Johnston Canyon, Alberta

After a pleasant lunch at Chateau Lake Louise, we accepted the invitation to join some others at Johnston Canyon. I'd been to Johnston Canyon at least once before, but only in summer with the hoards of tourists. I remembered it as a narrow, deep tree lined canyon and was pretty worried about having any light at all. But we had tripods, and no other place in mind, so onward we did go. Boy am I glad we did. I must say that it is at least as pretty in winter, and no where near as crowded! I was surprised by the fact that the water was still not completely frozen over,

and mesmerized by the lovely glacial colors of the icicles on the canyon walls.

There were interesting detail shots to be had as well. I spotted the repeating shapes of the snow, ice and rocks in the open water.

The color of water contrasted beautifully against the canyon at the Lower Falls.

There is a small tunnel through the rock that takes you close up to the Lower Falls, and it is very much worth crouching through. This is a 2 shot hand held vertical pano, made after blending 3 exposures for each of the two shots.

(One of the guys with us took a shot from pretty much the same place, with his Android. It made me wonder why I'd carried my backpack and gear!)

The detail of the ice  and water running under it was really lovely.

We were running out of what little daylight there was, and so didn't explore the upper falls this trip. Next time! This is a definite must do (and easy to do) hike during the winter, should you find yourself in Banff National Park some day.

We ended our day with some warm refreshments at the Banff Springs. Beautiful setting, all gussied up for Christmas. Sadly, no photos as I left the camera in the car!

Photowalk Thursday: Snowy Owls at Beaver Hill Lake

Beaverhill Lake Heritage Rangelands is another easy day trip east of Edmonton, just past Tofield, and we often combine it with a trip to Elk Island National Park. The lake is large but shallow in most places, the hiking trails  are flat and easy and  there's a bird observatory on site. This is a renowned birding location, especially during the spring and fall migrations.

It's also a great place to spot snowy owls in the winter! January and February 2012 were wonderful times to go birding, as the weather was mild AND there was a snowy owl population explosion! We found snowy owls all around the lake, spotting 7 different birds one day. We came across the same adult bird on the southwest edge of the park on two different days. He was a very, very cooperative model.

We also encountered a group of migrating hawks - these guys were actually on their way to the arctic for the summer already! They were not so cooperative for the camera. 

Did you know that male snowy owls start life with barred feathers, and as they age they lose the bars and become white? Females and juveniles have barred feathers. 

We also came across this beautiful Great Horned Owl while hiking the paths near the bird observatory. Notice how he's sharing his branch with a chickadee?

The secret to seeing birds when you are out for a nature walk or country drive is to look up! And watch for unusual shapes or colors on fence posts and telephone poles!

Wintery Wednesday

This is what is happening in my world today. Much, much (much) too early.

Snow does often lend itself to some pretty photo ops though.

Hopefully this will be short lived, brief, a fleeting moment.