Big Sky Ranch & Sarsaparilla Trail

This week is reading week at the university, so there are no classes for the undergrads and more free time for us grad students.  Today, I visited a place I have been hearing a lot about from my friend - the Big Sky Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Kemptville.  Big Sky Ranch is a place where animals (abandoned or unable to care for by their previous humans) are able to be adopted by new humans or to live permanently at this no-kill sanctuary.  The sanctuary is open to visitors most times of the year and is free of charge, but donation is definitely appreciated especially during the colder months when there are little to no visitors.  While my friend and I were walking around the sanctuary and enjoying the presence of all the animals, I cannot help but feel sad and angry at the people who would abandon their care for these animals.  But I am glad places like Big Sky Ranch exist and there are nice people who invest their time and money to improve the lives of these animals.  During our visit, all of the animals seemed to be well-cared for and their living conditions were clean and comfortable.

Here were some of the interesting animals we saw:

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

Road trip to Colorado

After three long days of driving, I am finally back in Colorado!  My labmate and I left Canada on Monday (May 30th), which may be a miscalculation because it was Memorial Day in US and we sat and waited in the car for almost two hours to cross the border.  Because of the delay, we spent the first night in Ann Arbor, Michigan (instead of the usual first night destination: Kalamazoo).

We saw two White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) outside our hotel the following morning.

On the way to work (i.e., from Ottawa to Colorado) and gettng there too early

I was planning to blog much later into the field season than this, but poor weather conditions (with winter snowstorm warnings in effect) here in Gothic, Colorado have halted what I originally planned.

My research/driving partner and I left Ottawa on the morning of the 6th, and we rested overnight at Kalamazoo and Grand Island, just like last year.  I didn't take many photos until we entered Colorado.

Can't remember if this was taken in Nebraska or Colorado.  Landscape in the northeast corner of Colorado is similar to the bordering states.

First time visitng Miller Creek Wildlife Area

Today I decided to take my biking trip further and go to the Miller Creek Wildlife Area (MCWA) in Bridgenorth. I learned about this place from my friends who took their ornithology class there earlier this semester. Plus, the sun was out when I first woke up this morning so why waste a beautiful day inside.

However, biking to MCWA was tougher than I thought. It is probably because I haven't bike in awhile, or that there are many "hills" along the way, or that there are no bike trails and I had to bike along 70km-limit lanes. Nonetheless, I surprisingly found the place about an hour later without getting lost at all.

Along the way, I saw this snake in the middle of the road with some blood around it. At first I thought it was dead, but a closer look showed that it was still alive. I was unsure if I should leave it be and have other cars end its life sooner or bring it aside and hopefully it will still survive. I chose the latter.

Photographic Post - Swans, Cows, and Collared-Dove

Mute Swans at London's Landing

My home (range)

Today's weather was so nice that I biked from my house to the South Dyke Trail, to Steveston, then to my old West Dyke Trail.

Ship and Wind Waves

Painted Turtles enjoying the Sun

Carden memories come to an end & Niagara Falls

My summer field season concluded yesterday. I am now in my friend's home in Ontario before I fly back to B.C. on Saturday. There are many memories, photos, thoughts, emotions, and experiences from the last 4.5 months that I would like to share, but now they remain unorganized in my head. Hopefully, I will be able to share them as time progresses.

Here are some photos from the last few days on the field site and last boat rides on Lake Dalrymple.

Orange Sulphurs enjoying the salts on the road.

A juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird posing for the camera.