Riding Mountain Park is well known for it’s herd of Wood Bison (a subspecies of the North American Bison). Approximately 40 bison roam in over 500 hectacres of fenced land, which is accessable to the public via a single road that runs through one of the open areas. Of course, the original animals did not come from our Manitoba Prairies, they were completely destroyed. The reintroduction of this herd came in 1931 with 10 animals imported from Elk Island Park, east of Edmonton, Alberta. It’s wonderful to see this healthy, handsome herd roaming freely in the same environment they did for thousands of years - although it always brings tears to think of our disgraceful history with this magnificent animal. When we drove through their enclosure we were very lucky to find them very close to the road. It was exceptionally hot that day and they were clearly affected by the heat, visibly panting and resting, moving very slowly away from us. All shots taken from inside the truck… for obvious reasons! 09/26/19
We’ve had nothing but rain over the last few days, storm after storm rolling through, bringing cool temps and sometimes torrential downpours. Autumn is here. Change is in the air. All creatures, great & small, can feel it! 09/24/19 (shot taken from our beach, looking east)
Leaving Riding Mountain behind, we headed back to the Lake & arrived just in time to catch this beautiful sunset. It was definitely a ‘welcome back’ evening sky…. or perhaps a sad farewell. The equinox marks the ending of our days here…. The next few days will be spent ‘winterizing’ our summer home because anything that is left here will spend several months frozen solid. Everything that shouldn’t freeze will be packed up & taken home, and gallons of antifreeze will replace all the water in all the pipes & fixtures. Sad days… winter is so long, summer so short. But maybe that is exactly what makes our ‘lake life’ so very special. 09/23/19
