Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: outhouse

I thought this was such a cute idea - an "outhouse" in the shape of a mini grain elevator. Seen in the garden at the Bowden Sunflower Maze. On 12 September 2015, I drove further than I've ever driven before in one day - a total of 410 km (254 miles). This particular farm scene was taken along one of the backroads on the way to Bowden, Alberta. I met my daughter at 9:00 am and we headed northwards, with our main destination being the Bowden Sunflower Maze. She was feeling well enough after her recent hospital stay, to get out for a day trip. The quickest route from Calgary is a distance of 96 km (60 miles), but I needed to avoid the main, busy route. Also, the backroads are more pleasant to drive - less traffic and, if one is lucky, the occasional old barn. There was one barn in particular that I had seen last year, that I really wanted to show my daughter and this took us a little out of our way. We drove through the town of Olds, stopping briefly to take a couple of photos of the bright orange grain elevator. Going north, we drove the roads to the west of the main Highway 2, and on our return trip we drove the roads to the east of Highway 2. I think this trip really convinced my daughter, more strongly than ever, that sadly she has a mother with almost zero sense of direction! This was the first time I had ever been to Bowden and the Sunflower Maze. For years, I had wished we had a field of Sunflowers somewhere within reach, as I had seen so many gorgeous photos taken by other people in various parts of the world. I certainly didn't get photos like those, but I was happy to get any shots at all. Apparently, that weekend was going to be the last chance to really see the flowers, so we were only just in time. This maze at Eagle Creek Farm is apparently the only Sunflower Maze in Canada. There is also an adjoining Corn Maze, but neither of us wanted to walk through that one, thanks to remembering the horror movie, "Children of the Corn"! The farm also has U-pick vegetables and flowers. www.sunmaze.ca/ Thanks, Rachel, for spending the day with me - and for all your directions getting us there and back to the city! Lucky we went when we did, as it rained the next few days.

Three days ago, I finally managed to get out along the Elbow Falls Trail that goes westwards into the beginning of the mountains. This was the first time I had managed to get out there this year and, really on the spur of the moment, that's where I decided to go. The weather called for some sun and some cloud, which sounded good. After the two heavy snowfalls on 9 and 10 September, I wasn't sure what to expect before I reached the beginning of the mountains, but every bit of snow had disappeared. The furthest point of my drive was Forgetmenot Pond, one of my favourite places to go. Too many other people had also decided to come out to this beautiful spot, unfortunately. This drive is the only one I will do on my own into the mountains, and it only takes about an hour to get from home to the Pond. On the return drive, I called in at a place not far from the pond, where I have found a few mushrooms in previous years, and managed to find just a few that were in good enough condition to photograph. Other than that, I didn't see a whole lot during the few hours I was out. The scenery is spectacular and there were patches of trees that have turned yellow. Some of the trees looked as though their leaves were past their fall prime, and I came away wondering if I was a bit too early or a bit too late (seems to be the latter) to see the best of the fall colours. Found this small Moth on an outhouse wall : ) The final place I called in at was Maclean Pond, but the light was fading somewhat and so I didn't feel like going far into the forest. I had just got back into my car when I happened to look up just in time to see a family of beautiful Bluejays not far from the parking lot. Managed to get a few shots, but distant and not as sharp as they should have been. A nice way to end the day, though.

Hope I have the correct ID for this colourful Moth. I noticed two of them high up on a wall in an outdoor washroom at St. Mary Reservoir, and of course couldn't resist taking a few shots. I spent 26, 27 and 28 August 2014 on a road trip with friends Cathy and Terry, spending the first two days in Waterton Lakes National Park and the third day driving east of Waterton in search of Burrowing Owls and Yellow-bellied Marmots. During our three days away, we saw so many things, I hardly know where to start. This always happens when I go anywhere with Cathy and Terry - every day is a very long, fun-filled day, full of exciting finds. Perhaps I will simply mention some of the things and then add more detail to each photo as I add them to my photostream. Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife. The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! Yesterday, I posted a photo of the storm that was approaching very fast, around 5:00 p.m. just before we started our return trip to Calgary. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning, and very strong winds. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Will briefly mention a few of the things we saw - fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls, a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of some species of Grouse (still not sure what kind). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Cathy and Terry, thanks so much for yet another wonderful trip with you! Can't thank you enough for inviting me along. You always do such a great job of finding so many interesting things for us to see and enjoy. Lots of fun!

I can't remember exactly where this was seen, but it was during an amazing, two-day trip to the Rocky Mountains. This rather nice design was on the outside wall of an outhouse or washroom at one of the many places we stopped. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary very early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight on Thursday (15 May 2014), that my friends dropped me off at home. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : ) I'm never really disappointed if we don't see a particular something, as there are just endless other things to photograph! However, over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen.