Tranquille - Wetlands and Grasslands

A morning of cloud
with a hope of sunshine to 
appear before noon

I was out the door by 8:30. It was 2 C and cloudy. My first stop was the gas station. The price this week is $1.95 per litre. I started with a quarter tank and filled the rest with about 90 litres. That's $175 to fill my old truck. Luckily, I'm not going far these days. I can only imagine what commuters are paying to go to work each day. 

I picked up my drive-thru breakfast including a large coffee as I drove past Brocklehurst on my way to Tranquille. I parked overlooking the wetlands and the calf nursery. I started on my coffee before I picked up my camera. The cattle were bawling, waiting for breakfast. The calves are really bouncing in the field. The farmer arrived shortly on his tractor. I noticed that the pond in the wetlands has expanded greatly since I was out there last. There is a great deal of bird calls there now. 

I drove on up the Red Lake Road past the westbound Canadian National freight that was waiting near the crossing. I made a quick stop at Tranquille River to see that a lot of the ice is now gone and lots of water is flowing. 

I stopped at the bend where I can see the cut and the old train tunnel. I caught an eastbound freight coming out of the tunnel. It was pulling empty coal cars. I happened to look on the hill above the train and saw a small herd of big horn sheep grazing and moving slowly up the slope. If it weren't for those patches of white on them, they'd be invisible. These are young ones as their horns have no curl yet. 

My delight for the day was finding a meadowlark singing his little heart out. He was perched on a fencepost looking out into the grasslands. He has a marvelous song. I wondered if he'd just arrived back from Mexico. 

I'm home with my daughter's company today. We each have our projects and we'll enjoy a meal together. 

Had I patience, I would have enjoyed sunshine today instead of the cloud I got. It arrived midday. We have a mixed day for weather, with a chance of afternoon showers and a high of 10 C.