Christa, Skyler, and AvaRae

This little gang's been waiting months for new family photos. As luck would have it, the middle of the cold snap that was December of this year happened to be the best time for all of us. So we dressed up the dog in his warmest coat and drove off in search of the ideal location.

It turns out that location was just a short jaunt up the road from the house, and that the 'private property' sign had been knocked over and was only barely visible above the snow. Uh... I mean... what private property sign???

I promise we didn't hurt anything! And the trees and driveway made the perfect backdrop for our hour or so of family time, although Henry the dog was a bit upset walking through the long grass and loose snow. It was worth it, Henry!  Just look!

Despite the 8 years between them, it's incredible how much these two look alike.

Once we had taken all the shots we thought we wanted and were all thoroughly frozen and shaking in our respective boots, we piled back into the warm car and decided to take a little roundabout way back to the house. It turns out, there's also this cool little stairway with the river in the background, just a few blocks from home...

These kind of sum up a bit of how motherhood must feel:

 By this time, the sun was starting to set and I'm pretty sure at least a couple of my fingers were frozen solid. It was only about a five minute drive to get home, but what's a drive with me and my camera without a STOP THE CAR! moment?

Oh, Alberta, you never cease to give me hope.

These ladies have had a pretty tough year. It was my pleasure to help them end it with a symbol of the solidarity that pulled them through and kept them sane in the worst of times, and they're all looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things in the next year... together.

You Don't Know Jack

This year's jack o'lantern brought to you by me, and Mr. Jack Skelton of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Happy Hallowe'en!

We The North

This Thanksgiving weekend, I am thankful to live in an area of the country where I have access to heat, shelter, and the means to stay inside and enjoy those things when it snows during the first week of October.

Seriously, Edmonton? SERIOUSLY?

Prairie and Mountains and What Lies Underneath

I saw a random comment recently questioning why photos of Alberta always show "the only 3 mountains Alberta has like somehow that's supposed to accurately depict the other 99.99% of the landscape." 

First of all, random internet person, let's look at a map, shall we?

This is Alberta. (stolen directly from the interwebs, so it must be true, am I right?)

And that big ol' purple section on the western border there? That's the Canadian Rockies.

Mountains.

Big ones.

Lots of them.

So if you've only been to Fort Mac or Edmonton, then sure, Alberta might appear to have a total of three mountains. But, oh, dear random internet person, you really ought to drive west, because until you do, you are missing this in Okotoks, this in Kananaskis, and this...

in Rocky Mountain House.

And this... somewhere I got lost. :D

Also available in this area for your viewing pleasure...

aaaaaaaaaand, it wouldn't be Alberta if there wasn't these:

Now, I know that's not my most artistic photo ever. I just wanted to point out to all those who oppose pipelines strictly because someone on the internet convinced them that they are worse for the environment than, say, car upon car of fuel travelling overland on a train, that this is what they look like. Remember: someone on the internet is convinced there's only three mountains in Alberta too.

Walkways, fences, or beautiful endless unmarked landscape, dotted only with the occasional warning sign in case someone needs to dig. There it is:

Scandalous.

But don't take my word for it.

Please, come see for yourself. :)

She's Called Nova Scotia

Though I had sworn up and down that I wouldn't go back, there were some things going on that I absolutely did not want to miss, so at the end of August, 2016, I boarded a plane in Edmonton for my first trip back home since I had moved west. .

The first few days of my trip were spent on the mainland, in and around Halifax, where I discovered I really didn't miss the city itself at all. I did a bit of visiting with some people I had left behind, but spent most of my time close to my temporary home base in Herring Cove.

Seriously, when this is a five-minute walk from the front door, can you blame me??? 

 I spent one night at a cabin in Hubbards, about 45 minutes out of the city. As the sun was setting, I took my camera for a little walk across the quiet country road and out onto the nearby wharf for another view of quaint and peaceful Nova Scotia shoreline.

When I found myself alone for a day, I headed west: Fox Point Beach in St. Margaret's Bay.

 

Then I was on to Bayswater Beach, just another short way up Route 329, for a completely different feeling.

I spent 5 days on the mainland before bumming a drive from a friend and making the road trip I had made so many times in my life: four hours of highway driving to my beloved Cape Breton Island. I collected the last of my belongings from my mother's and shipped them to myself in Alberta. Then I collected my mother and we got into her car for a drive to our happy place: the world-famous Cabot Trail. It was overcast and a bit rainy on our trip, but it didn't matter to either of us.

Seventeen toes in the sand!

 

(She might be my mother)

A little further on in the day, on the Cheticamp side of the Island:

Breakfast with my sister the next day provided for this gorgeous morning on the Mira River...

...and the inspiration for one last glimpse of the ocean at Kennington Cove, near the Fortress of Louisbourg.

  

 

Lastly, one more filling of the lungs with my very favourite thing about being on the coast: that salty, fishy, tangy, comforting smell...

... of home.

 

 "It's hard to remember the places you've been
For once in her presence she's all that you've seen
And she cradles you softly like a warm gentle breeze
And wins your heart over with a feeling of peace
So walk through her green fields, Go down to the sea
The fortune in your eyes is more like a dream
She's called Nova Scotia and she so makes you feel
You discovered a treasure no other has seen"

~Rita McNeil
 'She's Called Nova Scotia'