Holly Jolly

 After missing two months of the photo blogging challenge, I am back.  I was not out and about much in October and November.  I should have been motivated to try some more indoor photography, but it didn't happen.   Now I am excited to experiment more with my iPhone 12 Pro, my camera of choice on most days. 

1. First photo up this month is my Granddog, Bourbon.  Bourbon is a jolly old dog now.  A rescue Lurcher, we are not sure exactly how old but would estimate he is between 11 and 13.  His face used to be jet black, but it now has a lot of white on, especially encircling his eyes.  Here he is on Christmas Day, content to lay on his bed and watch the proceedings. 

2. I was delighted to see the Rotary Club of Canmore's Festival of Trees on display in the lobby of the Malcom Hotel this year.  I could have posted all 5 Holly Jolly pictures from photos taken of this event, but settled for this one.  The event is a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club and the creativity and craftsmanship of the decorated trees is extraordinary!  I marvel at them all plus the fantastic gingerbread creations.

3.  The visit to the Malcolm Hotel was a two-in-one event.  Indoors was the Festival of Trees.  Outdoors was Candy Cane Lane, which was enhanced this year with the blow-up characters usually on display farther away in the Spring Creek neighbourhood, thanks to Three Sisters Transport.  Blending the two outdoor Christmas attractions together made for an excellent display, without the rather lengthy (for a toddler) and icy walk between the two.  My two year old granddaughter was captivated with the indoor and outdoor attractions. 

4.  Another Christmas highlight was our return visit to Banff Lake Louise Tourism's enchanting "In Search of Christmas Spirit" display at the Banff National Park Administration Grounds at the end of Banff Avenue.  It features the fabulous wildlife artwork of esteemed artist Jason Carter.  Again, I could happily of selected five photos for Holly Jolly from this event!  It is a photographers paradise.  This is truly a world class Christmas event.  It was a bit of a production for us to get here, coordinating five schedules, the most challenging being a two year old's 7:30 pm bedtime and my husband's usual arrive home from work time of 6:30 pm.  Adding to the challenge was the fact that tickets for this free event start to be snapped up the day they are made available and they go quickly.  We managed to secure five tickets for a 6:10 pm time slot, with my husband getting permission to leave work 30 min early.  After a rushed supper, we arrived on our planned date to find the attraction not operating due to "extreme weather."  It was a delightful night with -13 C temp and no wind.  But that had not been the case when the decision was made to cancel.  We did not see the emails that ended up in junk mail.  So.....  without my husband, we ventured back on Dec 23rd for a delightful evening full of Christmas spirit!  What is missing from the photo below is the audio of the wolf howling under the full moon!  Spine tingling!!!

5.  A snow covered spruce branch caught my eye on a December snowshoe in Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park.  I enjoyed a very quiet outing on the Georgetown Trail which will become a favourite of mine.  It starts with a fantastic spot to photograph the sunrise, then proceeds on a trail with lots of wildlife viewing potential that sees very little human traffic.  My kind of trail!  It was hard to stop part way along the trail and turn around to head back.  There is lots more to discover along this trail. 

That is a wrap for 2021 and my first year of participating in the Photo Blogging Challenge.  I have enjoyed it very much.  The hardest part is always parring it down to just 5 photos.  Next month will be a challenge with the theme being black and white. I guess I will be trying to shoot some photos in black and white, which I never do as I don't think I will have much luck of spotting a skunk or a zebra in these parts.  I will have to put my thinking cap on, for sure.  Happy 2022!