Nose Hill wide open window

While out & about this morning taking care of city business, the realization set in that this was not turning into a day to stay inside and look out the window at wild-like weather.  After returning home I verified the forecast and confirmed the window of opportunity for dryly being out & about was wide open for many hours to come.  The wicked weather would work its way here much later.  I quickly altered my wear, grabbed some gear and headed for Nose Hill to hike.

Oh Alberta how wild you can be with your weather and your flowers!

an Alberta wild rose in full bloom at Nose Hill today

This time around I picked a closer to home entrance to the environmental park.  

While I have seen many of these markers in previous visits 

this was the first time I saw a sign like this at an entrance.

After the rain that fell over night and into the wee hours of the morning, my main intention for this day was to photograph rain drops.  This was the best I could do.  By now the amount of drops had dwindled in amount and in size. 

It was time to shift my focus.

I took a different path...

...then close up photo opportunities  became plentiful.

The air was fresh & clear and the springtime ground cover was in abundance.  I followed the trail of wildflowers, got distracted in the beauty, then found myself lost both figuratively and physically.   With no far off views, being in low lying places, only flat meadowy prairie-like landscape visible as far as the eye could see, I pulled out a piece of gear that I did pack, my GPS pointed me to the way back from which I came.

I thoroughly enjoyed three hours of wandering around Nose Hill Park and admiring the springtime beauty it offered up.  While not getting high, nor being amongst the big mountains, I still felt pleased with what I came away with and that was fulfilling for me.