Frank Lake, home to some of Southern Alberta’s best birding
If you’ve ever had opportunity to fly through a major international airport hub, like Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, Beijing Capital, Dubai, Los Angeles or London’s Heathrow, you’d have an understanding of the potential mayhem that exists in the skies above those cities. Air Traffic Controllers must have wits about them that few humans could muster up in
Porcupines in the Park
A relationship between a porcupine and a balloon can only end in disaster. Anthony T. Hincks Do you know what one of the main causes of death for North American porcupines is? You just might need to read on to find the answer to this and some other porci-trivia! It turns out that they are quite fascinating
Bee Kingdom Glass: Calgary’s Glassblowers
Sometimes one stumbles on a hidden gem when you’re least expecting it. This was our experience when we happened to find ourselves in the northwest neighbourhood of Mt Pleasant one Sunday afternoon. We happened upon a sign that advertised a local glassblowing studio. A quick Google search of the studio confirmed that it was closed
Derek’s Top 5 Must-Visit Calgary City Skyline Vantage Points
Since Calgary sits in the transition zone between the undulating foothills of the Rockies to our west and the prairies that touch the horizon in every other direction, the city’s landscape is generally flat. None the less, there are some cool elevated vantage points that one can visit in in order to see and photograph
African Adventures: Botswana Cycle Safari with our Besties (Part 2)
If you fall off a bicycle … They say that if you fall off a bicycle the best thing you can do is face your fears, re-mount that beast and ride it hard again. I don’t know who “they” is, but that’s the same as what we had to do on Day 2 of our Botswana
Are there boundaries to urban wildlife?
A perspective on Coyotes in Calgary Communities Christa, my wife, loves city wildlife. As a Grade 3 teacher she soaks up any opportunity to engage and share stories with her hungry bunch of learners about the natural inhabitants surrounding us. Where do they live? What is their lifecycle? What do they eat? What are their habits?
Derek’s 2018 Favourite Wall Art and Graffiti in Downtown Calgary
During a return visit to South Africa in 2016 we were treated to a graffiti tour in the Braamfontein area near Downtown Johannesburg by a dear friend. This 90-minute walking tour, conducted by a recognized expert and student of graffiti, was a unique and memorable experience. She pointed out the nuances and distinctive elements of
Derek’s Coffee Bean Dilemma: to grind or to mill
Tea was our go-to hot drink of choice in my childhood years growing up in South Africa in the 70’s and 80’s. In those days the heated discussions were always between those connoisseurs who were authentic loose-leaf tea drinkers versus the convenient tea bag users. The latter were considered to be the lesser mortals. Let’s
Calgary: Our Beginners Guide to “Getting Around 101”
If you're arriving in Calgary for the first time it may be helpful to know how to get around from a "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" perspective. I've already provided my insights on the geographical lay-of-the-land in a previous Blog entry. Using this critical piece of correspondence you may want to mentally overlay it with what I'm