By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, Rural Properties & Acreages near Calgary

Let me start by saying, wolves, bears, and cougars are apex predators.  They can make life hard on ranchers and farmers, but they are a part of our ecosystem. This post is not meant to insight a debate, more to point out that we have a diverse wilderness and are lucky to have it. Please be respectful of that.

The mist rolling off the river after a hard rain just starting to lift off the valley floor, when a sound cuts through...

By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, Rural Properties & Acreages in the foothills of Alberta

The Evening Grosbeak of Alberta’s Foothills

In the hush of an early spring morning, when the mist clings to the evergreens and even the chickadees are still rubbing sleep from their feathers, there’s a sudden bolt of yellow—so bright it seems to carry the sun in its wings. That’s your first hint that an Evening Grosbeak is near.

These birds don’t sing like robins or flit like finches. No, the Evening Grosbeak is the...

By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, Rural Properties & Acreages in the foothills of Alberta

Our Clever Neighbor: Red Foxes

One cool autumn morning, while walking the fence line of my property, I noticed a small, freshly dug hole near the top of the hill. At first, I thought it might be a skunk or even a badger’s doing. But then, from behind a patch of wild roses, a fluffy, copper-colored tail poked out. The culprit emerged, ears twitching and nose to the ground — a red fox, clearly unimpressed by my presence....

By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, Rural Properties & Acreages near Calgary

You’re driving down a dusty Alberta backroad, your truck bouncing along as golden fields stretch out on either side. Maybe there’s a distant mountain range on the horizon or a cluster of aspen trees swaying gently in the breeze. You spot a “For Sale” sign and think, “Could this be it? My own slice of country paradise?”

But here’s the thing: No two rural properties are the same. They’re as unique as the people who built them – from...

By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, Rural Properties & Acreages near Calgary

"Woody Woodpecker’s Real-Life Cousin: The Pileated Woodpeckers of the Alberta Foothills"

Living rural can mean starting your day with the rhythmic thwack-thwack-thwack of a feathered carpenter hard at work, carving out his masterpiece on an old aspen tree. Out here in the Alberta foothills, that sound isn’t coming from a construction site — it’s the signature call of the Pileated Woodpecker, nature’s own lumberjack.

As a rural realtor,...