Monday, September 3, 2012

THE PRAIRIE GAVE BREATH; I GREW AND DIED:
ALIVE ON THIS AIR THESE LIVES ABIDE.

SIGNATURE
                               Dorothy Livesay


I am still working through photos from our trip to the cabin
in July. On the way home we stopped to visit friends from
our days in archaeology. These are the Hand Hills in 
Southeastern Alberta. This area is described as fescue
and mixed grass prairie ( Peterson The North American
Prairie)  they also note that this area was used by native
people to  obtain stone for tools. One tribe that utilized
this area was the Blood or Kainai, they were considered part of
the Blackfoot Confererancy and their reserve is located quite some
distance away in the foothills by Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.



It was actually the first rain we had on our trip and
the mosquitoes were ferocious.



Laraine's horses.







Other critters included the Great Spangled Fritillary




The Mountain Cottontail who can be identified by the
" rusty orange patch on the nape of his neck" Mammals
of Alberta, Pattie and Fisher. It is interesting that the
distribution map for Alberta indicates that they occur in the
Southeast portion of the province which is prairie and they 
do not seem to occur in the mountains.





The infamous Brown-Headed Cowbird
they are known for nest parasitism this behavior
is felt to have occurred because they followed the
herds of Bison and therefore laid their eggs in the
nests of other songbirds. The Cowbird chicks outgrow
the hosts own nestlings resulting in them starving or
 pushed out. Their range has expanded and they
now parasitize over 140 species. Birds of Alberta Fisher
and Acorn.




Yogi and Andi, Tim and Laraine's
Akhash-Maremana crosses enjoy a quiet moment.



During my years in archaeology I worked in the prairies,
 the foothills, the mountains and the parkland. Each area has it's
own special rhythms and unique beauty. While Helen and I have
settled on the parkland for our cabin for a number of reasons,
 the sweeping vista of the prairie is a truely wonderful thing to
experience and once you spend time in the area you realize it
is not empty but rich in both history and prehistory, and that
it has an ecosystem as beautiful and vibrant as any on the planet.



During our visit Tim who has worked at the
Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller Alberta
in the past, took us to see some dinosaur bones
he had reported to the museum. As you can see
they are fairly subtle traces of once great creatures.
A couple of weeks later a crew from the Museum
came out and removed the skeleton of a Triceratops
dinosaur. While Alberta is know for dinosaurs
Triceratops are rare in the province and about 30 %
of the skeleton remained which is fairly significant.
The story was widely reported in the media and it was
a lot of fun to have seen the bones with their discoverer.

It was a great visit.




"And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was 
one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight 
and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree 
to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. 
And I saw that it was holy."

                        Black Elk 
                                              Black Elk Speaks 1932
                                                        Oglala Lakota (Sioux)
           
            

         

10 comments:

Hilke Breder said...

Wonderful post, Guy! I love your photos, especially those of the prairie.

Guy said...

Hi Hilke

Thanks it was a beautiful spot to see, it was quite green this year.

Guy

Julie G. said...

Guy, your beautiful posts always evoke a sense of serenity in me. Stunning lanscape and nature images! Viewing the gorgeous horses and dogs brought a big smile to my face. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit. How exciting that you were able to view those ancient bones!

Guy said...

Hi Julie

Thank you for your find comments. I always enjoy the chance to share a fun experience like our trip to visit our friends with other people and I was lucky to have some nice images to use for the post.

All the best.
Guy

Unknown said...

Fascinating post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Roy said...

Such beautiful horses and dogs Guy and that fritillary is exceptional. Amazing scenery and even though its green it is so many shades of.

Guy said...

Hi Gary

I am glad you enjoyed it.

Regards
Guy

Guy said...

Hi Roy

I was surprised by how green it was, it made for a very beautiful landscape. And I am glad you enjoyed the butterfly.

Regards
Guy

Kathie Brown said...

Guy, what an experience to see the dinosaur skeleton! Love the horse photos and the shots of the prairie! it looks so beautiful!

Guy said...

Hi Kathie

It was great to see your photos of the new house. I am glad you enjoyed my post.

Guy