Fall in Manitoba is gorgeous, and I love how leaves change from green to brilliants shades of yellow, orange, and reds. I’m still in a bit of shock how fast this summer felt, and it does seem like each year is going by faster and faster. I need to regularly remind myself to slow down a bit. (I feel like some of my own leaves are changing colour too as I recently hit the 30-year mark 🥲). To be honest, I’m not sure where this post is going, it may just be some summer notes/musings and photos.

A big thing this summer was getting married! While our relationship doesn’t necessarily feel different as we’ve been together for a while now :), it was exciting to officially mark and celebrate the next chapter of our lives together. Matt and I held our private ceremony in July, then hosted our big party in early September at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. I love how weddings bring people together, sometimes people reuniting after many years. It was a memorable and lovely night to celebrate with close friends and family all together, and with special guests- polar bears! I think it’s super cool that the Gateway to the Arctic exhibit can be at Assiniboine Zoo can be rented as a venue for an event, and it was perfect for Matt and I with our interests in wildlife and experiences with marine mammals. Photos from the party aren’t ready yet, but I might do a post on it later. Mocha has been so good during our wedding/party planning, and patient on the week leading to the party. We included her in our engagement photoshoot and ceremony, and made sure to spend time to enjoy the summer with her too. It’s nuts how fast time goes by sometimes, and as I see more white hairs on Mocha’s muzzle I wish I could slow time down. I included a photo of Mocha in a canoe because it was on our summer bucket list and she is so cute chillin’ in the canoe.

At the end of the summer, I saw my biggest aurora show yet. I follow the facebook group Manitoba Aurora and Astronomy and two aurora apps on the phone: “SpaceWeatherLive” and “Aurora”. Sometimes the forecast looks good, but ends up being a bust (though when this happens, it’s still nice to see the stars), or I’m already tucked in bed and exhausted and choose not go head out. Skies were clear on the evening of September 18th and the forecast looked promising so I went out to a spot outside the city, and boy was it an amazing night. Everything lined up perfectly with timing (and not being stuck in mud). It was the first time I saw the aurora pulsating overhead and at one point it was so strong that it was illuminating the ground and everything around me. It looked more white to the naked eye than green as it is shown in the photos- the camera is able to capture more light with longer shutter speeds and higher ISO. I’m still experimenting with the right settings on the camera, but in any case, it’s a thrill to watch the aurora and also snap some photos. There were times I didn’t even know where to point the camera because it was everywhere!

I’ll keep this post short, since I’m not really maintaining a focus here. I will try to get back to posting things more regularly on this blog. I’ve been paying attention more to butterflies and hope to write more about them too. Their life cycle is pretty amazing, and there is such a diversity of colours and patterns! Here is a sneak peek to some of the cool butterflies I saw this past summer.

And can’t forget the birds! Below are some shots from last week when I wanted to catch some of the fall colours before they’re gone. Fall is pretty here, but much too brief. Soon enough it’ll be time to switch to winter tires, gloves and handwarmers, and shoveling snow. But with winter comes unique winter birds and fun snow activities.

– Evelien