Camping at Dilberry Lake

It's been a long time since we camped in Alberta--five years to be exact. Our condo was too hot, and we needed a change of scenery.  Dilberry Lake Provincial Park on the Saskatchewan border fit the bill, and the lake was actually swimmable.

This park features knob-and -kettle terrain, a landform of small irregular hillocks (knobs) and shallow lakes, (kettles) formed by receding glaciers. A few of these small lakes made up the park, the largest being Dilberry Lake, the one with the sandy beach where families liked to enjoy the hot weather.
I enjoyed my swims, too! At first my muscles and bones were creaky after my fall seven weeks ago, but by the second day I could do a modified breast stroke. The water was so refreshing, and fairly clear.

Foam churned up through wind, sodium, or organic substances

We drove to an ecological reserve area that was supposed to have sand dunes, but never found it.  Then we thought, "Maybe we are on the sand dunes; and they're grown over."  Most of the vegetation was grasses and shrubby aspen trees and smaller silvery-leafed wolf-willow bushes.

Elaeagnus commutata

As we hiked around the campsite, and the next day around a five km loop around two smaller lakes, we were surrounded by these trees and saskatoon berry bushes.









We avoided the poison ivy!

Leaves of three, let it be!

We were amused to find that the trail around the lakes was actually a swath cut through the grassland!
The trails through the campsite were gravelly sand, not quite comfortable for my Townie bike.

Western Goat's Beard or Yellow Salsify

I'm not sure I was supposed to pick the saskatoon berries, but I thought the deer wouldn't mind sharing a few handfuls.  They were much more closely clustered together and prolific than this picture shows.  The juiciest saskatoon beries I've ever tasted! I certainly filled my antioxidant quota for the day. A great mid-morning snack!  Good thing they grow in and around Red Deer, too, so I can make jam.

                                                                                   Chokecherries were still green on the stem, and prolific as well.                                                            

Amelanchier alnifolia



Terry was amused that one side of these steps was Alberta, and the other side, Saskatchewan, according to the map.  

Food tastes better in the open air.                                              

Dilberry Lake is an important bird area, and we totalled nearly 70 species. Terry was excited about the cranes that flew overhead, and was convinced they weren't the regular Sandhill Cranes, since they had black heads. We'll never know for sure, since we couldn't document them with a picture. Here's one of my favourite birds, the Wilson's Snipe. I used to see it sitting on a fence post as we would drive to school,

Life was slow paced in a natural setting. We chose not to be connected to power, and the neighbours were not too close.  I felt refreshed, and didn't really want to go home.  It was time, though; we ran out of interesting food and on the last night the Coleman lantern sputtered and died to night-light mode, too dim to read longer.

A peaceful end to a long, satisfying day.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,

Till all our strivings cease;

Take from our souls the strain and stress,

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Thy peace.

J.G. Whittier

Birthday Lunch Date

Ellis smiles in his car seat on the way to his birthday lunch with Grandma and Grandpa B.  Thanks, Grandpa, for transferring the car seat, and for driving.

 The card I made him shows a pirate looking through his spyglass with the words  "I see you have a birthday."

Ellis is four years old today.
He never knew his great grandmother, but he was born on her birthday. She would have been pleased. His brother's birthday is two days from now; his cousin's is tomorrow, another cousin's was four days ago, his uncle's was yesterday. It's quite the birthday week for this family.
His great-great-grandmother's  and great-great-great-grandfather's birthdays also cluster around this date. Interesting how this happens in families!

This pirate puzzle requires concentration.

 It's finished before the food comes.

Fish and chips goes well with the informal pirate theme. "Don't pick pancakes," we told him.  "That's what you chose for your birthday dinner with the family!"

At times the overhead TV screen was a distraction to conversation, 

just as it is with the other Burnett boys.

Ellis chose a beautiful shiny ring with a pink "jewel' from the treasure chest at the door. Pirate treasure!

Too full for the chocolate cupcake, so we brought it home.
 Birthday party time with his brother in three days.  Wonderful to have summer birthdays with a big back yard.