My Mountain Retreat

This old character that I'm standing by is a rare specimen that is being kept "sort of secret" (A front-page Calgary Herald article was written 2 years ago on it... but the location is still being protected, and for good cause!). It is known as a Limber pine, and through a core analysis completed by the famous naturalist David McIntyre, it is estimated to be about 1450 years old (and still alive)! The famous "Burmis Tree" (which is also a Limber pine, and considered the most photographed tree in Western Canada) that greets visitors when they enter the Crowsnest Pass is dead now, and it was only 400 years old. This tree happens to be just a short 7km trip from our home in Coleman. Serious hikers and birders could find this information from myself or the naturalist who discovered it who has been a resident of the Crowsnest Pass for the past 25 years.

Agnes just doesn't know what to think of these deer checking out my new "Woodland Walkway of Unusual Birdhouses." One of the deer that frequents the area is a 10-year-old stag that, I'm told, has had a pretty tough life... One of his horns is growing stunted and "wonky," and was also apparently crippled for a season. But he's a real survivor! He stops by every few days for a drink from our bird-bath in our back yard - we don't feed the deer - they must just feel safe from the hunters here.

Here are some photos of our rafter of wild Merriam turkeys - I've counted up to 22 of them visiting at once. Good thing for these creatures that I'm a bird "painter" and not a bird "shooter!"