JSmith Park

I watched the little kestrel go about his business. It was a male and he had all of the colour to prove it! He swooped and then rocketed into the air. He hoovered- little wings working as hard as they could to keep him where he wanted to be.

It rained most of the morning and the snow had only stopped about an hour before I got to the park. The sun came out quickly and many interesting clouds were formed and illuminated in time for sunset. I saw no other critters until the drive home- a dozen deer or so in a field.

The park was still blackened from the falls fire and the breeze kicked up the scent of smoke. Little green things are beginning to sprout from the burned grasses. The bare ground is full of bones, scrap metal and all sorts of other skeletons- those of creatures, buildings, tools and motors.

A small group of burnt egg shells were spread out over several yards of a black hill- they were larger than a chickens, and more round. Here is one seen aside a nickel for size comparison. Turkey? Dinosaur?
The eggs (or any ground-type nests) were not harmed during the burn, but were probably left over from the 2007-season hatch. Im not sure, but I think that this occurs in early summer every year.

It was a beautiful evening- the prairie is just as colourful as it would be in summer or fall!



I came over a hill on my way back to the truck- I mounted the camera to my eye and became lost in the viewfinder. The sounds of traffic and that of the helicopters circleing the park diminished and the powerlines and houses in the background seemed to disappear. A slight frozen wind blew from my left and the grasses danced and whispered. I was in a prairie!.. I was in the right place at the right moment and tried my best to capture it on 'film'.