Pasture as high as an antelope's eye

After the amazingly wet spring we have had, with snow and rain events that saturated almost the entire southern Alberta I had to look at the results of these events for myself.

So after a meeting in Milk River on June 24th I took the opportunity to drive through the Verdigris coulee and Middle coulee onto the Ridge Reservoir. Once the meetings were over and a delicious lunch in Milk River, off I went maps in hand.

My first stop was the outlet structure at the southern end of Verdigris Coulee I was amazed at the volume of water stored. What I was looking at was this huge lake. Hard to believe the volume of water that must have roared into this area after the precipitation in the days prior to my visit.

After the amazing vista of a full reservoir I drove through the coulee along the east side of the coulee.

I was further enthralled by the variety of wildlife that I saw merely from my vehicle. Of course every little slight depression in the fields was filled with water and those must look like wonderful areas to the mallard pairs floating gleefully on these temporary lakes.

Besides many ducks I saw a great variety of shorebirds and songbirds. To complement the birdlife I also saw mammals such as antelope and white tail deer.

My impression by the end of my driving tour was an amazement  at the variety and amount of wildlife I saw, something I hope is treasured by all.