Fall

You know when all of those leaves fall off the trees and it's that in between phase of fall slowly turning to winter? That little window is kind of depressing to me. But boy oh boy when the light is right you can find so much beauty if you look for it.

Here are some pictures that I have taken in the past couple of days.

The snow is currently falling and it looks like a winter wonderland out there. The first couple of snowfalls are always so exciting. Can't wait to take some wintery photos.

Bison, Bears & Moose... Oh My

Jon took Willow & I down the backroads to go look for bears. His supervisor had seen a cinnamon bear and a black bear with cubs that day and Jon had seen a black bear with cubs, so I was so excited to go on a "bear hunt". We drove all the way to the bison enclosure and didn't see one animal besides bunnies and the bison of course. By the time we got to the bison the lighting was dreamy.

I love what the gravel and wind did to this image

It was such a sweet surprise to see some little babes roaming about. I made Jon drive us around some more because I was determined to see some bears. We finally saw one just when we were going to call it a night yayayayayyaaaaa. We are so lucky! After I saw the beauty I was hooked. I had to go for another drive the very next eve.

Willow and I hopped in the car and saw quite a few moose which I LOVE, but I have bears on my mind. It's so pathetic that I actually search so hard that my eyes get sore haha. 

The moose and deer are pretty skinny after a rough, long winter

I went to the same spot where I saw the momma bear the night before and sure enough there she was, chomping down pounds and pounds of grass. I sat and watched her for a good half hour until Willow decided it was time to go. I saw one of her cubs trying desperately to climb a tree but it just kept falling. So stinking cute. The momma would go up the hill and nudge the baby back down. I think it was bed time. She was such a good momma and would run to the top of hill at any little sound her babes would make. I was just mesmerized by her.  I didn't get a good view of the cubs as they were to high up.

I love when they sniff the air

I was so happy I got to see her again. As I was driving back home I decided I wanted to go and snap a couple of shots of the lake. I was just about to pull over when out of nowhere this huge monster comes barreling out of the woods.

I don't know who was more scared, him or I. I stared him down and grabbed my camera to sneak a couple of shots. When I went to drive off he went running off into the woods but kept his eye on me. Needless to say my lake shots were going to have to wait.

"Bear hunting" is my new favourite pass time. If I came across this big boy and the mama with her cubs outside of my car I don't think I would enjoy my hobby as much.

Frosty Spring

All of your outdoor Spring photo's have me just a tad jealous. This is the Winter that just does not want to end! I am not much for complaining so I am keeping a positive attitude by enjoying the beauty that this lingering frost does provide. We still have those long days and the beautiful light, a chilly Spring can be beautiful too...

My neighbours out for a stroll

The lake is still very snow covered

So happy the first shop in town is open for the season!

This little gal was creeping in my window

Plus 10

I don't mean to toot my own horn here but you are reading the blog of an animal whisperer. I am soooo good at spotting wild animals and am overly obsessed with them and could watch them forever. Don't be confused though, as much as I love them, I am totally scared out of my mind of them. I would not want to be walking by myself and see a lynx, cougar, wolf, bear, coyote or any other type of carnivorous animal of the wild type. I would totally panic and probably pee in my pants. I live in a National Park and probably always will, I need to get over this fear of being by myself outside. I seriously am terrified of letting my dogs out at night. Embarrassing, I know. There is something about Moose though. They don't freak me out. Maybe it's because I see them more than any other animal (besides deer). I probably should be scared of them as I witnessed one charge J in our front yard and have heard some pretty freaky stories of others being charged, but Moose are my homies. I am in love.

J & I have a pretty nerdy wicked competition going on. We have a point system for who sees a wild animal first. I was kicking his hiney harrrrd. Until this day....

I spotted this beauty from afar. She was spooked easily and ran into the forest pretty quickly. Either way she was considered a plus two.

And then it wasn't even a minute later when J said "Shhhhh, look".

And this beauty was watching us while soaking in the sun.

 She did not even flinch when she saw us. She was soaking up that warm sun and chomping on her sweet cud, right beside us!

J definitely got a plus 10 for this find. Ugh he is in the lead.

Yes, this is how you must keep yourself entertained when you see more animals than people on a regular basis. ;P

Winter Fun With Jaye

I am always saying how we moved here at the worst time. Everything is shut down for the winter and everyone's summer homes sit here looking so sad. They just hang out and yearn for winter to be over and summer to begin so they have their owners fill them with love, laughter, warmth, and life. Yes, I am overly sensitive and get sad for abandoned homes, ghost towns, trees that sit all by themselves, fallen leaves (even though they look so pretty) etc, but let's not even get into that :p.

I really don't have much to complain about because we have been so busy with visitors and visiting. It's making this winter fly by! I love it. We still haven't met any friends here besides Les and Mark (Mark is moving though) but that's ok because our old friends are awesome and we get to hang out with them a lot!

My best friend Jaye came out here for a weekend and it was so nice to have girl time.

I took her to a house concert at a B&B close by. Have you ever been to a house concert? Talk about intimate. It's so nice that a local place hosts these four times a year. You bring your own booze, bring a snack to share and everyone cozes into the living room and listens to some awesome music. That night they were featuring Red Moon Road.

They are a wicked Manitoban band and play a good diverse mix of tunes. Check em' out http://www.redmoonroad.com/

They had some fun winter activities going on this winter. It's so weird even seeing a couple of people out and about as it doesn't happen often. You forget that people actually live here besides us and tourists just stopping by for the day. 

I like partaking in any kind of eating activity

Instead of walking on the nice snow plowed roads, J likes to take us on adventures.

A couple of locals slept in the "snow hotel" that weekend. It was very cozy

My tallest friend and my two shortest friends

Jaye enjoying some delicious hot chocolate in the warm up shack

Willow's first sleigh ride

Jaye looks especially cute in this picture

Not pictured: Wine, gossip, wedding talk, major relaxation, & tea

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

We had a big snowstorm last weekend and about 20cm fell. I LOVE the "feeling" of a good thunderstorm or blizzard. That feeling of being forced to coze out by the fire and hibernate in the safety of your home with your family and watch the chaos ensue outside. Willow and I cuddled up with a fuzzy blankie and a whole bunch of stuffy's, while J gets too restless and does crazy things like walk the dogs in a snow storm. I don't even think its considered walking at that point, more like going into battle, and getting your ass kicked by wind & snow. Not fun! Although I pulled a crazy and had to get some photo's of the snow. I got punched in the face a dozen times by the wind and unfortunately the pics just didn't do the storm justice.

The snow coverage is unreal for skiing now though. The trails are already all groomed up and I had a great ski today :)

The dogs appear to be getting a whooping