Spring on the meadow

Some spring scenes... Moose on the meadow at sunrise, eyeing the hay in the hayshed. Our sunset on April 4th ... that kind of thing. out walking April 4th

Trumpeting spring

Just before sundown today, we had the magical pleasure of a visit by eight Trumpeter Swans. Without a telephoto lens we didn't get a good close up shot but here they are, just after they touched down on our flooded meadow.The Trumpeter Swan ~ a link to Environment Canada's Hinterland Who's Who ~ there is a great vintage clip on the trumpeter swan on their site. The photo here is from the website Venture North. We invited them to stay of course but after just about 20 minutes, they lit into the air and headed south west across the meadow.

Blue birds

Todays arrivals on the meadow; bluebirds, a redtailed hawk, robins, a couple of Canada Geese ... and a wicked spring storm. A flash of lightening and a great clap of thunder at about 4 oclock this afternoon was our cue to shut the power down. We don't take any chances with our power system. Our inverter caught fire one day a few years ago during a lightening storm. It was an expensive repair. With the power down and my laptop off, what to do? Reassure the dogs that the sky won't fall in, stoke up the wood stove, get dinner happening and bake a batch of cookies! I love my wood cook stove. There are challenges to living off the grid - cooking is not one of them. Okay, while I'm on the topic of cooking, I'd like to plug the world's finest kitchen knife... hand forged by Scott Richardson. He and Aki Yamamoto are the couple you'll meet at Cariboo Blades. If you need a good knife (or carving tools) this is where to find what you want. Check out Aki's artwork too. She creates the most amazing greeting cards and woodcarvings. It's Daylight Saving tomorrow and April Fools day too. Just a few weeks now till the hummingbirds return.

An otter morning

It wasn't an especially bright morning so I almost didn't bother taking the camera along on my walk and I am so glad I did. As I came up to the creek I spotted an otter at the edge of the ice. The otter didn't seem to notice or perhaps didn't mind my being there. We spent a just few minutes together before he slid off into the water and under the ice.