The unveiling of this sign

...at the Last Mountain Bird Observatory happened on the weekend.


This was my first good look at the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area and the first of two tours we went on during the Nature Saskatchewan spring meet. The other was a bus trip to the Stalwart National Wildlife Area, an area that was new to me as well. At the end of the day more than three tour buses worth of people enjoyed a great buffet dinner in Govan . Then the guest speaker I'd been looking forward to hearing. Dr. C. Stuart Houston gave a wonderful talk on his legendary work with turkey vultures. Dr. C. Stuart Houston and Mary Houston are very well known for their natural history and conservation activities. The talk was the highlight of a great weekend.

On the way home we spent some time in the Fort-a-la-Corne Provincial Forest where we chatted with a mushroom hunter and learned about morels. When we drove off we saw a turkey vulture feeding on something in the ditch. It was behind tall dry grass. The smell of skunk was overwhelming. Later we stopped in the Narrow Hills. As we were looking around I thought about a question that came my way in Regina on Thursday night. What do you hope to take away from the weekend? It's something to which I hadn't given any thought. Some fun, I said. While true, that isn't really it. Ideally, for me it's all about being open to whatever comes at you. Be it a yellow warbler in a mist net, a dunlin among black-bellied plovers or a mushroom hunter in a ditch. Whatever. The weekend proved to be ideal.