Hiding
Vibrant
Shepard Energy Centre, east of Calgary, Alberta
Emerald Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Common Redpoll / Acanthis flammea
Common Redpolls
The old and the new
Rough-legged Hawk
On a distant fence post
Winter on the prairies
Vole brains for her afternoon snack
Common Redpoll
The beauty of Lake Louise
Primula denticulata / Drumstick Primula
A friendly face in Weaselhead
Common Redpoll in the forest
Sweet little poser
Downy Woodpecker
One day closer to spring
Matching colours
A fence without an owl
European Pasque Flower / Pulsatilla vulgaris
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Winter wonderland with a bonus
Busy little bee
Common Loon
Emerald Lake
Chateau Lake Louise and ice castle
Summer greens
Home of the Snowshoe Hare
A winter walk
Winter beauty
Snow, snow and more snow
Just in time
Persian Cornflower / Centaurea dealbata?
One of yesterday's treats
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Modern charm
Clark's Nutcracker
"Canoe with three warriors", by Team Sakha from Ru…
Winter walk at Beaverdam Flats
Painted Tongue / Salpiglosis
Sheltering in the trees
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Now THIS is winter!
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The best colour to see in winter


On 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow.
I had somewhat better luck, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in less than sharp photos. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed.
While on my travels, I photographed this lovely old barn again. I love seeing red barns, especially in winter, contrasting with the surrounding snow. Always so sad to see beautiful structures falling into a bad state of repair, but I'm sure many farmers have more urgent things on which to spend their money and time.
An interesting link, with the information below, that answers the question: "WHY ARE BARNS USUALLY PAINTED RED?"
home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm
"If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.
Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?
In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories. One is that wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red. The other is that farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.
Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse. As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up. Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used."
I had somewhat better luck, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in less than sharp photos. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed.
While on my travels, I photographed this lovely old barn again. I love seeing red barns, especially in winter, contrasting with the surrounding snow. Always so sad to see beautiful structures falling into a bad state of repair, but I'm sure many farmers have more urgent things on which to spend their money and time.
An interesting link, with the information below, that answers the question: "WHY ARE BARNS USUALLY PAINTED RED?"
home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm
"If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.
Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?
In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories. One is that wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red. The other is that farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.
Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse. As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up. Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used."
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