Killer Cranes!

Ok, maybe not killer cranes, but attacking ones that is for sure... but I will get to that in a moment. To start things off, my good friend Ann from high school just moved back after living in Calgary for about a year. I am so happy to have my walking buddy back, I really missed her when she left. Usually when my friends and family move to Calgary, they don't come back, except for visits... and I have lost many people to the booming economic province next door, sniff. So when I heard Ann was returning, I was thrilled.

Since she doesn't work on Fridays, we planned a walk together like the good old days. We made a date to meet at the Bird Sanctuary at 10am and got walkin'. Ariel was thrilled that there were ducks everywhere! All the ducks we visit at the slough have disappeared... perhaps due to the beaver I saw there last week! Yes, a BEAVER! Anyone who knows our area knows that animal isn't really down in this part of town. Crazy.


Anyhoo, we got started walking and chatting up a storm. The sun came out and it got really hot which was a total surprise when we thought rain was coming. We saw lots of 'teen' ducks (aka ones that look full grown but don't have all the adult colorings yet) and this beautiful one that I fell in love with. So cute!


Lots of stunning Herons that would always fly off when I pulled out my camera, doh! Did you ever see them land in a tree? I must say that was a first for me, I usually only see them along the river. Also saw some Canadian Geese, actually lots of them.


On the trail we took we ended up seeing two stunning cranes walking in the water. I zoomed in and caught this picture, so amazing! Their coloring is so pretty.


We passed them and continued walking until we realized somewhere along the trail Ariel lost her cup. She was starting to whine and I didn't think it was too far back so we started to walk back. We passed the cranes again but this time they were closer to the bank. I took some more pictures and kinda joked to Ann that it was like they were walking over to us... so we headed on in search of the cup.

Sure enough, the cup wasn't too far away and instead of go around the long way we would take the short route past the cranes. I was a bit worried they might be on the path now, but dismissed it since it was really hot and we were growing tired.

We came around the corner and there were are good friends Mr and Mrs Crane. They stood completely in the middle of the trail, ugh. We watched them in hopes they would move along and after minutes past, we knew that wasn't going to happen. Sigh. On the other end of the path we saw another couple coming, and we hoped their presence then might make the cranes move back into the water... not so.


When one moved more to the edge of the path, Ann made a dash around it. I told her afterwards it was a good thing she didn't see the angry crane lunge at her. ACK! She could have had a lovely bite taken out of her bottom. Of course the cranes were totally cheesed and started coming at me and Ariel who was in the stroller. I freaked and put the sun roof down to block Ariel, who of course was loving the cranes and proceeded to push is back up to see.

The couple who were watching on the other side of the path knew they had to help now that me and my toddler daughter were in danger, and the woman started acting like a bird waving her arms to get its attention. She then splashed some water on its back to distract it from Ariel and I and at that moment we made a dash for it and got by safely. We thanked them and decided to head home since we had enough excitement for one morning.

As we came to the top of the trail we saw this VERY important sign... one that I think should have been on the other entrance of the trail that we entered from! Had we seen that, I am sure we would have chosen a different way to walk with Ariel. Gack. Thank heavens we were ok, and next time we will avoid the cranky cranes. Since posting the pictures on Facebook, I was told by someone the same thing happened to her family too because of no warning on the other trail entrance, perhaps I may need to phone the sanctuary and recommend another sign.


In the parking lot we laughed about our morning, hugged and went on our way. I am sure we will meet up soon, which I look forward to for sure, as will Ariel. I think she took a liking to Aunty Ann, and who wouldn't? They survived a crane attack together, that bonds you for life! Haha.


Yesterday Ariel and I went for a walk down to Nana's old house to pick up some chicken and bacon she had left in the freezer for us to take. Woot! We never get bacon, so thats a real treat! Ariel was decked out in her favorite turtle outfit, gonna be sad when she outgrows it. I am thinking it might be sooner than later because while I dressed her that morning I realized Ariel had a big growth spurt. The size 6 shoes that have been like clown shoes on her all summer now fit perfectly! Crazy!


When we arrived at the house, there were two vans in the driveway. I was sure I recognized at least one of them, but then wondered if the house was being shown. The back door was open and I called inside to check, and low and behold it was Julie with baby Molly and her mom staging the house. Ariel was thrilled and proceeded to play with Molly while I checked out Julie's handy work! She has done a wonderful job updating the house from a retired couple's home to something that would appeal to a young family. Amazing! Love it and she did many things I think will totally help sell the house. Yay.

We went on our way to let Julie and her mom finish up. As we got closer to home, Ariel called out 'KITTY' and was pointing across the street. When I looked over, it wasn't a cat at all, but a very big momma raccoon and 2 babies. Wow! Of course my camera was at home, doh! Whats with all the crazy wildlife in town?

Ariel and I then did a few loads of laundry, exciting I know! Hehe. Ariel is such a wonderful helper and would throw clothes into the machine and laugh. So cute. She is at that grand age that helping is fun, and I plan on making sure of encouraging that so she will grow with a love of helping others. While we did the laundry we practiced her counting, and she is pretty much counting perfectly from one to ten! *Beaming* She then relaxed with some friends watching her favorite movie 'I'm Dirty', the one Ken worked on with Galen. She loves it, and no, its not dirty! Haha, its about a backhoe loader, very cute.


During Ariel's nap, Kara stopped by after work and had another visit. Can I say again how much I love having her home again! Hee. She was kind enough to order some sushi for us to share for lunch, yummy. I heart sushi.

Ariel woke up from her nap completely soaked from either her water cup leaking or teething drool... I think the 2 year molars might be starting. So after a quick change, she was happy again and sat on the couch reading her little 'Bible'. So cute.


After dinner we had our friends Maureen and Darrel along with their kids Andrea and Tim come over for a visit. They are in town from Alberta visiting family. Usually Ken ends up missing seeing them due to work, so he was happy to be around to chat and see how much the kids have grown. Darrel got bear dancing for Ariel, not sure if she was impressed I think.


A couch full of monkeys! Ariel had a ball playing with kids and was in love with their bikes when they road home. She fell asleep quickly that night and Ken got lots of work done.


Tomorrow is a full day of fun! Ariel is going to a birthday party in the morning then we have an open house party celebrating Kara's return and graduation and a BBQ at my dad's with some of my family. Needless to say it will be busy and I am sure full of yummy food. Yay, I am looking forward to it.