If you have yet to experience the Powder Highway, it’s a trip you must put on your bucket list. It's a snow hound's nirvana because it puts you smack in the middle of the world’s largest collections of skiable locations.

Winter is definitely sinking in. Boots instead of flip-flops, jackets instead of T-shirts and toques instead of ballcaps. Depending on where you live, the season settles in differently. For instance, the prairies may be -20 C and sunny like the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the Okanagan is warm but overcast. How come?

Bundled up with scarves, mitts, big jackets and toques you brave a walk through the winter landscape. Suddenly through the wool wrapped around your ears you hear a bird. Was it a caw, or a croaking sound? A squawk or a tweet? Is it tiny and fluffy? Blue? Grey? Or big, black and bold? Here’s a quick way to tell exactly what you are looking at or listening to.

Rockwell, a local photographer, has been guiding night-sky lovers for more than 20 years, helping them to capture on camera the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. It’s often a once a lifetime experience for many people who come here from all world to see the dancing bands of colours that can take on many shapes in colour.

From icing a cake to walking on ice, Sheri Landry of Edmonton is up to the challenge. As the creator of the popular This Bird’s Day web page featuring advice, antidotes and recipes Sheri keeps pretty busy.