At the beginning of the month our daughter was playing in an adult soccer tournament in British Columbia, so we tagged along for the weekend to watch her play. On the way we spent a night at the small city of Salmon Arm, located on the beautiful Shuswap Lake. The hotel was located next to the lake and a bird sanctuary, so I decided to get up around sunrise to walk the area. As I have mentioned before, I’m not a morning person, but I will have to try harder, because the light in the early morning is so fresh and lovely, promising the start of a new day. A different feeling than the equally beautiful end of day light.

Enjoy the serenity of a sunrise walk along the lake!

Great Blue Heron, I believe. I love watching these birds hunt, patiently watching for a fish or frog, then grabbing them with their beak.

It took awhile, but finally the sun broke over the surrounding mountains.

The Serenity Project is a collaborative photography project featuring images that bring a sense of peace and calm. Please continue our circle to to see what has brought my friends serenity this month.

Next in the circle is Iris Nelson, a Metro Phoenix photographer

Click the link to see what serenity looks like for her this month! Thanks for being here.

Something I used to do more of was hop in my car and go explore the back roads in the area around Calgary. It’s truly amazing how if you just get away from the main thorough fares, you find a quieter and slower pace of life. You don’t have to go far to find that serenity and peacefulness.

Calgary and Alberta are known worldwide for our Rocky Mountains, but there is so much beauty in our foothills and prairies as well. This is one of the things I love about where I live - if I drive in one direction I can be in the awe inspiring Rocky Mountains. If I head in another direction, I can explore the rolling hills of ranch land and green pastures. Head yet another way and I can enjoy the patchwork of farming fields and the huge blue Alberta sky.

Last week another photographer friend and I had plans to head south of the city to see what views we could find during golden hour. We strongly debated whether to stick to our plan as a big storm had rolled through around the dinner hour and we didn’t know what kind of light we’d get. We decided to go for it hoping the remaining storm clouds would provide some sunset drama.

As we drove, I spied some red barns around a turn, so we backed up and followed that road. When we stepped out of the car, the peacefulness hit us. No sound other than bird song and cows calling to us. Serenity found!

These friendly locals greeted us upon our arrival.

Close to sunset we tried this location. Just a simple pullout on the road to give us the views. It wasn’t looking hopeful, but then the sun gave us a little show.

Layer of foothills stretching out to meet the Rocky Mountains

And across the gravel road, more of the friendly locals!

I’d say it was worth taking the chance on the weather. The calm felt as we took in our beautiful, amazing world so close to home was good for the soul.

Next in the circle is Jillian Baudry, a South of France photographer.

Click the link to see what serenity looks like for her this month! Thanks for being here.

August Serenity Blog Circle - Lakeside Morning In British Columbia

June Serenity Blog Circle - Back Country Drives

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All photographic images are copyrighted to Lori McLellan