Positively Faces of Time

Overcast Sky

It was day three at Police Point Park today, and although the sky was overcast and the temperature was cooler than the first two days, we still had happy faces and an exceptionally great time!  

We once again caught glimpse of a variety of faces.  We spotted two white tailed deer, one sand hill crane, a garter snake, hawks, and of course, some interesting aged faces in the splendid Cottonwood trees! 






Follow the path with me to catch a glimpse of our discoveries.



Happy Face


We began the day exploring a forest by the South Saskatchewan River.  The tree branches bend and twist.  No two trees ever look the exact same.  How beautiful and inspiring! 

The river flows at the foot of the glorious sandy cliffs which are graced with silver sage and ancient erosion lines.   Their true beauty was in disguise today, but when the sun shines upon the elderly cliffs, one can spot faces in the cliffs and old tales of the past are revealed.

 This is what the cliffs look like on a nice clear sunny day. Many of us can see the faces of our First Nations people.  Legend has it that this is where the Legend Behind The Name Medicine Hat took place. A young Blood sacrificed his wife to the sea serpent to earn the medicine hat (the Saamis) and special abilities for hunting to save his entire village from starvation.  Just below these legendary cliffs is where the river never freezes and the sea serpent lives.

The Sea Serpent

 Stepping in some super gooey mud on the river bank looking for evidence that animals frequent the bank seemed to generate the biggest smiles.  We discovered beaver, raccoon, deer, and giant heron prints.  The students thanked me for allowing them to have some freedom to explore the river bank.  They were also excited to find clam shells and shells of crayfish and skip rocks!

Ancient Cottonwood Trunk

  GPS geocaching was a real challenge for us, however, we managed to spot other treasures along the way.

I read a quote today, with age we approach magnificence.  I have to agree. This park gets more beautiful as time passes. One visitor to the park today left a comment in the interpretive centre saying there is a lot of clean up to do.  I don't agree at all.  The dead and close to dead trees add character to the park and give hiding places for animals.  If they want perfect, they should go to the other city parks with there are closely cut lawns and human planted flower beds.  This park is a celebration of our past and a marvelous glimpse of how the faces of nature are ever changing over time!

This is a picture I drew last year showing the passage of the season and time.  I call it, "Listen to the Trees"!

Renee Dowling's images are her soul property.

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