Today’s blog is full of nostalgia that was brought on when I went to look at a house into my old neighbourhood yesterday. The first home I bought in Calgary was in the community of Beddington. You never forget your first home, so it should be no surprise that this evoked some feelings. However, it was not what you would expect. What I could not stop reminiscing about is how neighbourly the community was and is. When I was at the house yesterday, the next-door neighbour was out walking his dog and he stopped by and said “Hi” and we chatter for a few minutes. After my appointment on my way home I decided that instead of going to my current grocery store I will go to my ‘old’ Calgary Co-op. The feeling of neighbourhood friendliness just kept on coming. It was great seeing neighbours talking to each other in the store and even stopping their cars to get attention of their friend/neighbour in the parking lot. All these experiences are so in line with how I felt when I lived in Beddington. I made my neighbours my friends with whom I still keep in touch….even though we may no longer be residents of Beddington.

Aside from its friendliness, Beddington offers a lot of green spaces and pathways to walk. It is just minutes from Nose Hills, where I spent many hours with my dog June.

Please feel free to comment below, I would love to learn more about your neighbourhood and its residents.

What happened on Earth Day 2021

I cannot help myself but to start talking about the weather this year. It was a cold and windy day!!!! The weather definitively was not in our favour, but we still got out and cleaned up the river. Despite the weather we still had a great turn out and lots of people sent their entries to win the $100 gift certificate from Out Fly Fishing. Congratulations to our contest winner, selected by Josh from Out Fly Fishing, Brandy @raising_gingers. Thank you to Out Fly Fishing for donating the prize.

Our little family went out to the Bow River near the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. We spent nearly 2 hrs cleaning up the river and ended up with 7 bags of garbage and a couple of large items. We found 4 shoes, unbelievable number of pens, straws, drink cups and lids. The saddest find was a little stuffed bunny we named Hops. Sorry we could not save him!!!

We hope that next year we will have better weather and perhaps no restrictions so we can do this as a group and have fun getting to know each other. Keep following me on Instagram @mcinnisrealestate and let us make next years clean-up even better. Our planet, our rivers all deserve a little bit of care.

WINNERS!!!

LITTLE HOPS

INSIDE THE BAG - GROSS

OUR LOOT :(

Earth Day

Thursday. April 22, 2021

Location: Any Bow River Shoreline

Get out with your family and/or cohorts, bring garbage bags, gloves, tongs, etc., and let’s clean up the garbage and debris along the banks of the Bow River. The Bow River in Calgary is one of our most precious resources and we must do our part to keep it clean and healthy. The fish, the city, and the environment count on us doing our part.

By participating in the clean up you can enter a contest to win a $100 gift card prize from Out Fly Fishing Outfitters.

Photo Contest judged and sponsored by Out Fly Fishing Outfitters

Submit a photo to @mcinnisrealestate or to km.kate.mcinnis@gmail.com with your collection of garbage from the Bow River Shoreline by 9:00 PM MST April 23rd. The winner will be announced and contacted on April 24th.

Contest details: Photo must have the Bow River in the background. Please have all your garbage bags visible for judging.

Please share our post to Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger to encourage others to join. Use #bowrivercleanup and post your photos!

Important: During these trying times please be safe and use caution and remember to follow the Alberta Covid Gathering Mandatory Restrictions. For most up to date COVID-19 restrictions visit the Government of Alberta website https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx