“Pic of the Week”, May 17, 2019: Enjoying the last Remnant of Winter

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These photos were taken almost a year ago, after  an unusually long and cold winter, with snow lasting well into May, 2018. 

I visit my elderly father, who lives in Winnipeg, as often as possible.  He is no longer able to drive but he still likes to go on road-trips.  Just a little over 2 months ago we headed north of Winnipeg to the beach community of Victoria Beach, situated on the shore of massive Lake Winnipeg, where we’d had a cabin in the 1980s and 1990s.  My dad and I both have many special memories of this community during those years.

A focal point of the community is its pier, built and maintained by the Government of Canada as a place …

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Karl on May 16, 2019 | Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”, May 17, 2019: Enjoying the last Remnant of Winter

“Pic of the Week”. May 2, 2014: Prairie crocuses, Calgary

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Nothing says “spring has arrived” on the prairies more than the appearance of robins or the blooming of the prairie crocus.  Crocuses are the first flowers to blossom on the plains each year after the snow’s gone.  They’re the provincial flower of Manitoba and the floral emblem of South Dakota.

These photos were taken close to my home in Calgary (in Fish Creek Provincial Park) just a few days ago and are the first prairie crocuses I’d seen bloom for years.  Prairie crocuses once were very prevalent across the central plains of North America but with the disruption of natural grassland (and its conversion to housing tracts and farmland), you’ll only see them occasionally.   They’re beautiful and short-lived, so enjoy them …

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Karl on Apr 30, 2014 | Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”. May 2, 2014: Prairie crocuses, Calgary