Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: gate

Ran out of time and energy yesterday to choose and edit any photos to post this morning. Decided to do it this evening, instead. Also, I overslept this morning and had to dash out to meet friends for a three-hour walk in Fish Creek Park (saw 2 Northern Pygmy-owls, but they were both SO far away!), and would not have had time to post. Just realized that I probably won't have time tonight to look for and edit photos for tomorrow morning. Wouldn't surprise me if I oversleep again, which would not be good, as I have a very early start tomorrow and must not be late for when a friend picks me up. My daughter and I had a such a great day on 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive north-east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually turned off the highway and went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to old, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta. The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below. www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs in 'freeze mode'. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : ) Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a tall, metal windmill. "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website. After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered with well water, looking most attractive. I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to find. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked straightforward enough. Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way. A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.

Again, all three photos posted today were taken two days ago, on 19 November 2017, when I spent a few very enjoyable hours out with my daughter. This is the time of year, of course, when Christmas Markets and Fairs spring up everywhere, within the city and in various hamlets outside the city. There were two that we ended up going to - Granary Road and Bragg Creek. This was the very first Christmas for the newly opened Granary Road. Bragg Creek market has been held for many years, but we had never been out there to one before. Both felt calm and were far less densely packed (at least when we were there) than some of the bigger markets in various towns. I had been hoping to get over to Granary Road all summer and fall, but it just didn't happen. This is a brand new market garden, SW of the city, with an active learning park, too. Before this, the area was simply a huge, empty field, except for the row of bright red sheds. I was very disappointed months ago, when I first saw what was being planned for that particular area. Most of all, I and many other photographers, were horrified when we discovered that the row of five old, red granaries/sheds had been removed from the landscape. Some of you may remember my photos of these granaries, which I called "The Famous Five". They have been replaced by five new, red sheds which, I have to say, looked better yesterday than I had previously thought. Link for my album, "The Famous Five" - 25 images of the original, old row of five, red granaries. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157648910659879 The huge main building, seen in this photo, is full of various permanent, carefully chosen vendors, and a restaurant. Very nicely designed, I thought. Three huge greenhouses stand next to the main building - fresh produce is sold from them and from local farmers. A small petting Zoo was being held in one of the greenhouses - Alpacas, goats and bunnies, all very cute. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca The huge, outdoor educational area looks like a lot of fun, and I want to go back next summer to wander round it, when this part reopens for the season. www.granaryroad.com/ Thank you, Rachel, for an enjoyable few hours spent with you! Always the best kind of day. See you in December.

What a day, 11 September 2017! Watching all the TV footage of the devastation in south-east U.S. from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, remembering that today is 9/11 which was such an horrendous day, and now learning that one of the British Columbia wildfires has now reached and entered Waterton Lakes National Park via the Cameron Valley. Just a couple of months ago, some of us were in awe at all the beautiful Bear Grass that was growing along the Akamina Parkway leading up to Cameron Lake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My daughter and I had a such a great day six days ago, on 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta. The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below. www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : ) Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a metal windmill. "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website. After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, watered with well water, looking most attractive. I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked straightforward enough. Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished off with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way. A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads.

This is a view over Batteaux Bay from the Blue Waters Inn, on the island of Tobago. Taken on 13 March 2017, the day on which we arrived very early in the morning. Bear with me, everyone, as I think I am going to have to post 5 (I posted 6 the first two days) photos from my trip each day, otherwise it will take me many months (years?) to get them on to Flickr. Obviously, no comments expected, unless you happen to like one photo in particular. Actually, I am so disappointed with my photos - never have so many photos come out blurry, many totally blurry and no use at all. I'm not sure why, though the light was often really bad and maybe the humidity had some effect. For some species, I will be posting awful shots, just for the record. It will take me forever to do much of a write-up about this trip, but I hope to add an extra bit of information about each photo to the very simple, basic description. Right now, I'm not quite sure where I was and when, lol! We arrived back in Calgary three evenings ago, on 21 March 2017, and I have to get myself somewhat organized and see to all sorts of important things. Totally dead beat after such a busy time away, dealing with extremely early mornings and hot, humid weather. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a dreadful night-owl, so getting up around 5:15 am was an absolute killer. Also, heat and humidity don't agree with my body, so each trip out was quite exhausting. In the morning of 21 March, we had to get up around 2:00 am, as we had such an early flight (5 and a half hours) from Trinidad to Toronto - followed by a four-hour flight back to Calgary. On our very first day, we had three flights in a row, as we flew from Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Port of Spain on Trinidad, from where we had a short flight to the island of Tobago. This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a one-week holiday with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together, spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with quite a few of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. The Asa Wright Nature Centre on the much larger island of Trinidad is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road took just over an hour each way. I'm already missing the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing.

This photo was taken on 8 February 2015, when I went for a very short walk at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park. The whole area of the barn and the corral has been made off limits, with yellow tape across the two or three entrances. It’s a rather fine barn and a shame that it isn't kept in better shape. Various windows are open to the weather and there is unsightly graffiti on some of the outside walls. “The southern Alberta foothills have been closely identified with cattle ranching since the late 19th century. The story of Norman Willans and his family is representative of the many ranches scattered throughout this area. Born in Rochdale, England, in 1870, Norman Willans and his brother Bernard came to Canada in 1886. After two years of study at Guelph Agricultural College, the brothers learned some of the necessary skills to make a life off the land. Norman moved west to the Millarville District in 1890 and eight years later married Alice Maud Deanne-Freeman. Together, they lived at the Anchordown Ranch near Millarville until 1901, when Norman was hired as a cattle buyer by P. Burns and Co. Ltd., and the family moved to Calgary. In 1910, Norman moved his family to the Fish Creek Area and took over from Billy Bannister as the manager of Pat Burns' renowned Bow Valley Ranch. Eight years later, Norman and Alice purchased this land next to the Shannon Ranch and began a mixed farming operation while still working for cattle baron Pat Burns. Norman's "commute" by horse would have followed pathways along Fish Creek from this homestead to the Bow Valley Ranch some 13 kilometres away. Farming and ranching requires essential buildings to house families as well as livestock. Norman Willans built a log barn for his string of cow ponies and at the same time he constructed a cabin for his wife and children in Shannon Terrace. Constructed from the straight white spruce that lines the banks of Fish Creek, these buildings are a reminder to the rugged lifestyle of men and women who have contributed to Alberta's heritage.” From the information sheet about the Willans Family, by Fish Creek Provincial Park. www.albertaparks.ca/media/3007256/fish_creek_-_willans_fa...

This very uninspiring photo was all I've ended up with from my walk with a friend this afternoon. Bitterly cold, windy with blowing snow. Converted, it equals -36F, windchill -32.8F! We went to the beautiful Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation area south of Calgary. A lovely place - in summer, it is full of wildflowers and butterflies. We saw very little today - a few Ravens, a Hairy Woodpecker (which was nice to see) and a hawk that was "wind-hovering", flapping its wings to maintain a stationary position while facing upwind. Not sure if one of my photos, taken for ID purposes, will be fit to upload. I think it could be a Rough-legged Hawk. After two hours of walking, mainly uphill climbing in quite a few inches of snow, I really felt that I could have gone absolutely no further by the time we had climbed the last hill back to the parking lot : ). How on earth the early Pioneers ever survived, amazes me - of course, not all of them did survive. Thank goodness for central heating!!!

It was pretty much a black and white landscape today, this park gate giving a splash of colour. Not sure what the temperature has been today - around -12C, I think. It has snowing gently all day, along with fog, and I called in at the park twice, before and after doing some volunteering. Everywhere was coated in white - all I needed was a bright blue sky, but no luck. I think tomorrow is supposed to be the same. Oh, I must tell you a story: last year I drove a friend to this park and she commented on all the trees that had been cut down. I laughed so much to myself and at first didn't have the heart to point out to her that these are just poles that have been stuck in the ground! We still laugh about it.