Leonardo Da Vinci & Leafy Spurge

What’s that lovely chartreuse-coloured flower that is now blooming near the Oldman river and smells like honey? It’s Leafy Spurge – a nasty, invasive weed species.

James and I did our Poetry in the Park fourteener guided hike this morning in Alexander Wilderness Park (a beautiful nature reserve in Lethbridge, Alberta). There’s so much Leafy Spurge in that nature reserve (and Leafy Spurge does not belong there). Leafy Spurge is displacing many beautiful native flowering plants that should be protected in that park.

There’s still a lot of native beauty in Alexander Wilderness Park, in spite of all the Leafy Spurge. I have uploaded a few videos that I recorded when visiting Alexander Wilderness Park. In the videos, I showed some of the flowers that I was planning to guide others to see. I hope you’ll enjoy seeing them in my videos (though they’re better to see in person).

I was most delighted to see the Shining Penstemon in bloom on top of the coulees along the Lost Soul Ultra trail. There is a large patch of Shining Penstemon that grows right along the road into the park. It isn’t in bloom yet. I expect it will be later this week. It doesn’t last too long so it’s worth showing up often for the next while (so you don’t miss it).

If you do happen to miss the Shining Penstemon at Alexander Wilderness Park in Lethbridge, we will see it later on in Waterton while on one of our scheduled Poetry in the Park hikes there. Every single one of our hikes is worth showing up for. There are a lot of beautiful flowers blooming in the Lethbridge coulees right now. Why wait for Waterton’s Poetry in the Park free guided hikes?

Our next hike takes us just south of the Lethbridge Country Club on May 19, 2024. We will be meeting at a park in suburbia at 9 AM. This subdivision (Chinook Heights) is located near Scenic Drive, south. If you drive south on Scenic, from downtown, you will find it on the right hand side. There is only one park within Chinook Heights and it’s easy to find.

James and I will introduce a type of Fourteener (called Ballad Meter) to interested budding poets while we hike down to check out the budding flowers along the coulee trail which winds down to the Oldman River. We also expect to see a number of birds (as this is one of the best places in Lethbridge for bird-watching).

I have provided an example of a poem written in Ballad Meter below. I wrote this poem on May 14, 2024 after having watched a documentary about Leonardo Da Vinci. James and I will be discussing Leonardo Da Vinci and other Italian Renaissance artists on videos attached to my next blog post.

Observing Da Vinci

Observing Mona Lisa’s smile

is something we all do.

Most tend to linger for a while

so, likely you will, too.

I’ve lingered there, just wondering

what other people see.

The critics say this “perfect” thing

 is all high art should be.

I like the painting but don’t see

it as the best I’ve seen.

And, for its time, it wouldn’t be

the best there’d ever been.

So why the rep? Do critics see

the artist, not the art?

Da Vinci’s “genius” meant that he

could pull the world apart

to understand, then engineer

a better world design.

But he fell short of this, I fear.

And yet, he did just fine.

He’s been renowned for centuries –

all humans know his name,

but is this man the whole world sees

observed by all the same?

I like his artwork – paintings and

his “engineering” plans

because he tried to understand

the world amongst its fans.

But is it genius just to see

the world with hopes to learn?

A genius is, it seems to me,

a title one must earn

by not just seeing with some wit,

but doing something new.

His plans fell short and so he bit

off more than he could chew.

He hoped to fly, as most men do,

but was it worth the fuss?

High aims accomplished nothing new

since fallen Icarus.

If he had spent his time instead

just painting everyday,

would he be famed, amongst the dead,

a “genius” anyway?

Though mastering his art technique

did win him some acclaim,

his mastering of his mystique

without it built his fame.

Leonardo Da Vinci could’ve made a comfortable living making art exclusively. Would his art have more value if he’d churned out a huge number of pieces over his lifetime? No. Rarity and impermanence makes things more valuable. His Last Supper is likely more valuable because it has been disappearing over the centuries. The fact that his 24 foot tall horse sculpture was destroyed makes us value what little remains all the more.

Perhaps, even though Da Vinci realized that he was a skilled artist, he realized that there really were more important things for him and everyone else at the time to put one’s energy and time into than art. Perhaps the fact that he branched out into engineering makes us value him more – as not just an artist but a “genius”.

Leonardo Da Vinci had proved himself as an artist. Did this make us all take his other endeavors more seriously? Were his engineering plans really original? Ahead of their time? This is worth discussing further.

Buffalo Bean’s Optimism

Buffalo Bean’s Optimism

If you’re a landscape painter, painting prairie scenes in spring,

you’ll need bright yellow for one bloom that blooms on everything –

on coulee slopes, in ditches, and in meadows way down low.

You’ll even find them fairly close to where the rivers flow.

They’re not the first spring flower type that blooms here every year

but when they bloom, the blind may even notice that they’re here.

The prairies swap dust grey for such an optimistic hue –

just briefly, but just long enough to lure out folks like you.

That yellow fills the scenery of everything you see.

It seems to reignite the light within you easily.

It’s like you’re fueled by seeing such an optimistic hue

and so, each spring, this flower makes you optimistic, too.

I have included two different versions of my poem, He Caught One! in videos included with this blog post. Only the final line of the poem changed, yet this made a big difference. First and final lines are most important, but the alternate ending would have been too slow for any line in the poem. Some words flow together and seem to pour from one’s lips and others take a long time to say.

One must be very selective when choosing which words to use in a poem. Words have meaning and feeling. The words that made up the alternate ending did not leave the listener with the appropriate feeling (even though the meaning of the words may have been slightly better).

Since no one showed up at Cottonwood Park on May 5, 2024, James and I will be covering both the standard fourteener and a second type of fourteener on our next Poetry in the Park guided hike in Alexander Wilderness Park in Lethbridge, at 9 AM on May 12, 2024. We will be guiding people on how to write a fourteener (like my poem, Buffalo Bean’s Optimism, which is just a standard fourteener) and introducing people to native flowers (including Buffalo Bean).

We will be meeting at the lower (main) parking lot in Alexander Wilderness Park. To get to Alexander Wilderness, you need to drive through a bit of suburbia (there are two ways to get there. The fastest way is past the recycling center on the north side of Lethbridge. I suggest you check a map before you head out. If you put “map, Alexander Wilderness, Lethbridge” into an internet search bar, you’ll find it. This park is well signed. Once you’re there, just drive right down the winding road. We’ll meet right near the parking lot (near the picnic tables).

Even though you missed us at Cottonwood, you really should head out there sometime. To find it, just substitute “Cottonwood” for “Alexander Wilderness” in a search bar. Don’t bring your dog or mountain bike to Cottonwood (or any of the nature reserves in Lethbridge). There are plenty of trails where you are permitted to bring your mountain bike or dog. You are not permitted to do so in the Lethbridge nature reserves.

Cottonwood is the most south west park in the city of Lethbridge. To get there, head south on University Drive, past the traffic circle. When you pass the last bit of residential lots on the right-hand side, you will turn right onto a gravel road. You will pass the entrance to Popsin Park (on the left). Keep heading up the gravel road. It winds around. Eventually you will see a parking lot. Park there. You’ve reached Cottonwood Park, a lovely nature reserve.

Many think that their dog won’t do any harm while running off-leash through a nature reserve. The poop is one thing, but the main problem is how dogs disturb the nature there. Some dogs are well behaved (mine wouldn’t be if off-leash anywhere). You might think your dog is one of those well-behaved dogs that won’t chase after the deer.

Since the suburbs moved right next to Alexander Wilderness, we noticed a deer skeleton at the base of a coulee one spring. It seemed odd, but we didn’t think much of it. Then, while we walked along the shore next to 6-mile coulee, we saw another deer skeleton. This time we noticed that it was a steep drop from the coulee to where that deer ended up. We wondered why a deer would leap off a cliff. It didn’t seem like something a deer would do.

One day we were hiking through the 6-mile coulees and saw the handsome buck who lived there. He was running for his life with a large black dog at his heels. They were heading toward the Oldman (and the cliff where we’d seen the the deer skeleton). We used to see that buck nearly every time we hiked in 6-mile. We haven’t seen him since that day. 6-mile was likely his father’s and grandfather’s territory (his ancestral land). It should have been his son’s domain, too.

James and I avoided hiking along the shore after we saw buck being chased by that dog. We wanted to believe that somehow, that buck evaded the dog and is still alive and well somewhere. I feel bad for that buck every time I think of him running that day. Your dog is permitted to run free in several dog parks in Lethbridge. Popsin Park is the nicest one.

Oldman Pelicans

The Pelicans are back in Lethbridge! One of the best places in town to watch Pelicans is Botterill Bottom Park. James and I are offering a Heroic Couplet Poetry in the Park guided hike at Botterill Bottom (across the Oldman River from the University of Lethbridge) for FREE on April 28, 2024 at 10 AM.

There are other places to spot Pelicans in Lethbridge at this time of year – spots that I prefer to spend time. Pelicans are most accessible at Botterill, though.

James’ favorite birds are Pelicans. Watching pelicans is relaxing (unless you’re a fish). James and I saw a lonely male pelican while we hiked through Alexander Wilderness Park on April 24, 2024. We will be offering a Poetry in the Park hike there on May 12, 2024 at 9 AM.

The Oldman’s Spring Fishing Fleet

The Oldman offers up a special treat

to each within a migratory fleet

of Pelicans who fish here every spring.

Though they’re not colourful and they can’t sing,

they’re beautiful and special in their way.

Each distant sighting really makes my day.

At one location, sightings may be near –

near Botterill, along the Oldman’s weir.

So, in the spring, the weir’s the place to be

if Pelicans are birds you want to see.

The Buffalo Bean is already beginning to bloom in Alexander Wilderness Park. It will likely be in pod by the time we hike there on May 12, 2024. There will be other attractions to come, though. It sure is great to be out hiking again.

I’ve been sick with a head cold for over a week now. When I say sick – I mean sick in bed. I couldn’t even watch TV for a couple days last week (so quite ill). I sure have spent a lot of time watching TV this past week, though.

I didn’t feel so bummed about being ill (and missing out on hiking) while the weather was gloomy last week. It’s sunny this week, though. Time to recover fully again!

Watching a comedy TV series really helps brighten one’s spirits when one is stuck in bed with a head cold. I have a tough time not being productive. I decided to revise Steve Franks’ lyrics to the theme song for his show, Psych, while I was stuck in bed. If you want to hear what I came up with, check out the video for I know, you know that I attached to this post (above).

I didn’t perform any of my poems or songs at the Owl on April 24, 2024 (though it was Owl poetry night on that evening). I’m still ill and didn’t want to make anyone else sick.

You can hear my performance of one song and one poem from about 12:55 to 16:30 into the show on the video from last month, that I attached below.

They clipped off the third that I read (which was the best one, actually). They allow five minutes per person. I didn’t go over my five, but they try to fit as many people into their show as they can. It’s nice that they do that, actually. It might really be important to some people to have a spot on their show.

It’s a great group that shows up regularly for Owl Poetry night. It’s free to attend. I think the only people who attend are poets, or the family of poets who are reading. The group is thrilled to allow anyone into their group. If you want to get up and read a few lines, why not show up at The Owl Acoustic Lounge in Lethbridge on an Owl poetry night?

Watching Life or Participating

We will be offering a Waka FREE Poetry in the Park guided hike at 6-Mile Coulee Nature Reserve, Lethbridge, on April 21, 2024. There’s always a lot of inspiration for poetry to be found at 6-Mile Coulee. The flowers will have started blooming and the birds will be singing to a handsome buck who lives there. You should come join us!

The Yellow Bells (the lilies seen in the above video) will still be blooming April 21, 2024. We will also find Prairie Crocus; Long-fruited Prairie Parsley; Moss Phlox; and Old-man’s Whiskers (also known as Three-flowered Avens).

Daily Bread

T.V. life is fake

and yet we like to watch it.

It’s like how the sick

can’t handle food that’s healthy.

Lifeless men can’t handle life.

That poem was a Waka I wrote on March 9, 2024 (after having spent many sick days watching a stupid teen series called Teen Wolf). I’m back to eating broccoli and asparagus (thank goodness).

I’ve been watching 30 Rock lately. I borrowed the complete series from my local public library (where I get all of the T.V. that I watch). I was surprised to see that I hadn’t watched anything past season 3 while it was on the tube. I guess I was out living instead.

There’s one point when Jack is mentoring Liz and tells her about the Shower Principle, which he presents as a real scientific phenomenon. He explained it as follows: it is moments of inspiration that occur when the brain is distracted from the problem at hand. When the cerebral cortex is distracted by showering (or something else), then the anterior superior temporal gyrus is activated. Since, Jack explains, this is the sight of sudden cognitive inspiration, your brain solves the problem for you.

I googled the Shower Principle. The first answers to my query were 30 Rock things. There were a few results to my search that were written by people who seemed to actually believe that this is an actual scientific phenomenon. I did a search on the Shower Principle through google scholar. There were no results that listed the Shower Principle. This principle seems to have originated on 30 Rock.

The T.V is on a lot when I’m home. It keeps me company while I clean, cook, write poetry, and paint watercolour paintings. I’ve heard a lot of pseudo-science on sitcoms, and then heard the sentiments repeated by the public at large. I’ve come to expect that, if I hear somebody say something interesting, it likely originated on a sitcom.

I started doing a google scholar search on the brain and inspiration. I’ll attach the results that I found interesting at the end of this post, in case you’re interested. However, I would recommend you go to your public library and borrow The Great Courses that pertain to the human brain instead. I’ve watched them and they were all excellent.

You could watch Great Courses when the weather seems too wintery to pull you outside for a hike this spring. If your local public library doesn’t have these Great Courses on their shelves, you can order them in from any library in Alberta (provided you hold an Alberta library card – including student cards of a post-secondary institution).

I like to look up titles on The Great Courses website and then look them up through the public library system. I found that keeping a record of what I had already watched essential. There are a lot of DVD courses on similar subjects. It can be tough to recall which ones one has already seen in short order. I have provided a link to The Great Courses website at the end of this post.

The superior temporal gyrus is a real part of the brain. It’s involved in processing language. I doubt it has anything to do with sudden inspiration. The anterior temporal gyrus (anterior temporal lobe) is important for sematic memory – our knowledge of facts, words, etc. So, this could help one recall some information that they had learned but had trouble accessing.

According to Noesis (see link at the end of this post), inspired brains have increased alpha wave activity. Spending time in daily meditation or a joyful, mindful experience will lower stress and increase insight and creativity. So, Jack’s office putting exercise might have served that function for him. Poetry in the Park certainly promotes insight and creativity.

If you want sudden inspiration, you’re certain to find it on a Poetry in the Park hike with us whereas you’re unlikely to find it while vegetating in front of a T.V. show like 30 Rock. I’m not saying that programs like 30 Rock don’t serve a function. I watch them. I didn’t watch any T.V for months during 2020, when James was teaching me how to write poetry, however.

As I mentioned, I get my T.V. from the library. I wasn’t bringing anything home from the public library during the pandemic in 2020. I was out hiking and them came home to write, eat, and sleep. It was wonderful. I often wonder why I got back into the habit of watching T.V. at all.

I use T.V as a substitute for company. The company it provides me with is as fictional as the programs themselves. Having T.V.in my life (with the exception of nonfictional resources like The Great Courses) really isn’t healthy. I know that, but winters are long in Canada. In summer, I can find healthy entertainment out in nature.

James and I will be hosting a Poetry in the Park hike on April 21, 2024 between 10 AM and noon in Six-Mile Coulee Nature Reserve in Lethbridge. This nature reserve contains more biodiversity than any other park in Lethbridge. See the link below (to another nature-lover’s website to get a taste of what beauty you will encounter while hiking in Six-Mile Coulee).

Although there are signs indicating that 6-mile coulee is a nature reserve (and that bicycles and dogs aren’t allowed there), speeding mountain bikes are a hazard there. I would recommend that you wear bright colours while hiking there. A mountain biker probably wouldn’t kill you if they hit you, but they might take away your hiking season (perhaps for good).

I recently saw an accident involving a black truck and a pedestrian on 13 Street, North, Lethbridge. The emergency response team would have surely reached the pedestrian promptly at that location. It would take longer for them to reach a hiker with a broken back on a trail in 6-mile coulee nature reserve.

Other Sources

https://www.inaturalist.org/places/179861

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/category/science?CFM=category_slider

https://www.noesislearning.com/2022/02/11/your-brain-on-inspiration-status/#:~:text=Researchers%20have%20found%20that%20inspired,is%20the%20’analyzation’%20wave.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17470919.2013.808259

https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.00383.x

The last one really didn’t have anything to do with the sentiments from 30 Rock, but it was interesting.

Pavan Blank Verse

James and I are offering a FREE guided Poetry in the Park hike in Pavan Park on April 14, 2024, at 10 AM. We will teach people how to write Blank Verse on that day. Come prepared to commune with some native bird species and begin to look at life in a whole new way.

It isn’t terribly difficult – you just write rhythmically (although it may take some time to develop a good sense of rhythm). With Blank Verse, you don’t have to worry about rhyming. I’ll write out one of my Blank Verse poems below, so that you have an example of a Blank Verse poem.

Sharing the View

I got to see the sun (eclipsed) today

through glasses that some people passed around

at City Hall, at noon or there abouts.

At first, the bright noon sky just turned to black

(those glasses really cut the light right out).

I moved my head so I could see the sun

(and sure felt out-of-sorts while doing it).

At first, I didn’t know where I should look.

I just felt lost in all the blackness there.

But then a tiny, bitten peach shone through

the darkness, and I found my place again –

beneath that tiny sun, where I belong.

Learning to write poetry, starts with learning to maintain a rhythm. If you can’t command rhythm, you can’t honestly call yourself a poet. One must be humble and patient in order to learn how to write poetry. Poetry is an art that passive people can excel at.

Join James and I on our Poetry in the Park hikes this spring. You’ll find plenty of inspiration to write at Pavan (and all of the other locations I’ve chosen for Poetry in the Park hikes this spring). You’ll find the complete Poetry in the Park schedule if you check out the Poetry in the Park tab on this website.

Carthew Lakes Birthday

This post is about a Waterton Trail that is truly God’s gift to everyone who happens to find themselves on it. Carthew-Alderson trail, in Waterton Lakes National Park, is one of the most perfect places to spend a day in the summer months (or even right now). It is one of the three Waterton Triple crown hikes. Many people do the Triple Crown and ridge hikes in the fall.

In this post, I include my poems, Carthew Lakes Birthday Bash & My Carthew Friend, with videos placed between the stanzas. I also include several songs that I sung while on the Carthew-Alderson hike in late July, 2023. I have placed some highlight videos between the stanzas of the poem (which are not in order of when I encountered these treasures). After my poem, all of the videos are in order, though. It will be as if you are hiking the trail with me, but from the comfort of your home.

Carthew Lakes Birthday Bash

I gave myself a birthday gift – a hike

I’ve done before and know I really like –

to Carthew Lakes, then down to Waterton.

The trail I hiked is Carthew-Alderson.

It takes all day from Cameron Lake, one way,

but there’s no better way to spend a day.

I saw some alpine poppies in the scree

and many other blooms I’d hoped to see.

My birthday was a moving, wild bouquet

of blooms to find and see along the way

from Cameron Lake, to alpine, then montane –

with many blooms I hope to see again.

I hadn’t got this birthday gift before

but hope I’ll have it forty years or more.

Once you hike a trail like this one, it alone will motivate you to try to stay healthy so that you can relive the experience every year. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It does take some effort to get up there, though.

There is an affordable shuttle one can catch from the townsite to Cameron Lake in the summer and early fall. If you are hiking this trail in the fall, be sure to phone ahead to make sure that the shuttle is still operating. The best way to do this trail is one way (from Cameron Lake to the townsite). James and I have done it up from the townsite and back down again. It’s tough.

I have hiked this trail early in the summer (when there is still snow in patches up around Carthew Lakes) and in the fall (when it is nice and cool). I liked hiking it in the fall. I was surprised to see so many flowers still in bloom in late September up there. This trail is best to hike in late July (when I recorded the videos for this post). Late July is when I plan to hike this trail from now on.

If you hike this trail, you will meet the friendliest marmot in Waterton. Most are shy and whistle from afar. You can get quite close to a marmot who lives between Carthew Lakes and Alderson Lake along this trail. James and I saw him (her?) both times we hiked this trail in July of 2023. I love that marmot. James and I hope that marmot lives forever. I hope that we’ll be able to see that marmot again many years to come.

There are so many flowers up around Carthew Lakes (and above) that you will not see elsewhere in the park. Catching them in bloom takes a little luck, I suppose. By mid-July, things really start to bloom up there. James liked the alpine poppies most of all.

There are a thousand gifts awaiting you on Carthew- Alderson trail in mid to late July, which makes this trail the best place to celebrate at this time of year, if you ask me. Plan ahead to make time to hike this trail in July. Once you do it once, you’ll want to make an anniversary of it!

My Carthew Friend

There is a lovely marmot that I know,

who’s always like a birthday gift to me.

I see him up at Carthew, when I go.

He sits and beautifies the scenery.

He watches hikers passing to and fro

the Carthew Lakes, but hikers leave him be

and so, he’s quite a friendly little guy

who lets me visit while I’m passing by.

I only get to see him in July.

It takes so long for snow to melt away

at Carthew Lakes, because they’re up so high.

Since hiking up there takes me half a day,

I have so little time to see the guy

so, when I leave, I always want to stay.

But, since I see so little of him there,

I treasure every moment that we share.

That last poem (My Carthew Friend) was an “enhanced” Ottava Rima. It was 16 lines long instead of 8. What I did was put two Ottava Rima forms together and connected the two by using the same rhyme types found in lines 7 & 8 of the first Ottava Rima as in lines 1 & 3 of the second Ottava Rima. I hope you enjoyed it.

Waterton Picnic

There are many picnic tables throughout Waterton Lakes National Park. Waterton Lakes National Park is a great spot for a picnic (and a song) at any time of year. I sung my song, Cameron Falls Picnic, while enjoying a picnic at Cameron Falls on November 18, 2023 and then James and I filmed a whole “deck dinner” video at a picnic table with a lovely lake and mountain view on December 30, 2023.

I have included my poem, Waterton Magpies, below (with videos between the stanzas). If you watch some of the videos found between the stanzas, you’ll see that I didn’t only find magpies while hiking in Waterton on December 30, 2023. I will put together a post with more videos of this bird at a later date.

There were others enjoying family meals in the vicinity while we enjoyed our December picnic (but those groups were using the shelters with the wood stoves heating up their dining experiences. I’m pretty sure the park supplies the fire wood in those places for guests (yet I’ve yet to spark up a fire in one of those places). I did notice the sign indicating the low fire risk on the way into town. In any case, the park has shelters with wood stoves (so you can cook your family meal there and stay warm while dining with an awesome view).

I messed up my performance of Cameron Falls Picnic a bit. I messed up my “winter icicles” line, which threw me to mess up my ending. It was supposed to end: We’ll see them then, but now we have to go, although our picnic here’s been fun – at Cameron Falls, in Waterton. Still, I liked my song and the picnic.

Waterton Magpies

Each time we go to Waterton, we see

unusual and lovely life around –

the mountain life we love, that’s rarely found

in Lethbridge, where my loved ones live with me.

I feed the birds at home, to draw them near.

Each day, I know I’ll see a chickadee,

and nuthatch. Other types are rare to see

but, with good seed, I sometimes tempt them here.

There are some birds I see here commonly

and I don’t need to tempt them with good seed.

The crows and magpies get the food they need

without the help from bird folks here, like me.

So, I see crows and magpies everyday,

and magpies are most common of the two.

They’re members of the mountain fauna, too.

I like to see the mountain magpies play

but not to see those birds exclusively

while on a day-hike up in Waterton.

I saw some birds when there, but everyone

that hopped from tree to tree so happily

turned out to be a magpie there that day.

I’d hear some stirring in a nearby tree,

then only find a magpie there to see.

So, Mother Nature had a joke to play.

I found it comical eventually,

and then I paused to really look at one

who I could see was clearly having fun

while hopping through the snowy shrubbery.

That magpie looked so innocent at play.

It made the mountain landscape better still.

I stayed there watching ‘til I had my fill

and then continued hiking there that day.

A Happy House Finch

A Happy House Finch (written by Pauline M. L. Bell on April 2, 2023)

I saw a House Finch yesterday –

up sitting in my tree.

Although he was quite far away,

his red was plain to see.

I stood and watched him for a while –

he ate, then cleaned his beak.

I’m glad I paused – it made me smile

to catch a little peek

of someone who just might have been

a someone I once knew

outside the house that I was in

two years ago, then flew

away once he had got his fill

on seed that I’d put out.

I’d wondered if he’d lived until

I saw this finch about.

Two years ago, he was alone

but now he has a mate.

Perhaps they’ve had some chicks who’ve grown.

And wouldn’t it be great

if seed I’d left for him to eat

when times were tough back then

had helped him so his life turned sweet?

Perhaps he’ll come again.

Dark-eyed Junco

James and I happened upon a pair of Dark-eyed Juncos with nestlings in a tree beside the Carthew-Alderson trail we hiked along early this summer in Waterton Lakes National Park. Meeting that Dark-eyed Junco family inspired a poem. I typed up Passing by a Dark-eyed Junco Nest and then included it below.

Passing by a Dark-eyed Junco Nest

I heard a Dark-eyed Junco bird

on Carthew-Alderson today.

As I approached his nest, I heard

his female, too. They seemed to say

“please pass us by and leave us be.”

And yet, I paused while I went by.

The male had food that I could see –

for nestlings in his nest up high

within the path side Tamarack.

The food he had soon disappeared

and then he left (to soon go back

with more). He checked each time I neared

but didn’t seem afraid that I

had paused while I was passing by.

Sofa Mountain Trail Mix

James and I hiked Sofa Mountain trail (in Waterton Lakes National Park) on August 9, 2023. This trail isn’t too long, yet it’s a lovely one. There were a fair number of Saskatoons on the trail (which attract bears) and the trail was not as beautiful as it was when we hiked it in spring, yet we enjoyed it all the same. The main highlight of this hike is mentioned in the poem that I wrote, which you will find below. I have put videos between the stanzas.

Sofa Mountain Trail Mix

A bear was near our exit trail

on Sofa Mountain, half way back.

She knew that it was time to bail

and hide (since she was keeping track

of us, as we were, then, of her).

The Saskatoons are plump this year

and she’d come down for them, I’m sure.

Her hunger was surpassed by fear

of humans, so she’d hurried on.

She likely watched through Aspens there

and then returned once we were gone.

That’s how I’m picturing that bear –

not running, as I saw her last,

but eating berries that we passed.

I really shouldn’t have went hiking on August 9, 2023. My back was not doing well enough to even climb stairs in my home (I had to take them on all fours in the morning before we headed to Waterton). I thought that if I climbed Sofa Mountain in baby steps, that it might even help my back. It’s amazing what we can convince ourselves of.

This hike really did a number on me. I haven’t been able to hike since that day. My back is improving now but I had to stop lifting everything for several days in a row and mostly stay in bed. I was even using my dining room chair as a walker in my home to get to the bathroom for a while. I am very lucky that I didn’t become an ingredient in bear trail mix. The bear we saw was scared of us. I was very lucky, all things considered.

I think James was upset with me for not wanting to follow him further along the trails he wanted to travel on Sofa Mountain that day. I don’t think James had any idea how bad my back was that day. I guess I’m always pretty slow – I’m usually stopping to check out flowers a lot. There were few flowers to stop for on August 9th on Sofa Mountain, though. I was just slow. I figured if I tripped, I might have to drag myself back down on my belly with my hands. It was foolish for me to do this hike (or any hike) in the state that I was in that day.

I’m glad to see that I am recovering. I just may be able to get some hiking done this fall. Fall is my favorite time to hike. There aren’t many blooms but the weather tends to be cool, but nice. There also aren’t very many people on the trails. Well, there still are a lot of people on trails in Banff and Yoho. Waterton’s great, though.

I still haven’t figured out what that grey caterpillar is. If you know, please let me know. Thank-you.

Other Useful Resources

https://www.caterpillaridentification.org/caterpillars-by-state-listing.php?reach=Alberta