Photos of the Week

The jackrabbits have finally lost their white winter coats. Up till recently they still had a lot of white. I wonder what triggers their color change - length of day, temperature? Will they adjust to climate change? This one seems to have made it through the winter with no notches in its ears from frostbite.

I always like to see the larches flowering. If the flowers were bigger they'd be quite showy. But they are small enough that I don't think most people notice them at all. They get three kinds of buds at the same time - the new needles, the pink flowers which are female, and the other less showy buds that are the male flowers. The pink flowers become large "pine" cones, and the male flowers become smaller cones. It's interesting how the flowers are surrounded by new needles as well.

The aspen flowers are out all the way now.

The willow by the Innovation Place pond is not as far along. These buds look a bit like miniature corn cobs.

This smaller shrub's catkins were out though.

And last year's bulrushes are slowly disintegrating.

It's nice to hear the birds singing in the morning as the sun rises earlier and earlier.

Print of the Week

Another Spring Walk

It isn't exactly cherry blossoms, but I'm still happy to see the trees flowering.

And the geese looking for places to nest.

And hopefully the last of the ice photos for this winter.

This Mourning Cloak butterfly was more cooperative than the previous one. It might have been a little sluggish from the cold of the snow. It seemed like a strange place to choose to land.

This one was cruising up and down the back alley. I'm not sure if it was looking for food or mates.

This Ring-billed gull caught a crayfish. The crayfish put up a brave fight. When the gull put it down on the sand it reared up and waved its claws in the air. But a few stabs by the gull's beak and that was the end of the crayfish.

It was funny because earlier on my walk I had been thinking about how years ago I used to see a lot of crayfish claws and remains on the river shore. I was wondering if they were still around in the increasingly polluted river. I always assumed it was probably the gulls getting them, but I hadn't seen a gull actually catch one before. Clam/mussel shells also used to be common on the shore. I would guess  it was raccoons getting them. Nowadays it's mostly garbage on the shore - plastic bags, disposable cups, straws, and masks.

Crocuses

The crocuses have started flowering in the warm weather.

As one of the first flowers of spring, the bees and flies and other insects are always attracted to the crocuses. This fly, with its pale head and wide spread eyes was a new one to me.

I wonder how long the crocuses will last in the city. They are not very tolerant of disturbance and the river bank sees more and more people and dogs. And the authorities are mowing more and more of what used to be a relatively natural area. It will be sad to see them go.

Spring Wanders

It's always a joy to see life returning after our sterile winters. This house sparrow looks like a tight fit in the birdhouse. Usually it's smaller house wrens that use them.

I usually see our neighborhood squirrel about half a block down the alley, but occasionally it comes to visit our bird feeder. (Or at least I assume it's the same one.)

I've never noticed these seeds before. My first thought was that they looked a bit like milkweed, but I think they are Spreading Dogbane. (related to milkweed) There were lots of them along the river. I'm curious how the flowers turn into these long thin pods packed full of seeds.

Usually the first butterflies I see and photograph in the spring are Mourning Cloaks. This year it was something different. I think this is a Comma butterfly. I'm not sure which one.

I did see a few Mourning Cloaks as well, but they weren't cooperative.

The crocuses are continuing to emerge. The flowers should open soon if the weather stays warm.

In the winter it's mostly Common Goldeneye's on the river, but they are soon replaced by Mallards in the spring.

Of course, the Richardson's Ground Squirrels (aka "gophers") are out and about. I haven't seen any young ones yet, but they should be coming out soon.

This time of year, the geese and ducks gather on the island above the weir. This is often where I spot the pelicans first, but no sign of them yet.

The trees are starting to flower. They may not be what most people think of as "flowers" but I enjoy them.

And a parting shot of one of our ubiquitous geese.

Ice

With spring around the corner, taking photos of the ice is a bit more palatable. (If the blizzard had been a few days later it would have made a great April Fools joke!)

And of course, some abstracts.

Canada Geese

There are lots of geese returning for the summer. Some of them stay all winter, but there are a lot more in the summer.

This time of year there is more squabbling amongst the pairs of geese. These two pairs were quite peaceful until they got a little too close.

Even after they separated they were "yelling" at each other. The large pink tongue always seems slightly incongruous.

Quiet again, but still vigilant.

Some of the geese just seemed to be waiting for spring to truly arrive.

The sun was bright on the snow, so I went with a high key look on this image.

Here They Come

After almost six months of winter, we're all desperate for spring, including the crocus flowers. I always expect leaves before flowers, but these guys are flowers first. As soon as the snow is gone (or even before) they are pushing flowers up into the sunshine. (Some trees also flower before they produce leaves.)

We're supposed to have snow tomorrow, but it won't hurt these guys. They'll just appreciate the moisture when it melts.

Prints of the Week

These were from Mexico in February. I take the majority of my photos when I'm traveling. But with no travel since Covid, I'm running out of 2020 photos I want to print. Of course, I've got plenty from other years I can use.

Running Update

I've never been a big fan of winter running, but if you just get out and do it, it's not that bad. This has been my best running winter so far. The snow arrived fairly early (November), and it took me a month or so to get used to running on it. But since then, my pace has been much the same as it was in the fall, which I find surprising since winter running is generally slower.

Amazingly, December was my highest mileage month (215 km). I haven't gone over 20 km on my weekly long runs, but I'm still managing to average over 50 km per week. My main runs are 10, 10, and 20 km, plus I'll add in a couple more short 5 km runs. Covid has helped - since I'm home all the time, it's easy to get in some extra short runs. In the past, this amount of running would have been hard on me, and I would have needed occasional recovery weeks. But it hasn't seemed bad at all. Nothing hurts (touch wood) and I don't feel tired out. My legs were a little sore when the snow first arrived, but that has passed. 

It's interesting looking back at my runs. Up till September I was sticking faithfully to my three runs a week. But since October I've gone to 4 or 5 runs a week without any problems. By the end of the summer I'd phased out my remaining run-walk I'd been using for the longer runs. All in all, it seems like things are going really well.

The weather has actually been pretty nice for Saskatchewan. We've had a few weeks around -20c, but mostly it's been -10c or warmer, which is great. The warmer weather has meant some icier conditions from freezing rain and melt-freeze. I bought some spiked shoes in the fall and although I don't find them as comfortable as my various Altras, they work great in slippery conditions.

It always takes a while when the seasons change to get your clothing systems figured out. Winter is tough to dress for. No matter what, some parts of you are going to be too cold at some point (with me, that's usually my hands), and other parts will be too hot. When it gets cold enough to need some serious layers, it's impossible for them to breath well enough and you get wet from sweating. Luckily, running works my feet enough that I don't have any problems with them getting cold.

Most years I taper off in the winter, and then it takes a while to get back into it in the spring. I'm hoping if I can keep it up for the whole winter that I'll be ready to go in the spring.

Photo of the Day

Another sunrise from my home office.

Photo of the Day