Birch

From Photo of the day (2009)

My dog walk this morning was.... a bit different. I drove up to the new cemetery and the rifle range behind the prisons looking for a new place to hike with the dog but no luck. Then I drove around behind the prisons at the base of the quarry near a friends farm and got the dog out. Unfortunately there wasn't anywhere to go after the dead end of the road - just a very large imposing sign that said NO TRESSPASSING DANGER ACTIVE MINE - I figured it was probably best to pay attention to that one, seeing how large it was, and the fact that it wasn't just some private land. So we went back to the car. And of course Meg didn't want to get in, and ran around my friend's fields, met up with his big dogs (who were friendly thank goodness) and jumped in something very thick and green and putrid. I'm hoping it was just some pond slime and not a leak out of the farms manure pit. Anyways it was revolting and of course there was no clean water, finally managed to get dog in car and headed quickly out towards the river where we were yesterday so I could get her rinsed off. A couple trucks drove down onto the river bed and looked like they were going to be roaring around so we headed into the treed bit on Coyote island. I hadn't been in there since there was snow, and I was pleasantly surprised by the large open space after the first bunch of small alders and birches. Would be a great place to camp. I came across this tree, liked the colour and how it was lined up against an older tree behind so started taking shots of it. Part way through I heard what sounded like sirens, then I realized it was a pack of coyotes, not all that far off, in the bush howling. I listened till they stopped, it was quite eerie but cool all the same. Thank goodness Meg only barked and then hung around me instead of bolting after them. Made me think it would be a neat place to go at dawn or dusk to see them coming and going from the farmland across the river.