Nature in the City – Saskatoons are in bloom this week
Saskatoon trees are in bloom this week. The name of this tree (well, more of a shrub) derives from the Cree noun ‘misâskwatômina’. The city of Saskatoon is named after the berry. Have you ever tried the Saskatoon berry pie? Delicious. I took a few images you see here as part of the NatureCity Festival that starts today. Over 40 organizations are taking part in setting up nature-related events. The NatureCity Festival is one week of free family fun that takes place in neighbourhoods across the city of Saskatoon. It is the inaugural event of Wild about Saskatoon, a...
Read MoreNature in the City – spring has arrived to Saskatoon
After a few days of unseasonably warm weather, signs of spring are everywhere: robins are busy looking for earthworms in my backyard and the elm trees in front of my house are slowly releasing new leaves. I went for a walk along the South Saskatchewan River and managed to photograph prairie crocuses at Petturson’s Ravine. It is so strange to be able to still see them in May. A very late season this year. Here are a few images from the project to photograph elements of Urban Nature for a series of lectures that I will be presenting during the NatureCity Festival (May 25 – 31,...
Read MoreNature in the City – birds along the edge of ice
I can not believe that we have had winter conditions in Saskatoon for over 6 months. This is the longest period of continuous snow cover that I can remember. Finally, we experienced a day or two of warm weather last week and the ice cover on South Saskatchewan River started to rapidly melt away. I decided to walk along the river bank and try to photograph birds that started to congregate along the ice edge. My goal was to capture interesting patterns including birds at the edge of flowing river and ice. This is not my usual photography taken at the edge of daylight – sunrise &...
Read MoreSolitary Canada Goose at Wanuskewin
Solitary Canada Goose on the banks of Opimihaw Creek. Canada Geese nest in the vicinity of Wanuskewin and can be seen almost all year round (except in the middle of winter when any open water and South Saskatchewan River are frozen solid) . I photographed this goose in early May along the Opimihaw creek running through the park. Vegetation was still brown and I like how brown shoots of grass frame the bird. Back to the Wanuskewin Heritage Park photo gallery.
Read MoreBison viewing in Grasslands National Park
This post is coming with a slight delay – I have been quite busy preparing for the photography trip to Iceland. In mid May I went to the Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan. After a week of rain, the vegetation was starting to look really green. There was so much moisture in the air that a thick layer of fog cloaked the Frenchman River Valley and provided some great photography opportunities. My buddy Larry captured me in action one morning, a tiny person in a vast open prairie. In addition to new moisture, sloughs and dugouts were quite full of water remaining from last year....
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