Vertebrates but not birds

Top:  Red squirrel  Bottom:  White spruce on hiking trail Another glorious day here at Camp Nakamun, Alberta.  The temperature warmed up enough to doff coat and gloves while showshoeing the local hiking trail.  I was on the search for anything which might inspire a photograph, and once again I wasn't disappointed.  The camp offers a tremendous variety of foliage and wildlife, and I discovered evidence of a red squirrel's larder. The bottom photo was shot while plodding along on snowshoes on the camp's perimeter trail.  The tree on the right is a white spruce, a coniferous, cone-bearing tree which red squirrels seem to approve of.  The brown area at the base of the tree is the remnants of cones which the furry rodents have opened.  Before the cones were cleverly broken up, each one contained dozens of life-giving seeds.  The significant pile is a testament to the volume of food this tree has provided. No midden exists at the base ...

An elk, or wapiti, photographed in the snow. By any definition, the elk is a majestic animal.  One of the largest members of the deer family, it proudly strolls through its habitat barely aware of the snow.  Its long and powerful limbs cut through all but the deepest drifts.  The young male above is still in the process of growing its antlers.  He has only recently shed the previous ones and the new stalks will grow quickly in size.  In a few months, the velvet covering them will be shed during rutting season.  Then he will put them to good use in shoring up a harem. I photographed this today while traveling through Jasper National Park.  He was one of about thirty adults moving in linear order as a single column.  I liked the fact that they were unafraid of the people and cars around them; we did not bother them and they did not bother us.  I suppose some may complain about elk droppings, or elk grazing grasses and browsing b...