I make a big deal about bears – about how I’m always looking for them. I’ve complained that even though I was never guaranteed to find one, at least when I lived in Alberta, I knew where to go look. I knew where to search for moose. I knew the best places to go birding and where I would be most likely to spot a herd of elk.
I didn’t always know.
Even though I grew up in Alberta, it wasn’t until I had moved away for a few years and came back that I began to understand and appreciate what Alberta was. It wasn’t until someone handed me a camera that I realized there were more birds out there than Magpies and Mallards. It took me until I was in my 40’s to see the beauty in a field of wheat, the call of a coyote, the taste of a thunderstorm and the songs of tiny frogs.
Sometimes, I miss all that.
It’s not that BC doesn’t have all those things. I know it does. I just don’t know where to find them – yet.
Except for the sheep. I know where to find the California Big Horn Sheep. There is no way for me to adequately express how truly fortunate I am to live in such a place, a place where fifteen minutes after leaving my house, I am looking through my lens at these glorious creatures.
Because it’s such a short distance, I went out twice this week – once early in the morning, when the sky was the colour of sapphires,
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and again, late in the afternoon, while the sun slipped behind the mountains.
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So, if you hear me complaining that I haven’t seen a bear or that I forget what a moose looks like, just remind me that there are still plenty of roads to travel. Remind me that I live in a world of endless possibilities. Say, “Sally, remember the sheep.”
Lovely pictures, as always. I’ve seen more bears than I can count on my BC hikes—way more in the Lower Mainland than I’ve seen in Kelowna, but still lots in both places. But I have no idea where to find the bighorn sheep!
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Bears, there are many of them in this area of my home state. I don’t know what kind of bears you have there but we have a large population of Black Bears, thank God no Grisslys. and with just a little effort an knowledge of where to look you can generally find a few within a half a hour drive of my house.
It is worth mentioning that there is a large recycle area where I take wood debris, limbs I have pruned, dead trees I have removed etc etc and it is not unusual to have a bear within 25 yards of where I am unloading calmly watching me unload. They seem to be curious rather than hungry so that is good. But they do make me a wee bit nervous sometimes.
This area is surrounded by corn and soybean fields which are surrounded by swamp so it is a natural place for them to go
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We have both black bears and grizzlies. I love seeing either one although I’m always cautious and respectful.
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