The dock houses in this photo float on pontoons out in the lake.  In the summer you can rent a boat and head out on the lake to fish.  Today was very windy and for the first time I saw a large "snow devil" from the car - kind of like a dust devil.  Snow swirls all the time but this one was 10 meters high with nice funnel shape.

Young Ram Foraging in Snow

I haven't seen much wildlife lately so even though sheep are pretty common I stopped and photographed this young fellow near the road to Lake Minnewanka in Banff.

Catching some Air

This guy and his buddy were taking turns jumping off of a small home-made ramp below the road up Mount Norquay.  One would climb the hill up to the road, then take off down and over the ramp while the other photographed from below.  Looked like fun to me....

Cat Tails

Finally, back out in the mountains again.  This is Vermillion Lakes at a spot where I photographed a Red-winged Blackbird last year.  I walked out on the frozen lake to take the shot, whereas last year I was up on the bank to the left.

Farm Implements, a Sculpture

A sculpture on Princes Island.

Snowy Calgary

It has been snowing in Calgary and when it gets to a certain temperature we just don't feel much like getting out.  Last week we were up to 50 deg F, now we are down to -2 deg F.  Even this statue in downtown Calgary looks cold.

Islands in the Clouds

Flying back up the coast from Seattle to Vancouver and then across to Calgary today I was struck by the way the mountains protruded through the clouds.  They looked like islands with fog rolling in.

You Tube Symphony Orchestra

It is too cold to go out and take photographs so here is one I took back in the summer of 2009.  I understand it was published today alongside an article in the Houston Chronicle which you can read here.

Of course the real story isn't my photograph, it is that David made the You Tube Symphony Orchestra and will get a free trip to Australia to play in the Sydney Opera House.  There are 97 members in the orchestra and 4 soloists from 30 countries around the world - pretty tough competition. To get into the orchestra each applicant posted an audition to You Tube which was then judged - you can see David's audition here.  And one more link - here is David's write-up with the San Antonio Symphony (I took that photo too).

Year of the Rabbit ( 兔 )

It is cold outside.  It was down to about -20 deg. C over the weekend.  Anything lower than -15 C is cold in my book.  Especially if it is windy, and last weekend was windy.  Anyway, that is why there were no nature pictures last week.

So what about the picture above?  It is a gift from my good friend Hatta-san in Japan to Megan.  Each year he sends me a small display representing the animal for the Chinese lunar year and each year I give it to Megan.  Clearly this is the year of the rabbit.  Thank you Hatta-san!

Cold Duck

It wasn't that cold today, in fact it was above freezing, but you couldn't tell that from this mallard drake and hen hanging out by the lagoon on Princes Island.

Vermillion Lakes (again)

Vermillion Lakes is mostly frozen except where the springs are.  There were kite skaters out on the lake today.

Back to the Mountains

There was a group of about 10 elk bulls today in the meadow below Cascade Mountain near the road to Two Jack Lake enjoying the sun.  If you look closely you can see them lazing around just in front of the trees below.

The top photo was taken with a 400mm lens and the bottom one with a 24mm lens from roughly the same location.

Brrrr...

It is snowy and a bit colder than Barcelona or Houston in Calgary.  This was the approach to Calgary airport.

A Room with a View

A last shot from Barcelona - this was our hotel room.  I meant to take more photographs here but I got a tummy bug a few days back.  I think I got some bad squid...

More Antoni Gaudí

A Gaudí castle guards the entrance to the Park Güell.

Barceloneta

The Barcelona subway is clean and efficient.

Santa Spotted in Spain

Every year I try to spot Santa, no matter where I am.  Here he is in 2010, coming out of a 2nd floor window in a Catalonian tapas bar in Barcelona on Christmas Day.  Poor guy, must have been a rough year.

For those who don't know what tapas are, una tapa en España es un aperitivo que se sirve en algunos bares o restaurantes acompañando a la bebida (alcohólica o no).  Es muy delicioso.

Sagrada Família

The ceiling, and in fact the entire Sagrada Família, are incredibly organic in spite of the ornate quality.  The Sagrada Família is the architectural gem of a city full of magnificent buildings.  The work of the architect, Antoni Gaudí, must be seen to be fully appreciated, and this, his most famous work is still under construction.

Sheep near Exshaw

Sheep on the side of a mountain near Exshaw.

Lake Louise

A bush with Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier in the background.

Castle Mountain

This is Castle Mountain from the bridge over the Bow River at Castle Junction.  We saw two groups of sheep between Exshaw and Canmore, and a coyote at Lake Vermillion.  There were elk at the old air field in Banff and a Clark's Nutcracker in the parking lot at Lake Louise.

Coyotes outside Canmore

This large Coyote was near the road above Canmore.  There was a smaller female nearby and I got her picture too.

Santa

Being this close to the North Pole, we see Santa more than most people I think.  Here he is starting down a chimney in Canmore.

Earlier this week I saw Santa leaning out of an airplane equipped with skis for snow.  I think he was scouting out the Calgary area for those naughty or nice.  I've been nice for the most part.  I was afraid that there might be a crash here but he pulled out of it.

Moose at Black Prince Lake

We were on snow shoes again today, this time on the trail to the Black Prince Cirque.  This cow moose was near the trail at the small lake at the end of the trail.  She was pawing and snooting in the snow for food and not particularly concerned about people.  Last winter I saw one while on cross country skis but couldn't get a photo.  This one was happy enough to pose.

It was pretty cold today, around -6 F, -21 C.  When it gets this cold it starts to get hard for me to stay comfortable.  Fortunately there was no wind today.

I've been taking photographs with a new camera, basically a hopped up point and shoot, the Canon S95.  It has a larger sensor, will shoot in manual, has a fast lens, shoots in raw, etc. but it isn't a replacement for a good DSLR in my book.  It is a LOT easier to carry though.  The color balance on this shot was awful and I had to spend a fair amount of time in Photoshop fixing it.  And the battery didn't hold up too long in the cold.

I also took the picture of the coyote and the Santas with the little Canon S95

Rummel Lake

On the hike back from Rummel Lake.

Mt. Galatea

The good thing about snow shoes is you can really get deep into the back country even, in heavy snow.  The bad thing about snow shoes is you can really get far back into the back counrty, even in heavy snow.  Mt. Galatea, in the background, is a 3185 meter high peak.  Frozen Rummel Lake is at the edge of the trees in the foreground.

Elk Herd

This herd of elk was grazing on marshy land adjacent to Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park.

Ice Climbers

Upper Johnson Canyon Falls

Snow Shoes

This photo was taken in Kananaskis on the Sawmill loop.  This was our first time on snow shoes and we had a good time.  The weather was perfect, just a few degrees below freezing, with blue skies and very little wind.  It was only a 6 km hike but it was easier than I thought it would be on a good trail.  If you wandered off into deeper snow the factor of difficulty went up a lot....

That is Aspen our guide in front, Teresa is behind and to the right.

Mule Deer Buck

A large buck grazing in the camping area at Waterton from a few weeks back....