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 ...

Blessed by the Siksikaitsitapi

 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 di...

A Walk Around Calgary

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.






Question Does anyone know what kind of moth this is? Cream Delicious hot chocolates covered in cream. Number A tagged elk...

Scavenger Hunt: October

Question
Does anyone know what kind of moth this is?

Cream
Delicious hot chocolates covered in cream.

Number
A tagged elk in Banff.

Lattice
Not quite a lattice fence, but near enough, behind a Eurasian Lynx at Calgary Zoo.

Familiar
The good old Union Jack at Glenmore Reservoir.

Ring
A bit of a cheat, but an awe-inspiring view of Lake Louise.

Today
Today I feel like Autumn only lasted a couple of weeks, and now Winter is here.

Down
The cable car ride down from Grouse Mountain.

Writing
The writing on the wall of the Stampede grounds.

Many
Lots of car and fuel signs at Gasoline Alley.

Broken
A shed full of old farm machinery at Heritage Park.

Whatever you want
A cute turkey that escaped the dinner table this Canadian Thanksgiving.

If you want to join in as well, check out Made With Love for November's list.

I'm partial to a Scotch Egg, or two. It's the kind of snack that reminds me of home, and it's a real rarity here in Calgary....

How To: Scotch Eggs

I'm partial to a Scotch Egg, or two. It's the kind of snack that reminds me of home, and it's a real rarity here in Calgary.

So, when I spotted some sausage meat in the grocery store, I thought I may as well give them a go because even if it didn't turn out looking like a Scotch Egg, sausage and egg is always good (although since the WHO's report I'm starting to have doubts!).

A lot of the eggs I've seen in the grocery store are white, but for this I bought brown ones. I've read that there's not really any difference between the two, it's just that different breeds of chicken lay different coloured eggs.

To make my breadcrumbs I used a couple of slices of 60% whole-wheat bread. They weren't overly stale, so I left them in the sun for an hour or so and blended them in the Magic Bullet.

After I boiled my eggs, I peeled them and covered them in flour, and then I wrapped them in sausage meat. I found that the sausage meat was easier to use when it was cold, as it warmed up to room temperature it got a lot stickier and harder to deal with. I found that washing the sticky residue off my hands with cold water helped to combat the problem, maybe because it was also reducing the temperature of my hands. 


Then I dipped the Scotch Eggs in beaten egg, coated them in the breadcrumbs and cooked them for half an hour, and *voila*...


I honestly didn't think it would be so simple. 

Woven Andrew's new jumper. Repeating Love locks in The Distillery District in Toronto. Greedy A House Sparrow rooti...

Scavenger Hunt: September

Woven
Andrew's new jumper.


Repeating
Love locks in The Distillery District in Toronto.


Greedy
A House Sparrow rooting around in the husk pile.


Flowers
Some wildflowers at Koocanusa.


Curly
Two Clematis (I think) seeds that magically appeared in my living room.


Adventures
Frank Slide - where 82 million tonnes of rock fell from Turtle Mountain in just 90 seconds.


Line
Electric fences lines keeping the pigs in.
Mesmerising
Big inflatable luminous white rabbits appeared in Calgary for Beakerhead, a science festival.



 Triangle
I spy lots of triangles in the design of this amazing house.

Dreamy
Sleepy cats dreaming of chasing mice.


Day
This Boxelder bug seems to be making an almost daily appearance on my balcony window.

Whatever you want
Fluffing up in the cold weather.


 If you want to join in as well, check out Made With Love for October's list.

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest fawning over forests, woods, and log cabins. With Autumn finally here I think it's t...

Woodland Inspired Interior Design

Growing up I had a doll's house called Rose Cottage that had stickers of roses around the front door, and I'm pretty sure that...

Roses


Growing up I had a doll's house called Rose Cottage that had stickers of roses around the front door, and I'm pretty sure that's where my love of little cottages with rose gardens stemmed from.
I can remember being young and making 'magic potions' in my garden, I had no qualms about pulling petals off daisies or uprooting dandelions but I was always very dubious when it came to rose petals.


Fast forward a few years later to finding out rabbits could eat rose petals, and I was still quite hesitant. But the fact Clive loved them made the whole ordeal a bit easier.

So when I spotted a rather sad looking mini-rose for sale in the local grocery store I just couldn't help myself.  After being re-potted and watered almost every day, it really started to thrive.


I've loved watching the flowers change colour throughout the Summer. They started as a bright yellow with pink around the edges of the petals, and then faded.



Right now I'm patiently waiting for four more buds to flower.


'I'd rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck'. - Emma Goldman
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