November 2015

With the change in season I thought it was time to take another trip up to Nose Hill Park to see what it looked like compared with when I was there in Summer. It was a pretty windy day, and as soon as we reached the top I realised the hair down approach just wasn't going to cut it.

I've tried Geocaching once before with absolutely no luck. So I was excited to spot this Geocache, underneath a tree, without even trying!

As we were walking, eagle-eyed Andrew spotted a buck in the distance.

The trail we were on led us right past him, so it was great to be able to get closer. Nose Hill Park is visited by walkers, cyclists and dog walkers, so the deer are very familiar with humans. He spent a lot of time eyeing up two dogs that were on the hill, we decided to keep our distance so he didn't feel too confined.

We managed to stumble upon a Native Medicine Wheel, that was created in September, representing all four tribes of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) Confederacy; Siksika, Blood, Northern and Southern Peigan.

We left an offering (some money) to the creator, which meant that in return we would be blessed.

I've become really fascinated by Native American cultures, and it was lovely to be able to see something that would have been around thousands of years ago coexist with a modern day cityscape.

While walking close to some trees we managed to accidentally spook a herd of White-Tailed Deer. When they feel as though they are in danger they flick their tails upward showing the white underside as a way to send a message to the rest of the herd.

This doe was very curious and started walking towards me.

On our way back down the hill, we spotted another herd of deer. Similar to my thoughts on the Medicine Wheel, there's something quite magical about being so immersed in nature while there's still a city in the background.

Just across the hill was another buck who seemed to have taken a fancy to the herd. Well, it is mating season after all.

Bison statue outside of Fort Calgary

The American bison is commonly and historically referred to as a buffalo, however it's only distantly related to the true buffalo - which lives in Africa.

About 2 hours away from Calgary is a UNESCO World Heritage site called Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. The buffalo jump was used for over 5000 years by Blackfoot indigenous peoples, who would dress up as coyotes and wolves and drive the bison from their grazing area to the edge of the 36 foot high cliff. Due to the weight of the herd behind them, when the bison reached the edge of the cliff they would fall, breaking their legs.

Legend states that the buffalo jump got its name because a young Blackfoot wanted to watch from below as the bison fell. He was found dead underneath the pile of carcasses, with his head smashed in.

St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church

In 2011, Canada's ninth largest ethnic group was Ukrainian, giving Canada the third largest Ukrainian population in the world behind Ukraine itself, and Russia.

Canada Geese are a common sight, with at least 7 million of them in North America. 55 years ago there were parts of Southern Canada where the species was considered locally extinct. 25 years later this changed to the species being considered uncommon, and now they appear in large numbers. This helps to reflect a successful wildlife protection programme, as well as the adaptability of the species to human influenced environments - increasing their food sources and reducing their predators.