Canada, Our Home

I’m sure no one who reads this blog needs me to tell them Canada is an awesome country. From coast to coast to coast we have spectacular landscape and scenery, flora and fauna, and each province and territory has its own strengths which together make Canada one of the best places in the world to live. I know Denmark has been named the happiest country on Earth, and I have often been asked why I chose to leave such a place and settle in Canada.

It wasn’t a conscious decision, really. Neither Jan nor I were ever so dissatisfied with our life in Denmark that we decided we’d had enough and wanted to live somewhere else. We were young, adventurous, and in between jobs, so when I saw an ad for a greenhouse foreman in Leamington, ON I jokingly said to Jan “why don’t you apply for that one?” Over the next few months one thing led to another and the joke became a little more serious. We both wanted to see the world, and this was a perfect opportunity to experience this huge northern country we really didn’t know too much about.  Canada had a certain mystique about it in my 23-year-old mind, and the more I learned, the more excited I became that we might actually go there for a year or so before we settled back down in Denmark.

On November 17, 1975 we set foot on Canadian soil for the first time. That was the beginning of the love affair we have with this country. For the past 40 years we have explored many corners from coast to coast to coast, and we marvel at each turn. We gave up our Danish citizenship to become Canadian citizens and we feel proud and privileged to call ourselves Canadian. To us, this is the best country in the world, and we are happiest when we are here. Canada may not be our native land, but it is our home.

Here we are on the night before we boarded the plane for Canada in 1975

And here we are 40 years later, a little heavier and grayer, doing what we love the most--hiking in the mountains

Into the Mist

The other morning I woke up to a mist hanging in the valley, obscuring the view I so love from our kitchen window. The sun had not quite yet risen as I sat down for breakfast, and it was by chance I happened to look up when I did. What met my eyes was spectacular in an eerie way: the rising sun shone through the mist and reflected off the windows of houses on top of the hill. These little specks of light were suspended in the air, not attached to anything, just reminding me there is something on the other side. I ran to get my camera, but of course it was almost too late by the time I reached the deck, camera in hand. Sunrises are like that. I did manage to capture two little dots of light which was better than missing the moment altogether.

There is something mysterious yet soothing about mist and fog. I got soaked hiking through the pea soup in Newfoundland and could only guess how high the Tablelands are.

I was not able to watch for migrating whales in California because the ocean fog didn’t burn off at all that day, but felt so peaceful walking on Crescent Beach through the migrating patches of fog instead. 

I had no idea what was on the other side of the bridge in Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast, but trusted it would lead me to where I was going.

And then there’s ice fog… hoar frost usually goes with that, encapsulating everything in its way. 

I am so lucky to live in a place where I get to see winter's work of art.

Nature's Goldmine

Last weekend I visited Nature's Goldmine. Enough said...

Big Hill Springs Provincial Park

Big Hill Springs Provincial Park

Big Hill Springs Provincial Park

Allan Bill Picnic Area, west of Bragg Creek

From Secondary Highway 762 between Bragg Creek and Millarville

From Secondary Highway 762 between Bragg Creek and Millarville

What a difference a year makes

Earlier this month I celebrated my birthday. Last year it was a very memorable day for the whole city of Calgary as it was also the day the second major snowstorm in three days occurred. 40 cm of heavy wet snow damaged tens of thousands of trees, some of which are still waiting to be pruned or taken down. “Snowtember” will not soon be forgotten by anyone who was caught in the middle of it.

Our neighbour's willow branches draped themselves over our deck railing during Snowtember 2014

This year I refer to my birthday as “Suntember” because it could easily have been mistaken for a summer’s day. No need for a coat, and I wish I had worn shorts or at least capris on the two walks I did—Nose Hill in the morning and Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park in the afternoon. My “birthday twin” was in town and we spent our birthday together doing the two things we both love the most: walking and taking photographs. Our husbands were very patient with us when the one-hour walks became two hours because we got so caught up in taking pictures! It was fun to have a camera buddy, and we challenged each other with composition and manual settings.

Obviously I didn't take this photograph, but I thought it would make you smile to see it nonetheless

Most of the pictures I took that day were not spectacular and ended up in the recycle bin, but I had such an enjoyable day. Thank you, my friend and "birthday twin," for making it so.

This photograph from the top of Nose Hill intrigues me as the mountains in the background look like clouds

I love the late afternoon light through this aspen grove in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

Enjoy the Journey

How many of us have driven the QE2 between Calgary and Edmonton and made a quick stop in Red Deer’s Gasoline Alley for a drink, some fast food, or gas? I see you nodding as most of us just want to get going again so we can get to our destination as quickly as possible. The 299 km can be done in three hours, and that’s not even speeding!

In the past few years, however, we have made a point of stopping for an extended period of time in Red Deer on the journey north or south. I find a couple of hours in the car is all I can handle at a time these days which makes Red Deer the perfect place to explore. We bring a picnic lunch, find a park, and enjoy some fresh air before continuing the drive. Heritage Ranch, Waskasoo, and Fort Normandeau are all great parks we have frequented, but on our latest drive to Edmonton we decided to visit Bower Ponds Park for the first time in a long while.

When we first arrived in Alberta in 1976 we settled in the Red Deer area. We decided on it by looking at a map and found Red Deer conveniently located between the two major cities… good enough reason when you’re 20-something! Members of the Red Deer Danish Canadian Club, who soon became friends, were very helpful in the transition to the prairies. We had no idea what a block heater was and why it was important to have one in our car!

The Club was part of the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society (then called the Red Deer International Folk Festival), and they had just moved the Cronquist House across the Red Deer River to its present location. Quite the feat when you think about it. Bower Ponds Park was developed around the house shortly after, and today it is a beautiful and peaceful oasis within city limits. A handful of people had the vision 40 years ago to create this place for all to escape to without having to drive for hours. I am thankful they did, and although I was not directly involved in the shaping of the park, I feel connected to it through my involvement with the Red Deer Danish Canadian Club long ago. Spending time in the park both on the way north and four days later on the way south made me reminisce about the six years we called the Red Deer area home, the life we lived, and the friends we made. We were so young and adventurous!

We have all been guilty of getting so caught up in our destination that we forget to enjoy the journey, both literally and figuratively. Maybe it has something to do with my age, but now more than ever I enjoy the journey and reach my destination a little later. I know I am happier for it. So the next time you find yourself on the QE2 heading to Edmonton, do yourself a favour: rent a paddle boat and splash around Bower Ponds for half an hour. I bet you’ll have a little smile on your face the last half of your journey.

Changing Perspectives

In 1966 Jens Otto Kragh, the Danish prime minister at the time, said, “I have a stand until I take a new one.” For a politician, that is either a very smart comment or a death knell, depending on the situation. But it is a comment I can relate to in my personal life. Times change, and as a result my perspective changes, too.

I held on to my 35 mm SLR camera for the longest time after digital photography became the norm. When I finally got my first DSLR camera in 2008, I was very adamant about not manipulating my digital photos in any way. The image was what my eye saw, for better or for worse. Gradually I discovered that if I lightened or darkened an image slightly, I could use the photo instead of having to delete it. Or if I cropped out that distracting branch at the side, the landscape photo became balanced. I don’t think I will ever go so far as to remove a drainpipe from a building, change the colour of the siding, and add a flowering bush like the instructor of a class I took once showed us he had done. Granted, the final image was lovely, but that building does not exist anywhere in real life. He had created an image based on a real building, and if that was his intention, then he did a good job. But he could no longer say, “if you walk down this street in Athens you will find this building.”

When photographing moving water, whether a creek, a river, or a waterfall, I always liked to portray the water as I see it. The softness of a long-exposure water image was something I had never tried or even wanted to do until last week on a hike along Cat Creek in K-Country with my family. But retirement has changed my photography perspective slightly from always depicting the real thing to adding an artistic flair in certain images. When we reached a small waterfall at the end of the trail, I thought to myself, “I want to try this long exposure thing for a change.” The result is what you see below. I am really quite happy with that image, and I’m sure it’s not the last time I try long exposure on water.

Lifelong learning is all about stepping out of one's comfort zone and not being afraid to try something new… and times change.

Doing Nothing

Earlier this month Jan and I dog-, cat-, llama-, plant-, and house-sat for good friends of ours. It was an opportunity to spend a week in the country quite literally surrounded by nature on their acreage. Trees abound on the property—the house sits among them and paths are mowed regularly through the grassy undergrowth enabling nature walks. Most of the paths lead down to the Red Deer River which we welcomed on the days the heatwave struck. By the time we reached the river, the dog was already lying down in the water cooling off! The shriek of the resident red-tailed hawk greeted us every time we reached a certain spot, as it has done for years.

So what does one do for a week when there is nothing much to do other than feed the animals and water the plants and go for walks? We sat on the covered deck a lot, first very still and whispering to each other, but we soon realized the wildlife around there felt very safe around humans. As long as we were just going about our business, so were they. When we heard the tap-tap-tap in the tree just off the deck we knew the downy woodpecker had stopped by for insects to feed its young. The hum of wings signalled the arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbird to the red flower feeder hanging from the deck post. Chickadees and pine siskins ate upside down at the cylindrical birdfeeder hanging from a nearby tree branch. Squirrels chased each other and made such a racket sometimes even the dog took notice. A five-point mule deer buck strolled through the trees and down the driveway on the other side of the house one morning.

Sitting on the deck was the perfect opportunity for me to study my camera manual a little more in depth. As I read about settings and styles and effects, I tried them out, some with more success than others. I found out my camera is a very powerful tool and can do a lot of things—I just have to tell it to do them! That last part is something I have to practice over and over until it becomes second nature at some point in time. I remember my mother being impatient with my father when he took “forever” to get all the settings just right on his camera before he took the picture (and in those days everything was manual). More than once I thought of my dad when I was poking around on the display screen of my digital camera, and I sent him a silent “I totally understand!” Sometimes, though, being in the right place at the right time means you don’t have time to fiddle with settings. You just shoot and fix the image later on the computer as a friend of mine did when a grizzly bear crossed the road while she was in her parked car.

When we got home after our week in the country, I had taken 134 pictures sitting on the deck and walking various pathways—and that’s not including all those I deleted off the camera right away! Most of them are not keepers and will be deleted, but a few I’m quite pleased with:

Grainy B&W creative filter setting on the camera
Other creative filters are fish-eye, water painting, soft focus, and a couple more I doubt I'll ever use

Ruby-throated hummingbird
I like the position of the bird and its blurred wings... I can almost hear the hum

The same ruby-throated hummingbird, but shutter speed set very high (1/4000) to capture "a moment in time"
which is the only way to see a hummingbird's wings clearly in flight
The image was a little dark, and I lightened it slightly in Photoshop Elements

The soft morning light on the young mule deer and the blurred background
makes this one of my favourite pictures of the week.