Gary and Gertrude enjoying the view

We noticed Gary and Gertrud about a month ago when they flew by making a lot of noise. Being new to Calgary we thought that maybe spring is here and the geese are returning from South. After talking to people we found out that the geese and ducks actually stay here throughout winter and brave the cold. Now we are quite used to seeing the geese fly around the tall buildings and taking a rest at the rooftops. Gary and Gertrud like to rest at our balcony. There was a single goose – probably Gerry who tried to take over their crevice on Saturday morning, but Gary showed him who’s the boss and took over the real estate after a bit of cackling and hissing. We woke up at the sound of the geese fight and they were so occupied with their own actions that they let us open the curtains and take pictures of them without paying any attention to us. They sat on their perch for quite a while, most likely taking in the sight of the river and we thought that maybe they are looking for a place to build their nest. I doubt they were perching there to see what we are up to.

Harald the Hare is also a frequent visitor near our building – he is completely white and very big. We’ve seen him hopping around the little garden that is near our house, but one day he probably got a bit confused and hopped along the path my husband is taking to work for quite some time. We thought that he must be so certain that humans cannot blow his cover when he is the same colour as the surrounding snow. Now we haven’t seen him for a while, but there were lots of fresh pawprints on the melting snow. He might be changing his coat to a bit more spring colour?

Sandy the Squirrel posing

Sandy frequents the tree that grows right next to our building. He is a busy little squirrel and always runs up and down the tree. Once I got him posing to me as well, but since I did not have anything else to offer, he does not pay much attention to my comings and goings any more. Sandy the Squirrel has a very black coat – on a cold winter day it is almost blue.

It is great to see a bit of wildlife close to our abode. Together with the sight of the mountains it makes us forget that we live in a condo on the fourteenth floor on the verge of Downtown Calgary and makes us believe that nature is all around us.