Another walk with the wolves

As you can see I love going on a walk with the Wolves of the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre....and it seems the joy is mutual...;-)

At the beginning of June, Monika and I visited the Wolves and went on a walk with them together with other wolf enthusiasts.

No matter if you are a photographer or not, if you are interested in wolves, a walk with them will be a highlight you will always remember. I lost count of how many times I have done the walk and I'm already looking for an excuse to go again!

It was a rather bright and contrasty day. Tough for photography....instead of fighting the contrast I decided this time to work with it, to intensify it...

The wolves seem to enjoy the outing as much as we do and take their time to smell the roses

or take a plunge into the water to cool off

a good opportunity for reflections...if they happen to stand still that is...

If you are in the area, they are located in Golden, B.C., make sure to pay them a visit. The wolf centre is open year round and offers tours within the centre daily: 

"Your tour starts when you get here, no reservations required, our wolf pack is ready when you are! We offer a 25 minute interpretive talk about wolves and their role in the environment."

For a "photo" walk though you have to make reservations ahead of time. I usually call a few weeks in advance. More information on their website:

Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre

December Conservation Tip

I know it's not yet December, but it will be very soon. I also wanted to get this blog out before the big Black Friday rush. Who knows, maybe this will save you the trip to a crowded mall...

In the last couple of years I put together list of organizations that deserve your attention and that offer gift donations and/or gift adoptions of wild animals and much more. In good old tradition, for my first tip this year, I would like you to check out the December Conservation Tips from 2012 and 2013.

Been there, done that and looking for something else? Me too, so I kept looking for other ideas that are environmentally friendly, sustainable, organic or otherwise guilt free...;-).
Here what I came up with:

How about tickets to the Banff Film Festival World Tour? To see where they play and what they play, just click on the link. There are amazing films on the schedule and no matter where and what you see, you won't regret it.

Say (it with) cheese....;-)
You all know I am a cheese fan and it is my pleasure to recommend two of the best cheese companies to you.
The first one I have visited quite often and dearly miss it, now that we moved out of the vicinity of it:
Harley Farms Goat Dairy. The best goat cheese ever. My favorite: the Lavender Honey Chevre...to die for.
Harley Farms ships US wide and they have much more than cheese!

Moonstruck Organic Cheese Inc., a small dairy farm on Salt Spring Island makes one of the best cheeses I had here in Canada. In fact, I liked the cheese so much that we HAD to stop over at their dairy on Salt Spring during our Explore BC tour this summer. My favorite: The White Moon Camembert. Yummy!
Moonstruck ships Canada wide. For special offers check out the Moonstruck Cheese Club.

The next suggestion is for that very special person in your life that is an environmentally conscious outdoor enthusiast and always cold! I first saw this company mentioned in a German magazine and was immediately taken by their idea:
Check out Ortovox. They producing fair-trade, environmentally-friendly processed clothing, especially jackets with a sustainable raw material: Wool. It's light, temperature regulating and warm, even when wet! It does not get much better than that. I would love to get my hands on one of them and finally found a retailer who would ship to North America: Blue Tomato
My favorite: the Piz Bernina jacket, but no, I haven't tried it ...yet....
Da Ortovox eine deutsche Firma ist, habe es da meine deutschen Freunde besorgungstechnisch und finaziell etwas besser....;-)


A little less expensive? No problem. Try something from the Rocky Mountain Soap Company. At the Banff Film Festival Market we stumbled upon a great, almost local cosmetic company with a great promise:
"We only use 100% natural ingredients, the finest essential oils, real grains, berries, and other sources that Mother Nature provides."

The soaps smell absolutely heavenly and the body butter leaves your skin soft and nourished.
My favorite: the lavender soap and the vanilla coconut body butter
The Rocky Mountain Soap Company ships within Canada AND international!


Now that we pampered the body, how about something for mind and soul?
The wolf is probably the most misunderstood mammal of all times. Hated and hunted to the brink of extinction. Disregarding that this killing is cruel and unnecessary, the wolf has an enormously important role in a functioning ecosystem. Ever so slowly this is understood by some. Now someone with a deep knowledge and understanding of wolves and it's environment, wrote an award winning book everyone interested in wolves and/or a functioning ecosystem should read:
Kevin Van Tighem's "The Homeward Wolf". Although it is a documentary, it is written so well, I read the whole book the same evening I had bought it AND due to it's format, it's just the perfect stocking stuffer!

Need more "wolf" ideas? The Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center in Golden, BC does an amazing job educating young and old about the importance of wolves. If you are following my blog, you know I have visited them many times and I would like to pass on what they just have posted:

 "Hey Everyone!!
the Holiday season is upon us... We just want to remind of our unique gift ideas here at the wolf centre. We have Sponsorships available, your loved one would receive a Xmas package and would help the centre continue to promote wolf education.
We also have gift certificates for a walk with the wolves available for those adventurous spirits!
We have until mid-December to send packages for you to receive them on time for Xmas.
Cheers!!"

 My favorite: the wolf walk :-)) Who does not want to go home with an image like that....

Last but not least, try local fairs and Christmas markets for last minute gifts. 

If you have further recommendations, please feel free to post them in the comments for all to see.

That being said

HAPPY GIVING AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Winter Wolves

 click on the images to enlarge them

Bitter cold wind and snow was howling around my makeshift home for the last three weeks, a small tent, here in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. I endured countless frostbites and suffered from coffee deprivation, all that to bring photos of these icons of the wild in winter to you!

Sounds good, ey? Fortunately, all of the above was not necessary to take these images. I did not have to spent three weeks out there in a tent, and I did have a good cup of coffee on the morning of the photo shoot...:-)

And yes, these are real wolves, and yes again, they are running free.

Thanks to the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre, all I had to do to take these photos was to book a photo walk with them. And have some luck with the weather, as we had a fabulous winter day for the shoot.

Shelley and Casey of the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre do an amazing job education people about the nature of the wolf. It is hard, even in our seemingly sophisticated society, to break the old myth of the wolf as a heartless killing machine. Thanks to the Brothers Grimm, wolves still are feared.

Wolves also compete for the same prey as modern day hunters, which is almost more detrimental to their future than the century old fear of people.

The Centre is educating young and old about wolves and their place in a healthy eco-system by bringing the wolf close to the people.
And by giving people the opportunity to even walk with theses amazing animals they manage to raise the desperately needed awareness about the future of the wolf.

Ever since my first walk, I feel like an ambassador for the wolves and I bet many who did the walk, too, feel the same.

Not to mention the fun of being out in nature, with wolves, and a camera, or two...;-)

The wolves that accompanied us on this winter walk were Flora (last six images) and Scrappy Dave (first six images).

But wolves are in peril! If you like wolves and the images here, I urge you to scroll down to the March Conservation Tips and give your vote to help save the wolves from getting scratched from the endangered species list.