Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: hamlet

This photo was taken on 25 August 2017, 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. I saw this Swainson's Hawk early on in my drive, a fair distance away. For me, it made a good start to the day. If I remember correctly, it was a juvenile. Little did I know that later on, I would come across a young Swainson's Hawk perched on a fence post the far side of the back road I was on. Those were the best few minutes in my day, as it was content to sit there. 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 had photographed fairly recently at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. I had really hoped I would see a perched hawk this day and that's all I needed to make me happy and feel 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 glad to see a Killdeer and a little Semipalmated Plover close enough to get a few shots.

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

Yesterday, 19 March 2016, I was on a birding day trip with a group of friends, going SE of Calgary, E of High River. Near the end of the day, we called in at the small hamlet of Blackie. We were hopeful that we would see at least one of the Eurasian Collared Doves that live there, and we were in luck. While we were walking along one of the streets, we saw this massive 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 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

On 30 March 2015, I went SE of Calgary, driving the backroads through the farmlands. I had been meaning to drive further than I'd driven in that area, and this day I went as far as Vulcan. Just like I have done a few times before, I went on Google and Google Earth beforehand, searching for any barns that were in the new part of my drive. Nothing truly spectacular, but I did manage to find a few that made the drive worthwhile. 234 km total, 5 1/4 hour trip. The weather was beautiful, with a sky full of clouds for at least the first part of my drive. What you can't see is that it was very windy, as it so often is in this whole area. You also can't see all the bees that were buzzing round my car a couple of times when I got out to take a few photos. "Brant is located 18 km west and 12 kilometres north of Vulcan. It is located on the CP main line which runs from Aldersyde to Kipp. This elevator was originally a Home Grain elevator, but changed owners to Searle, Federal and finally Alberta Wheat Pool, before being sold to B & J Farms." From vanishingsentinels.blogspot.ca/2006/02/alberta-wheat-pool... "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

Four days ago, on 30 March 2015, I went SE of Calgary, driving the backroads through the farmlands. I had been meaning to drive further than I'd driven in that area, and this day I went as far as Vulcan. Just like I have done a few times before, I went on Google and Google Earth beforehand, searching for any barns that were in the new part of my drive. Nothing truly spectacular, but I did manage to find a few that made the drive worthwhile. 234 km total, 5 1/4 hour trip. The weather was beautiful, with a sky full of clouds for at least the first part of my drive. What you can't see is that it was extremely windy, as it so often is in this whole area. You also can't see all the bees that were buzzing round my car a couple of times when I got out to take a few photos. "Brant is located 18 km west and 12 kilometres north of Vulcan. It is located on the CP main line which runs from Aldersyde to Kipp. This elevator was originally a Home Grain elevator, but changed owners to Searle, Federal and finally Alberta Wheat Pool, before being sold to B & J Farms." From vanishingsentinels.blogspot.ca/2006/02/alberta-wheat-pool... "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

When I was on a birding day trip with a group of friends, going SE of Calgary on Saturday, 14 March 2015, we called in at the small hamlet of Blackie. We were hopeful that we would see at least one of the Eurasian Collared Doves that live there, and we were in luck. While we were walking along one of the streets, we saw this massive Cargill grain terminal. Not exactly the most beautiful of structures 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, but still rather impressive. 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...

Yesterday, 14 March 2015, I photographed this square mural in Blackie, Alberta, during a bird trip to the Frank Lake area. 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. On the far left edge of the photo, you can see part of the large grain terminal in Blackie. I went on a most enjoyable birding outing SE of the city, with a group of friends. Frank Lake, one of my favourite places, was our main destination. During the winter months, the gate is closed, so one has to walk in. We walked almost as far as the blind and then back to the cars. On this return walk, a patch of large, white, spotted feathers was found. A friend held this one up against her dark jeans so that I could get a photo (see next photo posted today). When I saw it, I had a bad feeling that this large feather belonged to a beautiful Snowy Owl. After searching on Google, I think that might be the closest answer, which would be really sad. Would really appreciate it if someone is able to correct or confirm - thanks! From Frank Lake, we called in at the huge community centre in High River, thinking we could eat our lunch there. It was so absolutely packed, we ended up eating outside by the cars. After more driving around the lake, we came back to Calgary via 306 Ave, E (alternative road numbers are 552/272) and 220 (Dunbow Rd). I think I have those road numbers correct. For most of the day, the wind was dreadful, making walking very difficult and extremely unpleasant! When I got home and checked yesterday's forecast for High River on the Weather Network, the temperature got up to around 15C and there was a Wind Warning in effect. A Wind Warning is issued when wind speeds are expected to or currently blowing steadily at 60 to 65 km/h (37 to 40 mph) or more, or winds gusting to 90 km/h (56 mph) or more. I will add the report from our leader, Andrew Hart, with permission, below. As usual, I did not see some of the birds listed, as I don't have binoculars. "We had 16 participants on this trip on a day when it was warm (generally 12-15 deg c) but, after about 10:30 am, extremely windy. We went straight to the outfall area near the blind. As we walked down to the edge of the water the wind seemed to pick up. We saw about 100 each of Redheads and Canvasback as well as Tundra Swans (many of which were flying over). Not that many Pintails, maybe 20+, much less than other recent observers have reported. The increasingly strong winds made observations tricky. We did not see the Eurasian Wigeon that others have reported, including today's report by Mike Sven, even though we were down by the effluent area where he saw them. Possibly the increasingly high winds made them seek shelter elsewhere. Some of the group saw a Cackling Goose identified by Tony Timmons, but it flew off before we could get everyone on it. Some of the birds we saw flying valiantly against the wind barely made any progress. We went to the High River recreation centre for lunch, discovering when we arrived that a number of community events were taking place and parking had overflowed to a nearby field. We did see one Eurasian Collared Dove in a nearby tree. The parking field had a few really muddy spots, so somehow in the confusion of leaving our group got split up. Most of us went on a clockwise circuit of the Frank Lake area. We stopped in at Basin 2 on the East side, but again the wind made observation difficult, although Howard Heffler did manage to pick out three Gadwall in a small slough. On our drive around we saw a few Horned Larks, but never more than small numbers at the same time, and sometimes just one or two. We met our lost fellow birders from the rec center car park in the Basin 3 car park, from which we could see 50 or so Pintails. We carried on to the shelterbelts just west of Frank Lake and picked up a Great Horned Owl and a Flicker. Leaving the Frank Lake area a few of us went on to Blackie. The winds were still roaring but we managed to find about 16 Eurasian Collared Doves, which were blowing around like chaff. The more detailed EBird summary is: Checklists included in this summary: (1): Frank Lake--NW lookout/blind Date: Mar 14, 2015, 9:50 AM (2): Frank Lake--Basin 4 Date: Mar 14, 2015, 1:15 PM (3): Frank Lake--Basin 3 Date: Mar 14, 2015, 1:25 PM (4): Blackie Date: Mar 14, 2015, 2:30 PM 1 Cackling Goose -- (1) 480 Canada Goose -- (1),(2),(3) 70 Tundra Swan -- (1),(3) 3 Gadwall -- (2) 26 American Wigeon -- (1),(2) 354 Mallard -- (1),(2),(3) 12 Northern Shoveler -- (1) 70 Northern Pintail -- (1),(3) 2 Green-winged Teal -- (1) 100 Canvasback -- (1) 100 Redhead -- (1) 10 Ring-necked Duck -- (1) 30 Lesser Scaup -- (1) 4 Bufflehead -- (1) 150 Common Goldeneye -- (1) 6 Common Merganser -- (1) 1 Bald Eagle -- (1) 42 California Gull -- (1),(3) 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (2),(4) 16 Eurasian Collared-Dove -- (4) 4 Black-billed Magpie -- (4) 25 Common Raven -- (2),(3) 4 Horned Lark -- (3) 100 European Starling -- (3),(4) 1 House Finch -- (4) 100 House Sparrow -- (4) Andrew Hart"

Skiff is a hamlet in southern Alberta. Before friends Cathy and Terry and I set out on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park (26, 27 and 28 August 2014), I had discovered that, on our last day, we would be quite near to Skiff and its old grain elevator. I had mentioned this to my friends, asking if a quick stop to get a couple of shots might just be possible if we had time. However, little did we know that we would end up having to stop in Skiff anyway, as Skiff was the closest place for us to get to after we got caught in a severe storm. In Skiff, we stopped at some kind of machinery warehouse to ask about something and one of the workers said that he had never seen a storm like this one! A couple of minutes away, we found the beautiful, old elevator. You could still feel the tail end of the storm, with very strong winds blowing, barely letting me open my car door and walk with great difficulty to get my photos. I was surprised that my photos came out at all, I was being blown so much off balance. The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until this BIG STORM hit! We had driven eastwards from Waterton, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. The storm 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 - an enormous, menacing 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 tremendously strong winds. There was nothing to do but sit tight in the car, 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!). Fortunately, we weren't caught in the very centre of it. Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Later, I contacted the Alberta Tornado Watch and posted a photo for them to see. They said the storm that happened that day was a mesocyclone. This elevator is the sole remaining elevator in Skiff and, though now wearing Parrish & Heimbecker colours, may well have been an Alberta Wheat Pool elevator originally. If so, it was built in 1929 with a 40,000 bushel capacity. The annexes were added in 1948 (East) and in 1952 (West). The larger one is on the east side. The elevator appears to still be in use. There is very little information online about it, unfortunately. www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMKTFF_Alberta_Wheat_Pool_1_S...

Yesterday, 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and a day where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going! The drive yesterday was the longest drive I had ever done, by a long way. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol! I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake on going on this trip yesterday. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun. Our two main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail and the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy, calling in at Wayne as well. After that, we went to Rowley to see these old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with these two being right next to each other and the other off to the right of my photo. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept. From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I really don't like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!! Today, it is heavily overcast and dreary, and it's raining. Quite the contrast to yesterday. "Less than a year before the new millennium, the last train passed through Rowley. And now the Alberta prairie town's future may once more belong to the ghosts. In the mid-1970s, Rowley, which once boasted a population of about 500 in the 1920s, was a beat-up dying community, with rows of empty houses and businesses, and inhabited by only a few dozen prairie-hardened souls. But one night, a few party-happy locals, whose liquor supply was fast dwindling, decided on a quick solution – a “B & E Party” at a boarded-up old saloon. The bar was fixed up and named Sam's Saloon after one of the previous owners who had been a respected member of the community. The brazen men then got talking about sprucing up the pioneer community to make it a heritage stop for tourists. For the next quarter century, locals restored old homes and businesses and soon visitors were attracted from all parts of Alberta, Canada and the U.S. The highlight of the community's new fame came in 1988 when a cinema production team used Rowley as the set for the hit Canadian movie Bye Bye Blues. Part of Rowley's charm is that while locals have spent thousands of dollars fixing up many of the old community's homes and buildings to reflect the town's pioneer days, there are still many others left abandoned, and offer ghost towners wonderful photo opportunities. But 1999 also saw the regional train service through Rowley end and locals are worried about the community's future. “That's really going to hurt our cash flow”, said one old-timer, noting as many as 900 train tourists a week would get off at the Rowley station, which also serves as the town's museum.However, the town, which now has an official population of 8, is still hoping word-of-mouth will keep tourists coming. Locals meet at the community hall year-round, and gladly offer visitors a tour even in the cold winter months." www.ghosttownpix.com/alberta/rowley.html www.ghosttownpix.com/alberta/rowley2.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowley,_Alberta

Skiff is a hamlet in southern Alberta. Before friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, set out on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park (26, 27 and 28 August 2014), I had discovered that we would be quite near to Skiff and its old grain elevator. I had mentioned this to my friends, asking if a quick stop to get a couple of shots might be possible if we had time. However, little did we know that we would end up having to stop in Skiff anyway, as Skiff was the closest place for us to get to after we got caught in a severe storm. We stopped at some kind of machinery warehouse to ask something and one of the workers said that he had never seen a storm like this one! A couple of minutes away, we found the beautiful, old elevator. You could still feel the tail end of the storm, with very strong winds blowing, barely letting me open my car door and walk with great difficulty to get my photos. I was surprised that my photos came out at all, I was being blown so much off balance. The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit! We had driven eastwards from Waterton, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. The storm 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 cloud that was travelling fast and furious. I have recently posted a couple of photos of the storm. 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 tremendously strong winds. There was nothing to do but sit tight in the car, 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!). Fortunately, we weren't caught in the very centre of it. Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Later, I contacted the Alberta Tornado Watch and posted a photo for them to see. They said the storm that happened that day was a mesocyclone. This elevator is the sole remaining elevator in Skiff and, though now wearing Parrish & Heimbecker colours, may well have been an Alberta Wheat Pool elevator originally. If so, it was built in 1929 with a 40,000 bushel capacity. The annexes were added in 1948 (East) and in 1952 (West). The larger one is on the east side. The elevator appears to still be in use. There is very little information online about it, unfortunately. www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMKTFF_Alberta_Wheat_Pool_1_S...

On 25 January 2014, I spent an amazing day out with friends Cathy and Terry, going SE of Calgary. A full day of excitement and enjoyment left me tired out, but so happy. I had been missing being out and taking photos, feeling lethargic and extremely tired, so this invite was welcomed with open arms. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, but a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Can you believe that we saw 17 owls yesterday? SEVENTEEN! - 10 Snowy Owls and 7 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. We ended up driving through the hamlet of Herronton late morning and stopped long enough to take a few shots of the old grain elevator there. Not fun walking even a few steps, as the recent melting snow has frozen over everywhere, including here in Calgary. "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 "The Herronton elevator is a large former Alberta Wheat Pool elevator. The rail line here is not used. The last grain trains were loaded here a long, long time ago (late 1990s/early 2000s). This massive “single composite” elevator dates from 1965 having been rebuilt from an earlier structure (dating from 1930)." www.bigdoer.com/2848/exploring-history/grain-elevators-an...

When I was on a birding day trip with a group of friends, going SE of Calgary on Saturday, 15 March 2014, we called in at the small hamlet of Blackie. I had been there with other friends two days earlier and I had spotted a couple of very distant Eurasian Collared Doves in a tree. When I mentioned this on Saturday, the expectation (lol!) was that, despite my dreadful sense of direction, I would find the same tree again - amazingly, I did, and then my friends spotted about six of these birds in various trees. While we were walking along one of the streets, we saw this massive Cargill grain elevator. Not exactly the most beautiful of structures 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, but still rather impressive. Luckily, a Canadian Pacific train came along while we were there - the wagons that you can see behind the engine on a different track at the far left of the image were already parked there. 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...

Friends and I ended up driving through the hamlet of Herronton (SE of Calgary) on 25 January 2014, and stopped long enough to take a few shots of the old grain elevator there. Not fun walking even a few steps, as the recent melting snow has frozen over everywhere. I'm puzzled by this image, as the white paint drops are running sideways - the windows must have been painted before being installed. The green siding of the elevator does run horizontally. "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 "The Herronton elevator is a large former Alberta Wheat Pool elevator. The rail line here is not used. The last grain trains were loaded here a long, long time ago (late 1990s/early 2000s). This massive “single composite” elevator dates from 1965 having been rebuilt from an earlier structure (dating from 1930)." www.bigdoer.com/2848/exploring-history/grain-elevators-an.. .

"Alberta Bound", Paul Brandt - makes me want to get in my car - and drive .... youtu.be/2EtMQeBOguA Yesterday was a day of huge responsibility! My youngest daughter wanted (i.e. desperately wanted!) to see her very first Snowy Owl. So, off we went, SE of the city. I took her to various areas where Snowy Owls had been seen on 25 January, when I went there with friends and we saw 8 Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. Nothing, absolutely nothing! All we managed to find was a flock of Horned Larks and a handful of Ravens. If nothing else, my daughter has now seen just how difficult it usually is to find a Snowy : ) Of course, we were happy to stop and photograph a number of old barns and homesteads during the day, and the magnificent distant Rocky Mountains were almost always in view over the golden stubble fields. We also stopped to look at two old, very similar grain elevators - Herronton and Brant. Recently, I did post a photo of the one at Herronton. Four or five hours later, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home and drowned our disappointment in a delicious meal. Their food is so good! Passed a few of these small Sunflowers there and, of course, couldn't resist taking a few photos. A most enjoyable day, even if we didn't see a Snowy. "Brant is located 18 km west and 12 kilometres north of Vulcan. It is located on the CP main line which runs from Aldersyde to Kipp. This elevator was originally a Home Grain elevator, but changed owners to Searle, Federal and finally Alberta Wheat Pool, before being sold to B & J Farms." From vanishingsentinels.blogspot.ca/2006/02/alberta-wheat-pool... "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

This is the second morning in the last three days that I've posted my "daily three" very late in the morning. After getting to bed each night around 3:00 a.m.or 3:30 a.m., I overslept till about 11:00 a.m. again today, which messes up my day. The reason for today's lateness is that I spent an amazing day out yesterday with friends Cathy and Terry, south of Calgary, and then got to bed so late after getting things done on my computer. I had found an e-mail on my computer around 12:45 a.m.yesterday, just as I was about to turn off my computer for the night. Did I want to go birding tomorrow (i.e. yesterday) and, if so, to meet at 8:00 a.m.. A full day of excitement and enjoyment left me tired out, but so happy. Can you believe that we saw 17 owls yesterday? SEVENTEEN! I didn't photograph quite every single one, but my friends will let me know exactly how many of each owl we found, once they've gone through their photos. It was something like 10 Snowy Owls and 7 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. We ended up driving through the hamlet of Herronton (SE of Calgary) late morning and stopped long enough to take a few shots of the old grain elevator there. Not fun walking even a few steps, as the recent melting snow has frozen over everywhere, including here in Calgary. "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 "The Herronton elevator is a large former Alberta Wheat Pool elevator. The rail line here is not used. The last grain trains were loaded here a long, long time ago (late 1990s/early 2000s). This massive “single composite” elevator dates from 1965 having been rebuilt from an earlier structure (dating from 1930)." www.bigdoer.com/2848/exploring-history/grain-elevators-an...

A handsome male Pine Grosbeak, seen in someone's garden at Harvie Heights, near Canmore, Kananaskis. A small group of us spent the day in the Sibbald, Harvie Heights and Exshaw areas in Kananaskis, mostly driving, but with the occasional short walk. While we were walking along a few roads in the wooded residential area of Harvie Heights, checking feeders for any birds, we came across several of these Grosbeaks. Taken on 20 January 2013.