Webbed Walkabout

Mother Goose, Father Goose and their 3 goslings.    By golly – that’s a gaggle!    When there are at least 5 geese in a group – we can officially call it a gaggle.    Chris chuckled as he snapped this photo of the Webbed Walkabout in Hawrelak Park:  “Although they are waterfowl, they spend as much time on land as they do in the water”.   

DID YOU KNOW?    The goslings above are not yet nine weeks old.    We know this because they still have their fuzzy grey down.    Usually at ten weeks they have grown their flight feathers and look like little carbon copies of mom and dad.    And as we can see above – the family unit is a tight-knit group.    They stay together until after the first spring migration, when they will return to their birthplace.    And since we know that a flock of geese on the ground is called a gaggle – a flock in the air is called a skein.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ‘YOU’ CAN BECOME PART OF BT AND BLOG HISTORY?    ALL IT TAKES IS A PHOTO SHOWING MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES.    OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY, UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO TODAY!

Mighty Abraham

As you drive along Highway 11 between Nordegg & Saskatchewan River Crossing you will see many magnificent sights like this one.    Wendy’s rest stop included a moment of beauty:  “I call this ICE ON WATER“.   It was cool - raining off & on the whole drive.   One minute you could see the mountains and a minute later they were swallowed up by the clouds.   The sun was straining to get through to us!”

DID YOU KNOW?    Abraham Lake is a man-made lake that lies on the upper course of the North Saskatchewan River.    It was built as a result of the Bighorn Dam in 1972.    Since it was a new lake – it needed a name.    People had the chance to submit suggestions and Lake Abraham was chosen in honour of Silas Abraham.    He lived with most of his Stony Indian family in the 1800s along the Upper Saskatchewan River Valley and became a guide for many early explorers and adventurers including:  Martin Nordegg, Mary Schaffer, and Elliott Barns.    The beautiful and amazing colour of the water is caused by “rock flour” – silt from rocks that are ground by the slowww movement of the glaciers.

YOU DESERVE A REST.    PULL OFF TO THE SIDE, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND TAKE A PICTURE.    FRESH AIR PHOTOS AIR EVERY MORNING AT 7:10 ON BT, AND ARE FEATURED ON THIS BLOG.    MAYBE TOMORROW WE’LL BE LOOKING AT YOURS!

Deep breath - Relax - Ahhh

Talk about a great way to begin the day!    Kim saw the swirls of brilliant orange, grabbed her camera and saved this moment in time.    “I took this photo across the field at the north end of Victoria Trail.   I had my trusty pup Dryad with me, and we both stopped in our tracks to watch the sunrise before heading to work”.

DID YOU KNOW?    We are affected by colours.    Yellow is considered to be a “happy” colour.    Rooms painted yellow can bring out feelings of joy or intensity.    Orange is said to be an exciting color, not for a bedroom but great for a workout room.    What about you?    Do you know which colours excite you?    Included below are a few colour/personality tests you can do.    Find out which colour gives you power!

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color.html

http://www.colorquiz.com/

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorisyourpersonalityquiz/

HELP PUT US ALL IN A GOOD MOOD.    CAMERA CAPTURE SOMETHING SHOWING MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES AND SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD.    WE OF THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION ARE STANDING BY – NOW!

Nobody tells a story quite like Todd Babiak. In fact, the award-winning author has a new business doing just that. But that’s not the only reason why we welcomed Todd (and his brother Kirk) to Tuesday’s BT.

The siblings are currently embroiled in a battle of wits on the home front. As you’ll see in the video clip posted below, a striped squatter is giving them fits (and rubbing it in with glee). From diplomatic and eco-aware to camouflaged, locked and loaded, the Babiaks have covered the entire spectrum of proposed solutions with little success.

What would you do in their situation?

rpj.

Turkey from the Tropics!

While in Mexico, Linda and Ian came across a Turkey in the Tropics!    “Here is a Turkey Vulture that had just finished dining on a dead brown pelican (alas!).    These amazing creatures are often called “Buzzards” in error.   They are one of only a couple species of birds in North America that have a highly developed sense of smell.   That’s so they can track the gasses coming off decaying carcasses.   With this bird – “Bald is Beautiful” .. AND beneficial - as they tear away at the bits of dead meat, nothing sticks to the skin like it would on a feathered-head.   But while I was sunning on the beach, I noticed them circling overhead … and was reminded that I should start to move around!”

DID YOU KNOW?    The Turkey Vulture gets its name because its bald red head & dark plumage resemble a male Wild Turkey.    The name “vulture” is derived from the Latin word vulturus – meaning “tearer” a reference to the way it eats.    There are two families of vultures:  Old World Vultures that includes eagles, buzzards and hawks.    New World Vultures include the turkey vulture, the black vulture, the California condor, the Andean condor, the King vulture and storks.    Old World Vultures have strong beaks and talons.    They can pick up a carcass with their claws and carry it away to eat.    But New World Vultures with their weak chicken-like feet cannot lift or carry their food with their feet.    They step on their food and eat it while holding it in place.

WE SEE THE BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING, AND YOU WILL TOO ONCE YOU FOCUS, SNAP AND SEND.    JOIN THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION TODAY.    OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!

Children are perfect little imitators – 2 year old William Stokkebroe is a perfect example.    His mom and dad, Kristina and Peter are dancers, and recently took him to one of their gala performances.    During the intermission, William took it upon himself to shake, rattle, and roll.    Well he wowed the crowd, and his popularity has reached epic proportions.    His performance has acquired more than 5 million hits on youtube … Go ahead, make it 5  million and one!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wt824D1Bqg&feature=player_embedded#!

2 year old TALENT

Falling in love with Autumn

So many colours creating so many dimensions!    Keven is behind the camera:  “Beautiful terrain in north eastern Alberta.    This is near our place at Fork Lake  looking south and west.    Mid October 2011 – it was full on Fall.   Enjoy!”

DID YOU KNOW?    Fork Lake is in Lac La Biche County.    It is part of the Beaver River Basin and in an ecoregion classified as:  low boreal mixed wood.    Keven captures the characteristic rolling topography with aspen and spruce trees.    Leaves are nature’s food factories.    They take water from the ground through their roots and take carbon dioxide from the air.    Then they use sunlight to turn that water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose.    The “way” plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis.    And a chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen — giving plants their green color.    Well, during winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis, so the trees will rest and live off the food they stored during the summer.    The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves and that’s when we begin to see yellow and orange colors.

TO EVERY SEASON TURN TURN TURN …  THERE IS A REASON TO LEARN LEARN LEARN.    YES, I AM BORROWING FROM AN OLD SONG BY THE BYRDS.    & SPEAKING OF BIRDS – BEES – FLOWERS AND TREES.    CAMERA CAPTURE AND SEND TO US - TODAY!

Brace yourselves Bieber fans. Justin Bieber’s new single Boyfriend was released at midnight on iTunes.

Although it hasn’t been released on his official Youtube channel yet, you can listen to it for the first time here: http://perezhilton.com/2012-03-26-justin-bieber-boyfriend-new-song.

If that’s not enough, Bieber posted a video encouraging you to listen to his new single. http://www.twitvid.com/IEDLG

So, what do you think?