Ye Olde Batt: The Home Where I live....

This valley never ceases to amaze me. It is a wonderful place to live and I love the river in all its glory, be it summer, fall, winter or spring. Teapot has been loading pictures from the old computer to the new computer and so we have been looking at the pictures more than we would normally. I have taken many pictures of the valley and the river but I thought that today I would show you this valley in all its splendor by posting my favorite pictures of the river and the valley which I call home.

There is always an abundance of wildlife on the river... of course, birds of all kinds flock there for their very survival. I love canoeing on the river because there are always interesting birds to look at, from Kingfishers diving for their lunch, to Eagles patrolling the waters for any sign of things they can eat, be it fish or a baby beaver. There are no small number of wading shore birds like this little sand piper.

Or this flock of geese.....

I love the way the sun sparkles on the water on beautiful sunny days as the water rolls along under the bow of the canoe drifting lazily along and always carrying us forward.

Sparkling water always makes me feel happy....

And we are not the only ones who love the river when it sparkles.....

It makes for an awesome day of rich, bright, soul renewing light.....

The water has many different faces and colours that often evoke similar feelings in me.

There is a rich blue....of energy....

An azure..... of tranquility....

and sometimes even a somber green....

And sandy or rocky cliffs tower over you as you drift silently past. I find myself wondering if those cliffs are watching as they did when the Voyageurs passed this way... these cliffs are covered in hoodoos...

I have drifted past cliffs of shale rock that have made me wonder if they would slide into the river. Once, just as we got past, a little slide occurred and we hurried away from the slopes that somehow seemed formidable.

The water swirls and eddies under the canoe sometimes as the river rolls along over boulders that have been there for thousands of years.... it is quite a thrill when the river lifts you and pushes you around when you drift across one if its many eddies.

Islands dot it's waters where ecosystems of ancient times thrive and provide sanctuary for who knows how many species. They are awesome to explore and you find ferns as high as 6 or 7 feet and mushrooms that are so delicate in their growth that they look like something out of an alien world.