Fresh Air Photos air each morning at 7:10 on BT.    Usually when you check in here - you are able to get fun facts about the photo, photograper and location.    But because I tripped, fell and damaged my right knee – I am out of commission for a few weeks.    They tell me it is a torn meniscus, and that a simple surgery will have me back up and running faster than I can ask:  ‘how will you repair my torn meniscus?’

MENISCUS 101:  Meet your menuscus!    Most people (laymen’s terms) call the menisci knee ‘cartilages’.    We have 2 of them – the lateral and medial menisci, and both are quite useful!    They disperse the weight of our body and reduce friction during movement.    My tear is “medial”.    Medial refers to the portion of the knee toward the midline of the body-the inside portion of the knee between the legs.    “Lateral” refers to the outside portion of the knee, away from the midline of the body.    Since it plays such an important role in the knee, it is best to save as much of the meniscus as possible.   A partial meniscectomy involves removing only the torn piece of the meniscus – the undamaged portion of the meniscus remains in place.    This procedure is typically performed arthroscopically.    A small shaver is used to remove the torn part of the meniscus.

Meniscus 101

You mean I 'still' have to do the dishes?

I am bound and determined to strengthen and stretch my way back to health as soon as possible.    That means I’ll re-join my BT buddies:  Bridget, Ryan, Carla, Courtney, Tanara, and Sunny on Tuesday, May 21st!    See you then.

Nice fur coat - is it new?

Ramya was as delighted as she was nervous-being up close and personal with this Black Bear.    Keep reading to find out why she thought she might also see Goldilocks!    “I live and work in Edmonton, but a group of us were on our way to Olympic Park at Whistler for a team-building exercise.   I was completely surprised because that was the first time in my life I had ever seen a bear!   During the entire day we saw not one, not two, but THREE bears (how poetic).   It was very cool – but I had an irrational desire to pet it (is that weird?).   It was near 7 degrees and as you can see, there were leaves on the trees which was disconcerting yet awesome!   I’d forgotten what green looked like!”

DID YOU KNOW?    As humans, we are building and living closer than ever to areas that were once home to wildlife – including bears.    The Get Bear Smart Society was created to encourge people to respect bears and their habitats to prevent needless conflict and death.    The society has a great website with features on how to understand bear communication, where the best spots are for spotting them, and what you should do if you happen to cross paths with a bear:  http://www.bearsmart.com/

Whistler is open to the public year round but Whistler Olympic Park doesn’t re-open until May 24th.   It was the site of the cross-country, biathlon, Nordic combined, and ski jumping events for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

WE CAN’T BEAR TO WAIT ANY LONGER.    IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO COME OUT OF HIBERNATION AND GET OUTDOORS.    ONCE YOU HAVE CAMERA-CAPTURED MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES, SEND YOUR PHOTO TO US AND WATCH FOR IT ON BT AND THIS VERY BLOG!   

Hey Moose (es) - where's squirrel?

I am pleased and proud to show off and brag that this photo was sent in by someone I know!    My sister Janet decided to become a Fresh Air Photographer!    (See Janet, my other sisters, brothers, and my mom – below).    She and her husband John illustrate the benefits of living the ‘rural life’–seeing the wildlife.    “Hello from Saskatchewan!    My husband John & I live on a farm just north of Moosomin.   According to the calendar it is Spring, but according to Mother Moose and her baby, it is tough going.   It’s not that unusual to see Moose in the country and wandering down our lane.   We have noticed an increase in the number of moose on the loose on highways, so we like it when we see their families staying off the roads!!!”

DID YOU KNOW?    The Saskatchewan government is addressing the issue of the moose boost.    They are normally forest-dwellers, but in the last 10 years have adapted to farm life – almost too well.    They are now eating peas, alfalfa and canola on a regular basis with acres and acres at their disposal.    Not only that, but there has been an increase in highway crashes – killing people ‘and’ moose.    So, the Saskatchewan Farmland Moose Project was launched.    50 moose will be collared and studied for 2 years.    In the meantime, hunting quotas have been adjusted to help stabilize the population.

Me, Susan, Mary Jane, Janet. Joe is below me, then Mom and Dan

WHAT’S IN YOUR BACKYARD?    YOU MAY NOT HAVE MOOSE ON THE LOOSE, BUT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO CAMERA CAPTURE A BIRD, A BEE, A FLOWER OR A TREE.    SEND US YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO RIGHT NOW, OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!!

Beautiful blue Bow

Murray, with grandchildren in tow – takes us to the Bow.  “Feeling the spray of the Bow River in Banff – beautiful , wet and ccccoolldd!   It was definitely zip-up time standing beside that cold glacier flow.   My youngest grandson toyed with the idea of a wade – something his older brother insisted was ‘not’ a good idea.   All it took was a hand in the frigid water to convince him to stay on dry land.”    Wise!    Find out why the turquiose colour of the Bow – below.

I'll only go in "this far" Grandpa!

DID YOU KNOW?    The name “Bow” was given to the river by our First Nations people.    They used the reeds that grew along the banks to make bows.    The Peigan name for the river is “Makhabn”, that means:  ”river where bow reeds grow”.

And that river IS cold!    No wonder, it comes from the Bow Glacier, which is part of the Wapta Icefield.   ((The Wapta Icefields spread for many miles from Lake Louise to BC)).    From the glacier, the Bow River flows south to the village of Lake Louise, turns east and flows through the towns of Banff, Canmore and then the city of Calgary.    The water continues to travel south and forms the South Saskatchewan River when it joins the Oldman River near Grassy Lake & Medicine Hat.    Still moving, the river continues east – eventually spilling into the Hudson Bay through the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and Nelson River.

The incredibly beautiful turquoise colour is caused by glacial silt.    Underneath the glacier, rocks are grinding together, and that creates “rock flour”.    This “rock flour” is carried to the water and is suspended (because it is so fine) – It refracts sunlight and is seen as brilliant turquoise.

Bow River route

 
YOUR TRIP MAY NOT TAKE YOU AS FAR AS THE BOW RIVER, BUT ONCE YOU ARE OUT AND ABOUT … WHO KNOWS WHERE YOU WILL END UP?!    THAT’S WHY IT’S VITAL YOU RECORD YOUR ROUTE FOR BT AND BLOG HISTORY.    UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO TODAY.

Don't make a sound ...

For Mike Y it was a road trip into Cranbrook, BC with many beautiful sights!    It was almost as if this White-tailed deer turned around when called.    The green green grass of this deer’s home is providing a bit of cover, but not much camoflauge.

DID YOU KNOW?    The tail on this young deer tells us what kind it is.    If there was a black tip, then we would know it is a mule deer, but since the tip is white (as well as underneath) that’s how we know he is a white-tail.    When a white-tail is startled or frightened, you will see the flash of white waving like a “flag” as it dashes away in an instant.    As you can see its tail is almost a foot long.    Here are more differences between the Mule and White-Tailed Deer:

MULE:                                                                             WHITE-TAILED:
The mule deer’s tail is black tipped.                        White tailed deer = white underside of tail       
Mule deer antlers “fork” as they grow.                     Antlers branching from a single main beam.
Mule deer big ears.                    
Mule deer bounding leap (stotting),
all four feet coming down together.

WALK SOFTLY WITH YOUR CARRY AT THE READY.    JOIN THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION WITH YOUR SNAPSHOT OF MOTHER NATURE – TODAY!

Dinner guest

Debra gets hours of entertainment and amusement ‘courtesy’ of her friendly neighbourhood Blue Jay.    Looks like he’s trying to figure out how he can keep both peanuts!

DID YOU KNOW?    Blue Jays are incredibly intelligent.    If you are watching one at your feeder and it looks like it is swallowing a seed or nut whole, it is actually filling its expandable throat pouch.    When that pouch is full, the jay will fly off to find a hiding place – sometimes in a crack of a tree trunk, under a leaf, or even by poking it in the ground.    And when the food supply is scarce, off they go to retrieve their secretly stored seeds.    Bird watchers say that jays have good memories and will remember their locations weeks even months later.

FINE-FEATHERED, FOUR-LEGGED, FLOWERS, TREES OR SKY.    THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ELEMENTS THAT WE NEED YOU TO CAMERA -CAPTURE!    ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO, SEND IT TO US AND WATCH FOR IT ON BT AND THIS BLOG!

A partridge? Where's the pear tree?

Paul was enjoying a quiet moment at home when much to his amazement, this visitor dropped by:  “Look what flew into my backyard!   This ball of feathers startled me when I was eating an apple on the porch.   Mr. Partridge here was dining on bird seed that had fallen from my bird feeder.   I actually saw it earlier this week – and it was ‘as’ incredible to see it clearly in flight, as well.”

DID YOU KNOW?    Partridges are originally from Europe and western Asia and were introduced to central and southern Alberta in the early 19 hundreds for hunting purposes.    People refer to them as Grey or Hungarian partridges – Huns for short.  A group of huns is called a covey.    These pretty and plump birds have done well in our prairies and parklands, and are able to survive the winters by using windbreaks and straw piles for shelter.    When they are not feeding at Paul’s bird feeder, they will forage on grain stubble fields.    In the summer they dine on insects, green leaves, shoots, and buds.

WELL I THINK THE PROOF IS IN THE .. PARTRIDGE!    PROOF THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON ALERT WITH CAMERA AT THE READY.    SEND US YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO TODAY, SEE IT ON BT AND THIS BLOG TOMORROW.

Arlene's adventure

Blue sky in Banff.    Arlene takes us off the beaten path for a bit of a breather:  “I was coming back to Alberta after a road trip to the BC Kootenays.   It’s a trip I take a couple of times a year.   I stopped for a short lunch break at a picnic table next to this beautiful scenery.”

DID YOU KNOW?    The Kicking Horse River has a green tint to it, thanks to being fed by a grinding glacier.    Many people have screamed in glee while riding the rapids of this very river.    It begins at a small lake called Wapta Lake in south east BC.    Then, not far from Field, the Yoho River joins in and all of that water drops over Wapta Falls, is forced through steep canyons and rocky banks – and takes a hair-pin turn into Golden.    All that activity makes for a turbulent and rapid river-that’s why it’s such a popular destination for white water rafters!

WHETHER YOU TAKE A MINUTE TO STOP AND SMELL THE COFFEE – OR USE THAT TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES .. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CAPTURE THAT MOMENT ON CAMERA.    BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION TODAY!

Back tracking through time

I think it was Rod Stewart who wrote:  “Every picture tells a story don’t it.”    That’s true for Malcolm:  “Welcome to the hamlet of Meeting Creek.   These days - not much there, but I could feel that in the past it was a community where people met and called home.   Local farmers would bring their grain to the elevators, at the time thriving and busy.   I am from a small community in Saskatchewan (Girvin) and I remember going to similar elevators to sell our grain, meet the neighbors, and shoot the breeze.   This photo brought back happy memories of my childhood.”    Me too Malcolm .. me to.

DID YOU KNOW?    There were about 6,000 “standard” grain elevators built across western Canada between the 1890s and the 1930s.    Inside were storage bins where the farmers’ grain was held before it was shipped to eastern Canadian and international markets.    The grain was dumped into a pit and then carried up to the top of the elevator by a “leg” – a continuous belt with carrying cups.    From the top, the grain was dumped into a bin.    To ship the grain, the bin was emptied into a hopper, and back down into the pit where it was then carried back up the “leg” to the direct spout to the waiting rail cars.    This was the basic design and principle of handling grain until the mid-1980s when new designs and construction materials were introduced.    Many rural places have fought to keep and preserve their elevators like Nanton in southern Alberta.    Folks there created the Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre.    When you visit, you will see a set of restored grain elevators - and learn about the role of the now extinct Prairie Giants in Alberta’s, agricultural history.     http://www.nantonelevators.com/

SHARE YOUR PHOTO AND SHARE YOUR MEMORY.    BECOME A MEMBER OF THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION – TODAY!

Mother Earth -- Thank you!

On this, Earth Day – what a perfect picture of Mother Earth.    George saw it and knew we had to as well:  “This is between Kamloops and Golden just north of the Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park heading towards Hells Gate.   I could not believe how serene it was - no cars, trucks, or planes overhead.   All I could hear were birds and rushing water.   A simple stop turned into almost an hour of enjoying 20+ degrees with the sun on my face!   I got so carried away I had to delay getting back to Edmonton one entire day!”

DID YOU KNOW?    Heading west on the #1 Highway just past the BC border is Golden.    Golden is in the Rocky Mountain Trench.    That’s a geographical fault line that is one of the few features on earth visible from the moon!    As you drive through Rogers Pass you hit Glacier National Park.    The pass is the highest point on the Trans Canada Highway and as you can imagine, has some unbelievably amazing sights.    Keep going west, & you will marvel at the scenery between Revelstoke and Sicamous:  Three Valley Gap, Crazy Creek Falls, Craigellachie: The Last Spike, Enchanted Forest and SkyTrek.    Salmon Arm is the largest community in the Shuswap Lake region.   And just past Salmon Arm is the lovely and beautiful Sorrento – named after the romantic city in Italy.    Minutes later is Chase and then Kamloops, BC!

AMAZE AND IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOUR FANTASTIC PHOTO IS FEATURED ON BT, AND THIS VERY BLOG.    UPLOAD YOUR NATURE PIC TODAY, SEE IT ON BT EDMONTON, TOMORROW.