This edition of the Nearby Nature Project includes a couple of special bird sightings in the Bow Valley, observations on the change from fall to winter, and a book review!

This edition of the Nearby Nature Project includes a couple of special bird sightings in the Bow Valley, observations on the change from fall to winter, and a book review!
Water: essential for life. And also for this month's photo blogging challenge. But how to photograph? Read on...
It's no accident that our home base is close to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where adventure opportunities abound! Outcome, however, doesn't automatically arise from opportunity. That's why it helps to develop an adventure mindset.
During peak wildflower or larch season, with the impressive Giant Steps as your turnaround point, this is a great choice for those wanting to avoid the crowds that swarm the trails at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.
An out and back hike starting from the parking lot at Emerald Lake, the relatively steep trail to Hamilton Lake in Yoho National Park traverses a patch of Western Interior Cedar-Hemlock Rainforest, follows a stretch of Hamilton Creek to the base of a lovely, multi-stepped waterfall, then climbs through more typical forest, crossing a couple of avalanche slopes where wildflowers bloom in abundance, before finally reaching the brilliantly-turquoise Hamilton Lake. We opted to carry on past the lake, up a long talus slope to the base of Top Hat Peak. Looking down on Hamilton Lake brought back fond memories of hiking the nearby Lake O'Hara region of Yoho National Park.