Bumper crops

Not exactly a crop but we certainly seem to be having a "bumper" year for buffalo.  I don't have a lot of history to pull from but there seem to be a lot more baby buffalo than I remember seeing last year. I actually saw about 15 babies or so in one rather small herd.  Way more babies than grown ups.

 

Too cute!  

...but they really don't look much like mommy or daddy, which is likely why Melanie (lovely lady from work) refers to them as the red-headed step children.

I'm not sure if it's a sign of aggression when they roll in the dirt or rub the trees or if they are just scratching an itch.  I tend to think its a subtle hint that I've taken enough pictures; you may be feeling the same way.  I just think they are so unusual. I am also afraid to say that these won't likely be my last buffalo pictures to be posted.

Buffalo are still herd animals though and fairly skittish.  I just gently waved my arm at Charlie and this guy "high tailed it" outta there.  I never thought about that phrase much before, but now I can see it's based in truth.

Thankfully he was running the other way, because holy crap he was fast...and these very large animals

As you can see from these pictures and the wild eyed ones above...they do some pretty funny things.

Play Dates :)

If you know me you have definitely heard me say how much I wanted to take an encaustic painting course. Well, I finally got my chance.  Our local Museum hosted a 3 day workshop with Encaustic Painter Lorna Kemp. This is Lorna doing a little demo.

You can see, I'm a bit excited as we get ready to start!

Some of the tools of the trade and fellow participants as we dive in...

 

And voila, here are a few of my creations.

 

I love the dimension you can get...

And of course, I still like rusty things, so friends, if you see rusty nails etc. laying around, be sure to save them for me.

 

 I think, I'm addicted!

Angry Birds

I really don't know where this phenomenon comes from, but I've seen the t-shirts.

Here's my real life version...Angry Ptarmigan  

Let's talk about ssssssssssssex baby!

Believe it or not, up in this neck of the woods, the annual emergence and sex-capades of the local garter snakes is a must see event.  I was too late to catch the action last year and almost missed it again this year.

Careful now don't let any wee ones see these pictures...they're a bit naughty.

 

Hunting her down!

Honoured

I am proud to say that no matter how long I stay in Fort Smith, a little piece of me will always remain.  For those of you who know me, you can relax...I have not accidentally chopped off a finger.

A while back a request was put out for photos of Fort Smith and the surrounding area and wildlife.  I sent off a few pictures not thinking any more about it.  A few weeks back my friend Linda, took me out to the airport to see there new display.

Four photos had been chosen and mine was one of them.  Check it out.  The Northern lights are from another member of our photography club, Linda took the Pelican and the Rapids photos and mine is the buffalo family.

It's a great display and looks really good.  I was worried about mine, since the resolution wasn't that great, but it turned out okay.

It makes me feel pretty proud to see this display, especially since I still have no idea what I'm doing with my camera!

It's a long way...to anywhere

The warmer weather has finally arrived and with it longer days.  What that means to me, is that there might actually be life outside of work.  It's very hard to motivate yourself to get out and do something when it's pitch black by the time you get to go home.  After a long hard day on my feet, my sofa looks way too inviting to even consider anything else.

I went on a bit of a road trip a couple of weeks ago and ended up in High Level, Alberta.  I haven't quite figured out why they call it "High" Level, since it appears to be flat for as far as the eye can see. In order to get there we had to dip below the 60th Parallel, which of course presented a little photo op.

Most of the buffalo and bear still seam to be inland and the few you come across are quite skittish and run away before you can get much of a picture.

On another road trip I ended up in a place called Peace Point. Peace is a definite understatement.  After about a 1 1/2 hour drive we arrived...to pretty much nothing.  a couple boarded up houses, a field full of Buffalo droppings along with a smattering of spring flowers, and a river below.  That's about it.

Heading back we saw a few buffalo with their new babies, but they were long gone before I could snap off a decent picture.

There is a whole lot of open space up here.