Barry Willis

Two minutes is pushing it. One should have everything ready in the event that you do catch something worthy of a photo that is going to be released, and released and revived properly.

Congrats on your retirement and all the best on your fishing trips. You'd be hard pressed to find a better place to catch big Speckled Trout, and lots of them. In regards to the pic, as long as one is fishing who needs or wants a day off. Stay safe.

If you hadn't mentioned Don Valley Lew, I wouldn't have ever remembered it. I can still remember it a little but not much. But I do remember back in late 60's and early 70's it being a very beautiful area. Back up to Crowman. You and your family having spent time in Calgary I expect you are familiar with Carseland. My dad worked for a farmer out there in the 30's. I wish I knew where exactly as most of the farmlands are passed down through generations. It seems like a lot of other things being born and raised on a farm it get's in your blood and one sticks with it.

East of Calgary. Bow River at Carseland weir, antique tractor, worlds strongest woman. The weir doesn't look all that impressive at this time as our lakes and rivers are at an all time record low due to our drought for the past few seasons. Should see and hear this thing when it's at full bore. It's actually quite scary.

The good old days eh Lew. Clydesdales are incredibly gentle which isn't a bad thing considering their size. You were very fortunate to have experienced that when you were a young lad in them neck of the woods. I used to know Toronto pretty well in the early 70s as we used to go to the CNE, the sportsman show of course and take a drive down just for something to do on a weekend. I doubt I would recognize it these days. I would likely get lost just trying to find Young St. I certainly have no desire to go back.

I understand Pics. That is a very beautiful picture, I love the horse, wow. You must be very proud of your daughter, I always wish I had one but after two big boys my wife said that's it LOL. I've spent my share of time with appaloosas and never had a problem for a minute. The horse's I have now came from the Rocky Mountain Foothills, wild horse's. The black and white one, so beautiful, looks as though he just came off the reserve. I just got him a few months ago. He has his playful moods and can be a handful. He will tease the Hell out of me when I try to saddle him by running off, just one of the things I like about him. but once it is on him he quits playing games. I'm not afraid to take him anywhere. The other one is as gentle as can be, also a nice looking horse, at least to me with nice dapples. Just a sweet heart.

Wow he's beautiful Pics. That photo almost resembles one of our barns for the Calgary Stampede. He doesn't appear to be hard to handle, no offence, but being around horses most my life I'm just curious about the chain to lead him. For many years I was manager and foreman of Pinecrest Poultry and Thoroughbred Race Horse Farms. The fellow I hired to train our horses - Jimmy Suiter, was one of the trainers of Northern Dancer. I was the first one to get on their backs but they were gentle trained by Jimmy and myself and not once did one try to buck me off, thank god LOL.

Very nice indeed, congrats from me as well. There are not many things I love more than to see young lads fishing and keeping the tradition alive. Especially when it is with Gramps. Speaking of alive I am very happy to see yous released it.

I must say I envy you for catching them smallies. Pound for pound they are one of the best scrappers. There are no bass here in Alberta and I sure miss them. I've made a couple trips to BC just for some bass fishing on Duck Lake near Creston. Big large mouth and lots of sunfish, perch and rock bass. Most anglers in BC (at least 30 years ago) frowned upon bass and won't even fish for them as they are so into their salmon fishing. Why not enjoy the best of both. I don't doubt that you were happy to be in your boat when that bear came along looking for a meal. I'm not a bit surprised it left the area when it detected you. I expect this was in June, so it would have been out of hibernation long enough to have food in it's belly. Once out of hibernation the bear spends all it's time eating in preparation for the next big sleep. There is an old saying that a bear can smell bacon frying three miles away. Which doesn't surprise me, I can smell it at least a mile away, I love the stuff LOL. They do have a very keen sense of smell. Of course black bears are not as aggressive toward humans but one should still be aware of their surroundings when in bear country. Howdy Lew, as you have proven, you did do the right thing by slowly backing away, those that run when it's too late tend to suffer the most serious injuries as it excites the predatory instinct in a bear and in most cases it will give chase and the rest is up to the bear. And also drawing attention to the other one you encountered which doesn't take much. Some say to be very loud and make yourself look big and aggressive if you confront a black bear (but not a grizzly) as far as I am concerned with my experience it all depends on the bear, maybe he's in a bad mood and ticked off at the world and looking for a fight or could be he's feeling just the opposite. They are as individual in personality as our dogs. In my stompin grounds I always carry bear spray, two bottles of it because it is grizzly country and there are quite a few of them. If it was just black bear I wouldn't carry any. I really don't want to have to use it on a bear as It is just horrible stuff but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Thank you. This old computer won't let me put my long winded stories into paragraphs.

That old theory that a grizzly can't run down hill is a bunch of Bull Cast-Away. I have videos of them doing exactly that, at full tilt, it just helps them go that much faster. I have a video of a large male grizzly running down hill so fast that it is damn scary, after that he took down an elk. They have what seems to be unstoppable stamina. We have wild horses out here in Alberta and the Wild Horse society has about 40 trail cams scattered around and have captured grizzly's taking horses down after a long chase. The brown bear that I believe you are referring to is just a different color phase of a black bear. In some parts of the country, many moons ago, the grizzly was called a brown bear. The photos of the bears are not mine.

Good morning AKRISONER, thank you, I can't imagine what your cousin's good friend went through. In most grizzly attacks the bear goes for the head or the thigh. Your cousin did the right thing in my mind by taking his sons to the hospital to witness first hand what dangers do lurk in the wild especially in their neck of the woods. Grizzly bears are incredibly fast, they can out run a quarter horse for a hundred yards. I've been very lucky the same hasn't happened to me with all my close encounters. The trouble with me is once I get out of the city and back in the bush I feel too comfortable and let my guard down. And always want to try and get closer and better picture than I have already taken. f anyone should know better it's me. A funny thing, well maybe not so funny, I had plans of going to tend to my trail cams this past Friday morning again, more for something to do and get out the city than any thing else, couldn't sleep the night before as something kept telling me not to go so I didn't, it was such a strong feeling that I can't explain. Maybe that was the morning my luck was going to run out, I don't know, it still bothers me. If there is anything I have learned in life is to go with my instincts. And I always go alone which I likely shouldn't and I don't think my wife will let me anymore lol. Speaking of mountain lions I hate them stealthy, back attacking cats. A few weeks ago there was a piece on the news of a guy out walking his dog near Canmore and claimed he was attacked by one and said he pulled it off his back and scared it off, I'm thinking yeah right, like Hell you did. Couple weeks later it was on the news again as it was a bunch of Bull. Well no kidding, there is no way he could have done that, I don't care if it was a 200lb lion (which is not uncommon) or one that only weighs 60lbs even if he was Hulk Hogan, not going to happen. When a mountain lion attacks a human in most cases, and this only takes them a second or two, they jump on your back, put their front legs over your shoulders and dig their claws into into your front and bite down on your neck so you can't breath. thus suffocating the person. Most times one doesn't even know they are there until it's too late.

I remember when I was a wee lad hearing the heavy horses pulling a wagon coming down the road at Oxenden, the farmer going to town to get their groceries. I would run up the road and stand just a few feet away and watch them go by. I could feel the ground shake. It was quite a spectacle that I will never forget. Here's just a couple pictures of the most stunning and beautiful Noriker draft horses I have ever seen and likely ever will see.

Thanks for sharing this. Taken from a semi or a very fancy RV. These guys see a lot of wildlife, especially bear and elk driving from Alberta into BC. Not very often you will see that many bears in one place all at once. Back up to Lew, Oh man, that is just priceless buddy, I wish I could be so lucky. if I had my way my back yard would be full of bears.

I can tell you some harrowing stories that would keep most folks awake at night. Involving grizzly's but were all bluff charges, didn't need to use the bear spray or bangers. I experimented with bear spray once. I was back in the middle of nowhere in a pretty good size meadow doing some target shooting with some of my rifles and decide to test a bottle of bear spray, I emptied it. There was no wind but after a couple of minutes it filled the meadow and my t-shirt become soaked with saliva, I could not see, jumped in the jeep and drove out of there blind with my rifles resting on a blanket on the hood. Thank god they stayed there. One of my friends and and his wife were out hunting and at the end of the day getting inside their travel trailer his wife sat down on the couch forgetting the bear spray she had on her belt with the trigger guard off, in just a couple second it filled the trailer and her husband spent nine days in the hospital. It would have to be a life and death situation before I would spray any bear with that stuff. I know it is meant to save lives but man is it ever potent.

Man that was a violent one Lew. The damage is already done but it appeared to be moving fairly quickly or it could have been much worse. Years ago there was a really bad one that hit Edmonton and of course in Ontario and we've had some very close calls here in Calgary. We have very violent thunder storms with golf ball plus size hail every summer so it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Calgary is named hail storm alley for a reason. Thank you for sharing.

Some of you folks may have seen these already, I've had a few more requests since. Some of my favorite pics. The way I put it is some people will see a black bear and wonder if it is a grizzly, if you see a grizzly you'll know it is a grizzly and not a black bear.

I wish I could do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

I have hundreds but here just some of the pics I am fondest of. Notice the cub in front of mom. She is on high alert as all mother bears are. The worst thing you can meet and or especially surprise is a mother grizzly with cubs. I can assure you the out come will be in the grizzlies favor.

Howdy Akrisoner, it's been a spell. Unless you have been around bears as much as I have it can be difficult to tell the difference. The way I put it is if you see a black bear, you're not sure if it is a grizzly or a black bear, if you see a grizzly you know it is a grizzly and not a black bear. My wife and I, especially myself have spent decades studying bears especially grizzlies. I was very fortunate to have worked along side bear biologists to tag and weigh etc. grizzlies from helicopter. This is actually a fairly big bear and lacks the very distinctive shoulder hump that grizzlies have even at a young age. It gives them incredibly powerful shoulders and front legs . A grizzly does not have the tall rounded ears of the black bear and also the grizzly has a concave face from it's eyes to the tip of it's nose where as a black bear has a relatively straight face from it's forehead to the tip of it's nose. Colors can vary widely for both bears. Even grizzlies can be from their typical brown color to several different shades of brown to black and white and one never knows where you may come across one, they certainly are not restricted to the mountains. A few years ago a fellow was killed by a grizzly an hours drive north west from the house here, west of Airdrie, and I have seen grizzlies near Hinton. Here's a picture for comparison. I must say I envy your cousin living near Hinton. Beautiful country, that's where I should be living with my outdoor photography and other activities.

I'm glad I tended to my trail cams yesterday as here's what I woke up to this morning and there will be a lot more of this white stuff where they are. More often than not it snows 12 months out of the year up where I have them. And I don't mean just a few flakes, the trees will be loaded and the ground covered. Quite a bit has melted at the house here since 5:00 am this morning and it's 1:00 pm now (mountain time) but here it comes again and is supposed to continue to do so for the next two days. Not as much as in the second photo though, maybe.

Yes, you are absolutely right Lew. Especially the one I mentioned near Elbow Falls. I don't expect I will any time soon but if I find the 35mm pictures of it I will certainly post them. According to my bear biologist buddy Brian H. it is indeed a very rare bear for these parts or any where else for that matter. They are truly a beautiful animal and a sight to behold. That guy from last summer, I have five pictures of him and is clearly on a mission, he knows exactly where he is going.

Thank you Lew, It is fairly rare as most are typically black. It may sound silly but I feel very privileged when I do see one. In all the decades I have spent in the Rockies and their foothills I have only seen five counting this one. I have pictures of one (somewhere) that I spotted about thirty years ago near Elbow Falls sw. of Calgary that was so blonde it was almost white, it was gorgeous. The one I posted yesterday still has his winter coat. I can't believe how beautiful it is, so thick and luxurious. I would love to pat him and run my hands through it but I don't expect he would let me LOL. Here's a pic you may remember from last summer taken about two miles west, a little darker in color but I expect they are from the same gene pool.

Howdy smitty55, it is methane gas that is released from decaying plants and also from the lake bed itself. As the bubbles of methane gas make their way to the surface they become trapped in the ice.

Thank you, I thought and think it is very cool as well. I see it fairly often but not as nice as these ones and they stretched right across the lake in places.

Deer, fox, wolf and bear. This black bear, a good size one of a cinnamon blonde color phase spent fifteen minutes in front of the camera but unfortunately to close to get a picture of his face and never lifted his head once. Just out of hibernation and in very good shape having not eaten for five months or more, and hungry, he was sniffing the ground where I had put some corn the month before which my old arthritic hands dropped and it spilled too close to the camera. Haven't got a picture of a lone wolf (an outcast) for years. I wish it been during day light hours. Sorry Lew, no moose this time.