BT Edmonton Blogs

I see spots!!

LaVerne preserves and protects in her own backyard.    ”I recently got a macro lens for my camera, it’s been fun taking “close-ups” in my backyard.   After taking this picture I carefully moved the ladybug to one of my tomato plants – which has been under attack by aphids“.   LaVerne is one smart gardener!    Gardeners and farmers love ladybugs because they eat aphids and other plant-eating pests.    One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime!

DID YOU KNOW?    We humans love ladybugs and think their spots and bright colour are cute, but those attributes are actually part of their defense system.    The spots and color are meant to make them unappealing to predators.    Plus, ladybugs will secrete a fluid from the joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste.    Hopefully, that will be a reminder to any birds or animal that:  ”I taste awful.”    A threatened ladybug will also play dead.    There is another loveable ladybug that you may not know about, it’s The Ladybug Foundation Inc.    A five year old girl named Hannah Taylor got the idea of helping those less fortunate when she saw a man digging through a dumpster on a cold winter day.    Learn more here:  http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca/

BE GENEROUS, SHARE YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO MOMENT WITH US.    ON OUR MAIN WEBPAGE CLICK ON ‘CONNECT WITH BT’ – UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO AND THEN PREPARE FOR THE ACCOLADES TO START ROLLING IN.    OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!

Think back to a couple of weeks ago. Detroit fans had started a petition to bump Nickelback from the Lions’ halftime performance at its Thanksgiving Day football game. Well, the Canadian band is firing back with humour.

Nickelback just released a short video on the comedy site “Funny or Die” that acknowledges the much-publicized web campaign. The petition now has nearly 55,000 signatures from Nickelback haters.

In the online clip, Comedian Paul Scheer plays a music executive advising the band. His suggestion? To become the “Four Nickels” in matching suits with synchronized dance moves.

Before you check it out, there’s profanity and explicit language in this clip.

Valley of the 10 Peaks

Anybody have an old 20 dollar bill?    At one time, the back of the twenty dollar bill featured this stunning location.    You are looking at a few of the mountains that make up the jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring “Valley of the Ten Peaks” with the turquoise waters of Moraine Lake below.    RJ was there on his honeymoon!    We can see 5 peaks above, they are:  Mount Little(almost hidden in the back left), Mount Bowlen, Tonsa, Mount Perren, and Mount Allen.    The entire list is below.

Valuable Scenery

DID YOU KNOW?    One of the first explorers in the area was Samuel Allen.    In the 1890s he met up with our First Nations People-the Stoneys.    Allen learned that the Stoneys(also known as the Nakoda) had names for the mountains.    But in the following years 7 of the 10 peaks were renamed, one of them after Allen himself.    In fact in RJ’s photo, Mount Allen is the farthest peak on the right.    If you want to know how to get to this very spot, start in the village of Lake Louise.    Follow Lake Louise Drive up to the Moraine Lake turn-off.    Drive past the Paradise Valley trailhead until you reach a large parking lot on the shores of the lake – it’s about 12.5 km from the turn-off.     

The ten peaks, in order of how they are numbered from east to west, are:
1.   Mount Fay  3,235 metres………Original Native name = Heejee
2.   Mount Little  3,088 metres……Original Native name = Num
3.   Mount Bowlen  3,072 metres…Original Native name = Yamnee
4 .  Tonsa  3,057 metres…………….Original Native name = Tonsa
5.   Mount Perren  3,051 metres….Original Native name = Sapta
6.  Mount Allen  3,310 metres…….Original Native name = Shappee
7.  Mount Tuzo  3,246 metres……..Original Native name = Shagowa
8.   Deltaform Mountain  3,424 metres….Original Native name = Shakhnowa
9.   Neptuak Mountain  3,233 metres…….Original Native name = Neptuak
10. Wenkchemna Peak  3,170 metres……Original Native name = Wenkchemna

HELP KEEP HISTORY ALIVE BY BEING ”PART” OF HISTORY.    PHOTOGRAPH MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES THEN WATCH AS WE SHOWCASE IT TO THE WORLD ON BT, AND PRESERVE IT RIGHT HERE ON THIS BLOG.    UPLOAD YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

A walk in the forest

Here’s a Happy Place that Larry came across by accident.    “I was working about 15 km from Crimson Lake, and before I went on shift I decided to go for a drive to the lake.   It was a mild +4 and on the way I stumbled upon this hut.   Crimson Lake is gorgeous, it’s about 20km west of Rocky Mountain House“.

DID YOU KNOW?    Crimson Lake is where the forests of the western foothills meet bog and muskeg from the north and aspen parkland to the east.    The dense evergreens offer solitude and the abundant wildlife reward photographers.    If you like to camp - the Crimson Lake Campground is 6 km north west of Rocky Mountain House off Highway 11.

TAKE A DAY TRIP OR TAKE A LONG VACATION, BUT FOR PETE’S SAKE (AND OURS) TAKE YOUR CAMERA.    MAYBE TOMORROW WE’LL BE LOOKING AT YOUR PICTURE ON THIS BLOG AND WATCHING FOR IT ON BT.

Courtesy Getty Images

Some of the biggest names in music stepped out for the American Music Awards Sunday night.

Rapper Nicki Minaj opened the show and nabbed two AMAs.

Other artists to hit the stage: Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Katy Perry, and J-Lo.

But it was stiff competition for this year’s artist of the year award. A stunned Taylor Swift ending up taking home the coveted award. (She took home three in total.)

The award for favourite pop-rock male artist went to Bruno Mars while British singer Adele won favourite pop-rock female artist at this year’s awards show.

Oh and did I forget to mention David Hasselhoff made an appearance (as did Justin Bieber) during LMFAO’s finale? Click here to check out the best (and worst) moments from the show.

Sunbeam serenity

Arlene gives us a much needed warm and fuzzy moment.    She calls this:  “Kitty lazy days.   This is my cat Kiki.   My favorite season is summer and this photo was from a sunny and hot day.   Why “do” cats love sleeping in the sun????”    Read on Arlene ~ read on.   

DID YOU KNOW?    Cats like to feel warm and secure before they fall asleeep.    They also use the sunlight to help make up for the slight drop in their body temperature that happens once they fall asleep.    Some cats will change their sleep positions to follow the movement of the sun.    If you are serious about sun safety for your cat, check out this website that promotes pet sunscreen.    http://www.petremedies.co.uk/

GET OUT THERE AND STRETCH YOUR LEGS .. YOUR ARMS .. AND YOUR CREATIVE SIDE.    WE MEMBERS OF THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION NEED YOU AND YOUR PHOTO.    DON’T WAIT – UPLOAD YOUR PICTURE TODAY!