On a hot tip, went in search of a Barred Owl in Whitemud Ravine (north) this afternoon, but only spotted Barred Horses. Also, a lot of Waxwings and Chickadees, none of whom would give up the exact location of the owl.

It seemed quite cold today, even though it was about 5C. The bazillion stairs helped to warm my body, if not downright torture it. Not too icy down there either, which was a surprise. Further south, the bank continues to erode. I expect the area will be permanently fenced off at some point, until a new barrier can be erected. The path, at one point, is very narrow. That’s where we stopped, seeing as we were gypped out of the owl.

Just a t-shirt today. (Also pants.) So spectacular. So springy. Giant puddles everywhere, and in the ravine, snow the look and texture of granulated sugar. Geese flying overhead, honking their return, and even a few robins. I had to lure Maggie down the hill with treats, but once we were on the monkey trail, she shed her reluctant walker persona in favour of her true self – happy, energetic bounder of logs, sniffer of grass, and overall jolly companion. Like a lot of us, she doesn’t like the ‘getting there’ part, but once she’s in the ravine, or on a monkey trail, she forgets she’s old and has pure, puppy fun.

Whitemud Ravine just below the powerline is fantastically alive. The creek is a torrent, and the trees are full of bird song and the tap, tap, tapping of beaks on bark. Don’t know what they’ll find this early in the season. I’m sure if I stayed out a little longer, I would have seen a bug or two. Still no end in sight to the nice weather.

1:45PM/8C

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More from me…

Drove through some jeezly big puddles to the trailhead in Westbrook with the dog. The ravine has transformed since last Sunday. Gone is the soft snow on the trail, replaced by grey, needle-strewn ice. Even with this brilliant weather we’ve been having (it was 11C yesterday), there is still heaps of snow off-trail, and Maggie was determined to eat it, play in it, and get stuck in it. She found her inner puppy this afternoon, and will most likely pay for it tomorrow, but I was glad for her company, and her enthusiasm.

We only passed one other person in the ravine, and yet in spite of the solitude, it was anything but quiet. The birds, also channeling their inner chicks, were madly chirping. The ones that weren’t chirping were raining flakes of wood on the snow, or jumping from crackled branch to branch in search of whatever birds eat at the end of winter. There was a lot of activity, and the creek, frozen over last weekend, was a raging brown current slicing through a newly yielding bank of snow and ice.

2:00PM/4C

Another slushy day in Edmonton. Just a half hour walk along the powerline with Maggie. Unlike yesterday, she was seriously into it. No stopping. Maybe I should have tried for the ravine! I love how she insists on walking on the ice, or any available snow. I think she likes the sound of breaking ice underfoot. Underpaw. It was cracking nicely as she trotted ahead of me.

The hares are going to have to change colour pretty fast. It’s not supposed to dip below zero for two weeks. By the weekend, it will be very brown, and the hares will still be white.

8C/2:30PM

Spectacular 90 minute walk through Whitemud Creek today. Started at the mid-north entrance, just south of the third and last bridge before you hit Snow Valley. The snow in the ravine was sticky, but not yet slushy, as opposed to the street-level sidewalks. Sounds of birds (mostly chickadees) and dripping permeating the woods. Half blue sky, half cloud, but entirely gorgeous. Didn’t take the dog. She came yesterday with me for a shorter walk, but I left her home today because I knew I was going for a much longer, more strenuous walk. The air is a balmy 8C. Spring might be here.

2:30PM/8C