Snow, Moose and Birdy Buddy!

Snow, Cows and Calves, and Our Birdy Buddly!

The other night Old Man Winter came tip-toeing through the Spray Lake Valley and painted the mountains sides with a cool, crisp coating of white!  We woke to snow very low on the hillside and later in the day as we drove down to Boulton Creek for supplies, the snow was on the ground.  It was beautiful.  The trees were frosted with white and the air was so fresh…it really did make us believe that our time here is coming to a close for the year.  We’ll be sorry to leave (September 15^th is our last day) but will be happy to carry on with whatever new adventures come our way.

I drove down to Mt. Engadine early this morning to see if the moose were about yet.  We often will see moose on the road or as in a week or so ago, swimming in the lake, but my favourite place to see them is at Mt. Engadine.  The meadow there is open and great for viewing and the mountains behind make for wonderful picture taking.  This morning was all about cows and calves.  I saw a momma and baby on the road on the way down but didn’t get any pictures.  Then as I arrived, there was a single cow and another momma and calf near the road.  I drove in and parked near the meadow and waited…sure enough, the momma and baby decided to come down and grace me with their presence.  They are so beautiful…I don’t know why I love seeing them so much.  I think I like them even more than the elusive grizzly bears.  This momma was so fat and healthy looking and her baby was getting pretty big.  Another few months and you won’t be able to tell who is momma and who is baby.  Notice the frost on the grass and trees…yes, it’s definitely getting cold here!  The moose like to come to the meadow because there is some kind of mineral in the soil that they like to lick.  Momma and baby stayed for about half an hour and then headed into the bush just as the sun was peeking over the mountainside and brightening up the meadow.   A few more weeks when autumn truly arrives as does the moose mating season, there will be plenty of bulls in the meadow too.

We have a visitor in our campsite.  I don’t really know why he’s decided to stay with us, why he’s so friendly or even if he is truly a “he”.  This little guy has been hopping around the campsite for the past week or so.  He’s not afraid of us and actually likes to torment Oso.  He’s hopped within a foot of Oso’s nose while he’s been sleeping on the patio and it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.  Oso on the other hand, would love to at least get a good sniff and see whether this visitor is worth making friends with.  I managed to get a decent picture of him finally when he hopped up onto a branch that we have lashed to a tree.  He’s a cute little fellow isn’t he!

I mentioned earlier that winter seems to be on its way here in the Rocky Mountains and to prove it, some of the plants and leaves are now turning colour.  I think these are called “rockets” and have purple flowers on them through the summer.  They seem to be the first to turn colour and are now a deep rich red.  This one still has last night’s frost clinging to its leaves.  The poplar leaves are just beginning to turn their golden yellow colour.  A few more frosty nights and we’ll be ablaze with autumn colour up here.  It will be time for us to go soon too…I’ve got mixed feelings about that.  With any luck, we’ll be able to come back next year and enjoy this amazing wilderness once again!