On the Road: Glorious greens

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Everything was green and getting greener

Published May 22, 2026 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 5 minute read

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A blue heron hunts in a meadow southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaArticle content

The world turned green while I was languishing in bed.

I could sort of see it happening from my cubicle in the hospital but for the two weeks I was there, the weather veered from blowing snow to sunny warmth so whatever progression there was ended up being masked by the changing conditions. Still, though, I could see the grass getting greener and leaves starting to show on some of the trees.

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But heading into the foothills and especially turning into the Pine Creek valley just southwest of the city, I was startled by the transformation. The last time I was out this way there was snow and ice. Now, everything was green and getting greener.

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It was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision to come out this way. I had been headed west but realized I’d forgotten my phone — can’t get along without that! — so I turned around and went back home to get it. By then, though, it was nearly noon and the best light of the morning was long gone. Not much point in driving another hour out west.

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Rain and snow pellets fall on a horse in the hills southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

But clouds were starting to build up, rain was spitting down and the light was soft. Not as nice as morning but still good. So I headed south and west to a spot much closer to town.

The greens were incredible out here along Pine Creek and the Cross Conservancy just off the southwest corner of the city and they glowed both in the soft, cloudy light and the fleeting patches of sunshine. Pastures were emerald carpets, ditches were bright with fresh growth pushing through last year’s browns. Birds were everywhere.

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A bluebird takes a break from hunting bugs southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

Stopping to try for a picture of a robin hunting on the roadside I saw a pair of smaller birds blast by. They were bluebirds, bright in their springtime feathers and one of them posed nicely for me on a fencepost close by. With the window rolled down to take my pictures I could hear song sparrows and chickadees, robins, of course, and even the soft calls of the bluebirds.

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It wasn’t particularly warm at 7 C but it was enough to drive with the window rolled down and the heater on. The soft rain was filling with snow pellets that dimpled the beaver ponds on Pine Creek and the wind was cold but that didn’t bother the birds. There were lots around but the coolest one was a sora rail.

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A sora forages in a beaver pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

They are funny little birds about the size of a chubby robin with a bright yellow beak and brown feathers that help it blend in as they forage along edges of ponds. They are pretty hard to spot as they move in and out of the cattails and beaver-felled trees but you’ll often hear them if you’re parked close and start your vehicle. They have a distinctive WOO-woo-woo call that they let out when they’re startled.

There were plenty more birds there, too. Mallards and teal, geese — because there are always geese — yellow warblers that managed to elude me and several different sparrows. Ravens and harriers flew overhead while redwing blackbirds hollered from their perches. Down the valley, way too far for a decent photo, I could see a bald eagle on its nest. Through my long lens and blurred by atmospheric ripples I could make out it feeding at least one young one.

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Cattle relax in a brief rain and snow pellet shower southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

The rain got heavier and soon turned to pea-sized hail as I crossed the ridge above the valley. Cattle lay in the greening grass ignoring it as the sky beyond bubbled with clouds. The summit of the ridge was downright cold, the thermometer on the dash reading a chilly 3 C, and the hail was starting to turn to snow. Fortunately, it didn’t last long.

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It was back to soft rain in the next valley and drops hung on the poplar branches and still-opening buds. New leaves were everywhere, on the saskatoons and currants, the fragrant balsam poplars, the tiny round aspens. There were bright yellow willow flowers, too, the familiar silvery catkins now heavy with pollen. On a warmer day, there would be insects all over these.

Tiny new aspen leaves in the hills southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaNew saskatoon leaves in the hills southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

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Raindrops on poplar branches in the hills southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaMore willow flowers among cattails by a pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaWillow flowers by a pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

There were patches of blue sky to the south but instead of chasing them I went around to another pond back in the hills. Because it was a bit deeper than the beaver ponds I’d been at, I was pretty sure there would be a few different birds there. And there were, though not as many as I thought.

There were coots and gadwalls, a few teal and, of course, geese. But the most distinctive were the ring-necked ducks. The males are especially handsome with their bright golden eyes and blue and white beaks. In certain angles of light their heads are an iridescent purple. They are a little wary, though. I barely got any pictures before they disappeared among the cattails.

A pair of ring-necked ducks in a pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaA pair of blue-winged teal relax at a beaver pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

The redwing blackbirds were much more accommodating. They posed and performed right beside the truck, yelling their heads off and flashing their bright red epaulettes. They do love to show off!

The weather was going every which way, one moment sunny, the next pelting down hail. Rolling purple clouds came tumbling over the bright green hills, wind gusts shaking the raindrops from the leaves.

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A redwing blackbird shows off by a pond southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia

From the heights of the hills I could see storm cells off in the distance, some of them churning masses of clouds loading up before letting the rain fall, others already trailing curtains as the wind chased them off to the east. Here on the edge of the storms where I was, rain and hail mixed with cold sunshine and the clouds took on different shapes and shades depending on which way you looked.

The cattle didn’t care what the weather was doing. All they wanted was green grass to feed on and a place to relax and chew their cud. I could see them grazing and lazing as the patches of sunshine zipped across the land.

Cattle and storm clouds southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/PostmediaRain sweeps over cattle southwest of Calgary, Ab., on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Mike Drew/Postmedia