topics have crowded it out.

But it seems appropriate, now that temperatures are warming and only a few tiny islands of snow remain in the yard, to flash back to last summer with a double feature - kayaking AND hiking.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - Whitefish River - 10 miles

Our first kayaking trip ever on Whitefish River, we learned about the River while simultaneously gaining a general kayaking refresher.

One of the downsides of kayaking is water ... well, what I mean is - I can't have my camera (my phone) out all the time for fear of water damage or, worse yet, accidentally letting it join the fishies and river reeds. So generally, you will find fewer of my pictures in this and future posts about kayaking. (Taking a picture involves stopping on the shore, unhooking the waterproof bag, unrolling it and digging into the towel protecting the phones and car keys. You can see why Man with Hat might not want to do this every 5 minutes!)

Launch Point - Kay Beller Park (internet)

We launched our 2-person inflatable kayak near downtown Whitefish and paddled upstream to Whitefish Lake. It wasn't far, but our arms could definitely feel the current. Once pointed downstream, I felt like Superman freed from the grip of Kryptonite - strong!!! In Riverside Park, kids lined the pedestrian bridge, taking turns to jump or flip into the water below. (This only happens in the spring, when the river is high enough to offer a safe depth for jumping.)

Pedestrian Bridge (internet)

To escape the downtown area, the river flows underneath Spokane Avenue, via two massive culvert tunnels. This was a new one for us. Would we be able to navigate the return journey through the culvert? What if there were unseen obstacles in the tunnel? Fortunately, a couple of hard-sided kayaks floated by while we dithered, and passed through without mishap. So, we took a breath and entered the tunnel ... the water gathered itself into a strong current centered in the middle of the culvert, which pulled the kayak along. Quickly, we emerged into sunlight on the other side. But that same sunlight revealed a casualty - the fishing pole of Man with Hat was gone! It must have snagged on a willow branch while we pondered our course of action ... not an auspicious beginning to our kayaking season and a true downer for Man with Hat!

Putting aside our disappointment, we paddled on. The river reveals its true beauty once past Spokane Avenue. A female common merganser with 5 ducklings. Plentiful magpies and red-winged blackbirds. A footbridge with a picnic table under a gazebo. Canada Geese parents keeping careful watch over 7 goslings.

(Internet)

After some time, we turned the kayak back to the west (and the Superman effect rapidly disappeared). Paddle, paddle, and paddle some more. How can water that looks that calm have such a strong current? When we arrived back at the tunnels, we quickly concluded that we would not be able to propel our way through its current. Our only option was to portage up and over the road - I am sure we made an odd picture waddling awkwardly across the road with our bright yellow kayak!

We covered 10 miles in 4.5 hours; it was a valuable refresher, but losing a fishing pole, paddling up river and the portage were not experiences we wanted to repeat again in a hurry!

Monday, June 5, 2017 - Crater Notch Trail - 8 miles out and back

On the road again ... to nowhere. If you've been following my blog, you know that 25% of the time we have been thwarted with a planned hike, always due to snow. June 5 did not improve that record! As you can see in the picture below, the road to the Camp Misery trailhead (appropriate name!!!) was impassable beyond this point. Man with Hat maneuvered the car backwards quite a distance before he reached a point wide enough to turn around, and even then it was a 12-point turn!

That is Man with Hat in the distance, checking out the road.

Having packed all our gear for a lengthy hike, we weren't prepared to give up that easily, and opted for a nearby trail, a spur off the Broken Leg Trail we had seen on May 29 (follow this link for that post).

Crater Notch Trail earns its name from the 'notch' in the mountains that is revealed after 3000 feet of elevation gain, which ultimately leads the able hiker to Crater Lake. The trail has dense foliage, and given the rain the previous night, our boots and pants legs were soon drenched. (At the end of the hike, there was not much improvement.)

I found it curious that we did not see many flowers on this hike given the proximity of paradise we experienced on Broken Leg, the next ridge over. Upon reflection, it makes sense - the thick foliage does not allow for as much sun ... nevertheless, I spied a few newbies (for me).

Upper left - Baldhip Rose; Upper right and Center Left - Bead Lily

Center right - Bear Grass; Bottom - Broadleaf Arnica

As always, we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife, especially bears, but the most we saw of the four-legged creature was scat on the trail (picture not included!) We startled a pair of blue grouse; one flew into a tree but the other one ran ahead of us on the trail for quite a distance before he finally got fed up and scuttled into the bushes.

Man with Hat searching out the trail

After about four miles, we could get no further due to snow. Foiled again, Batman!

Imagine the irony when we arrived back at the trailhead and I took a closer look at the trail sign: This trail is normally free of snow by mid-May. Ha!

This spring and early summer we are likely to see comparable conditions since our region had snowfall akin to the previous winter. One of these seasons, we will learn which trails to avoid until later in the summer!