Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: art

This photo is mainly just as a record that I actually got out on a birding walk with a group of friends two mornings ago. I thought it was a nice idea that someone had painted this rock and placed it in an old tree stump. One look at the weather forecast for this week and I decided that, if I was going to head over to Carburn Park, I had better do it (two mornings ago). The temperature was a balmy PLUS 1C-3C! Today, 10 January 2018, it is snowing again and the temperature is -22C (windchill -31C). Crazy weather. Just noticed that tomorrow morning is supposed to be -29C (windchill -37C). The light was not good for photos on this walk and most of the birds were very distant, as usual, at this location. Funny how it always works - if one is walking along the edge of the river, the birds are mainly on the far side. We did see 29 bird species, though. Later in the day, a friend very kindly picked me up and we went to the meeting about the recent Christmas Bird Counts. What an enormous amount of detail and facts are collected each year - most impressive and valuable!

When I started to edit this photo late last night, it looked too uninspiring to post. Decided to add a filter in post-processing to bring out some detail. On 6 August 2017, a few of us were invited to return to one of our absolute favourite places - Rod Handfield's acreage, SW of the city. This is always such a treat, and Rod and his wife are always so welcoming. They have an amazing forest that is usually full of so many fungi species in August. However, we knew that this was not going to be the case this time, as everywhere is bone dry. While in the forest, our leader said that normally, we would have seen 75+ species of fungus by then. Instead, we saw maybe three very small mushrooms that I didn't even bother to photograph, plus a little cluster of Oyster mushrooms. We have had the very occasional bit of rain since then, but not enough to make any difference. Our morning hike was still very enjoyable, of course, and in pleasant weather and with good friends. After the hike, seven of us went for lunch in the tiny strip mall in the hamlet of Priddis, on the way home. Friends had said how good the food is at Jane's Cafe, and we agreed. Made a lovely end to our botany morning. Once lunch was finished, Dorothy and Stephen invited us to go back to their place for dessert. Some people had other things they had to do and some were just too tired after the morning hike, but I accepted their invitation. This Poppy was just one of the many flowers in their garden. Thanks for the delicious dessert made from berries from your garden, Dorothy!

I think this must be showing as my MAIN photo, instead of what it's supposed to be - the third/last one posted this morning. Yesterday, 16 January 2017, I decided to make myself drive east of the city again. This is not a drive I enjoy at all and not one that I do very often. Two days earlier, I had gone out there to hopefully find a Snowy Owl or a Short-eared Owl but without success. In fact, I saw very few birds of any kind. On the day in between, 14 January, I had been out for the day with a group of birders, covering some of the same area. That day, we did see two Snowy Owls and two Short-eared Owls, but all of them were far, far away, basically no use for photos. Yesterday's trip was a repeat of my first drive - nothing, absolutely nothing. Any birders I came across were saying the same thing - no owls. I came home with a photo or two of this modern barn, a row of artistic silos, and a Chinook arch.

Today, 23 December 2016, we are having a heavily overcast day and the snow is steadily falling. Just noticed that there is a Snowfall Warning in effect. The temperature is -6C (windchill -11C). I don't think I need to go out, though, unless to the mailbox. Wish the old days were still here, when the mailman actually put mail in the mailbox right by your front door, instead of everyone having to use community boxes. I had my Christmas yesterday, 22 December, with my daughter. We drove south of the city to the Saskatoon Farm and had a delicious breakfast. She is in so much pain that we can't go for a drive to look for Snowy Owls or old barns. She has an appointment next month and is more than ready to take the absolute earliest date for her surgery. On the way to drop her off at home, we called in at the Glamorgan Bakery - a well-known bakery that we have used for the last few decades. It always feels good to see their traditional cookies, Cheese Buns, cakes and pies. Thanks, Rachel, for a lovely few hours spent together - the best Christmas gift possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I hadn't been taking much in the way of photos for a couple of weeks and had been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Leighton Art Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful, painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

Posting just one photo again today - feel like I have 50 things to see to, all at the same time at the moment!. Thought I'd better not add another White-tailed Ptarmigan, in case you get tired of seeing them : ) I do have a few more photos of them that I will gradually add, in case I never see this species again. "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I hadn't been taking much in the way of photos for a couple of weeks and had been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Leighton Art Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful, painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

JELLYFIELDS - warning! A few days ago, I did a Google search to see what blogs have used my photos. Many of them asked permission before hand, but, needless to say, others did not. If you post photos anywhere on the Internet, that is unfortunately just a fact of life. I just scrolled down, clicking on each one in turn. When I clicked on one website in the search result list, I discovered that not only were a lot of my photos being displayed, but they were also mixed in with a pile of pornographic videos and photos. According to someone on the Flickr Help Forum, these photos were probably taken from the Jellyfields website before they disabled right-click. Not impressed one bit, I contacted Jellyfields and asked for all my photos to be removed from their site. James was in touch with me immediately and, after getting me to confirm that the displayed photos were mine, said they will remove my photos as requested. He was surprised that nature/wildlife photos would be stolen and added to a porn site, but that is exactly what has happened. Haven't yet found a way to contact the porn site, Tumview.com to demand my photos be removed. I should add that Jellyfields does refer photos back to Flickr, saying to check what the copyright is for each photo. Who needs all this hassle?!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken eight days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit to the Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant and wildlife species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

Hello, winter - again! Our forecast is "Temperature deep dive, snow on the horizon for Alberta." This morning, 15 November 2016, it is -1C (windchill -4C) and it has just started snowing at 10:00 am. Looks like we should have this kind of temperature for the next two weeks. I'm so glad I went on a birding walk yesterday and did some grocery shopping. "Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken five days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for the exhibit, before the eight horses were removed, was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This wasn't my first visit, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

"Helios. A solar-powered, interactive, kinetic sculptural installation consisting of eight large scale repurposed vintage mechanical horses running wild across the breathtaking prairie landscape at Leighton Art Centre. The horses were released (note: until yesterday, 13 November 2016) onto the 80 acre property in celebration of Alberta Culture Days." From Lisa Brawn's website. www.lisabrawn.com/ "In 2013 I purchased a herd of broken down coin-operated horses as the core components of a giant sculptural installation. These are the mechanical horses that stood outside Woodwards, Woolworths, Kresge’s, and so on, in Calgary and small towns in Southern Alberta from the 1950s through the 1980s. I believe these horses are a touchstone of that era, holding a place of local historical value in our collective cultural imagination, and that compelled me to reimagine and reactivate them in a contemporary context. I have been presenting the horses in different configurations and environments, and emphasizing distinct elements as the project unfolds. The first iteration consisted of dynamic mechanical multiples in the 150’ public art spectacle, Spacepony for Beakerhead, 2014. The horses emerged from a UFO and invaded Fort Calgary in a historical reenactment of questionable veracity. I then collaborated with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks on a multidisciplinary performance emphasizing movement, rhythm, and desire; Year of the Horse, at Theatre Junction Grand. For this production eight horses were further altered to battery power and remote activation, with heavy duty swivel casters and clear plexiglass base panels to reveal the mechanical workings. The current installation at Leighton Art Centre references the herds of free-roaming horses called "Wildies" in Alberta. This stage of transformation consisted of installing solar panels, application of silver leaf (to reflect the sky and surroundings), and changing the activation to motion sensors. The reflective surfaces have a confounding effect in this prairie landscape environment, making the extremely substantial installation somewhat illusory or ephemeral." www.lisabrawn.com/index.php/blog/item/helios This photo was taken four days ago, on 10 November 2016, when I decided on the spur of the moment to do a short drive SW of the city. I haven't been taking much in the way of photos the last couple of weeks and have been feeling less and less motivated to go out. However, on this particular day, I wanted to go to the Leighton Art Centre to see Lisa's artistic display. The last day for this exhibit was 13 November 2016, so I only just made it in time. By mistake, it took me much longer to get there than it should have done, despite following their map, and I arrived there five minutes after they closed. I asked if I could still wander part way down the hill to take a few photos. As the lady said, it was 'magic hour', with a wonderful sunset. At one point, the valley below and the distant mountains (zoomed in this photo) almost disappeared in an orange haze. It did, indeed, feel magical. This was not my first visit to the Centre, as I had been decades ago with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. In more recent years, I had been a couple of times with botany friends, to list all the plant species that we could find. Check out Lisa's Flickr stream to see the hundreds/thousands of beautiful painted woodcuts that she has created. www.flickr.com/photos/lisabrawn leightoncentre.org/

After missing birding walks with friends the previous two weeks, I finally got myself out to the walk yesterday afternoon. It was held at a location that I have only been to a handful of times before - Pearce Estate, near the community of Inglewood - and I never like the last part of the drive there. Yesterday, I got caught at the railway tracks and had to wait forever for the long, slow freight train to come to an end. At the next road intersection, there were roadworks and a sign saying that my lane was closed ahead, with a large arrow pointing in the opposite direction. It all looked fine to me, and I was easily able to go where I wanted. On the way home, though, there was a 'no left turn' sign, so I had to find another way out of there. Never something I enjoy! "The Pearce Estate Wetland lies in a curve of the Bow River as it flows through the southeast part of the city. The 15-hectare wetland area, when combined with the adjacent provincially operated Bow Habitat Station, results in a 21-hectare park. The area was donated to the city by William Pearce, a prominent early Calgarian who died in 1930. The current wetland area and interpretive trail were redeveloped and opened to the public in 2004." www.calgary.ca/csps/parks/pages/locations/se-parks/pearce... "In 1904 the Bow River Weir was constructed close to Calgary's downtown core in order to divert water into the Western Irrigation District. Since its construction a side effect of the weir had been that it created a circulating wave, with a lethal and powerful undertow, immediately downstream of it. Because rafting, canoeing, and kayaking down the Bow River are such popular summer activities, there had been many fatalities. Furthermore, because fish were not able to pass through the structure, they too became trapped in the circulating wave and a dense, unnatural concentration of pelicans congregated immediately following the weir. In order to combat the circulating wave and undertow, in August 2007 the Province of Alberta through the Alberta Lottery fund, in conjunction with the Calgary Foundation and the City of Calgary, began construction of the Bow River Weir paddle around, named the Harvie Passage. The passage allowed for the wave to be dispersed over a set of several smaller rapids while still supplying water to its irrigation district. Altogether, the paddle around cost 18 million dollars and was completed in the spring of 2012. In June of 2013, just a year after the project was completed, Calgary was hit with an epic 100 year flood and all of the Harvie Passage work was destroyed." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_River Since then, more changes have been made, including the construction of River Passage Park which opened in October 2014. It includes this sculpture, designed by Lorna Jordan, a Seattle-based artist. Though people have mixed feelings about this, I thought the area was quite interesting and the 'pile of scattered planks" certainly made me think of the devastation of the power of water, especially in the time of flooding. There is some quite intricate stone work in the walls, too. During our walk almost as far as Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, we were delighted to see a Great Horned Owl twice, the second time, it was being harassed by several Magpies. Though the river at this location is safer now, we still miss seeing the dozens or even hundreds of American White Pelicans that used to congregate at the old Weir. I'll add a previously posted shot of some of these Pelicans in a comment box below. After our walk, we decided to call in at the nearby Blackfoot Truckstop (Diner) for an early supper. Being Easter Sunday, it was fairly empty and quiet and we all enjoyed the good food that this place is well known for. For me, this was a Western Omelette (with green peppers, ham, mushrooms and cheese) and hashbrowns. Perhaps not exactly what one thinks of as Easter dinner, but it was so very enjoyable being there with good friends. Thanks so much, Bernie and Stephen, for leading this walk!

I photographed this square mural in Blackie, Alberta, during a recent birding trip to the Frank Lake area, on 19 March 2016. Blackie is a hamlet approximately 70 km SE of Calgary. I looked on Google, but was unable to find any details about this cowboy mural. Just off the left edge of the photo stands the large, metal Cargill grain terminal. Not exactly the most beautiful of structures, but still rather impressive, and definitely not as photogenic as the three old, wooden elevators that apparently used to be along the railway line, just a very short distance away. In 2004, Blackie apparently had 3 elevators, an Ex-Agricore, Pioneer and Agricore United steel elevator. The large, green, wooden elevator was torn down in 2005 and replaced by this huge, modern grain loading terminal. The other wooden elevator, the Pioneer elevator, was torn down in December 2012. It was a fairly modern, seemingly well-kept elevator. Wish I had seen these, but I hadn't plucked up courage to drive SE of Calgary back then. "There were 1,651 elevators in Alberta in 1951, but by 1982 a total of 979 elevators remained. The 1990s spelled the death of the wooden “country” or “primary” elevator. At the end of the 1990s, as the full impact of both of the ending of the Crow Rate in 1995 and further impending rail abandonment was felt, the pace of demolition accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At the end of the 1996-1997 crop year, there were only 327 elevators left. Alberta’s largest cooperative grain companies, the Alberta Wheat Pool (which amalgamated with Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1998 as Agricore) and United Grain Growers, ultimately formed a new corporate entity known as Agricore United in 2001, issuing issued public shares. Demolition of country elevators has continued, and in 2005 there were only 156 wooden elevators of any kind still standing, only a handful of which are used by the grain trade. The Government of Alberta has recognised the significance of the traditional wood grain elevators, and has designated 12 as Provincial Historic Resources. They are located in the following communities: Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley (3 elevators), Scandia and St. Albert (2 elevators)." www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca/articles/HRM-history.pdf www.bigdoer.com/2848/exploring-history/grain-elevators-an... I will add our leader's report of the day that he sent into eBird, adding that I did not see all of the sightings, as the birds were much too far away. As always, my camera lens was turned to various other things, too. Thanks so much, as always, Andrew, for a most enjoyable day! Thanks, too, Anne, for driving - I really appreciated the ride! "We had 16 participants when we left Calgary on a sunny but frosty morning. We arrived at the main gate around 10:00 am and set off, in a chilly -5 deg C to walk down to the outfall and then around to the blind. The recent cold nights had refrozen some of the lake, but it is still mostly open water. Most obvious were the thousands of Pintails and hundreds of swans (mostly Tundra today). We did see the overwintering (presumably) Song Sparrow near the outfall. About 60-80 California Gulls, no other gulls that we could identify. We left and went to High River for lunch, stopping by the Sutherland Shelterbelt to acknowledge the resident Great Horned Owl. After lunch we circled the lake on the usual roads and ended up at the Basin 2 West Bay. Several more swans and finally, the Eurasian Wigeon, spotted by Tony Timmons. By lunchtime the temperature had reached about 10 deg C and continued to rise reaching ~14 deg C and making a perfect Alberta Spring (almost) afternoon. Leaving Frank Lake we stopped in at Blackie to find mostly Starlings, and a few Eurasian Collared Doves. The list for Frank Lake and Blackie was: Checklists included in this summary: (1): Frank Lake--NW lookout/blind Date: Mar 19, 2016, 9:55 AM (2): Sutherland's Shelterbelt (private property) Date: Mar 19, 2016, 12:30 PM (3): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (Southeast Corner) Date: Mar 19, 2016, 2:15 PM (4): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (West Bay) Date: Mar 19, 2016, 3:05 PM (5): Blackie (hamlet) Date: Mar 19, 2016, 4:10 PM 650 Canada Goose -- (1),(3),(4) 4 Trumpeter Swan -- (1) 225 Tundra Swan -- (1),(4) 3 Gadwall -- (1) 2 Eurasian Wigeon -- (4) 60 American Wigeon -- (1),(4) 160 Mallard -- (1),(3),(4) 2 Northern Shoveler -- (4) 4550 Northern Pintail -- (1),(3),(4) 24 Canvasback -- (1),(4) 76 Redhead -- (1),(4) 5 Lesser Scaup -- (4) 150 Common Goldeneye -- (1),(4) 2 Gray Partridge -- (2) 1 Northern Harrier -- (4) 2 Bald Eagle -- (1),(3) 5 Killdeer -- (1),(2) 80 California Gull -- (1) 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (3),(5) 4 Eurasian Collared-Dove -- (5) 2 Great Horned Owl -- (2) 1 Merlin -- (5) 5 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2) 1 Common Raven -- (3) 3 Horned Lark -- (1) 51 European Starling -- (2),(5) 2 American Tree Sparrow -- (1) 1 Song Sparrow -- (1) 8 House Finch -- (5) 20 House Sparrow -- (2),(5) From Blackie we stopped by Third Lake on the way back to Calgary. A huge number of birds there, somewhere between 4000 and 8000, generally somewhat distant. Mostly Pintails, but we also saw American Wigeon, Mallard, a few Canada Geese, and California Gulls. Clearly Pintails are on the move right now." Andrew Hart

Obviously NOT MY WORK, but I couldn't resist posting this picture that my daughter put on my Facebook page last night, lol! Me, crazy about owls? Whatever made her think that?? I tried to find out who the creator of this was, but without any luck. After a few websites, I got a message saying that Norton had blocked a web attack on my computer, and after that, I decided to give up. If the person who designed this happens to see this on ipernity or my Flickr page, please do let me know and I will give you credit for this.

On a day trip south of the city in August, a truck passed us with this unique design on it. Quite attractively done, despite the subject matter : ). Thought I'd post it today, seeing as Halloween is almost here.

I was going to delete this photo but then decided to crop it and use it. Caught the tail end and claw of, I think, a Downy Woodpecker. There was something about the colours that I liked, as well as the little pattern of dots.