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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#LazyMonday (my recovery day) short early evening walk on the farm. Sun was still up but behind the trees when I (heard, first) this Ruffed Grouse in the mixed woods. It was alert and moving away from me, but still stopping to peck at Snowberries #Birds #Alberta #Canada #Alberta #BorealForest

Same alt all pics. In dull evening light in the shade of mixed woods, a mid-sized bird- maybe the size of a small chicken, walking on the forest floor. The bird has an intricate mix of spots and bars and chevrons from near white through pale grey, darker greys, black with tan through dark brown- giving it excellent camouflage against the complex forest background. It is alert with head up and the crest on its head raised, neck stretched out- in one photo it is even more stretched out as it tries to slink away discreetly. Clearly not *that* worried, though, in another shot it has paused by a Snowberry bush to peck at berries. The ground is covered with fallen branches, some covered with moss, plus mixed vegetation- scattered clumps of grass, occasional dandelion leaves, small shrubs etc, green with scattered bits of gold. Even with a bit of enhancing on the bird, it still blends well into the vegetation.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Bumblebees enjoying the many tiny flowers of Carlina acaulis in the garden. In late afternoon of a cool rainy day with sunny breaks, the sun came out a bit longer: enough for the petal-like bracts to mostly open (they close in dull/wet times) #bees #bugSky #pollinators 🌱 #autumn #Canada vid next

On a flower head that looks superficially daisy-like, two smallish bumblebees in gold and black can be seen feeding. Instead of the soft ray flowers (not petals) of a daisy, this plant has stiff narrow, pointed bracts which surround a centre disk packed with tiny burgundy florets. The plant itself is spikey with narrow leaves with spines and other stiff modified leaf bits. This day had been mostly cool with rain showers and a few sunny breaks and the bracts were mostly open though another plant nearby was closed up. I wondered if it was lingering open *because* it had visitors? I've seen nearly/immobile bees in these before and wonder if they ever stay and get closed in overnight? seems cosy..

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A lot of late #flowers were mashed by hail, but some things survived! Eryngium was still hosting bees, wasps + flies + at least one spider! At day's end, the #bumblebee was moving very slowly, I wondered if it would stay overnight, and if so, safely? #FlowerReport #BugSky #insects #pollinators

same alt all pics Several views of a spiky looking almost unnatural blue ( a bit violet, a bit metallic?) flower head, composed of many tiny florets in a ball with stamens sticking out, rising from several narrow thistly looking leafy bracts of the same colour. The background is variously out of focus grassy ground and a few more of the flower heads, out of focus as blue balls against a greeny golden blurred background. In a couple of photos a small chunky bunble bee, pale fuzzy gold with a bit of black near the head and at the rear tip, and a wide orangey band on its abdomen (rear part of body). The bee seems oblivious to the pale crab spider on the underside of the flower head, maybe unconcerned since it already holds a fly it caught. In a couple of shots we see only the spider and fly, a little earlier before the bee arrived, including a closer view.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We had a big hailstorm and downpours last weekend- mashed a lot of plants, but left some good puddles for the Canadian Robins to have a nice bath! Music excerpt: Happy Tails by Blue Deer Studio YouTube Audio Library support links in bio #birds #nature #Canada #Alberta

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

We had a significant hail storm Saturday night, and I was out yesterday to survey the damage (vid to come). These Sonchus /Sow Thistles lost a lot of leaves, but some flowers + buds remain- good for late season #pollinators, but not lucky for this #Bee! #composites #insects #Alberta 🌱📷🌿 #spider

A slightly pendant flower droops into the frame from upper left against a blurred vauely green and shadowy background. Being in the composite family with daisies, dandelions etc, this is actually a flower head composed of many many tiny flowers, rather than standard flower parts like petals. This one has mostly (entirely?) ray florets which resemble petals, kind of like a bigger, shaggier dandelion in deep gold, with many paler thread-like stamens in the centre. To the lower right a close look reveals a hidden danger: a crab spider which has adopted a yellow colour (paler than the flowers) to camouflage it among the golden rays. Its ploy has worked and it has captured a tiny native bee which dangles lifelessly, wings out.

A closer view of the same scene, focussing on the spider which is a pale not quite translucent yellow- kind of like candle wax, and the bee which is tiny, slim and black with just a very fine golden fuzz visible in close-up only, more ant-like than the more well known larger chunkier bees.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Well El Niño is still not appering here- looking like a moderately cool and possibly wettish week ahead (average for now is 22C/72F day 8C/46F night so this is not far off, bit wet for this time, maybe, but not too strange either) #Alberta #Canada #weather #august #ElNino

Environment Canada forecast for Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada for the week ahead from August 08 2026. Temperatures range from 23 C today to 16C mid week, with nights from 7-10C. Every day has a chance of rain day o rnight or both, with some sunny breaks on some days, percentage of possibility ranging from 30% to periods of rain.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

It's the #CrossQuarterDay between Summer Solstice +Autumn Equinox. In ancient calendars this marked harvest + first hints of #Autumn season. The actual date is 06 I may do an altar or bushwalk? both? we'll see what energy + inspiration dictate! A couple of past blog posts in comments #PaganSky

An old white guy- me- standing in a late summer wetland area with thigh high golding grass and sedges, with low bushy willows, one is behind me just more than shoulder height. Farther back we see some slightly taller willlows and farther still a mesic mixed woods in front of blue sky with a few bits of wispy white cloud. The image is framed in a dull gold and the colour repeats in text that crosses the image around my waist height:
Blessed Māras!
Great Mother Day

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Maybe Yarrow Plume Moth Gillmeria pallidactyla. I only 'discovered' Plume Moths a few (handful or more?) years ago! This one was suitably on Achillea millefolium cv . Bonus shot with a Long-horned Beetle, not sure of sp. #insects #BugSky #pollinators #garden #photography #nature🌱📷🌿

Close view of a small moth perching on a mid pink Yarrow flower cluster. The odd looking moth almost looks more like an oversized mosquito or a tiny artist made model airplane. It has very narrow (folded? not sure) wingsheld straight out to the sides just behind the head, a long narrow body, and very long spindly legs with a few spikes or hairs at the joints. It is off-white with a few indistinct goldy brown stripey blotches on the wings and small regular markings along the length of the body. It is perched on a flat head of many tinyflorets which are composed of even tinier unevenly oink ray flowers (like petals) around clusters of tiny disk flowers which look like little pale mounds with bits of yellow floral parts sticking out like little worms.

A broader view shows more of the plant, the moth on one flower head and with another flower head, newer and so a deeper pink. On that second flower cluster is a beetle feeding on pollen, its body length maybe a little less than the moth's wingspread, but its body muchmore robust than the moth's. It is a dull gold with black markings on the wing cases and long black antennae.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Here's a longer video, from June- wanders on the acreage and farm, butterflies, woodpeckers, bees, flowers, rain and a bit of yard and garden work. If you enjoy this, I do have others on YT youtu.be/9lGYYAuJ4FY #CountryLiving #nature #garden #pollinators #weather #vlog

youtu.be

June Country Living: Cool Green Summer Days: Flowers Rain Birds Bees Butterflies

YouTube video by Cohan Magazine

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Iris chrysographes, from seed years ago, in a rather overgrown garden area (!) still making some beautiful flowers. I was wondering about #pollinators: on another day I saw small native and #bumblebees visiting. #FlowerReport #Alberta #BloomScrolling

Same alt all photos. Several views of medium tall Iris with slim stems and narrow almost grassy leaves grows out of a tangle of knee-high or taller vegetation, between two small trees/large multi-stemmed shrubs with narrow trunks mostly bare several feet up. The flowers are typical Iris flowers with several downward hanging sepals (falls) and upright central petals (standards). This is a more or less natural species form so the flower parts are rather more simple and elegant compared to ruffly overblown hybrids. The flowers are a rich deep violet, near black in shadow and brighter where the sun shines through. In the closer shots we can see that the falls are decorated with deep gold lines that radiate out from the base/centre- this is the golden (chryso) writing/drawing (graphis) that the name of the plant refers to. In one of the shots we see a tiny bee flying away from the flowers.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Ox-eye daisies are invasive here and I generally mow them- I let one patch reach full flower just for fun, and many pollniators do love them (I'll chop/pull before they seed). I think this beauty is Round-necked Longhorn Beetle Clytus ruricola #insects #nature 🌱📷 #Alberta #Canada 🌿

A striking slim beetle, mostly (nearly?) black with striking yellow line markings- if you were looking down on its back, facing away from you, the two markings at the top of the wing cases (like, between the 'shoulders') look rather like the outlines of two large droopy/cup shaped eyes, and a single line farther down looks like a frowning mouth. The beetle is perched in the yellow centre of a white daisy flower head with dark shadowed vegetation behind and part of another daisy.

A closer view we see the beetle, the centre of the flower head with the tiny golden disk flowers and only part of the white ray flowers. The beetle has golden pollen on its head.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The summer explosion of insect life is in full swing even with cool rainy weather. This Hemipenthes #fly on Anthriscus is in the Bee-fly family, but I think of them as Stealth Flies since when seen with the naked eye they look like Stealth Bombers! #insects #FlyDay #Canada #Alberta #pollinators 📷🌱

Same alt all photos. Several views from different angles of an insect on raspberry flowers, some showing more of the plant, others zoomed and cropped quite close. At first glance, you might think you were seeing a mid-sized bumble bee, with a chunky body covered in shortish mid-gold fuzz and black and white markings on its upper to mid 'back'. On closer look there are no wings showing at rest, and we can see that the markings are in fact typical beetle hard wing cases, black with white stripes. The beetle also has very long thin segmented (not bee-like) legs and interesting antennae tipped with a tiny three part end like a little hand or antler. In one view the wing cases are beginning to lift and separate, the wings would then come out for flight (we see just a hint of a blurred moving wing in one shot).
The raspberry plant has buds and flowers over mid-green toothed and textured leaves. The flowers open with (a handful?) white petals-that I think fall off soon, leaving the greenish reflexed sepals around a mass of whitish stamens that mostly hide the central receptive parts.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Happy + Blessed #SummerSolstice to all! (Winter to Southern friends!) Drink Summer's Nectar! (last week, only raindrops today!) Should be a work day but bad roads (parts) kept me home..so far lazing indoors but going out to enjoy the wind + rain in a little.. #PaganSky #bees #Pollinators #summer 🌱

A strikingly marked large pale yellow and black (Canadian Tiger Swallowtail) butterfly perches in a native tangle of honeysuckle foliage with gold to orange honeysuckle blossoms and and pale pink wild roses, feeding from the small narrow tubular honeysuckle flowers.
the image is framed with a narrow border of mdedium golden yellow echoing the honeysuckle flowers surrounded by a wider border of medium pink taken from the roses. A paler version of the pink is used for text at the bottom in a casual script which reads Blessed Solstice!

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Lots of rain over the last couple of weeks, tricky to find times to do yard/garden work but I'm still happy for rain- recharging soil moisture, wetlands, water table. This view from last week on the farm. #weather #Alberta #Canada #CountryLiving #photography #landscape

Wetland area on my cousin's farm, just outside the acreage. Looking across a grassy open area dotted with small woody saplings etc, with a slightly larger bit near centre around an old birch stump. the open area is surrounded by low shrubby willows and dwarf birch, farther back in centre and farther still to right is taller mixed woods of spruce and poplar. Sun still lights the grassy area and the front of the trees while clouds moving in from behind are darkening the farther woods. A bit of blue sky can still be seen to upper right, but most of the sky is full of fluffy white through grey to dark clouds, darkest to the left just above the vegetation- the underside of the edge of a modest thunderstorm approaching.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

This interesting little person was sitting on Actaea pachypoda in the garden between rain showers. Seems it's a male March Fly, maybe Bibio vestitus; adults are nectar feeders, so #pollinators #FlyDay #insects #ArthroBeauty #BugSky #nature

An odd looking small fly is perched at the joint of two bright green leaflets, surrounded by more leaves. The fly is rather elongated, with legs splayed out flat, two in front, two behind and the final pair in the centre is pointed downward, holding on to the stem that joins the leaflets (another leaflet tips the step, upward from the fly.) The fly is black with large eyes (this marks it as male, for this type of fly) and short fine white hairs on the first pair of legs and the thorax. Wings are long and folded back over abdomen, light, translucent and slightly iridescent.

A closer view of the same fly, same place. We see just the fly and part of each of the two leaflets, with the leaflet stem up the centre, not quite straight.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Lots of rain the last 2 weeks, today more rain + small hail. Short walk in late afternoon when it was only raining lightly. This view: in front of the house where European alpine Paederota bonarota is happy between local glacial stones, native soil + gravel #weather #Alberta 🌱 #RockGarden

On a cloud dark late afternoon, a rain wet close view of a small bit of a rock garden with glacier smoothed stones- quartzite and granite- variably brown, pale, greyish and pinkish with a low alpine plant growing in clay-loam and gravel between the closely placed stones. The plant has velvety green not quite oval leaves with loosley toothed edges, short trailing stems tipped with clusters of small tubular violet flowers.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

This was my excitement for the day :) Seems to be a Mesopolobus wasp: parasites of various caterpillars usually some used as biological control. Mix of sun + cloud this afternoon with rain + small hail! #wasp #insect #biodiversity #nature #inverts #macro #bugSky #Alberta #Canada #wildlife 🌿📷

Same alt all shots. A really *tiny* wasp- for scale the unfolding poplar leaves in some of the shots are no larger than a (natural, trimmed) thumbnail. Depending on how the light hits it, it appears iridescent dark or all out metallic green with copper- very shiny! It is moving around on the tiny new leaves of a poplar sucker/sapling and at times on the stems. Finally it climbed to the tip of one of the stems, spread its wings and flew away.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

1 When you see those lists or graphics telling you your weeds will diagnose your soil, take them with a grain of salt, and examine your soil in other ways before believing it. #weeds 🌱

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Early Tachinid Fly Epalpus signifer (?). Tachinids are so cool! :) The rest of their life cycle is not for the faint hearted (!) but they play important ecological roles + early flowering native Ribes are super valuable to pollinators #FlyDay #insects #inverts #flies #BugSky #Alberta #Canada 🌱📷 🌿

Several shots, same position, the amount of zoom/crop varies. A nifty Mad Max looking fly- its head and thorax are a post apocalyptic greeny grey with random hairs sticking up; eyes are red-brown and some interesting hair tipped sturctures protrude from its 'snout' area. The wings begin gold and extend to the sides, smoky translucent. The abdomen is shiny black with the rear end a pale powdery cream, again with random hairs sticking up. It is perched on one of the shiny yet velvety bright green lobed palmate leaves of a gooseberry plant.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I was watering recently sown peas with bucket +scoop, this one found its way into the bucket! I gently poured it out on the mulch where it moved around a little before finding a grass stem it liked, dried for a few minutes then it was gone! #insects #inverts #MacroMonday #bees #Alberta #Canada 🌱📷

Same alt all pics, various poses, some closer and face on, some from above or sideways. A tiny bee, maybe looking a bit wet as it was just fished out of a bucket of water, moves around on various bits of dry grass and leaves in a natural mulch. The bee has black epidermis with bits of golden fuzz in places- a bit on its face, sides of head and especially sides of thorax and legs (probably underside but we don't see much of that). The abdomen has thin white stripes, and the long translucent slightly smoky amber wings are folded over the upper abdomen.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

1 Happy May Long Weekend to all who celebrate..lol Same as every week I'll be working Sat/Sun but not Monday. Usually long weekends mean we're extra crazy at work but with the weather this wknd who knows? #Alberta #Canada #weather #selfie 🌱 #garden #CountryLiving

On an overcast day in a country setting with grass and trees just starting to turn green. An old white guy stands smiling at the camera- me- with glasses and short white goatee/moustache, a faced black cap, faded and holey black shirt, fake faded blue jeans (hey, they were cheap and only for outdoor work!) tucked into black foam/rubber boots (also full holes though you can't see here). I'm standing beside a smallish narrow garden bed which has many small poplar suckers that have been cut and stuck into the soil in kind of an elongated teepee shape, to support future hoped for pea growth. to the other side some more stakes support raspberry canes, behind is an orangey and faded plywood shed and farther back mixed spruce and poplar woods.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

1 of our 1st (non-woody) wildflowers- nothing open 3 days ago.. I love the early leaves- Caltha like many plants has extra red/purple pigments in emerging leaves- this helps endure low temps after emergence! #Wildflowers #FoliageFriday #nature #spring #Alberta #Canada #MothersDay #CrossQuarterDay 📷🌿

Caltha palustris Marsh Marigold. We always called them Cowslips, but that risks confusion with the European Primula that goes by that name! Several just emerged and not yet fully extended purple-green leaves embrace a cluster of new round green flower buds. The plant is growing in a patch of disturbed wetland soil, dark and peaty with scattered dry stems and grass on the surface.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Tiny native bees enjoying flowers in the rock garden- native plants have not started to flower yet (except poplars +willows; first herbaceous any day). On Tulipa urumiensis (maybe)+ Draba aizoides 🌱 #insects #bees #pollinators #spring #Alberta #Canada #inverts #BugSky 📷

A tiny black bee perches at the base of a small deep yellow species tulip flower. The bee is black with a bit of whitish fuzz in places, faint white stripes on the abdomen and a bit of iridesence on its nearly transparent wings.

A close view, the bee faces away from us, perched on the anthers of one of many tiny yellow flowers in a cluster. Its body curved a bit, and we see the iridesence on its wings. The upward facing flowers are simple with 4 bright yellow petals rising from a greenish centre, we see a bit of the smaller greenish-yellow sepals below. The stamens and pistil are greenish with yellow anthers on the stamens.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

I usually do an observance/altar for Mothers Day/Mom's birthday a bit later (nod to the Cross-Quarter Day between Spring Equinox + Summer Solstice) but a couple cacti were flowering paying homage to Saule/Sun as she gains strength with the awakening season #MayDay #Pagan #Spring #Latvian #Canada 🌱📷

On a sunny windowsill, cacti lean towards the light, we see the tops of a couple a no-name Weingartia and Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Pico'. Behind to the right, slightly blurred, is a narrow short columnar cactus with medium green body slightly showing through fuzzy white areoles and a halo of long straight white spines. In front a little to the left is a more globular cactus, with shorter mostly erect golden brown spines over off-white fuzzy areoles and dull green body. It is capped with a cluster of 7 smallish bright yellow flowers which rise barely above the spines on funnel-like tubes crowned with many narrow petals which are recurved on this its second day flowering.
The image has a golden border to match the flowers and the text Blessed May Day! appears in the same colour bold script font at the bottom.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Only a few of the willows had open flowers last week, but that didn't seem to stop some of the critters- a butterfly, some flies + a few fancy wasps like this were on them anyway- anticipation? ability to dig in to the good stuff? laying eggs? #wasps #spring #Alberta #Canada #insects #inverts 🌿🐝

same alt all pics A small long and slim wasp *not* of the yellowjacket/paper wasp sort. It has a shiny black body, long translucent iridescent wings held folded back over its body, long but not crazy long thin appendage at the back end- ovipositor? or is this male having a shorter structure? and long burnt orange legs. It is moving around in various positions on closed pussywillows (i.e. fuzzy, but no open flowers), we see it from above, the side, below and one where it is curving its (ovipositor?) in toward the pussywillow.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

These photos were ready- even alt! about a week ago but I didn't get them posted (plant + critter season is starting: no chance of keeping up..lol) Aspen Populus tremuloides starting to flower last week- 1 of the first species along with a few willows #spring #FlowerReport #Alberta #trees 🌿📷 #Canada

1 A handful of clusters of catkins dangle from shiny sticky red-brown bud cases on knobby grey twigs extending down into the view from upper left. Behind out of focus, we indistinctly see more branches with off-white overcast sky showing through.

2 A thin knobby grey twig extends from the left to the centre with a handful of fuzzy grey catkins bursting from shiny sticky red-brown bud cases. The catkins are not yet fully open with mostly closed red pollen sacs showing through the hairs, a bit of the open pale gold colour here and there. The background is out of focus, indistinct vertical stripes of pale grey and green-grey tree trunks.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

About 25-30cm of new snow, already compressing/ getting heavier! with mid day temperatures a little above freezing +strong sun. A couple of hours (2 people) shovelling; its going to get wet as we head to 20C/68F by mid week #snow #spring #Alberta #garden #CountryLiving #GardenInWaiting 🌿📷

A sunny snow covered slightly raised planting with a few dry stems showing through, including a dry Carlina thistle with prickly leaves and a flower head with dry bracts (false petals) to the right. More conspicuous than those stems are a number of small green spruce saplings, with variable caps and slowly collapsing coats of fresh snow. The background is smooth snow with a slight 'valley' between the planting and another slight mounded ridge to the right. A few blades of dry grass poke through the snow. In the background a blue linear shadow (from a power pole, I think) appears wavy on the uneven ground.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Boreal Chickadee Poecile hudsonicus 2 crappy shots and it was gone..lol but I posted anyway since I have a soft spot for these less numerous, much more chill cousins of the extra bold, curious and chatty Black-capped Chickadees...lol #BirdSky #birds #nature #BorealForest #Alberta #Canada 🐦📷🌿

A small bird perches on a piece of branch on a blurred jumble of bits of wood, bark etc (byproducts of woodcutting, set aside for aesthetic, potential art material reasons), Its folded wings and tail are grey, slightly stripey looking. Underside is pale with a bit of reddish below the wing; top of head is dull dark brown spreading to 'back of neck'in a lighter more goldy brown; cheek/bottom of head area is whitish, with a light grey epaulette at the origin of the wing and a black bib. Its head is moving and so out of focus.

The same small bird flying away, tail and trailing legs toward us, mostly out of focus.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

While cutting firewood in the bush on the farm the other day, this little person appeared, probably from under remnant bark on the tree. I moved it to a safe sunny spot with crevices for it to crawl into before more snow that was coming.. #ladybug #beetle #BugSky #April #Alberta #nature #insects🌿

A tiny tomato soup orange-red with a few black dots lady beetle, like a half oval with the bottom nearly flat against the surface. It is on a large horizontal fallen tree (we just see a small patch) with the bark fallen off and surface faded grey. The wood surface is marked with the sinuous incised path of some other beetle/larva that lived under the bark some time ago when the tree was still vertical and bark intact.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Believe it or not: under that mound of snow (a couple of metres /6-7 feet+ high 3 days ago) is a large perennial planting that flowers for ages in summer and makes many pollinators very happy! (you can see dry Veronica stems +rugosa Rose canes behind the apple trunk) #garden #Alberta #April 📷🌱

A mid-sized shadowed apple tree trunk stands in front of a handful of rose stems with a few scattered dried leaves, flowers and hips and other dried flower stems. Behind that a bit of early evening sunlight hits a large clumpy mound of shovelled snow, roughly pyramidal like a mountain, and at least a couple of metres /6-7 feet high at the peak, and several times that width. Farther back we see part of a line of out of focus shadowed trees.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The last few weeks have seen warm melting days, numerous snowfalls, solid freezing days- spring weather! The first few days of spring were not warm or sunny but we did have some fun clouds and pretty #frost and #light! #commute #Alberta #Canada #landscape #photography #SpringEquinox #sprinter 📷❄️

Looking from the moving car across the road to a farmstead under a sky mostly filled with low cloud with bits of blue showing. We see part of a faded low bungalow to the left with bare frosted trees behind and mid size frosted shrubs and a couple of large dark spruce trees near centre. To the right some grey horizontal board fences, more bare trees including some near/dead poplars and a row of non-native willows with orangey branches showing through the frost and a bit of a barn showing in the background.

Looking from the moving car across a wide bare field with low dry stubble lightly tilled into the black soil. Beyond that a row of mixed woods heavily coated in frost and recent light snow. The sky above is a flat blue-grey with a bit of sun coming from behind the viewer, highlighting the centre of the line of trees.

Foreground is a roadside ditch with mounded snow laced with gravel from where it was ploughed off the road. Behind that a wire and post fence backed by a dry grass pasture. Across that the straight line of a secondary highway cross the image left to right. Across that on the left are high lines of mounded soil surrounding a recently expanded oil well installation with an orange stained white vertical tank on the left, a black orange tipped pump right of centre and another white tank. To the right of that bare poplars trees heavily coated in frost and recent light snow catch a bit of sun in front of a flat blue-grey sky, and distant frosted mixed woods. To the left in front an orange and red diamond shaped stop ahead sign lines up with and echoes the colours of the oil installation.

A roadside ditch with faded dry grass and strips of remnant snow gives way to a cloud shaded pasture with the same dry grass and patches of snow over slight hills sloping to left and right. Farther back a couple more fences and another pasture with golden dry grass brightly lit by sun coming through a gap in the clouds. To the right of that field is a long open sided shed with black group against large heavily frosted spruce trees. The sky beyond is slate blue-grey overcast.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Happy and blessed season ahead! We had springy weather earlier in the week (to at least 59C/60F) but the day rolled in just above freezing (a little below average) with pretty fog. Rain/snow overnight- looks much the same for the week ahead #spring #sprinter #Alberta #Canada #GetOutside 📷🌿🌱

View across a slightly foggy wintry looking wetland area with tall dry grass punctuated by clumps and bits of low reddish willow bushes, the ground irregularly white with patches of snow. Farther back and to the right, large shrubby willows form a solid mass, with scattered small spruce and in the centre reddish twigged white trunked birch rise above. Behind that is mixed wood of bare poplars and large spruce, faded by the fog. The text 'Blessed Spring Equinox" appears across in the image in a muted dark pink script.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Supply run to town last week before snow a couple of days later. In the last 9 days we've had 10C/50F to -24C/-11C, several snowfalls up to 20-30cm, some high winds, rain + melting at other times that have led to ice. up to 15C/59F this week #weather #Alberta #Canada #landscape #CountryLiving 📷

From the car looking across a lightly snow-covered pasture with lots of low dry grass showing through. with several low hills and dips between. A couple of wire and post fences cross from left to right in the middle distance. Farther still we can see mixed woods, nearly silhouetted against the blue of the foothills and mountains in the distance. Although a bit of sun is reaching the pasture, the sky above the mountains is mostly cloudy with some smoothly overcast bands and areas of more active looking cumulus clouds from near white to mid blue-grey.

Looking across a field striped with snowy furrows and the slightly higher rows with low dry grass between. Farther back, another section has been ploughed, showing a nubbly texture with clods showing through snow. Farther back in the centre is a farm yard with a house and a number of outbuildings, several large ones. One of these sheds/workshops/garages has a metal roof which is catching the sun, making it glow silver white. Beyond the buildings is dark mixed woods with more tall dark spruce near the farmstead. Besides that shiny roof, a bit of sun is reaching the pasture, though the sky above the trees is mostly cloudy with smoothly overcast blue grey cloud and above the horizon a strip of more active looking cumulus clouds from near white to mid blue-grey.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

I think shovelling snow from a path onto a garden bed counts as #gardening (it's watering!) (in some other cases, there will be a time of shovelling snow *off* certain beds when they are ready to go!)❄️🌱

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I mentioned we had rain then hail/graupel this morning followed by a temperature drop + snow + winds gusting up to 100km/h. Wasn't that slick in the yard + gravel road so set off for work. Highway, though, was pure ice under the blowing snow :( turned around... #winter #Alberta #Canada #commute 📷❄️

Looking across a snow covered pasture with clumps of partly grazed brown grass showing through. Halfway across the image is crossed by a couple of wire and post fencelines which have taller dry grass near them. Behind those are a handful of smallish dark spruce trees, beyond that is blowing snow, a white-out near the ground and still visible quite high, half obscuring the stand of mixed woods farther back. Sky is overcast, barely distinguishable from the snow.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Weather continues up + down: even more erratic than usual: melting +snow +colder +rain +sunny...Highs for the week +10C/50F yesterday to -6C/21F (this morning rain, hail/graupel-loud! now snow temp dropping). Last week's #commute with a bit of #smoke #Weather #Alberta #Canada #landscape 📷❄️

Looking from the moving car across a snowy wetland area with partially grazed clumps and patches of dry golden grass protruding through the snow, with flat white areas here and there. A few small reddish shrubby bare willows poke up becoming a solid mass of them to the left and then again in several areas much farther back. Behind the willows are much taller bare poplars, not too far on the left, angling farther away to the right.The sky is blue but there is a faint whitish smoke haze low down.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

We've fed Chickadees on some cold days + they've become very bold: approaching us very keenly to beg for more food. This little bunch actually mobbed me when I was out in the bush to get firewood a few days ago-swooping close enough to land on me #birds #nature #Alberta #Canada 🌿📷 #BorealForest

A single small bird perches on the thin stems of a low shrubby willow against the blurred backdrop of a snowy wetland. Its belly is toward us so we see mostly the underside which is whitish in centre with buff sides, the light grey underside of the tail and a distinct black cap and black throat like two triangles that meet at the tips where the beak is, white triangles extending out across the cheeks between the two black patches. It has a small pointy black bill and a laser focussed black eye.

Two small birds perch on the thin stems of a low shrubby dwarf birch in a snowy wetland area, while a third launches itself from centre toward the right, its wings extended downward as it flaps. The wings are grey and white, undersides whitish to buff and heads have a distinct black cap and black throat like two triangles that meet at the tips where the beak is, white triangles extending out across the cheeks between the two black patches. Farther back there are more bits of dwarf birch and willow with a dark mixed wood farther back still.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Wintry days come and go- melting days, then fresh snowfall, a return to cold, rinse/repeat.. the time of growth +flowers is still distant, but these days have their own beauty.. details in alt #winter #February #GardensInWaiting #WaitingForSpring #WinterWonderland #MagicInTheMundane #Alberta 🌱

The low dry stem of an alpine thistle sticks up through smooth snow, its dry flower head covered in a little mound of powdery snow. The afternoon sun is low coming from the left and the thistle casts funny spikey blue shadows. Behind this stem, several thin woody branches - some native shrub that has sown itself into the garden bed- are mostly in blue shadow.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

For me it's *always* about the light (and line, and texture!) but that may be even more true in winter when the colours are fewer and the lower sun gives dramatic light much of the day. #winter #nature #BorealForest #Alberta #Canada #GetOutside #photography #moss #sunlight #light

A small log lies on the forest floor, almost completely covered with moss- in places an inch or two/several centimetres deep with fine fronds showing, in other spots flatter patches work to cover new areas. Several patches of silver-blue lichen stand out on the green moss. The log is surrounded by faded dry leaves with occasional twigs and bits of larger branches. Most of the view is in shadow, but a shaft of light reaches the middle of the log, making the green almost glow and also lighting several arching stems of dry palest gold grass in front of and also draping over the log.

Afternoon winter sun makes a nearly white starburst in the mostly blue sky, left of centre just above a line of mostly shadowed mixed woods the cross the rear of the image.The camera lens turns the farther rays of light to white dashes in the sky and glowing gems against the trees. In the foreground a melt smoothed set of tire tracks crosses the stiff melted and refrozen snow with more snow behind giving way to low willows and scattered small spruce. In front of the tracks much of the snow has melted showing dry golden grass. At the right we see part of the trunks of several aspens, the bark a mix of smooth grey-white and rough raised black branch scars small and large.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Post a banger that isn't in English, they say -super easy, I could play that game all week and not run out of top faves.. here's one of my very favourite performances in any genre.. #music #WorldCulture #OnePeople www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EEV...

youtube.com

Bulerías. Qué no daría yo. Rocío Jurado. 1992

YouTube video by Canal Andalucia Flamenco

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Ha- I saw #SuperbOwl didn't clue in: owls are superb so it seemed reasonable! I wasn't thinking about another use of those letters, cuz, why would I? lol #Birding is a better sport ;) short vid from last year when I had the luck to see a Great Grey Owl several times on the farm. #birds #Canada 📷🌿

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

#CrossQuarterDay was a few days ago- mid-way between Winter Solstice + Spring Equinox. #Latvian #Metenis /Meteņi : 'Waiting for Spring' is Feb 06. Masking, feasting, bonfires are usual things - blog post here: cohanmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/02/wait... A Blessed Season to all! #PaganSky

cohanmagazine.blogspot.com

Waiting for Spring: Metenis, New and Old Pagan Celebrations, Fire and Snow

It’s one of those times again- a marker on the solar calendar. This time it’s halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. I pause t...

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

pt 1 Last week the car had to go in for urgently needed new tires (2/4: 2 more to be done when money permits). While the car was at the shop I walked to a couple of stores to get shopping done- + caught the #sunrise #RockyMountainHouse #winter #Alberta #CountryLiving 📷

Looking across a darkish dawn road in a semi-industrial/service area. The road is half dark with strips of remnant snow/ice/slush mixed with sand. On the other side across a snowy strip is a moderately large commercial building with a narrow warehouse looking rear part and a front area looking rather house-like. A couple of power poles rise from the snow, and there are several vehicles parked in front of the business. Farther on the road curves to the right and we see a few other buildings, whitish and blending with the shadowed snow. Farther still a ling of dark spruce is just visible against the gold of the lower part of the sky, with the brighter gold of the rising sun just visible behind the closer building. Higher up is a band of cloud angling slightly upward to the left across the sky, orangey gold edged grey giving way to darker slightly violet grey then fainter lighter wisps in the upper blue sky.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Early in the month we had serious melting weather - not all the snow disappeared. We've since had fresh snow, up/down temperatures + some cold days (mid -teens C days +/- -20C nights) After today should warm again gradually, above freezing daytime by mid-week #winter #snow #Alberta 📷🎴 #weather

Looking through a rather dense growth of smallish poplars (probably some willows and Amelanchier in there too), we see just the trunks and some branches, silhouetted agains the sky behind. The setting sun is a small glowing amber ball just above centre right, burning through some small branches and highlighting the edges of others.The top third of the background is orangey sky, below that a blur of distant blue mountains, below that a dark band of pasture/fence and then snowy ground with dried grass.

The stems of a native rose arch into view from the centre top of the image. The stems are thin and covered with fine prickle and still hold the leaves from last season, now dry and dark spotted red brown, enhanced by the sunset light coming from left and behind the viewer. Some light fluffy snow clings to the leaves in places. Below the rose stems is ground covered with the same light fluffy snow with occasional long dry grass stems sticking up.

Looking up towards the sky from a forest clearing (in front of my house, basically!). It's near sunset and the mix of bare poplars and snow coated spruce are nearly silhouetted against the sky which is blue with scattered bits of light cloud, highlighted by the lowering sun giving them a silvery (to palest gold) effect.

Foreground is a snowcovered pasture with bits of golden dry grass showing through, in dusky blue shadow. This is broken by the shadowed edges of a dugout (these are dug to catch water for cattle) and beyond that to the left, a windbreak fence of upright weathered grey boards. The shadowed dark of the boards nearly blends into the low dark red willows some distance beyond with some areas of dark mixed woods even farther. On the horizon we can just see some hazy purple mountains with a pale gold sun just showing beneath cloud. Near the sun the sky is bright burnished copper fading unevenly to blue farther out, Most of the sky is covered with tightly packed rows of blue-grey, gold highlighted cloud, bits of blue showing through here and there.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I've spent more time working on videos lately (still haven't got them all linked here) but I have still taken tons of photos...lol View behind the house. We had quite a few days of spectacular #frost #Alberta #GetOutside #winter #CountryLiving #photography 📷🌿❄️

Frosted but still dark, a handful of spruce boughs dangle into each side of the image, mainly in the upper part. They belong to fairly large trees. Loosely framed by those shaded boughs, we see the upper parts of several poplar trees (mainly 2 in centre, with less of another, lower/farther back, to the right). They are so heavily frosted that you might almost think they had silver-white foliage, and are catching the late afternoon winter sun with a hint of gold. In places the grey-green trunks and near black branches show through, giving more emphasis to the silvery filigree. The sky behind is bluish, covered with thin fluffy clouds that seem not to be very far away.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

The U.S.A. is now a rogue state. Remaining reasonable gov'ts need to work together to isolate the madness- all trade should be stopped. Forget tariffs, it's time for sanctions.

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Third video- still Dec 25, this time near sunset, with the golden glow coming through the frost and snow whitened trees, and me trudging around in the snow a bit! #winter #GetOutside #nature #Alberta #sunset 🌿📷❄️🎴

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Second video over the holidays, this one is frosty views from the acreage on the morning of the 25th. also on YouTube and Spectra if you prefer viewing there.. #holidays #winter #Alberta #frost #CountryLiving 📷🌿❄️

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Short video from late afternoon Dec 24- after I washed the floors + showered, before I started cooking! Around -21C/-6F snowing lightly but not windy so it wasn't bad. 1st of 3 shorts- next two will show pretty frost and light on Dec 25- stilll working on those! #holiday #snow #CountryLiving ❄️📷

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Cohan Fulford @cohanf.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 22/23 #LeafMother has been decorating! I hope anyone who celebrates in any way is having a beautiful season! For those who find this a difficult time of year, may you find #SolaceInNature and #friends online or in the flesh! #WinterSolstice #nature #Baltic #pagan #Latvian 📷🌿

A partly sunlit goldy green spruce branch reaches into the image from the right, against other blurred branches more sunlit gold against a backdrop of mostly lavendery shaded snowy woodland. The spruce needles shine where the sun hits them, holding a few bits of snow and some tiny circles of light where the camera lens has translated background glimmers. In the blurred background, several branches, twigs, saplings appear faintly against the snow along with several large tree trunks. The trunks are near silhouettes and appear as dark voids- almost like doorways, with muted shafts of sunlight touching the snow between them.

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