Nose Hill beaming bright October 9, 2019

I've always been an artsy person crafting up something of one sort or another.  Some sorts I have success at while other sorts I fail at.  The failures were anything where it was necessary to have brush or pencil in hand like watercolor painting, sketching, alcohol & fire painting, drawing.  I look at a scene or photograph and think oh easy breezy I could master that.  For example I took a photograph at Nose Hill Environmental Park this morning and I envisioned how easy it would be to paint or color sketch it.  So, I put my fingers on the keyboard and a few clicks and swipes later this is the finished product!  Alas, I resign to the fact that my craftiness comes through with written words rather than paint on paper.

When I saw the way the sky was shaping up when I looked out my picture window this morning, I knew the best way to save my day was to pack up and head on up to Nose Hill Environmental Park yet once again.  The road there was fine yet the parking lot was a skating rink.  My initial sense was I was in for a great 10km today.

a section of untouched trail early on

It's the lovely little things that catch my eye.

I veered off onto the secondary trails.

They lead to opportunities for pretty pictures.

With all the cold, wind & snow we have received the past while, the leaves remain on the trees.  

It is nice to see this Park being utilized.  It was a busy place today with walkers, fat-tire bikers, runners, dog walkers and orienteerers.  There were trails in the park where a vehicle had driven and I have seen this in action before.  I wonder if the purpose of this is two-fold, to make it easier for people to get through when there has been loads of snow and also to check on the Park itself.  I was thankful at times to follow where the vehicle had been.  The snow was deep.

So, I looked at this view and I thought my gosh this is so pretty.  I would love to paint this picture.

simply just drifted snow that grabbed my attention

light + leaf = lovely

I attacked today's route in a counter-clock wise direction which meant coming to Nose Hill Lake from a different direction.  I took untouched trails through the forest and lost my bearings a bit.  Eventually I hit a hill and hiked up on top to see where the heck I was.

I found the Lake and hiked over to it.  It appeared as I wished it would.  It had a thin layer of smooth ice and the wind had whipped the snow off it.  I began to skim rocks over the surface and the symphony started.

What will Nose Hill Park present to me on my next visit!

This is my 10km route for today which I did counter-clockwise.