Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: single leaf

I don't know if everyone is getting so many small things going wrong with Flickr at the moment. It seems as if everything I try to do goes wrong or takes too long to work. Stats are a mess. Last night and this morning, 2 November 2017, we had our first major fall of snow in the city (at least in my part of the city). Still snowing this afternoon, and I'm just so thankful I don't have to go anywhere today. Temperature is -10C (windchill -18C) at around 1:30 pm. Stay warm, everyone, and drive safely! Again, all three photos posted this morning were taken three days ago, on 30 October 2017. They show what a varied day I had. I spent the day driving mostly roads that I had been along before (a round trip of 230 km). I still find a few roads so confusing! My destination was partly to check on two old barns that I had only seen and photographed once before. Having been there with my daughter in January 2015, I knew that there were several other old barns and homesteads en route. This day was definitely a barn day, not a bird or wildlife day. The large barn in a photo I posted the day before yesterday was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time, which I finally did in January 2015, with my daughter. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. The second old barn that I saw in this area is in far worse condition, but I love it. It was funny, because I was standing in the road and had already taken a handful of photos of this crumbling, weathered structure, when I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance. Talk about deja vu! I started walking towards her and it turned out that she lived at the farm just down the road, but had previously lived in the house next to this decaying barn and it was her property. She told me to wander wherever I wished, take as many photos as I wanted. I laughed and said that in January 2015, when my daughter and I had been standing right there in the road, a lady came by on her horse and told us the very same story - it must have been the same person! Felt so good! Another place I stopped at was a farmyard full of old barns, sheds and vehicles. I pulled over and got out to take a quick shot of an old, blue truck from across the road. A person happened to just appear, walking across his farmyard, so I called out to him and we had a delightful chat. I think he was very amused at my passion for old things and told me to walk around and take whatever photos I wanted. Which I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The blue truck in a photo posted two days ago was just one of several old vehicles, mainly cars. I told him what an amazing place he had, full of interesting things. I got the impression that he saw things very differently - lots of old things that needed fixing or tidying up : ) I told him to just leave everything as it is - a photographer's dream : ) On the way home, I called in at the Saskatoon Farm to see if the restaurant was still open, but it had just closed (3:30 pm). I realized I had been enjoying myself so much that I had totally forgotten to eat anything all day. Managed to get a much-needed cup of coffee, though, and I did buy a box of frozen, uncooked Saskatoon Berry and White Chocolate scones. I bought some of these last time I was there and they are so good, piping hot, straight out of the oven. Noticed this lonely autumn leaf on one of the shrubs - added a touch of filter to the image in post-processing.

Bur/Burr Oak is perhaps my favourite tree - though I have to admit that I don't know much about trees at all, despite being told more than enough times. In the fall, Bur Oak leaves can turn brilliant yellow, but this fall has been short. The snow that was forecast to arrive overnight thank goodness didn't arrive, other than a few snowflakes when I was walking this morning. I'm really, really hoping that it stays away. We did have rain overnight, though, and it has been grey and gloomy all day, and it's cold. Wore a fleece jacket under my winter jacket, plus toque, long-johns and two pairs of gloves!! It might just as well be winter, LOL! "The Quercus macrocpoopa or Bur Oak, sometimes spelled Burr Oak, is a species of oak in the white oak section.... Bur oak makes an outstanding ornamental tree. It is one of the most tolerant of urban conditions of the white oaks, and is one of the fastest-growing of the group.... It withstands chinook conditions in Calgary. The leaves are 7-15 cm (3-6 in) long and 5-13 cm (2-5 in) broad, variable in shape, with a lobed margin. Most often, the basal 60% is narrower and deeply lobed, while the apical 40% is wider and has shallow lobes or large teeth. The flowers are greenish-yellow catkins, produced in the spring. The acorns are very large, 2-5 cm (0.8-2 in) long and 2-4 cm (0.8-1.5 in) broad, with a large cup that wraps much of the way around the nut, with large overlapping scales and often a fringe at the edge of the cup." From Wikipedia.