Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: hay bale

It's snowing - again! Our temperature is -3C (windchill -9C). So far, the forecast for the coming week looks amazing! Temperatures between 12C and 19C (for Wednesday). What a difference and finally, it looks like we might actually be going to get a fall season after all. Hopefully, there will still be enough leaves left on the trees to give at least a bit of fall colour. This morning, I am returning to local photos instead of continuing with images from our Pt Pelee and Tadoussac trip back in May of this year. You can't tell from this photo, taken on 12 October 2018, but I was barely able to hold my camera, or open my car door to get in and out, the wind was so strong yesterday afternoon! Seeing sunshine all morning, I reckoned it might be a good time to dash east of the city and visit a couple of old wooden barns and sheds that I enjoy photographing. When I stepped out of my front door, I could feel the wind, but as I knew I would not be trying to take photos of flowers that would blow in and out of the viewfinder, I thought it would be OK. Well, was I wrong! It was definitely not fun driving the highway and, little did I know, the wind would become stronger and the dark clouds and rain would move in. Needless to say, in the end, I just had to give up and return home. Fortunately, I was able to get the main photos I was hoping for, straight away, before the storm worsened. I love to see a field full of hay bales. To quote someone else's joke (groan!), unfortunately the round hay bales mean that Alberta cows never get a square (i.e. 'proper') meal : ) I added a touch of filter in post-processing.

On 6 September 2018, it turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, for comparison, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting.

I'm beginning to think this is a Swainson's Hawk. This is the other hawk that was on the same hay bale as the hawk in the photo I posted the day before yesterday. It is 10:30 am on 24 August 2018, and the sky is smoke filled and dark as can be. An Air Quality alert continues. Rain is expected to arrive shortly (and, yes, here comes the rain!), which will be most welcome. Our temperature is only 11C! I was shocked to see the following warning yesterday, knowing the absolute devastation that our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park suffered in the summer of 2017. "PARKS CANADA HAS ISSUED AN EVACUATION ALERT FOR ALL AREAS IN WATERTON NATIONAL PARK DUE TO WILDFIRE: Thursday August 23, 2018 - 10:45pm Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all areas in Waterton Lakes National Park. A wildfire that started south of Waterton in the Boundary Creek valley is currently burning out of control. Because of the potential danger to life and health, Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all of Waterton Lakes National Park. An Evacuation Alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary. Visitors and residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation; however you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions. The wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park approximately 5 km south of the townsite. It is located in the Boundary Creek Valley and approaching Upper Waterton Lake. Parks Canada staff are monitoring the fire. People in Waterton Park should be prepared to evacuate on short notice." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can tell by the photos I posted this morning, I got out of the forest and into the dry prairies. Three days ago, on 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body aches like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. It was a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two hawks, as the hay bale they were standing on was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. A Horned Lark, a Western Meadowlark juvenile, and a Vesper Sparrow gave me the chance for a photo or two, and a lone hawk I spotted way in the distance was a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as these hawks are so few and far between.

"Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 4:55 PM -Air quality statements blanket parts of western Canada as smoke from the more than 500 wildfires burning in British Columbia coats the region in some of the worst air quality in the world." From the Weather Network. As you can tell by the photos I posted this morning, I got out of the forest and into the dry prairies. Yesterday, 21 August 2018, turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body aches like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. Yesterday was a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed the hawk in this photo, as the hay bale was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - this one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. I am not good at hawk ID, and I don't know if this is a juvenile or an adult of whatever species it is. A Horned Lark and an unidentified sparrow gave me the chance for a photo or two, and I'm pretty sure a hawk I spotted way in the distance was a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting if I'm right.

This is one of the photos I took yesterday, 27 September 2017, during a day of exploring the Springbank to Allen Bill Pond area. Gayle is busy getting petition forms out to people, in connection with the proposed dam that will be built in one these two areas. She asked me if I would like to go with her to take a closer look at these totally different areas. The Springbank area would suffer greatly if a dam was built and another major flood occurs. A lot of farmland that has been in families for generations in some cases. The second area that is being considered for a dam is not far from Bragg Creek, and would involve a lot of forested land. From Springbank, we drove south as far as Allen Bill Pond on Highway 66/Elbow Falls Trail before turning round to go back to Bragg Creek. Allen Bill Pond used to be a very popular fishing spot, but it was totally destroyed by the dreadful flood of 2013, when it was filled with gravel deposited by the river. I hadn't followed any of this dam business, though it has apparently been going on for quite a long time - maybe two or three years? I'm also not someone who deals with petitions, but it was really interesting to see the enormous stretch of land that could end up being affected by the construction of a dam. "The Springbank Off-stream Reservoir, or Springbank Project, is a dry reservoir that will store water temporarily during a flood. It will work in tandem with the Glenmore Reservoir in Calgary. Together, the combined storage capacity would accommodate water volumes equal to the 2013 flood." Springbank Off-stream Reservoir conceptual animation (August 2017) youtu.be/lNP5dKTiJ0Y www.transportation.alberta.ca/documents/Springbank-Locati... Thanks so much for the trip, Gayle! I didn't know most of the Springbank area before, but I was quite familiar with the Bragg Creek area. Going for lunch was a good idea and nice to stop and have coffee before heading for home. It was such glorious weather, too, and the fall colours just amazing. With rain and snow in the forecast for four days, tomorrow is the last decent day. Loved your Roses, Gayle, and what a delight to see the clusters of mushrooms growing at the base of one of your trees! Many thanks for the tomatoes, carrots and apples from your garden, too - a real treat.

This is one of the photos I took yesterday, 27 September 2017, during a day of exploring the Springbank to Allen Bill Pond area. Friend Gayle is busy getting petition forms out to people, in connection with the proposed dam that will be built in one these two areas. She asked me if I would like to go with her to take a closer look at these totally different areas. The Springbank area would suffer greatly if a dam was built and another major flood occurs. A lot of farmland that has been in families for generations in some cases. The second area that is being considered for a dam is not far from Bragg Creek, and would involve a lot of forested land. From Springbank, we drove south as far as Allen Bill Pond on Highway 66/Elbow Falls Trail before turning round to go back to Bragg Creek. Allen Bill Pond used to be a very popular fishing spot, but it was totally destroyed by the dreadful flood of 2013, when it was filled with gravel deposited by the river. I hadn't followed any of this dam business, though it has apparently been going on for quite a long time - maybe two or three years? I'm also not someone who deals with petitions, but it was really interesting to see the enormous stretch of land that could end up being affected by the construction of a dam. "The Springbank Off-stream Reservoir, or Springbank Project, is a dry reservoir that will store water temporarily during a flood. It will work in tandem with the Glenmore Reservoir in Calgary. Together, the combined storage capacity would accommodate water volumes equal to the 2013 flood." Springbank Off-stream Reservoir conceptual animation (August 2017) youtu.be/lNP5dKTiJ0Y www.transportation.alberta.ca/documents/Springbank-Locati... Thanks so much for the trip, Gayle! I didn't know most of the Springbank area before, but I was quite familiar with the Bragg Creek area. Going for lunch was a good idea and nice to stop and have coffee before heading for home. It was such glorious weather, too, and the fall colours just amazing. With rain and snow in the forecast for four days, tomorrow is the last decent day. Loved your Roses, Gayle, and what a delight to see the clusters of mushrooms growing at the base of one of your trees! Many thanks for the tomatoes, carrots and apples from your garden, too - a real treat.

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, when I at last did a long-overdue drive east of the city. This is my least favourite direction in which to drive from the city and I have to say it stresses me out so much. Once I reach the back roads, I can relax a little, but I am always worried about getting lost. The best few minutes in the five and a half hours I was out were when I came across a beautiful Swainson's Hawk juvenile (hope I have identified it correctly!), perched on a fence post. Finally, a hawk perched along a back road, where I could stop. Amazingly, not one single vehicle came along while I was there. It felt so good to get a few photos of a hawk in the wild, unlike the ones I photographed recently at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. I had really hoped I would see a perched hawk and, in fact, I had seen another one earlier in my drive, though that one was more distant. That's all I needed, to make me feel happy and that the drive was worthwhile. For the first time ever, and after having driven past the location other times, I stopped at Weed Lake (south end). Lots of birds, but most were really too far to photograph. Still, I was happy to see a Killdeer and what I think was a little Semipalmated Plover close enough to get a few shots. One disturbing thing I found on the path was a large dead, white bird with a long neck. There were two cylindrical canisters on top of the rotting body - looks like these were empty fireworks. No idea how long this body had been there, or if anyone else has seen it there.

This photo was taken on 29 December 2016, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went, travelling in just one car, and the section of the Count circle that we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the vehicle, just in case. "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. 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. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two fine old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

I don't remember the weather forecast saying that we would be getting snow today, 28 October 2016 - I'm sure it only said rain. Anyway, it's snowing again this morning, with a temperature of 0°C (32°F) and windchill -2°C (28°F). Usually, I don't have three long day outings within five days, except during the Christmas Bird Counts, but two days ago, I was lucky enough to go with friends, Shirley and Anne, for a day's outing SW and SE of the city. We had a very early start, 7:00 am, and drove west of the city to start with, driving to the far end of Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66). While at Elbow Falls, we saw a pair of American Dippers flying from rock to rock. They were vocalizing, too, which I had never heard before. Though there seemed to be very few birds to be seen all day, we were so lucky to see a total of four Moose - two at each of two different locations SW of the city. It is always nice to see a Moose, and to see four in one day was a real treat. The second two were fairly young ones. From Elbow Falls Trail, we drove down through the Millarville area and finally ended up east of High River. We found one of the Great Horned Owls that everyone had been following earlier in the year, along with a nearby little American Tree Sparrow. We did see a few Hawks, including this very distant Rough-legged Hawk on a hay bale and a very dark morph Hawk later in the day. A great day, ladies - thank you so much for inviting me along and thanks so much, Shirley, for driving! Greatly appreciated. So glad we didn't have today's weather instead!

Whenever I see a photo like this one, I usually sigh and think ... Alberta : ) It was taken a little in desperation yesterday, when I drove a few of the roads north and south of Highway 22X, going westwards towards the mountains. Wasn't finding much to photograph at all. Our weather has been horrid, but the sun did come out for a while later yesterday. As I type, Calgary is under a Wind Warning, and we are going through a real wind storm. Have visions of my roof being lifted off, I'm in such an exposed place. Spent this morning walking in South Glenmore Park, by the Glenmore Reservoir, wearing a fleece jacket and my thick winter jacket ... brrr! Temperatures will be around 2C or 4C for the next few days. Nothing to photograph this morning, so I decided to go over to the Zoo for the afternoon, where I attempted to take photos even though it was far too windy for much success. Winter is definitely here - possibly a bit of snow again overnight.

Snapped a few quick shots along one of the gravel roads just south of the city on 27th January. I love it when the sun shines on the snow. I still can't get used to seeing hay bales covered in white.

Just one of the views (zoomed in) from the property belonging to Rod Handfield, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville. We are very fortunate that Rod and his wife give us permission to explore his forest each year, searching for any new species to add to our extensive list of flora and fauna that we find there. Taken on 17 August 2012, looking westwards towards the Rocky Mountains.

SO highly cropped and therefore terrible quality, but I did want a reminder to myself of this very noisy pair of juvenile Swainson's Hawks that I pulled over for yesterday afternoon. After a few hours with four other people, botanizing Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, I drove home via one or two gravel backroads. One of the adults was flying overhead and landed in a tree ahead of me and when I stopped to take a look, I heard the loud commotion coming from atop a hay bale out in the middle of a huge field. Love the beautiful patterns of their feathers.