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canada general

pine marten

pinemarten
This little beastie was one of a few that’s been trapped around work recently, living in the nice warm buildings. It’s really an American Marten, rather than a Pine Marten, and it was surprisingly placid compared to some of the others that are trapped. Rather than snarling and biting, he just sat there licking the cage.

They’re little omnivores, and according to wikipedia, they catch and eat squirrels (I stand by my belief that Canadian wildlife is much more alarming than Australian wildlife). As well as frogs and fish and fruit and whatever else they can find laying about.

And the random fact I always think of when I see one [SPOILER WARNING]: if you’ve read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, a pine marten is what Lyra’s daemon ends up becoming as his final form.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Categories
canada general

sunny saturday

 

 

Canmore, from the top of Ha Ling Peak. Note the suspiciously snow-free mountains. It was really warm and calm until we neared the ridge line too – hardly a patch of snow to be seen on the ground.

There was a bit more snow to the south though.
 

 

Categories
canada general snow

a wintery day on the icefields parkway

This was last weekend, at Bow Lake on the Icefields Parkway. So cold and windy that even the ravens were just sitting tucked against the ground, their beaks towards the wind. Though it didn’t stop them from hanging out in parking spots hoping for handouts from tourists.

There was a lot of snow on the ground, and the road was icy – a long way from the conditions in our valley, where it really hasn’t been snowing much, and is continuing to be suspiciously warm for this time of the year.

Categories
canada general snow

bzzzzt… what is johnston’s canyon

I’ll take Places With Snow On Them for 800 thanks Alex.

 

 

Approaching: Halloween, moving house, the ski hill opening, ice climbing season, pulling on plastic in the bouldering gym, back country ski trips, frozen lakes, temperatures in the minus 20s, Christmas.

Fast becoming distant memories: Visiting Australia, riding the single trail after work, rock climbing after work, daylight from 5.30am til 11pm, squirrels, calling out so bears wouldn’t eat me, scrambling up mountains, jumping into lakes.

Categories
canada general

spindrift

“One cam can’t hold us all. You have to cut me loose… “

 

 

Seeing spindrift always reminds me of that classic climbing movie, Vertical Limit.

“Spindrift coming off the top.”
“That’s local. If something was coming in, it’d show on the other peaks.”

“I’m not gonna risk a storm. Not at 26,000.”