https://www.ipernity.com/tag/293827/keyword/31311 https://cdn.ipernity.com/p/101/C3/7B/293827.buddy.jpg https://www.ipernity.com/tag/293827/keyword/31311 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:51:39 +0000 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:51:39 +0000 https://www.ipernity.com https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49676922 tag:ipernity.com,2019-07-20,doc-49676922 Sat, 20 Jul 2019 17:16:30 +0000 2019-07-18T16:09:16-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49676922"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/69/22/49676922.c999bcaf.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969 as part of NASA's Apollo 11 lunar mission." People are remembering this exciting, successful event this week. I was trying to remember where I was when this all took place, so I checked. In the week before, we flew from Seria, Brunei, Borneo, back to England for a short while. On the journey from Borneo, we spent 6th - 13th July in Hong Kong, then in Rome, Italy, from 14th - 18th July, arriving in Birmingham, England, at my parents' house on 18th July. We ended up in Holland in October 1969 and returned to Borneo about a week before Christmas 1969. So, I am guessing that we were with my parents when the Moon Landing took place. My parents never had a TV, and I can't remember watching it at any friend's house. So much packing, travelling and chaos : )<br /> <br /> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> Saturday, 20 July 2019 - our temperature is 13C (windchill 11C) around noon. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. This is summer?? <br /> <br /> A couple of days ago, after seven or so long, brutal months of winter (coldest on record?) and now endless weeks of rain and cloud, I finally decided, enough is enough. I have become a fair-weather photographer, and we don't get that much fair weather, especially this year. So, on 18 July 2019, despite the weather forecast for a thunderstorm, I decided to drive SE of the city mid-afternoon. A few more days, and I will be spending the day with my daughter, though I'm not sure yet where she will choose to go. She (me, too) loves the Saskatoon Farm, but also wants to get out to a few golden Canola fields. Thought I would scout around beforehand. My plan had been to go to the Farm first and have a meal, and then continue on to Frank Lake. Seeing the beautiful storm clouds on my drive south, I was torn as to whether to go to Frank Lake first and catch a few photos. Then it occurred to me that I could also get a few sky shots once I had turned off the main highway and on to the country road leading to the Farm.<br /> <br /> The Farm was pretty busy. So much wonderful colour everywhere that I almost forgot about the weather. That is, until I was eating outside under the open shelter. It was so cold, I had goosebumps, and the wind increased, sending a huge picnic table umbrella flying fast through the air. Just a short bit of rain and all returned to normal. <br /> <br /> As usual, I wandered around the grounds, shooting flowers, rabbits, landscape, clouds, and old tractors. One barn stood out to me and had me puzzled. I have visited the farm many times before, but I don't remember seeing this particular barn before. It looked so pretty, with its colourful flower border.<br /> <br /> Eventually, I continued my drive to Frank Lake. The storm clouds stayed with me. One side road has a small wetland on either side of the road and I pulled over to check what birds might be there. I was about to turn off my car when a loud buzzer sounded and a tornado alert was announced - to take shelter and if there was no shelter nearby, to get into a ditch or ravine. Then I heard that the area covered was further SE - in fact, where I had been a week earlier.<br /> <br /> "Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed a weak EF0 tornado touched down two kilometres northeast of Crossfield at around 2:15 p.m. Sunday, 14 July 2019, marking the 12th confirmed twister of the season." (This was roughly 50 km north of Calgary.)<br /> <br /> According to the weather agency, Alberta typically sees an average of 15 tornadoes per year with the peak season starting mid-to-late June and ending early-to-mid August.<br /> <br /> So far in 2019, there have been 12 confirmed tornadoes in Alberta and three probable ones. There have also been many reports of funnel clouds." From Global News.<br /> <br /> While i was standing by this wetland a White-faced Ibis flew in. I believe this was the first one I had really seen and photographed this year. Further on, when I was at the blind, there were so many Ruddy Ducks. The Barn Swallow pair flew back and forth to their nest that is just out of sight. I had checked to see if I could spot the Red Knot (bird), but without binoculars, it was pretty much impossible to check the very distant water birds.<br /> <br /> A very enjoyable afternoon/evening. Mid-evening, the main highway wasn't very busy, and the rain only started when I arrived home and had to get out of the car.</div> A great use for old teapots <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49676922"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/69/22/49676922.c999bcaf.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969 as part of NASA's Apollo 11 lunar mission." People are remembering this exciting, successful event this week. I was trying to remember where I was when this all took place, so I checked. In the week before, we flew from Seria, Brunei, Borneo, back to England for a short while. On the journey from Borneo, we spent 6th - 13th July in Hong Kong, then in Rome, Italy, from 14th - 18th July, arriving in Birmingham, England, at my parents' house on 18th July. We ended up in Holland in October 1969 and returned to Borneo about a week before Christmas 1969. So, I am guessing that we were with my parents when the Moon Landing took place. My parents never had a TV, and I can't remember watching it at any friend's house. So much packing, travelling and chaos : )<br /> <br /> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> Saturday, 20 July 2019 - our temperature is 13C (windchill 11C) around noon. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. This is summer?? <br /> <br /> A couple of days ago, after seven or so long, brutal months of winter (coldest on record?) and now endless weeks of rain and cloud, I finally decided, enough is enough. I have become a fair-weather photographer, and we don't get that much fair weather, especially this year. So, on 18 July 2019, despite the weather forecast for a thunderstorm, I decided to drive SE of the city mid-afternoon. A few more days, and I will be spending the day with my daughter, though I'm not sure yet where she will choose to go. She (me, too) loves the Saskatoon Farm, but also wants to get out to a few golden Canola fields. Thought I would scout around beforehand. My plan had been to go to the Farm first and have a meal, and then continue on to Frank Lake. Seeing the beautiful storm clouds on my drive south, I was torn as to whether to go to Frank Lake first and catch a few photos. Then it occurred to me that I could also get a few sky shots once I had turned off the main highway and on to the country road leading to the Farm.<br /> <br /> The Farm was pretty busy. So much wonderful colour everywhere that I almost forgot about the weather. That is, until I was eating outside under the open shelter. It was so cold, I had goosebumps, and the wind increased, sending a huge picnic table umbrella flying fast through the air. Just a short bit of rain and all returned to normal. <br /> <br /> As usual, I wandered around the grounds, shooting flowers, rabbits, landscape, clouds, and old tractors. One barn stood out to me and had me puzzled. I have visited the farm many times before, but I don't remember seeing this particular barn before. It looked so pretty, with its colourful flower border.<br /> <br /> Eventually, I continued my drive to Frank Lake. The storm clouds stayed with me. One side road has a small wetland on either side of the road and I pulled over to check what birds might be there. I was about to turn off my car when a loud buzzer sounded and a tornado alert was announced - to take shelter and if there was no shelter nearby, to get into a ditch or ravine. Then I heard that the area covered was further SE - in fact, where I had been a week earlier.<br /> <br /> "Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed a weak EF0 tornado touched down two kilometres northeast of Crossfield at around 2:15 p.m. Sunday, 14 July 2019, marking the 12th confirmed twister of the season." (This was roughly 50 km north of Calgary.)<br /> <br /> According to the weather agency, Alberta typically sees an average of 15 tornadoes per year with the peak season starting mid-to-late June and ending early-to-mid August.<br /> <br /> So far in 2019, there have been 12 confirmed tornadoes in Alberta and three probable ones. There have also been many reports of funnel clouds." From Global News.<br /> <br /> While i was standing by this wetland a White-faced Ibis flew in. I believe this was the first one I had really seen and photographed this year. Further on, when I was at the blind, there were so many Ruddy Ducks. The Barn Swallow pair flew back and forth to their nest that is just out of sight. I had checked to see if I could spot the Red Knot (bird), but without binoculars, it was pretty much impossible to check the very distant water birds.<br /> <br /> A very enjoyable afternoon/evening. Mid-evening, the main highway wasn't very busy, and the rain only started when I arrived home and had to get out of the car.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46091780 tag:ipernity.com,2018-01-01,doc-46091780 Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:55:53 +0000 2017-12-29T10:02:03-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46091780"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/17/80/46091780.9b39896b.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This morning, I just had time to edit and post three photos before dashing out to meet friends so that we could cover our area for Fish Creek Provincial Park's New Year's Day Bird Count. A beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine, but, oh, excruciatingly COLD! A nasty kind of cold that gave us cold feet despite wearing winter boots that are supposed to go down to -40C. So cold that our cameras wouldn't work much of the time. The birds had more sense than humans - they mainly stayed hidden. We only saw 7 species of birds in three hours of walking. This extreme cold is just brutal! Three bitterly COLD, day-long, out-of-the-city Christmas Bird Counts have been more than enough and it's a bit of a relief that the Fish Creek Park Count is also now out of the way. What does the weather go and do now? It finally warms up and will be around normal seasonal temperatures for at least the next few days.<br /> <br /> A video from the Weather Network website, showing how cold it is in Calgary right now:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/watch-this-how-cold-it-is-in-calgary-right-now/sharevideo/5695827826001/most_popular" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/watch-this-ho...</a><br /> <br /> This photo was taken three days ago, on 29 December 2017, when four of us (using just one car) took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of back roads and farms just like on our other Counts. The area we covered (right on the east edge of the count circle) was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail.<br /> <br /> The first evidence of any wildlife for me, first thing in the morning, was a Jackrabbit that was nibbling on snow-covered plants right outside our leader's house. Of course, at 7:15 in the morning, it was still dark.<br /> <br /> One of my favourite things to photograph on this annual Count are the Llamas at one of the farms.. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. I'm not sure how many Llamas they have - somewhere around 7? Most of these animals were given to them by other farmers who no longer wanted them.<br /> <br /> "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> The photogenic old shed/house in this photo is always a favourite of mine, on the edge of the forest and just a short distance from the landowners own bungalow. We usually see several species of bird here, but on Count day, all was mostly quiet.<br /> <br /> Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. This day, though, with a temperature of -23C all day (windchill probably at least -30 to 35C), cats stayed indoors. I caught a brief glimpse of just one cat outside. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, so we couldn't search the farmyard, but I did get the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of one of the barns, from a side view. <br /> <br /> Another farm we stopped at had beautiful Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls coming to a feeder. A joy to see these splashes of colour in a very cold, white, white world. <br /> <br /> So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Too cold and too much snow to spend much time searching various farmyards, and we had finished the Count by 2:30 pm. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below. Many thanks, Dave, for driving us. You did a great job of handling roads that were not in the greatest condition, and it was greatly appreciated. The light was awful all day, and it was so difficult to see where the ditch was and where one road turned off to another. There is no way I would ever try driving on our back roads in such weather! Also, a huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander round their farmyards. These visits make our day so much more interesting and fun!</div> Happy New Year, everyone! <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46091780"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/17/80/46091780.9b39896b.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This morning, I just had time to edit and post three photos before dashing out to meet friends so that we could cover our area for Fish Creek Provincial Park's New Year's Day Bird Count. A beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine, but, oh, excruciatingly COLD! A nasty kind of cold that gave us cold feet despite wearing winter boots that are supposed to go down to -40C. So cold that our cameras wouldn't work much of the time. The birds had more sense than humans - they mainly stayed hidden. We only saw 7 species of birds in three hours of walking. This extreme cold is just brutal! Three bitterly COLD, day-long, out-of-the-city Christmas Bird Counts have been more than enough and it's a bit of a relief that the Fish Creek Park Count is also now out of the way. What does the weather go and do now? It finally warms up and will be around normal seasonal temperatures for at least the next few days.<br /> <br /> A video from the Weather Network website, showing how cold it is in Calgary right now:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/watch-this-how-cold-it-is-in-calgary-right-now/sharevideo/5695827826001/most_popular" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/watch-this-ho...</a><br /> <br /> This photo was taken three days ago, on 29 December 2017, when four of us (using just one car) took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of back roads and farms just like on our other Counts. The area we covered (right on the east edge of the count circle) was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail.<br /> <br /> The first evidence of any wildlife for me, first thing in the morning, was a Jackrabbit that was nibbling on snow-covered plants right outside our leader's house. Of course, at 7:15 in the morning, it was still dark.<br /> <br /> One of my favourite things to photograph on this annual Count are the Llamas at one of the farms.. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. I'm not sure how many Llamas they have - somewhere around 7? Most of these animals were given to them by other farmers who no longer wanted them.<br /> <br /> "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> The photogenic old shed/house in this photo is always a favourite of mine, on the edge of the forest and just a short distance from the landowners own bungalow. We usually see several species of bird here, but on Count day, all was mostly quiet.<br /> <br /> Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. This day, though, with a temperature of -23C all day (windchill probably at least -30 to 35C), cats stayed indoors. I caught a brief glimpse of just one cat outside. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, so we couldn't search the farmyard, but I did get the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of one of the barns, from a side view. <br /> <br /> Another farm we stopped at had beautiful Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls coming to a feeder. A joy to see these splashes of colour in a very cold, white, white world. <br /> <br /> So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Too cold and too much snow to spend much time searching various farmyards, and we had finished the Count by 2:30 pm. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below. Many thanks, Dave, for driving us. You did a great job of handling roads that were not in the greatest condition, and it was greatly appreciated. The light was awful all day, and it was so difficult to see where the ditch was and where one road turned off to another. There is no way I would ever try driving on our back roads in such weather! Also, a huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander round their farmyards. These visits make our day so much more interesting and fun!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45523474 tag:ipernity.com,2017-09-17,doc-45523474 Sun, 17 Sep 2017 14:22:47 +0000 2017-09-05T14:01:46-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45523474"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/34/74/45523474.6eb9961c.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Sadly, these old grain elevators in Irricana are no longer standing. However, I enjoyed seeing this beautiful mural, placed along the side of a quonset in the own of Irricana.<br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day on 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive north-east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. <br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a metal windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered with well water, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked straightforward enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.</div> Irricana grain elevators mural <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45523474"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/34/74/45523474.6eb9961c.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Sadly, these old grain elevators in Irricana are no longer standing. However, I enjoyed seeing this beautiful mural, placed along the side of a quonset in the own of Irricana.<br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day on 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive north-east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. <br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a metal windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered with well water, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked straightforward enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45467806 tag:ipernity.com,2017-09-07,doc-45467806 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:43:22 +0000 2017-09-05T13:58:34-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45467806"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/78/06/45467806.c6ecc8ad.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Approximately 53 KM northeast of Calgary, Irricana is surrounded by numerous irrigation canals, which is where the town gets its name. <br /> <br /> "The name dates the town back to the irrigation projects in the area. By 1909, the town had a post office, hotel and store operated by the Irricana Trading Company. Originally incorporated as a village on June 9, 1911, Irricana changed its status to a town 94 years later on June 9, 2005. <br /> <br /> In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Irricana recorded a population of 1,216 living in 473 of its 479 total private dwellings." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community-art-that-lives-in-irricana/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community...</a><br /> <br /> I love this colourful mural! It is one of many that can be seen around the streets of Irricana.<br /> <br /> "Utilizing her background as a graduate of the Alberta College of art and Design in Calgary, Brenda Campbell campaigned for an on going mural program in Irricana to help brighten up Irricana and enhance the local economy."<br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day two days ago, 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. <br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered by well water, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked simple enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to Calgary via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way home.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.</div> Colours <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45467806"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/78/06/45467806.c6ecc8ad.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Approximately 53 KM northeast of Calgary, Irricana is surrounded by numerous irrigation canals, which is where the town gets its name. <br /> <br /> "The name dates the town back to the irrigation projects in the area. By 1909, the town had a post office, hotel and store operated by the Irricana Trading Company. Originally incorporated as a village on June 9, 1911, Irricana changed its status to a town 94 years later on June 9, 2005. <br /> <br /> In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Irricana recorded a population of 1,216 living in 473 of its 479 total private dwellings." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community-art-that-lives-in-irricana/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community...</a><br /> <br /> I love this colourful mural! It is one of many that can be seen around the streets of Irricana.<br /> <br /> "Utilizing her background as a graduate of the Alberta College of art and Design in Calgary, Brenda Campbell campaigned for an on going mural program in Irricana to help brighten up Irricana and enhance the local economy."<br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day two days ago, 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. <br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered by well water, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked simple enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to Calgary via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way home.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45465002 tag:ipernity.com,2017-09-06,doc-45465002 Wed, 06 Sep 2017 17:07:13 +0000 2017-09-05T13:57:47-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45465002"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/50/02/45465002.2ef1e574.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Approximately 53 KM northeast of Calgary, Irricana is surrounded by numerous irrigation canals, which is where the town gets its name. <br /> <br /> "The name dates the town back to the irrigation projects in the area. By 1909, the town had a post office, hotel and store operated by the Irricana Trading Company. Originally incorporated as a village on June 9, 1911, Irricana changed its status to a town 94 years later on June 9, 2005. <br /> <br /> In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Irricana recorded a population of 1,216 living in 473 of its 479 total private dwellings." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community-art-that-lives-in-irricana/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community...</a><br /> <br /> "The Sunflower mural is painted on the east side of 233 2nd street (Main street) and is one of the few early murals painted directly on the building’s exterior wall. Utilizing her background as a graduate of the Alberta College of art and Design in Calgary, Brenda Campbell campaigned for an on going mural program in Irricana to help brighten up Irricana and enhance the local economy. As well as the large bright yellow sunflowers there is a hint of a white picket fence, as well as a hidden mouse in this mural. This large painting is the end result of many local community volunteers and many volunteer hours."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Irricana-CPB-2016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Irricana-CPB-2016.pdf</a><br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day yesterday, 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. Loved this old tractor that was standing alone - liked the rather photogenic tree nearby, too.<br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were about four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked simple enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished of with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads. I knew it would take me ages to get any description added to the three photos I posted this morning!</div> Sunflower mural <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45465002"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/50/02/45465002.2ef1e574.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Approximately 53 KM northeast of Calgary, Irricana is surrounded by numerous irrigation canals, which is where the town gets its name. <br /> <br /> "The name dates the town back to the irrigation projects in the area. By 1909, the town had a post office, hotel and store operated by the Irricana Trading Company. Originally incorporated as a village on June 9, 1911, Irricana changed its status to a town 94 years later on June 9, 2005. <br /> <br /> In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Irricana recorded a population of 1,216 living in 473 of its 479 total private dwellings." From Wikipedia.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community-art-that-lives-in-irricana/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community...</a><br /> <br /> "The Sunflower mural is painted on the east side of 233 2nd street (Main street) and is one of the few early murals painted directly on the building’s exterior wall. Utilizing her background as a graduate of the Alberta College of art and Design in Calgary, Brenda Campbell campaigned for an on going mural program in Irricana to help brighten up Irricana and enhance the local economy. As well as the large bright yellow sunflowers there is a hint of a white picket fence, as well as a hidden mouse in this mural. This large painting is the end result of many local community volunteers and many volunteer hours."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Irricana-CPB-2016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Irricana-CPB-2016.pdf</a><br /> <br /> My daughter and I had a such a great day yesterday, 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. Loved this old tractor that was standing alone - liked the rather photogenic tree nearby, too.<br /> <br /> While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were about four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : )<br /> <br /> Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a windmill.<br /> <br /> "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. <br /> <br /> There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website.<br /> <br /> "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta.<br /> <br /> The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx</a><br /> <br /> After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, looking most attractive.<br /> <br /> I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked simple enough. <br /> <br /> Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished of with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way.<br /> <br /> A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads. I knew it would take me ages to get any description added to the three photos I posted this morning!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45008710 tag:ipernity.com,2017-06-21,doc-45008710 Wed, 21 Jun 2017 16:50:41 +0000 2017-06-15T09:32:14-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45008710"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/87/10/45008710.c0bf0b1f.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">In the morning of 15 June 2017, I decided to join friends for a botany walk in North Weaselhead. We saw a good variety of species, including a few quite special ones, such as Striped Coralroot and Indian Breadroot. Thanks for a great walk, Barry! We also saw a tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird.<br /> <br /> This decorated garbage can took me by surprise. I don't know how long it has been there, but I thought it was quite attractive. Appropriate, too, as I have seen these wildflowers growing just a bit further along the trail.<br /> <br /> After going for coffee with a couple of the botany people (thanks so much, Peter!), I went home for lunch and then decided to drive SW of the city, in the hope of maybe seeing a Great Gray Owl and/or a Bobolink. No luck with an owl, but, with a lot of patience, I did finally see a Bobolink. I only had very distant views, so managed to get only photos to post for my records. I did better a year ago, but it is early still.<br /> <br /> It was so nice to bump into Bonnie and her neighbour, Russel(l), on my drive. They mentioned a road that I had never been on before and I decided to give it a try. Such a beautiful road, though I had no idea where I was the whole time. When I got home and checked on Google, I was surprised to see just where I had driven.</div> A great idea for a garbage can! <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45008710"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/87/10/45008710.c0bf0b1f.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">In the morning of 15 June 2017, I decided to join friends for a botany walk in North Weaselhead. We saw a good variety of species, including a few quite special ones, such as Striped Coralroot and Indian Breadroot. Thanks for a great walk, Barry! We also saw a tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird.<br /> <br /> This decorated garbage can took me by surprise. I don't know how long it has been there, but I thought it was quite attractive. Appropriate, too, as I have seen these wildflowers growing just a bit further along the trail.<br /> <br /> After going for coffee with a couple of the botany people (thanks so much, Peter!), I went home for lunch and then decided to drive SW of the city, in the hope of maybe seeing a Great Gray Owl and/or a Bobolink. No luck with an owl, but, with a lot of patience, I did finally see a Bobolink. I only had very distant views, so managed to get only photos to post for my records. I did better a year ago, but it is early still.<br /> <br /> It was so nice to bump into Bonnie and her neighbour, Russel(l), on my drive. They mentioned a road that I had never been on before and I decided to give it a try. Such a beautiful road, though I had no idea where I was the whole time. When I got home and checked on Google, I was surprised to see just where I had driven.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44349196 tag:ipernity.com,2017-02-21,doc-44349196 Tue, 21 Feb 2017 17:16:05 +0000 2017-02-20T10:47:00-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44349196"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/91/96/44349196.1c9dd15d.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"Between the Rockies' vigorous upthrusts and the recumbent lines of the grassland plains, the Porcupine Hills provide a softly rounded interface, gentle contours that stir the heart, They are always so beautiful, from the wildflowers of spring to the hazy shimmer of summer and the sharp gold of fall aspens, and even in the austerity of a landscape under the sharp shadows of snow. The hills bring magic to all the seasons." <br /> <br /> These are the first few lines from the book, "Exploring the Routes Less Travelled - Country Roads of Alberta", by Liz Bryan. This is a book that my daughter gave me a year or two ago and I had forgotten just which journeys it covered. Last night, while I was Googling the area that I had just spent the day exploring with friends, Dorothy & Stephen, and Janet, I came across this book. The short chapter on this area made interesting reading.<br /> <br /> Dorothy and Stephen had made a decision to drive down south and asked if I would like to go with them. As always, my answer was a delighted "Yes, please!" The weather forecast looked good, especially compared to the forecast snow for tonight and the next few days. After meeting at their house, the four of us left at 8:30 am and drove to Nanton. From there, we basically drove in a huge circle between Highway 2 and Highway 22, covering such beautiful scenery. Some of these roads were new roads for us, certainly for me. Each year, I take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton, and my small group covers the area to the SW of Nanton, but much closer to the town than the area we explored yesterday.<br /> <br /> My friends' target bird was the Golden Eagle, but all of us were happy as can be to see anything else that we might come across. As it turned out, not only did we not see a single Golden Eagle, there were not many birds of any kind to see all day. A flock of 50+ Starlings, and 25 Common Ravens, various Magpies, a few Pigeons, Canada Geese and a couple of heard Red-breasted Nuthatches were all that we saw. For animals, we saw one Coyote, 5 Mule Deer and a couple of White-tailed Deer.<br /> <br /> However, perhaps our biggest excitement came when we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive. We could see the huge herd in the distance, with one lone cowboy on his horse, coming towards us. The whole procession was following another farmer, driving very slowly with a huge hay bale in the back of his truck. After taking a quick few distant shots, we climbed back into our vehicle and waited, and waited, and waited till the very last cow had walked past us. The cowboy said he appreciated the fact that we had stopped, not wanting to spook any of the animals. As soon as they were past us, we climbed out of the car to take a quick photo or two. I think I've only ever seen a cattle drive maybe twice before. So good to see a genuine cowboy at work, doing what he does so well.<br /> <br /> Another interesting stop was when we were driving along part of the Sky View Road. We came across a logging sight, with a couple of large piles of cut logs waiting to be trucked out of the area. Fortunately, yesterday was Family Day, so there were no huge logging trucks on the rough, gravel road leading up the hillside. We were hoping to reach the Lookout in case there were amazing views from there, but we decided that it might be risky to drive the last part of the road that would have led to the Lookout. We had climbed high enough to already find a lot more snow and the rough road was not in the best condition. This was where we saw the two White-tailed Deer. We had seen beautiful views already, lower down the road, so we were happy.<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a great day, exploring a new area. It was so much fun to see some new things and, of course, the scenery was spectacular. How lucky we are to live within reach of such beauty! Having been out so few times in the last few weeks and having taken barely any photos at all, this kind of day was exactly what I needed.</div> Entrance to a ranch <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44349196"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/91/96/44349196.1c9dd15d.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"Between the Rockies' vigorous upthrusts and the recumbent lines of the grassland plains, the Porcupine Hills provide a softly rounded interface, gentle contours that stir the heart, They are always so beautiful, from the wildflowers of spring to the hazy shimmer of summer and the sharp gold of fall aspens, and even in the austerity of a landscape under the sharp shadows of snow. The hills bring magic to all the seasons." <br /> <br /> These are the first few lines from the book, "Exploring the Routes Less Travelled - Country Roads of Alberta", by Liz Bryan. This is a book that my daughter gave me a year or two ago and I had forgotten just which journeys it covered. Last night, while I was Googling the area that I had just spent the day exploring with friends, Dorothy & Stephen, and Janet, I came across this book. The short chapter on this area made interesting reading.<br /> <br /> Dorothy and Stephen had made a decision to drive down south and asked if I would like to go with them. As always, my answer was a delighted "Yes, please!" The weather forecast looked good, especially compared to the forecast snow for tonight and the next few days. After meeting at their house, the four of us left at 8:30 am and drove to Nanton. From there, we basically drove in a huge circle between Highway 2 and Highway 22, covering such beautiful scenery. Some of these roads were new roads for us, certainly for me. Each year, I take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton, and my small group covers the area to the SW of Nanton, but much closer to the town than the area we explored yesterday.<br /> <br /> My friends' target bird was the Golden Eagle, but all of us were happy as can be to see anything else that we might come across. As it turned out, not only did we not see a single Golden Eagle, there were not many birds of any kind to see all day. A flock of 50+ Starlings, and 25 Common Ravens, various Magpies, a few Pigeons, Canada Geese and a couple of heard Red-breasted Nuthatches were all that we saw. For animals, we saw one Coyote, 5 Mule Deer and a couple of White-tailed Deer.<br /> <br /> However, perhaps our biggest excitement came when we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive. We could see the huge herd in the distance, with one lone cowboy on his horse, coming towards us. The whole procession was following another farmer, driving very slowly with a huge hay bale in the back of his truck. After taking a quick few distant shots, we climbed back into our vehicle and waited, and waited, and waited till the very last cow had walked past us. The cowboy said he appreciated the fact that we had stopped, not wanting to spook any of the animals. As soon as they were past us, we climbed out of the car to take a quick photo or two. I think I've only ever seen a cattle drive maybe twice before. So good to see a genuine cowboy at work, doing what he does so well.<br /> <br /> Another interesting stop was when we were driving along part of the Sky View Road. We came across a logging sight, with a couple of large piles of cut logs waiting to be trucked out of the area. Fortunately, yesterday was Family Day, so there were no huge logging trucks on the rough, gravel road leading up the hillside. We were hoping to reach the Lookout in case there were amazing views from there, but we decided that it might be risky to drive the last part of the road that would have led to the Lookout. We had climbed high enough to already find a lot more snow and the rough road was not in the best condition. This was where we saw the two White-tailed Deer. We had seen beautiful views already, lower down the road, so we were happy.<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a great day, exploring a new area. It was so much fun to see some new things and, of course, the scenery was spectacular. How lucky we are to live within reach of such beauty! Having been out so few times in the last few weeks and having taken barely any photos at all, this kind of day was exactly what I needed.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43602126 tag:ipernity.com,2016-11-02,doc-43602126 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 16:34:33 +0000 2016-10-01T15:48:09-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43602126"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/21/26/43602126.d0813fdd.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"YAHOO will be right back" .... first time I've ever seen this page before - instead of the Bad, bad, Panda?<br /> <br /> One month ago, on 1 October 2016, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my city driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. <br /> <br /> Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this owl sculpture that was in one of the gardens. A somewhat differently designed owl was placed just a few feet away. Would love one of these in my own backyard : )<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! After our walk in the Gardens, I went back to Sandy's place and we had an early supper. <br /> <br /> "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the …<br /> <br /> What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.<br /> <br /> On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many.<br /> <br /> For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. <br /> <br /> The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/</a></div> The second owl <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43602126"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/21/26/43602126.d0813fdd.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">"YAHOO will be right back" .... first time I've ever seen this page before - instead of the Bad, bad, Panda?<br /> <br /> One month ago, on 1 October 2016, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my city driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. <br /> <br /> Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this owl sculpture that was in one of the gardens. A somewhat differently designed owl was placed just a few feet away. Would love one of these in my own backyard : )<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! After our walk in the Gardens, I went back to Sandy's place and we had an early supper. <br /> <br /> "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the …<br /> <br /> What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.<br /> <br /> On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many.<br /> <br /> For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. <br /> <br /> The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43485968 tag:ipernity.com,2016-10-21,doc-43485968 Fri, 21 Oct 2016 15:45:51 +0000 2016-06-04T12:03:25-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43485968"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/59/68/43485968.5ef64366.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people on the trip, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - a bit too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors. <br /> <br /> It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm (and to the JJ Collett natural area), which was good to know.<br /> <br /> The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People donate and send them from all over the province. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+! This photo shows a small display of bird houses on the side of the farm's wonderful, old, private grain elevator. <br /> <br /> "Charlie Ellis and his father John built this private grain elevator in the 1920s. There aren’t many of these farm elevators left in the country. It is still fully functional, although not currently in use. It was partly re-shingled in 1996."<br /> <br /> It was a treat to see the Purple Martins - there were so many of these birds that you couldn't tell which were actual pairs. They are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." What a long way to come to do that! These birds are uncommon in Alberta.<br /> <br /> We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, very shy, modest man he was.<br /> <br /> ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.<br /> <br /> The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.<br /> <br /> After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/</a><br /> <br /> After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like various friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit.<br /> <br /> "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." <br /> <br /> Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html</a><br /> <br /> Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails (Trail #1). This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.jjcollett.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.jjcollett.com/</a><br /> <br /> Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was as hot as if freshly made!<br /> <br /> Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Thank you, also, to Myrna Pearman at the Farm, who organized us all and helped make this a very successful and greatly enjoyed visit! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.</div> A few of the bird houses at Ellis Bird Farm <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43485968"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/59/68/43485968.5ef64366.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people on the trip, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - a bit too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors. <br /> <br /> It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm (and to the JJ Collett natural area), which was good to know.<br /> <br /> The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People donate and send them from all over the province. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+! This photo shows a small display of bird houses on the side of the farm's wonderful, old, private grain elevator. <br /> <br /> "Charlie Ellis and his father John built this private grain elevator in the 1920s. There aren’t many of these farm elevators left in the country. It is still fully functional, although not currently in use. It was partly re-shingled in 1996."<br /> <br /> It was a treat to see the Purple Martins - there were so many of these birds that you couldn't tell which were actual pairs. They are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." What a long way to come to do that! These birds are uncommon in Alberta.<br /> <br /> We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, very shy, modest man he was.<br /> <br /> ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.<br /> <br /> The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.<br /> <br /> After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/</a><br /> <br /> After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like various friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit.<br /> <br /> "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." <br /> <br /> Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html</a><br /> <br /> Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails (Trail #1). This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.jjcollett.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.jjcollett.com/</a><br /> <br /> Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was as hot as if freshly made!<br /> <br /> Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Thank you, also, to Myrna Pearman at the Farm, who organized us all and helped make this a very successful and greatly enjoyed visit! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43333730 tag:ipernity.com,2016-10-04,doc-43333730 Tue, 04 Oct 2016 16:21:21 +0000 2016-10-01T15:47:40-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43333730"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/37/30/43333730.4ccb3884.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Three days ago, on 1 October 2016, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. <br /> <br /> Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this owl sculpture that was in one of the gardens. A somewhat differently designed owl was placed just a few feet away. Would love one of these in my own backyard : )<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! After our walk in the Gardens, I went back to Sandy's place and we had an early supper. <br /> <br /> We all know that snow isn't far away - it has fallen in parts of the mountains, but not yet in the city - so I am trying to get out as much as I can before having to deal with the long, dreaded months of winter. Just noticed that snow/rain are in the forecast for Calgary tonight. Apologies to everyone for not much commenting at the moment!! <br /> <br /> "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the …<br /> <br /> What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.<br /> <br /> On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many.<br /> <br /> For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. <br /> <br /> The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/</a></div> Owl sculpture at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43333730"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/37/30/43333730.4ccb3884.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Three days ago, on 1 October 2016, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. <br /> <br /> Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this owl sculpture that was in one of the gardens. A somewhat differently designed owl was placed just a few feet away. Would love one of these in my own backyard : )<br /> <br /> Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! After our walk in the Gardens, I went back to Sandy's place and we had an early supper. <br /> <br /> We all know that snow isn't far away - it has fallen in parts of the mountains, but not yet in the city - so I am trying to get out as much as I can before having to deal with the long, dreaded months of winter. Just noticed that snow/rain are in the forecast for Calgary tonight. Apologies to everyone for not much commenting at the moment!! <br /> <br /> "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the …<br /> <br /> What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.<br /> <br /> On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many.<br /> <br /> For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. <br /> <br /> The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43196654 tag:ipernity.com,2016-09-22,doc-43196654 Thu, 22 Sep 2016 16:13:34 +0000 2016-09-21T14:13:12-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43196654"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/66/54/43196654.f764f1a5.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Interesting ... I never used to click on the word Flickr (right before the words You, Explore and Create. For maybe a week, I have been clicking on it and this evening I left a thank you comment under today's main image and noticed that this main photo is nowhere to be seen on the Flickr page - vanished. My second and third photos are there and all three of yesterday's images and all sorts of old photos from deeper in my photostream. I wonder if this has been happening on other days. If so, then this would be something that affects views and comments on a particular photo. I never leave comments on other people's photos by scrolling down the Flickr page - I always go to My Contacts page and usually open their photostream and have a browse while I'm there. Hmm .... interesting.<br /> <br /> HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL, everyone! This morning, the sky is somewhat overcast , and the temperature is 6°C (43°F), supposed to rise to 10°C (50°F) this afternoon. Rain is in the forecast.<br /> <br /> I love this idea for an outside wall, seen at the Saskatoon Farm yesterday, 21 September 2016. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food - I had a delicious meal of quiche and sweet potato fries. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a></div> Tea, anyone? <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43196654"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/66/54/43196654.f764f1a5.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Interesting ... I never used to click on the word Flickr (right before the words You, Explore and Create. For maybe a week, I have been clicking on it and this evening I left a thank you comment under today's main image and noticed that this main photo is nowhere to be seen on the Flickr page - vanished. My second and third photos are there and all three of yesterday's images and all sorts of old photos from deeper in my photostream. I wonder if this has been happening on other days. If so, then this would be something that affects views and comments on a particular photo. I never leave comments on other people's photos by scrolling down the Flickr page - I always go to My Contacts page and usually open their photostream and have a browse while I'm there. Hmm .... interesting.<br /> <br /> HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL, everyone! This morning, the sky is somewhat overcast , and the temperature is 6°C (43°F), supposed to rise to 10°C (50°F) this afternoon. Rain is in the forecast.<br /> <br /> I love this idea for an outside wall, seen at the Saskatoon Farm yesterday, 21 September 2016. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food - I had a delicious meal of quiche and sweet potato fries. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40755162 tag:ipernity.com,2015-12-30,doc-40755162 Wed, 30 Dec 2015 12:18:00 +0000 2015-12-28T09:09:46-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40755162"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/51/62/40755162.9f3d1375.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Actually, it's a shed, but "Little shed in the woods" doesn't have quite the same "ring" to it, lol! This belongs to the Myra family, one of the places we call in at each year when a small group of us covers part of this particular Christmas Bird Count. This welcoming couple has the coffee and cookies ready for us, which is so kind. <br /> <br /> Again, all three photos posted this morning were taken the day before yesterday, 28 December 2015, during the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. The area that my small group of seven people, in two cars, covered was N of Cochrane and E of Highway 22, very roughly across from the Water Valley area. Though the word 'Reserve' is in the name, this count was like most others, driving all the country backroads and calling in at several farms. The weather was bad, with poor light and gently falling snow pretty well all day long. Thanks so much, Stephen, for driving the four of us safely!<br /> <br /> I will add our leader's report for this day's count below. Not a huge number of species, with a Pileated Woodpecker being the highlight plus so many Snow Buntings. <br /> <br /> "The day was overcast, light snow most of day, calm, -09°C. 20 cm snow on ground. Most streams frozen over. <br /> <br /> Total Party kms by Car - 84; Total Party kms by foot – 2km.<br /> Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs<br /> Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:40 min.<br /> <br /> Rough-legged Hawk-1 <br /> Rock Pigeon-4 <br /> Downy Woodpecker-10. <br /> Hairy Woodpecker-3 <br /> PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 <br /> Black-billed Magpie- 19 <br /> Common Raven- 18 <br /> Black-capped Chickadee- 41 <br /> Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3 <br /> White-breasted Nuthatch-1 <br /> American Tree Sparrow-7 <br /> Dark-eyed Junco-1 <br /> Snow Bunting-3550 <br /> Pine Grosbeak-25 <br /> White-winged Crossbill-15 <br /> Common Redpoll-1811 <br /> House Sparrow-106<br /> <br /> Red Squirrel-2"</div> Little cabin in the woods <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40755162"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/51/62/40755162.9f3d1375.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Actually, it's a shed, but "Little shed in the woods" doesn't have quite the same "ring" to it, lol! This belongs to the Myra family, one of the places we call in at each year when a small group of us covers part of this particular Christmas Bird Count. This welcoming couple has the coffee and cookies ready for us, which is so kind. <br /> <br /> Again, all three photos posted this morning were taken the day before yesterday, 28 December 2015, during the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. The area that my small group of seven people, in two cars, covered was N of Cochrane and E of Highway 22, very roughly across from the Water Valley area. Though the word 'Reserve' is in the name, this count was like most others, driving all the country backroads and calling in at several farms. The weather was bad, with poor light and gently falling snow pretty well all day long. Thanks so much, Stephen, for driving the four of us safely!<br /> <br /> I will add our leader's report for this day's count below. Not a huge number of species, with a Pileated Woodpecker being the highlight plus so many Snow Buntings. <br /> <br /> "The day was overcast, light snow most of day, calm, -09°C. 20 cm snow on ground. Most streams frozen over. <br /> <br /> Total Party kms by Car - 84; Total Party kms by foot – 2km.<br /> Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs<br /> Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:40 min.<br /> <br /> Rough-legged Hawk-1 <br /> Rock Pigeon-4 <br /> Downy Woodpecker-10. <br /> Hairy Woodpecker-3 <br /> PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 <br /> Black-billed Magpie- 19 <br /> Common Raven- 18 <br /> Black-capped Chickadee- 41 <br /> Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3 <br /> White-breasted Nuthatch-1 <br /> American Tree Sparrow-7 <br /> Dark-eyed Junco-1 <br /> Snow Bunting-3550 <br /> Pine Grosbeak-25 <br /> White-winged Crossbill-15 <br /> Common Redpoll-1811 <br /> House Sparrow-106<br /> <br /> Red Squirrel-2"</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40696628 tag:ipernity.com,2015-12-22,doc-40696628 Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:26:48 +0000 2015-12-21T11:01:05-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40696628"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/66/28/40696628.88c95c11.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Happy first day of WINTER, everyone!<br /> <br /> Yesterday, 21 December 2015, my daughter and I had our Christmas get-together. Like last year, she asked if I wanted to spend the day out of the city, looking for Snowy Owls (and other things). We were both so happy to at least see a (very distant) Snowy Owl, which she cleverly spotted, even though we had hoped to find a much closer one. Thank goodness, last year, my daughter and I did see and photograph beautiful Snowies that were nice and close. <br /> <br /> Finding one of these magnificent birds of prey was not the only purpose in our minds, though. It was our Christmas get-together, and we had a great day, in beautiful sunshine and in one of my favourite areas to explore. We had first planned to go NE of the city, but my daughter, waiting for her surgery on 11 January 2016, didn't feel up to travelling that far. Once she has recovered from her surgery, we can always go NE of the city and try for owls again.<br /> <br /> So, plans changed and instead, we went to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast. That is where I photographed this amazing and unique wall of teapots. I was surprised to see that the trees and plants had been removed from in front of the wall and paving stones ahd been laid down, resulting in a clear view of the wall. <br /> <br /> This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a><br /> <br /> Afterwards, we then went a bit further, to drive some of the roads east of High River, hoping to possibly find a Snowy Owl. We went as far as Mossleigh, where we stopped to take a few quick photos of the three grain elevators and then found a group of several old barns that I don't remember seeing before. They were off the main road, but fortunately the narrow gravel road had enough snow packed on it that the short drive was very smooth. From there, we also stopped at the little wooden church at Dinton, seen in my next photo.<br /> <br /> Later in the afternoon, we couldn't resist the temptation to call in at Glamorgan Bakery on the way home and buy a few Christmas goodies, followed by a desperately needed food shopping trip. I just hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping and had run out of even basic things. This was a huge relief, especially as I have a very long day tomorrow, taking part in the Drumheller area Christmas Bird Count. Actually, last year, my small group saw several Snowy Owls on the long drive to and from the Badlands of Alberta, so maybe I'll be lucky tomorrow.<br /> <br /> Thanks so much for a great day out, Rachel. The best kind of day, as far as I am concerned : ) Many thanks, too, for the beautiful, very carefully chosen (as always!) Christmas gifts. Love the owl that looks rather like a furry, stuffed children's toy, that is in fact a wonderful heat pad (that you warm in the microwave), full of lavender. Haven't used it yet, but it will feel so good on my neck and shoulders that are painful from whiplash, thanks to the woman driver who suddenly came out of a parking lot exit and cut across my lane of moving traffic about three weeks ago! Nothing I could do, as I couldn't stop in time to avoid impact. So, I'm looking forward to having an owl on my shoulder : )</div> Tea, anyone? <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40696628"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/66/28/40696628.88c95c11.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Happy first day of WINTER, everyone!<br /> <br /> Yesterday, 21 December 2015, my daughter and I had our Christmas get-together. Like last year, she asked if I wanted to spend the day out of the city, looking for Snowy Owls (and other things). We were both so happy to at least see a (very distant) Snowy Owl, which she cleverly spotted, even though we had hoped to find a much closer one. Thank goodness, last year, my daughter and I did see and photograph beautiful Snowies that were nice and close. <br /> <br /> Finding one of these magnificent birds of prey was not the only purpose in our minds, though. It was our Christmas get-together, and we had a great day, in beautiful sunshine and in one of my favourite areas to explore. We had first planned to go NE of the city, but my daughter, waiting for her surgery on 11 January 2016, didn't feel up to travelling that far. Once she has recovered from her surgery, we can always go NE of the city and try for owls again.<br /> <br /> So, plans changed and instead, we went to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast. That is where I photographed this amazing and unique wall of teapots. I was surprised to see that the trees and plants had been removed from in front of the wall and paving stones ahd been laid down, resulting in a clear view of the wall. <br /> <br /> This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a><br /> <br /> Afterwards, we then went a bit further, to drive some of the roads east of High River, hoping to possibly find a Snowy Owl. We went as far as Mossleigh, where we stopped to take a few quick photos of the three grain elevators and then found a group of several old barns that I don't remember seeing before. They were off the main road, but fortunately the narrow gravel road had enough snow packed on it that the short drive was very smooth. From there, we also stopped at the little wooden church at Dinton, seen in my next photo.<br /> <br /> Later in the afternoon, we couldn't resist the temptation to call in at Glamorgan Bakery on the way home and buy a few Christmas goodies, followed by a desperately needed food shopping trip. I just hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping and had run out of even basic things. This was a huge relief, especially as I have a very long day tomorrow, taking part in the Drumheller area Christmas Bird Count. Actually, last year, my small group saw several Snowy Owls on the long drive to and from the Badlands of Alberta, so maybe I'll be lucky tomorrow.<br /> <br /> Thanks so much for a great day out, Rachel. The best kind of day, as far as I am concerned : ) Many thanks, too, for the beautiful, very carefully chosen (as always!) Christmas gifts. Love the owl that looks rather like a furry, stuffed children's toy, that is in fact a wonderful heat pad (that you warm in the microwave), full of lavender. Haven't used it yet, but it will feel so good on my neck and shoulders that are painful from whiplash, thanks to the woman driver who suddenly came out of a parking lot exit and cut across my lane of moving traffic about three weeks ago! Nothing I could do, as I couldn't stop in time to avoid impact. So, I'm looking forward to having an owl on my shoulder : )</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40000096 tag:ipernity.com,2015-10-11,doc-40000096 Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:56:24 +0000 2015-10-10T10:53:53-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40000096"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/00/96/40000096.c55b6b4f.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 10 October 2015, during a day birding trip east of Calgary. A usually happens when we search sloughs/ponds, the birds were all too far away to take photos of them. Instead of a list of the bird species seen, I will add our leader, Terry Korolyk's, detailed account of where we saw what. Thanks so much for this, Terry, and for taking us on another great day of birding! This photo shows one of the hanging baskets at Chestermere Lake. Amazed to see so many flowers everywhere even though it's October. We still haven't had a killer frost!<br /> <br /> "A small, but, very experienced troop of 5 birders turned up for today's Field Trip going east of Calgary. The only bird of note at Glenmore Reservoir when we met was a Common Loon. From there, we left eastward stopping firstly by the City of Calgary Landfill. Good numbers of Gulls, but, amongst all the Ring-billed Gulls were only a few California Gulls. There may have been 1 juvenile Herring Gull. From there, we headed eastward ending up at the Walmart Parking Lot at 17 Avenue and Stoney Trail, where there was a flock of possibly a couple of thousand Gulls. We checked them out. All were Ring-billed Gulls except for 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS. At October 10, it's getting a bit late for this species. It looks like the good weather has had most of them leave already.<br /> <br /> From there, we moved on to Chestermere Lake. A regular staging area for Common Mergansers in the Fall, probably 350 were in the north end of the Lake. Also of note were about 50 Bonaparte's Gulls There was nothing much off Sunset Park on the east side of the Lake. From the Dam, we found 2 Common Loons on the far west side; these were probably the same birds that were there a week or so ago. Also, there were 2 adult HERRING GULLS. We also heard here one of our only 2 Red-tailed Hawks of the day.<br /> <br /> Between the north end of Chestermere and Sunset Park, we went over to McElroy Slough on the other side of Highway One. Upon arrival, we were rewarded with a superb view of an adult NORTHERN SHRIKE. Piles of waterfowl on the slough, but the only birds really of note were 5 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE which included 3 adult males. Other than those, there were extremely large numbers of American Wigeons there today. This seems to be a favorite Fall staging area for this species. Ring-necked Ducks also were still in good numbers there; this species has been hanging on there this Fall. A WESTERN MEADOWLARK was also heard there.<br /> <br /> From the Dam at Chestermere, we headed over to Highway One and 791. Gadwall dominated here with 450 birds. We continued north on Highway 791 turning east on Inverlake Road. Along here, we had the best bird of the day, a PRAIRIE FALCON moving westward--we had great looks at it flying.The slough south of the road at Range Road 275 was so congested with American Coots, we couldn't estimate the numbers.<br /> <br /> We didn't see much else of note until we were approaching Langdon on Highway 560, when we watched an adult light-phase Eastern Red-tailed Hawk soar over the intersection. Weed Lake had our only shorebirds of the day with 6 tossed about as a number for Greater Yellowlegs; probably 500-600 Dowitchers, and 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS; October 10 around these parts is getting on for this species.<br /> <br /> From Weed Lake, we returned to Langdon, driving south, then west on Twp. Rd. 232. A male Ring-necked Pheasant was a surprise find along the road going westward.<br /> <br /> The large slough east of Shepard didn't hold much, except for possibly 3 BLACKBIRDS, so we moved on to Ralph Klein Park. Large numbers of waterfowl again, almost all resting, particularly Northern Pintail (mind-boggling numbers), and Canada Geese. There were 6 SWANS there today, but because of the distance and wind, we could only identify one of them -- an adult TRUMPETER. At the south end of the Park, a Merlin added to our day's total."</div> October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/40000096"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/00/96/40000096.c55b6b4f.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 10 October 2015, during a day birding trip east of Calgary. A usually happens when we search sloughs/ponds, the birds were all too far away to take photos of them. Instead of a list of the bird species seen, I will add our leader, Terry Korolyk's, detailed account of where we saw what. Thanks so much for this, Terry, and for taking us on another great day of birding! This photo shows one of the hanging baskets at Chestermere Lake. Amazed to see so many flowers everywhere even though it's October. We still haven't had a killer frost!<br /> <br /> "A small, but, very experienced troop of 5 birders turned up for today's Field Trip going east of Calgary. The only bird of note at Glenmore Reservoir when we met was a Common Loon. From there, we left eastward stopping firstly by the City of Calgary Landfill. Good numbers of Gulls, but, amongst all the Ring-billed Gulls were only a few California Gulls. There may have been 1 juvenile Herring Gull. From there, we headed eastward ending up at the Walmart Parking Lot at 17 Avenue and Stoney Trail, where there was a flock of possibly a couple of thousand Gulls. We checked them out. All were Ring-billed Gulls except for 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS. At October 10, it's getting a bit late for this species. It looks like the good weather has had most of them leave already.<br /> <br /> From there, we moved on to Chestermere Lake. A regular staging area for Common Mergansers in the Fall, probably 350 were in the north end of the Lake. Also of note were about 50 Bonaparte's Gulls There was nothing much off Sunset Park on the east side of the Lake. From the Dam, we found 2 Common Loons on the far west side; these were probably the same birds that were there a week or so ago. Also, there were 2 adult HERRING GULLS. We also heard here one of our only 2 Red-tailed Hawks of the day.<br /> <br /> Between the north end of Chestermere and Sunset Park, we went over to McElroy Slough on the other side of Highway One. Upon arrival, we were rewarded with a superb view of an adult NORTHERN SHRIKE. Piles of waterfowl on the slough, but the only birds really of note were 5 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE which included 3 adult males. Other than those, there were extremely large numbers of American Wigeons there today. This seems to be a favorite Fall staging area for this species. Ring-necked Ducks also were still in good numbers there; this species has been hanging on there this Fall. A WESTERN MEADOWLARK was also heard there.<br /> <br /> From the Dam at Chestermere, we headed over to Highway One and 791. Gadwall dominated here with 450 birds. We continued north on Highway 791 turning east on Inverlake Road. Along here, we had the best bird of the day, a PRAIRIE FALCON moving westward--we had great looks at it flying.The slough south of the road at Range Road 275 was so congested with American Coots, we couldn't estimate the numbers.<br /> <br /> We didn't see much else of note until we were approaching Langdon on Highway 560, when we watched an adult light-phase Eastern Red-tailed Hawk soar over the intersection. Weed Lake had our only shorebirds of the day with 6 tossed about as a number for Greater Yellowlegs; probably 500-600 Dowitchers, and 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS; October 10 around these parts is getting on for this species.<br /> <br /> From Weed Lake, we returned to Langdon, driving south, then west on Twp. Rd. 232. A male Ring-necked Pheasant was a surprise find along the road going westward.<br /> <br /> The large slough east of Shepard didn't hold much, except for possibly 3 BLACKBIRDS, so we moved on to Ralph Klein Park. Large numbers of waterfowl again, almost all resting, particularly Northern Pintail (mind-boggling numbers), and Canada Geese. There were 6 SWANS there today, but because of the distance and wind, we could only identify one of them -- an adult TRUMPETER. At the south end of the Park, a Merlin added to our day's total."</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/35630259 tag:ipernity.com,2014-10-14,doc-35630259 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:17:39 +0000 2014-10-12T17:07:00-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/35630259"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/145/02/59/35630259.93086b8b.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I love this idea for an outside wall, seen at The Saskatoon Farm yesterday, 13 October 2014. They also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall, including a lovely shade of bright blue, which I have posted before. I had spent a few hours east of the city, driving the backroads, looking for barns and anything else to photograph. Heading back to Calgary, I took a wrong turn just outside the city and ended up on Deerfoot Trail heading south. All I could do was keep driving on this major highway until I came to somewhere famiiiar where I could turn around. This happened to be The Saskatoon Farm. I was just in time to have a meal in their restaurant before heading home. <br /> <br /> This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a></div> Teapots and fall reflections <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/35630259"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/145/02/59/35630259.93086b8b.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I love this idea for an outside wall, seen at The Saskatoon Farm yesterday, 13 October 2014. They also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall, including a lovely shade of bright blue, which I have posted before. I had spent a few hours east of the city, driving the backroads, looking for barns and anything else to photograph. Heading back to Calgary, I took a wrong turn just outside the city and ended up on Deerfoot Trail heading south. All I could do was keep driving on this major highway until I came to somewhere famiiiar where I could turn around. This happened to be The Saskatoon Farm. I was just in time to have a meal in their restaurant before heading home. <br /> <br /> This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.saskatoonfarm.com/</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30962855 tag:ipernity.com,2014-03-08,doc-30962855 Sat, 08 Mar 2014 15:17:37 +0000 2014-03-07T13:26:33-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30962855"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/141/28/55/30962855.ebe465b0.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">After nine days at home, making sure my stitches from minor surgery healed properly, an invitation by friends Cathy and Terry to go birding yesterday was welcomed with open arms - as it always is! What a great day we had, searching SE of the city, and finding some really neat birds. Most were impossible to photograph because of distance, but also because we had "heat waves" all day long, making it difficult to get photos that were sharp. It was one of THOSE days, out of the house from 7:15 a.m. to about 8:15 in the evening. By the end of the day, we had seen a total owl count of 19, from three species - 8 Short-eared Owls, 8 Snowy Owls, 2 Great Horned Owls and one mystery owl. We couldn't decide if the latter was a Snowy Owl or a Short-eared Owl, as it was perched on top of a metal silo, way off in the distance. In fact, this silo can be seen in my next image - the coloured spots from the sunburst leading ones eye to it. We missed a good photo opp with one of the Short-eared Owls, when we were pulled over, further down the road than several other photographers. We did see one down on the ground near the edge of the road in a different place, hiding in the dried grasses, but, again, my photo is blurry. <br /> <br /> The beautiful Great Horned Owl, seen in my photo, was the highlight of the day for Cathy and myself! Cathy had spotted it from the road but from the opposite side of the distant barn. All she had seen was a tiny head silhouette with what looked like ear tufts : ) We turned a corner and drove just a little way to see if we could get a better view from the other side. How we longed to be able to get a closer look, but the barn was on someone's private property, of course. While we were there, a truck suddenly appeared around the corner and turned into the driveway of the farm. Needless to say, we (thanks, Terry!) couldn't resist the chance to go and ask the owner about his owl and, wonderfully, he allowed us to walk through his farm yard to get a less distant view. So, Justin, you arrived home "just-in" time for us! Thanks so much for happily letting us on to your property. It was so much appreciated. We definitely didn't want to risk disturbing the owl or make it fly - so this is a 48x zoomed image and cropped somewhat. We loved both the owl's position and the beautiful, red, peeling paint! "Just" a Great Horned Owl, but what a delightful sight!<br /> <br /> Also saw a Gyrfalcon and lots of Horned Larks - the latter constantly in flight or down on the road ahead of us. The "heat waves" made it impossible to get anything but rather blurry shots of these, but I might be able to slightly improve one of them enough to post later.<br /> <br /> As you will no doubt agree, an amazing day! Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for another rewarding day (which had started off rather slowly down in that area). Lots of fun!</div> Yesterday&#039;s natural high <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30962855"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/141/28/55/30962855.ebe465b0.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">After nine days at home, making sure my stitches from minor surgery healed properly, an invitation by friends Cathy and Terry to go birding yesterday was welcomed with open arms - as it always is! What a great day we had, searching SE of the city, and finding some really neat birds. Most were impossible to photograph because of distance, but also because we had "heat waves" all day long, making it difficult to get photos that were sharp. It was one of THOSE days, out of the house from 7:15 a.m. to about 8:15 in the evening. By the end of the day, we had seen a total owl count of 19, from three species - 8 Short-eared Owls, 8 Snowy Owls, 2 Great Horned Owls and one mystery owl. We couldn't decide if the latter was a Snowy Owl or a Short-eared Owl, as it was perched on top of a metal silo, way off in the distance. In fact, this silo can be seen in my next image - the coloured spots from the sunburst leading ones eye to it. We missed a good photo opp with one of the Short-eared Owls, when we were pulled over, further down the road than several other photographers. We did see one down on the ground near the edge of the road in a different place, hiding in the dried grasses, but, again, my photo is blurry. <br /> <br /> The beautiful Great Horned Owl, seen in my photo, was the highlight of the day for Cathy and myself! Cathy had spotted it from the road but from the opposite side of the distant barn. All she had seen was a tiny head silhouette with what looked like ear tufts : ) We turned a corner and drove just a little way to see if we could get a better view from the other side. How we longed to be able to get a closer look, but the barn was on someone's private property, of course. While we were there, a truck suddenly appeared around the corner and turned into the driveway of the farm. Needless to say, we (thanks, Terry!) couldn't resist the chance to go and ask the owner about his owl and, wonderfully, he allowed us to walk through his farm yard to get a less distant view. So, Justin, you arrived home "just-in" time for us! Thanks so much for happily letting us on to your property. It was so much appreciated. We definitely didn't want to risk disturbing the owl or make it fly - so this is a 48x zoomed image and cropped somewhat. We loved both the owl's position and the beautiful, red, peeling paint! "Just" a Great Horned Owl, but what a delightful sight!<br /> <br /> Also saw a Gyrfalcon and lots of Horned Larks - the latter constantly in flight or down on the road ahead of us. The "heat waves" made it impossible to get anything but rather blurry shots of these, but I might be able to slightly improve one of them enough to post later.<br /> <br /> As you will no doubt agree, an amazing day! Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for another rewarding day (which had started off rather slowly down in that area). Lots of fun!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30289809 tag:ipernity.com,2014-02-08,doc-30289809 Sat, 08 Feb 2014 14:30:46 +0000 2014-02-06T15:51:27-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30289809"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/140/98/09/30289809.8a364c7a.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I love this idea for an outside wall - they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken two days ago, 6 February 2014, when I went with my youngest daughter to the Saskatoon Farm after a few hours of searching for a Snowy Owl in vain. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food!</div> Care for a cup o&#039; tea? <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/30289809"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/140/98/09/30289809.8a364c7a.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I love this idea for an outside wall - they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken two days ago, 6 February 2014, when I went with my youngest daughter to the Saskatoon Farm after a few hours of searching for a Snowy Owl in vain. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27898629 tag:ipernity.com,2013-11-06,doc-27898629 Wed, 06 Nov 2013 05:05:21 +0000 2013-11-05T15:14:06-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27898629"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/121/86/29/27898629.c473a4db.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">The road with the "Famous Five" was part of my short drive SW of Calgary this afternoon, 5 November 2013. I had hoped that there might be more snow in the fields, but was glad that there was at least some snow in the foreground. This row of five old granaries looks good at any time of the year : )</div> The Famous Five with snow <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27898629"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/121/86/29/27898629.c473a4db.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">The road with the "Famous Five" was part of my short drive SW of Calgary this afternoon, 5 November 2013. I had hoped that there might be more snow in the fields, but was glad that there was at least some snow in the foreground. This row of five old granaries looks good at any time of the year : )</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27199515 tag:ipernity.com,2013-10-11,doc-27199515 Fri, 11 Oct 2013 23:34:22 +0000 2013-09-28T11:00:40-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27199515"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/138/95/15/27199515.f5c10bb4.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I needed colour for my uploads today - I think I've been looking at too many green moss and green lichen images recently : ) I couldn't compose an image of these old teapots quite how I would have liked, because I had to peer through a gap in the trees to see them. However, I love this idea for an outside wall and love the shade of blue of the pottery. Actually, they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken on 28 September 2013 when I went with my youngest daughter and two of the people from the photography group she leads, to the Saskatoon Farm. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive south from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food! It was so enjoyable to wander everywhere with our cameras and then have a great lunch.</div> The blue teapot wall <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/27199515"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/138/95/15/27199515.f5c10bb4.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I needed colour for my uploads today - I think I've been looking at too many green moss and green lichen images recently : ) I couldn't compose an image of these old teapots quite how I would have liked, because I had to peer through a gap in the trees to see them. However, I love this idea for an outside wall and love the shade of blue of the pottery. Actually, they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken on 28 September 2013 when I went with my youngest daughter and two of the people from the photography group she leads, to the Saskatoon Farm. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive south from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food! It was so enjoyable to wander everywhere with our cameras and then have a great lunch.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/26914733 tag:ipernity.com,2013-10-01,doc-26914733 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 23:56:06 +0000 2013-09-28T10:35:23-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/26914733"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/137/47/33/26914733.f3918535.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On Saturday, 28 September 2013, I went with my youngest daughter and two people who belong to the photography group that my daughter leads, to the Saskatoon Farm (S of Calgary) for a few very enjoyable hours. This is a photo of one of the various wall decorations they had there. Very tempting! They have a restaurant, too, which serves delicious food - I love their deep Quiche! You can go there and pick your own Saskatoon berries in the right season. There is a large gift shop and a food shop to keep you busy.</div> Wall decoration <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/26914733"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/137/47/33/26914733.f3918535.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="182" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On Saturday, 28 September 2013, I went with my youngest daughter and two people who belong to the photography group that my daughter leads, to the Saskatoon Farm (S of Calgary) for a few very enjoyable hours. This is a photo of one of the various wall decorations they had there. Very tempting! They have a restaurant, too, which serves delicious food - I love their deep Quiche! You can go there and pick your own Saskatoon berries in the right season. There is a large gift shop and a food shop to keep you busy.</div> Anne Elliott