Still November

So far this year, it's more early November yet again. Mild temperatures (mostly a bit above freezing) by day, a little cooler at night, and very little snow on the ground. That's somewhat offset by an excessive amount of ice underfoot, but for the most part if you are careful you can navigate most of the streets by foot. Since we have yet to experience winter here ( although it is projected to be colder in a couple of days) I was particularly interested today to hear the reports out of Cordova Alaska, where they have had 15.5 meters /18 feet of snow in the last three weeks. At the moment the National Guard has been called out to help the locals deal with it. Since the prairies are a generally dry climate (with the occasional stunning exceptions) year-round, we tend not to get a lot of snow at the best of times. We specialize in dry cold (usually *darn* cold), sunshine, and wind for the most part. Just not yet this year. 

With the nice weather, my "winter" photography has continued. Last week I went out to visit a friend and get some photos of her new puppy, Noah. Noah is an Italian mastiff/catahoula leopard dog cross, favouring the mastiff  side of his heritage so far, with a calm demeanor and low-key energy. This photo shows him in one of the horse turnouts with his "big brother" Gus, who is a Boxer/Mastiff cross. 

After we finished the dog photos, I wanted to check on the part of her horse herd that was close at hand, so we went to visit the young stock in the east pasture. Something was happening off in the distance that had the attention of all the horses. I was running short on time by the time we got out to the horses and didn't get that many shots, so I hope to make another trip soon to spend more time with the equine population at her place. 

With the potential end of the nice weather forecast for later this week, I thought I'd better get out to the zoo today to see what I could photograph. I try to go there fairly often, but it's been quite a while since I last got out there. The swans and waterfowl live indoors in the winter, but have access to a fenced yard outside, and that's where I found this swan today, enjoying a good preen in the outdoors.

Many of the animals were quite active when I was at the zoo, including the male lion. He came here a year and a half ago (if I recall correctly, not a given) as a juvenile, but has certainly grown into solid adulthood in the interval. He is now a father as well. The female and the two cubs were in the indoor enclosure and apart from him, and I think he is likely missing the company of his mate. 

Here is a close-up shot of his head with his now abundant mane.