Friendly faces

We met so many beautiful, friendly, curious horses on our day of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count in the Nanton area on January 2nd. Four of us drove about 200 kms from early morning till early evening, covering the south west quadrant of the Nanton and area count circle. I always love it when we stop at various farms, knowing that there will always be cats, dogs and horses to photograph, even if no birds : ) I think I could be happy, spending my life cruising all the backroads of Alberta, ha.

We are still in our deep-freeze and, according to the weather forecast, we have about four more days before temperatures become a bit more bearable. My camera must wonder what's going on and suffering feelings of rejection. I've been just too busy the last two weeks to go out, too sad, and when you see the windchill temperature is -31C (-24F), it just makes you want to stay home in the warmth, anyway.

Last night, I finally wrote the words I wish to be read at my Brother's funeral in England - not the easiest thing to do, of course, and this afternoon I have a rare-for-me, splitting headache that burns every time I cough. John's funeral should be sometime in the next ten days or so.

Later afternoon: just received an e-mail, saying:

"Three WHOOPING CRANES found Dead. Wildlife scientists at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, have concluded through preliminary testing the cranes found dead near Albany, Georgia, on Dec. 30, 2010, sustained injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

The cranes were shot sometime before Dec. 30, 2010. They were discovered and reported by hunters. The three cranes, 20-10, 24-10, and 28-10, were part of a group of five 2010 Direct Autumn Release (DAR) cranes. According to Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership trackers, they had last been tracked in Hamilton County, Tennessee, where they roosted on December 10, 2010,with cranes 6-05, 6-09, and 38-09."

How could anyone carry out such a despicable act - against any wildlife, but even more so against such a highly threatened species???