Making Use of the Rain

(July 25th) Each day in Jasper I spend the morning shooting and then stop when the light gets harsh. This gives me a chance to grab some lunch while transferring files. I am taking so many pictures that I don't want to find myself full in the midst of an exciting shoot. Jasper is simply gorgeous. There are no words to describe it. It has such a mix of valleys, rivers and lakes surrounded by enormous peaks. Here's a picture of one of the smaller peaks near the northeast side of the park.

I noticed this small field of flowers off to one side. It turned out that this area was treed before, but a fire had burned down the trees. In their place there was a gorgeous group of flowers. I found the cycle of death and rebirth inspiring, not to mention the gorgeous colors. What this shot doesn't show is that the plants are all 4 feet tall and the area is full of nasty thorns.

Right after shooting the first landscape shots, the clouds came. And they sure came fast! In a few minutes it went from sunny, to completely overcast and raining moderately. The animals sure don't stop for the rain, and there was no way I was going to either. Rain and overcast conditions work great for some animals, not so well for others. It is great though for a lot of mammals. I had shot a lot of pictures of the Bighorn Sheep rams, but I had pretty much ignored the ewes and lambs. From what I saw, the ewes and lambs all flock together separate from the rams. The rain was great for capturing these animals. Some of the young lambs were playing around headbutting even though they have no horns yet. I know the background has some issues, but they were so funny I had to include the shot.

The lambs really were the star of the late afternoon. They had so much energy and curiousity. Just watching them filled you with excitement. It is hard to believe that in only a year they would be close to full-grown, except for their horns.

After a great time with the ewes and lambs, they made their way up the slope to spend the night. I headed back to my campsite and just as the sun was setting, the rain cleared and the sun peaked through the clouds.