Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: toy

Wow, what a day I had the day on 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost. This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself. Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands? When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home. There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me. Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago.

Lol, I'm staying up all night, tonight - will explain later tomorrow or the following morning when I post my next shots. Thought I'd post my daily three now (around 1:00 am), otherwise I might end up missing a day : ) This afternoon, 1 May 2016, I just needed to get out with my camera. The sun was shining and I had a bit of time. Drove down to Fish Creek Park, forgetting that on a Sunday, it would be packed with walkers, cyclists, fishermen, people having a picnic or BBQ - and photographers. Spotted this lost kid's toy floating in the creek and couldn't resist capturing this unusual spring visitor. Found out later that it is in fact a decoy. Nearby, was a turtle - presumably a Painted Turtle, and one that maybe someone had as a pet and then released it into the wild. It was camouflaged so well, looking like a rock in the water.

I was about to turn off my computer a short while ago, when I suddenly decided to post my "daily three" photos instead (12:45 am). My alarm clocks will be set for about 4:45 am, as I have a very early, half-day trip outside the city tomorrow. This is to someone's private property, where we have been several times over the last few years. This photo was taken on 21 May 2015, on a very last-minute, totally unexpected trip out to Bow Valley Provincial Park. By 11:00 pm the previous evening, I still wasn't sure if I was going to be ready in time and also because I had only had about an hour and a half the sleep the night before that, I wasn't sure if I could manage it. The thought of going out there on a beautiful, sunny day was just too tempting and, after less than three hours sleep that night, I was up and ready to go the next morning. If I hadn't gone, I would have missed a new flower find (not by me) as well as a beautiful Morel mushroom, and I know I would have been so disappointed. The five friends I went with are all specialists in their fields of fungi, lichens, mosses and liverworts, so not only did they enjoy our day, but I did, too. They also know the flowers and birds of Alberta and so many other things, too. We heard quite a few birds and I was told that they included Yellow-rumped Warblers, Juncos and Chipping Sparrows. They were all flitting around in the trees, but I couldn't see any of them properly. I had been hoping that there would be a Common Loon on Middle Lake, as I had seen them there before in other years. We could only see one there, not a pair. This bright yellow duckie was the only bird I was able to photograph, other than several very distant shots of the beautiful Loon. Always makes me sad to see a child's toy that has been dropped.

A child's wooden toy, seen at Heritage Park on 14 September 2013, when I spent a few hours with my youngest daughter and a group of photographers who belong to the group she runs. Very enjoyable to all sit down together for lunch, too, in the old Wainwright Hotel.

I have thought about this old pull-along toy of mine (or maybe it was my brother's) many times over the decades, wondering if it was still at my parents'/brothers home in England. This was one of many sentimental things that arrived weeks ago in 12 boxes. It has only just sunk in as I type this, that of course this is a tricycle. Both my mother and father were extremely keen cyclists in their younger years - many old photo albums, which also travelled here from England, are filled with wonderful photos of my parents on their various cycling trips. I wonder if this toy was made by my father.

There must be a sad little girl out there somewhere, missing her much-loved baby doll. Someone had picked it up and put it in plain view on a branch, between Votier's Flats and Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park.

No eyes, hardly any fur, and a "squeaker" that no longer growls .... that's my dear old Teddy bear from when I was a little girl (a few decades ago, LOL). A few months ago, a family member was on a short trip to England and was given this bear by my brother, to bring over to Canada for me! Just after Christmas, I was able to collect him from my son's. Can't remember what the bright red bow was from, but it was still lying on my two-seater since Christmas. I gave it to my Teddy to brighten up the photo : ) It feels so weird to see and feel this old, beloved toy again. Just wish he could "see" me : (.