Farewell ...

After soaking up some 'Spring Rain' and 'GREEN' scenery ... we bid farewell to Squamish, British Columbia!!  **Murphy** had the sun shining and the temperatures soaring to +15C the day we left but that didn't matter!  We discovered 'Spring' and it was only a one hour flight away!!!

So with that, we left the Vancouver International Airport's greening tarmac and arrived back home!  Yup, to snow, winter ridden Alberta!  

Half Nelson

There was still some rain today but that didn't stop my lil' farm boys from heading up the mountain and riding the Half Nelson mountain bike trail with their Aunt and Uncle while their Mom babysat their wee cousin.  

I only caught a glimpse of the trail near the end later in the day but hopefully, next time I can see my boys in action.  It sounds like Alberta farm boys know how to tear up the mountain bike trails!

Embracing Rain

Rain on the West Coast???  Hmm... better than snow on the prairies (at least during Springbreak).   So with that, we embraced the rain along with Shannon Falls and Alice Lake.

Colour!

 

I like when we can find Spring colours.

The Escape!

Winter arrived back on the prairies for the boys' Spring break.  Lucky for them, this Mom had a surprise trip planned for us to visit family out on the West Coast!!!  Spring is not at home but we've found it out here.  See you all in a few days!

On The Run

The sun was shining but the breeze was brisk!  That didn't stop these two from being full of giggles and energy!  The forecast is for more SNOW arriving sometime later Tuesday!  I guess, we will enjoy the sun while we can and search for Spring thereafter!  

The Weekend

Saturday, March 22, 2014:  The Snow Line

Although plenty of snow disappeared before the official arrival of 'Spring,' the snow line has the Rough-legged Hawks slowly moving north and the Snowy Owls waiting patiently!  Both of these Arctic-nesting birds are certainly accustomed to the 'tug-o-war' game between Winter and Spring.  Lucky for us, we get to admire them for a few more days (or weeks dare I say) before the snow line retracts North and they migrate on!  

(We were fortunate to have spotted 4 Snowy Owls on our travels!)

Sunday, March 23, 2014:  Warm Rays ... COLD Temperatures!

Brrr ... now a few weeks ago, -14C would have felt rather balmy but this recent blast of COLD feels colder!  Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, for I see those warm looking rays of sunshine and just expect them to actually hold warmth!!!  

Passing Through

The sunshine returned but the 'warmth' did NOT!  The last I checked, we had warmed up to a balmy -10C (and there was still the addition of windchill!)  UGH!  I had to dig out the long underwear and snow pants AGAIN (not that they were truly put away)!  I'm not sure who is more in shock of the latest blast of cold ... the humans or the animals?  This beautiful coyote was passing through and made a pitstop at one of our livestock waterers ... the sloughs and puddles are frozen once again!  

Spring Equinox Eh?

So here we are ... SPRING!  You have officially arrived and somehow, you stuck your head in the ground and let Winter strike once again!  

Shocked ... NO!  Tis' Spring time on the Alberta Prairie!  

(Blogger is driving me CRAZY, as its darkening some of my images once again when I upload them!  Grrr ... I wish I could figure out WHY!!!  These images are NOT this dark!)

The temperature wasn't too bad initially but eventually the melting snow became ICE and the temperature started to plummet!  

These prairie gals headed for shelter and while I was out checking on the remainder of the livestock crew, I stumbled across a small flock of Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris)!  Often thrown in the 'Sparrow' category because its hard to differentiate them from sparrows when they are on the fly, Horned Larks have very melodic voices that resonate out of the fields!  Watching them snuggle down in the canola stubble and snow certainly made me wish I could hand each of them a little wool scarf!  Somehow ... I think they are tougher than me!

I adore their little 'horns!' 

The Tonka trucks that were played with the day before sat motionless today!  Judging by the forecast, it might be a few more days before the boys think of 'hauling' anything with them!  The forecast is for -25C with the windchill!  After a couple of days of +10 and several days of +6C or +8C ... -17C + windchill is a rather cruel way to officially start Spring!  The bright side ... I spotted my first hawk of the season!  Soaring way up high, a beautiful Roughed-legged Hawk!  

So there you have it ... the first official day of Spring on my little piece of the prairies and the first official day of Seasons 365 - Year Four!  When I started this 365 project, I truly didn't know if I would make it the first year ... let alone three and starting on four!  So, thank you for following and for all of your wonderful comments along the way! I truly appreciate it!   

Haul It Away!

So here it is!!!  The LAST day of Winter and the last day of Seasons 365 Year Three!  I found it rather appropriate to see the Tonka trucks in action ... hauling the snow to a puddle!  This line up of Tonka equipment has worked through all four seasons every year since the boys were little (the boys each received their dump trucks when they were born!)  Trust me when I say "they've seen a lot of miles!"

Over the past week, we've certainly enjoyed Spring-like weather!  The snow is giving away to the prairie ground and Spring officially arrives tomorrow morning!  Fingers crossed it actually arrives ... hmm, SNOW is in the forecast!  (SHOCKING!!!  Haha!)

Seeing Things

Now I know certain birds, like the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), are keen on returning to our wonderful part of the world each Spring BUT usually this little shorebird holds off until at least April!  Hence, when I saw the little scurry of feet down by this slough, I was certain my eyes were seeing things!  Huh?  I guess not ... there are TWO!  Surely this is a sign that SPRING must be here!!!  Fingers crossed that this little pair of Killdeer make it thru the next month!  For some reason, I just know 'Old Man Winter' won't let us ... or them, off that easy!