** You’re most welcome to browse and throw in your two pebbles, make some ripples or make a splash. But PLEASE DO NOT REBLOG OR COPY **
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What happened to the birds during the flood, I can’t say. But after the most serious flooding had passed, these were some of the sights.
Downtown view one day after the heaviest rain:
The Glenmore Reservoir, two days after. Yes, that’s where our drinking water comes from. The heavy silts in the water made a peculiar sunset scene. You can see the muddy water in the foreground:
Due to flooding, the Weaselhead Natural Area was closed for some time. Two weeks after, I went to survey the aftermath:
From the mud on this bench, you can see how high the water came up to:
Among the rubbles of dead trees and debris, what I found amazed me. Do you see what I see? Look, right in the middle:
Not just one or two, but half a dozen Cedar Waxwings frolicking among the ruins:
Absolute serenity:
A closer look at the beautiful silky plumage:
Not just the Waxwings, hoards of Cliff Swallows joined in the natural chorus. But they were too fast for me to capture on camera. I could manage just a few shots. In most of the photos they came out too small and blurry:
Lots of Wild Roses among muddy leaves. See the bud?
Berries too, red defying brown:
And this little guy came out to greet me on the flood-swept path now dried:
As I was leaving the area, a Small Blue butterfly ensured me…
Life goes on.
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Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy Reads. CLICK HERE to see what others have posted.
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Ripple Effects 
Beautiful photographs as always, Arti. Glad the water is receding and hope recovery is swift. I really enjoy your nature photos!
Yesterday, I walked with a friend on a path in a park along a creek. We saw a lot of damage, huge fallen trees and debris remaining after some heavy rain earlier this year. It reminds us of the power of nature. The park is designed to handle flooding and was partly set aside as parkland because of the creek’s tendency to flood. It’s a lovely spot, very tempting to build upon. Humans need water for physical and aesthetic reasons, and sadly we can’t always keep a reliably safe distance.
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Cathy,
The water had receded but today there’s new rain, and some areas are flooded again. Nothing like this has ever happened before, the forty some years I’ve been here. Yes, that long. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts and retweeting. 😉
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Wow…water can really be destructive. Love all your shots. The birds are fabulous and great catch of that butterfly!
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Ellen,
Thanks. And… will go soon to check out your July 4th post! 😉
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I had no idea you’d been suffering a flood. I’m very glad to hear the worst is over. Water is so terrifying in its power. We’ve had dreadful flooding all over the UK in the past few years. But it is completely amazing the way nature regenerates herself with such calm determination.
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litlove,
It’s the worst flooding in our City and our Province’s history. In our City alone, 100,000 people had to evacuate. Now many still can’t go back home yet. Some part of Downtown still closed. But good to see the birds and the butterflies are flying, albeit I’m worried about the shorebirds. Haven’t seen any of them lately other than gulls.
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I always think trees and bushes look so strange standing out of flood waters, and when there are floods here I always worry about the wildlife and the plants, but amazingly things always seem to thrive afterwards. Thank you for visiting my blog.
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Christine,
Yes, the people here are amazing too in our community spirit. But there are more rains coming though, and many structures still not functioning. Thanks for stopping by the pond and throwing in your two pebbles. 😉
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I’m so glad (at least of) the animals and birds made it through the devastation. Sadly, It will probably take humans much longer to get things righted in their lives. 😦
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Debbie,
You’re absolutely right. I have family who still can’t move back to his home yet, not for another 6 weeks! And… there’s more rain in the forecast, but the Calgary Stampede is on! Great to have a fellow Canuck visiting Ripple Effects! Hope to hear from you again. 😉
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Awww…hope and moving forward 🙂 We could all learn a lot of things from animals, couldn’t we? 🙂
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epkwrsmith,
I’m afraid so… wildlife is more attuned to nature than we humans. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
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Amazing pictures! I hope that the cleanup goes as well as can be expected.
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mdott922,
It’s going to be a long, long road to recovery… albeit the community spirit is just as unprecedented. Thanks for stopping by!
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I often think when there is so much doom and gloom about that nature does have a way of recovering.
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Ginny,
Nature sure has a way to recover … maybe faster than humans. But I’m afraid there are areas so badly destroyed by the flood that it may be a long while… maybe wildlife would move to adjust.
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A lovely post . . . I appreciated the cedar wax wing photos, and the rhythm of the photos ending with the butterfly-sign of new life.
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Micheline,
It’s a wonderful area, the Weaselhead Natural Area. Nature at our doorstep. 😉
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Great pictures of the Cedar Waxwings.
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Heather,
Thanks! They were wonderful to behold. Silky beautiful and lively.
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It’s good to see the photos of the birds, squirrel, butterfly etc. amid all that destruction!
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Vicki,
Yes, assuring indeed. I’m concerned about the shorebirds though, since they need to water more. I haven’t been seeing them around.
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When I first looked at your great images of the Cedar Waxwings, Arti, I thought they were wearing sunglasses. It’s comforting to know that the critters are returning to their natural habitat, but I feel for the thousands of people who are continuing to struggle in the aftermath of this disaster.
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lameadventures,
You’re right. There’s more rain today and more flooding for some who had just cleaned up their homes and salvaged whatever they could. Definitely it’s much more complicated for humans to recover than for birds and the bees. As for the Cedar Waxwings, if you think they’re wearing sunglasses, you must see some other ones I’ve got weeks earlier … like they’re going to a masquerade party. Maybe next Saturday. Thanks for stopping by! 😉
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It’s interesting to see all the muddiness that remains when it seems like it should all wash away. Your sharp eye caught those waxwings beautifully — almost like they’re emerging from the ark, wondering about what’s left.
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nikkipolani,
The flood water has come a long way from the mountains, carrying with it lots of silts and debris. That’s why it’s always muddy after a flood. Easier for wildlife to adapt than for city dwellers to clean up. My heart goes out to all, hundreds and thousands here who have to shovel mud out of their homes and throw away many possessions thus destroyed.
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These are some very cool pictures. Reminds all of us the power of nature.
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Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.
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Thanks for sharing these, Arti! 🙂
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D,
Perhaps you’ve heard about this on the news where you are?
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The flooding in Calgary was one of the first news items my husband and I heard when we reached Newfoundland for our annual vacation with family in my home province. I felt sad to hear that not only had the area been flooded once but new rains were flooding it again. In the Midwest, we sometimes have a town get hit twice by a tornado. Just when one thinks it’s safe to start cleaning up, nature throws another wallop. My prayers are with folks there.
Your photos are incredible! The nature shots are gorgeous. You’ve also wonderfully captured the aftermath of a terrible disaster. So glad to hear some of the wildlife is doing well. I hope to hear good news about the shorebirds too.
Thanks for the visit to my blog. I love hearing from fellow Canadians!
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Alison,
Welcome! It’s always great to have someone stop by who has some Canuck linkage. Yes, this is probably one of the worst natural disasters we have in our Province. Other smaller towns like High River is much worse off than we are. Glad to see the birds are adapting well. Always a joy to see and photograph them.
Hope to hear from you again.
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You know, it’s funny – I just realized that every single one of my photos from tropical storm Allison is gone. I deleted them all. It’s funny. For a while I looked at them a lot, as though to assure myself that yes, it really did happen like that, and it really was that bad. Then, one day, it was over. I tossed the pics and moved on. It’s a good thing, because it wasn’t long before we had Katrina and Rita and Ike to contend with!
Don’t worry about your shorebirds. Any adult birds are fine – they’re just somewhere else. After Ike, we didn’t have a bug, a fish, or a bird of any kind around here for nearly a month. Then, little by little, they started showing up. It was the same thing during the 2011 drought. We went through a period where none of the water birds that were supposed to be here, were. Eventually, after the rains started again, they came back. The birds can fly, and they will – they’re much more closely attuned to nature, and I’m convinced will leave before a terrible storm. If there’s a hurricane in the Gulf, I watch the birds and the water levels more closely than the television weather people!
Your photos are great. I envy you those waxwings – and those berries look like good waxwing food. Were they close to one another?
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Linda,
I’m glad to hear your assurance about the shorebirds. But then I read your words “Any adult birds are fine…” What about the babies? I sure hope they’re ok. Some of them may not fly that well yet. I’ve a few photos of the baby Mergansers, remember? I hope they’re ok. It’s funny that I have them on my mind. I must post about them again. They were so young and cute when I saw them a couple of weeks before the flood.
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Great to see the birds and other critters returning after the flood water recede. The close up of the cedar waxwing is marvelous!
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Joy,
Yes, it was a pleasant surprise for me. Thanks for stopping by!
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I would not have expected to find waxwings after the flood. Nature does have an amazing way of recovering, and much faster than most of us humans are able to.
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Leslie,
Humans have numerous earthly possessions that have to be repaired, rebuilt, or replace. It is devastation for many of them. Sometimes I wish life can be as simple as the birds… ‘they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns…’ 😉
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Glad to see the wild life is recovering from the flood. I hope you and everyone in your city is too.
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Thanks Stefanie. I’m ok, but many hundreds and thousands aren’t. My heart goes out to them.
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Yikes, Arti, these are amazing and frightening photos. But yes, life does go on, and somehow things manage to survive. I’m not sure why I’m so glad to see the squirrel after what they did to the cottage, but one worries without wings. Although they can climb. And that pink flower… Your bird photos are, as always, stunning. What a lens you must have! And the stillness to keep them close at hand.
I hope Calgary is recovering well — your words about how people pitched in warmed me tremendously. I’m glad you are OK.
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Jeanie,
Life would have to be very different for many. I know people who still have yet to go back home, or just may not even have a home to go back to. About that pink flower, it’s the Wild Rose, our Provincial flower. They are hardy even in our Alberta climate. And now esp. after the flood, it’s good to see pink and red in the muddy background. Yes, certainly glad to see some life bouncing back from the debris and ruins.
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You really took some great photos – so much misery for so many people, and animal too. I don’t remember seeing Cedar Waxwing here – they have lovely color and your photo show the birds so clearly. It certainly has been a month of destruction, flood in your area, and fires in the west. It has been raining here too for almost two weeks with trees falling on houses.
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Vagabonde,
And it seems like disasters keep piling in… the train derailment in the Quebec town, incinerated part of it, the Korean airplane accident in SF, and just yesterday the flash flooding in TO, and my son was caught right in the middle of it in downtown rush hour. Nevertheless, our Calgary Stampede is still on, albeit with lower attendance. Just hope the rest of the summer will be more peaceful.
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There has been a lot of natural and unnatural disasters in Canada — well everywhere really lately –very sad. The sight of those beautiful birds afterwards made me smile — thank you Arti
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