Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: wagon

On 27 August, I finally made myself do a new drive that I hadn't had the courage to do before, going south of the city. This morning, I have just added another 8 photos taken that day. The trip down south was not a huge drive and many of the roads were familiar ones. Just the last part was what made me afraid to try. I am so glad I did this, as I had longed to go to this particular Ranch for years. A couple of years ago, a friend and I drove south from the city to get to Kananaskis. Somehow, he missed a turn-off and we ended up going some distance south instead of west. I loved the scenery that we were driving through and I noticed the Ranch off in the distance. I was determined that, one day, I would drive there myself. Done! The working Ranch I wanted to see was the Bar U Ranch. I have seen so many photos online of the scattered sheds/barns and I was sure I would find plenty to photograph. "Bar U cattle literally fed the world. The ranch fed workers building the first transcontinental railway and waves of immigrants flooding to a new land. It fed Canada’s first Indian reservations, the first patrols of Northwest Mounted Police, our nation through the Great Depression and our soldiers through two World Wars. Bar U Percherons, “the work horses that powered North America,” built our cities and roads and pulled our trolleys and fire wagons, from New York City to Victoria, British Columbia. One of the first, most successful, most enduring large scale cattle ranching operations in Canada, the Bar U in its hay day ranged 30,000 head of cattle on 160,000 acres of grassland, and was world renowned for its stock of 1,000 purebred Percherons. Located deep in the southern Alberta foothills, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the Bar U, from 1882 to 1950, was a force to be reckoned with. While other large Alberta ranches succeeded for a time only to go out of business, especially after the killer winters of 1886 and 1906, the Mighty Bar U persevered to eventually become a kingpin in a business empire that included a variety of ranches and farming enterprises, as well as meat packing plants and flour mills." www.friendsofthebaru.com/bar_u_legacy.htm By the time three and a quarter hours had passed by at the Ranch, including sitting on a log around a camp fire, drinking hot coffee and chatting with a couple of ladies who were telling me about camp life in the old days, I felt it was time to start heading back home. I returned via the rough, gravel, very dusty backroad that I use when I drive to Kananaskis, hoping that I might just see something of interest, but out of luck. Thank goodness for Albums to keep photos together, and thank goodness Camera Roll is now finally back and working. Thank you, Flickr staff, for rebuilding this very useful tool for us.

On 25 October 2018, I dashed down to a place that I had been curious about for the last few years. Every time I drove the highway, I would pass a sign that said Kayben Farms. My daughter had posted photos from a visit there with friends a while ago and there were a few things that I wanted to see sometime. A spur-of-the-moment visit gave me the chance to do so. Actually, I suspect it may also have been a delaying tactic for all the endless things that I knew I should be seeing to. There were a few sheds/barns scattered around the grounds. Most were a pretty basic, simple shape and not old. However, I loved one little barn and absolutely loved the wonderfully bright and colourful door of two other buildings. The one barn had an assortment of ducks, chickens, pigs - and a rabbit that I only noticed when I was editing the image. There were several different kinds of domestic duck and two in particular caught my eye. A female domestic Turkey had two babies, one black and the other was a tan colour, and what a good mother she was. Wandering near the corn maze - now closed till next year - I came across a dead Sunflower hanging its head. One of my favourite things to photograph, at any stage of their life. As for a corn maze, nothing would make me enter .... nothing, unless the corn plants were no higher than my waist and if I was with someone who has an excellent sense of direction! Various pieces of old farm equipment dotted the area. I always enjoy coming across such things on any of my travels. In a nearby area, there was a variety of farm animals, including a very cute pig that was fast asleep and snoring loudly, and horses, sheep and goats were entertaining. All made for a very pleasant visit, just in time before the farm closed to the public for the winter season.

A week ago, on 25 October 2018, I dashed down to a place that I had been curious about for the last few years. Every time I drove the highway, I would pass a sign that said Kayben Farms. My daughter had posted photos from a visit there with friends a while ago and there were a few things that I wanted to see sometime. A spur-of-the-moment visit gave me the chance to do so. Actually, I suspect it may also have been a delaying tactic for all the endless things that I knew I should be seeing to. There were a few sheds/barns scattered around the grounds. Most were a pretty basic, simple shape and not old. However, I loved this little barn and absolutely loved the wonderfully bright and colourful door of two other buildings. The one small barn had an assortment of ducks, chickens, pigs - and a rabbit that I only noticed when I was editing this image. There were several different kinds of domestic duck and two in particular caught my eye. A female domestic Turkey had two babies, one black and the other was a tan colour, and what a good mother she was. Wandering near the corn maze - now closed till next year - I came across a dead Sunflower hanging its head. One of my favourite things to photograph, at any stage of their life. As for a corn maze, nothing would make me enter .... nothing, unless the corn plants were no higher than my waist and if I was with someone who has an excellent sense of direction! Various pieces of old farm equipment dotted the area. I always enjoy coming across such things on any of my travels. In a nearby area, there was a variety of farm animals, including a large Pot-bellied (?) Pig that was fast asleep and snoring loudly, and horses, sheep and goats were entertaining. All made for a very pleasant visit, just in time before the farm closed to the public for the winter season.

I meant to post this and the next photo yesterday, as they were seen on the drive home from our bio-blitz at the Cartwright property, on 30 June 2018. We had passed this delightful display on the way to the bio-blitz and said that we would stop on the way home, to take photos. The tractor and trailer were not far from the edge of the road - such a cheery sight. Friends and I had such a great day on 30 June 2018, travelling westward into the mountains for a bio-blitz on the 40 acres of land belonging to such a delightful family - the Cartwrights. Tonight, I decided to edit and post the remaining photos that are really just record shots, in one go, completing my documentation of this most enjoyable trip. That means that I can go back and edit and post photos from other recent trips and bio-blitzes, as I have fallen way behind. There were about a dozen family members who were there to join us on our bio-blitz, which was great. Each of the adult brothers and sisters live elsewhere, but share this precious land and return whenever they want some good old nature therapy and family time - even weddings! After spending a few hours strolling through their forest and exploring their wetland, I can completely understand why they love returning to this precious spot. Not only are all these siblings such friendly, welcoming people, the family has also generously placed this huge area into a trust, to make sure that it is forever left the way it is. "Property was acquired by parents 50 years ago (1968?). An easement was placed on the land preventing any family member from disposing of their 'share', thus disallowing the fragmentation of this biologically rich area." Information from Gus Yaki. Coffee and baked goodies were waiting for us on arrival - what a treat! Later in the walk, more coffee and goodies were waiting at a spot just before a long, wooden boardwalk. When I say boardwalk, I mean it was just one plank wide, with water and bog on either side. I do not have good balance and I immediately regretted attempting this, ha. Every single, tiny, slow step was taken with great care, I can assure you, and I was amazed that I didn't fall in. Two members of the family, Michael Glaser and Courtney Lawson, have made a documentary about conservation in Southern Alberta. Clear-cutting of the forest is a huge concern - we saw evidence of this on our drive to the Cartwright's property. This is one of two short films to be shown by CPAWS on 4 July at Cardell Theatre in Calgary. They will be followed by a panel discussion with local experts and conservationists. Tickets have to be reserved. (Added later: I went with a friend to see these two videos this evening. Beautifully filmed and very interesting. A lot of information to make one really think and be concerned.) This film was selected to be shown on Feb. 24 2018 at the Central Alberta Film Festival in Red Deer. www.eventbrite.ca/e/documentary-double-feature-with-cpaws... "In Alberta, public lands in the foothills are being clearcut at a rate faster than they can recover with little opportunity for public input or understanding. Forests, Fins & Footprints is a community-funded documentation of clearcutting in the Ghost Valley — a watershed located just upstream of Calgary, on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Wondering how to make a difference, we asked for answers from environmentalists, biologists, geologists, and people who live and work on the land. How does clearcutting affect an area's water, landscape, and wildlife, as well as the people living in that watershed? How will clearcut forestry impact the future? And how can we as a society move forward more thoughtfully?” Taken from the link below. www.forestsfinsfootprints.com/ It is always puzzling to me how our Naturalist leader meets so many people who live on ranches or acreages. It was a very different story two days ago, when we learned that he had offered a free bio-blitz (mind you, our bio-blitzes are always free!) at a Silent Auction : ) This family had won this "prize", and we couldn't have asked for a more appreciative group of family members to offer our help to. As always, the landowners 'win' by being given a very detailed list of every plant, etc. that is growing on their land. We also 'win' because we get to meet so many great people and see so many places that we would otherwise never get the chance to see.

I meant to post this and the next photo yesterday, as they were seen on the drive home from our bio-blitz at the Cartwright property, on 30 June 2018. We had passed this delightful display on the way to the bio-blitz and said that we would stop on the way home, to take photos. The tractor and trailer were not far from the edge of the road - such a cheery sight. Friends and I had such a great day on 30 June 2018, travelling westward into the mountains for a bio-blitz on the 40 acres of land belonging to such a delightful family - the Cartwrights. Tonight, I decided to edit and post the remaining photos that are really just record shots, in one go, completing my documentation of this most enjoyable trip. That means that I can go back and edit and post photos from other recent trips and bio-blitzes, as I have fallen way behind. There were about a dozen family members who were there to join us on our bio-blitz, which was great. Each of the adult brothers and sisters live elsewhere, but share this precious land and return whenever they want some good old nature therapy and family time - even weddings! After spending a few hours strolling through their forest and exploring their wetland, I can completely understand why they love returning to this precious spot. Not only are all these siblings such friendly, welcoming people, the family has also generously placed this huge area into a trust, to make sure that it is forever left the way it is. "Property was acquired by parents 50 years ago (1968?). An easement was placed on the land preventing any family member from disposing of their 'share', thus disallowing the fragmentation of this biologically rich area." Information from Gus Yaki. Coffee and baked goodies were waiting for us on arrival - what a treat! Later in the walk, more coffee and goodies were waiting at a spot just before a long, wooden boardwalk. When I say boardwalk, I mean it was just one plank wide, with water and bog on either side. I do not have good balance and I immediately regretted attempting this, ha. Every single, tiny, slow step was taken with great care, I can assure you, and I was amazed that I didn't fall in. Two members of the family, Michael Glaser and Courtney Lawson, have made a documentary about conservation in Southern Alberta. Clear-cutting of the forest is a huge concern - we saw evidence of this on our drive to the Cartwright's property. This is one of two short films to be shown by CPAWS on 4 July at Cardell Theatre in Calgary. They will be followed by a panel discussion with local experts and conservationists. Tickets have to be reserved. (Added later: I went with a friend to see these two videos this evening. Beautifully filmed and very interesting. A lot of information to make one really think and be concerned.) This film was selected to be shown on Feb. 24 2018 at the Central Alberta Film Festival in Red Deer. www.eventbrite.ca/e/documentary-double-feature-with-cpaws... "In Alberta, public lands in the foothills are being clearcut at a rate faster than they can recover with little opportunity for public input or understanding. Forests, Fins & Footprints is a community-funded documentation of clearcutting in the Ghost Valley — a watershed located just upstream of Calgary, on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Wondering how to make a difference, we asked for answers from environmentalists, biologists, geologists, and people who live and work on the land. How does clearcutting affect an area's water, landscape, and wildlife, as well as the people living in that watershed? How will clearcut forestry impact the future? And how can we as a society move forward more thoughtfully?” Taken from the link below. www.forestsfinsfootprints.com/ It is always puzzling to me how our Naturalist leader meets so many people who live on ranches or acreages. It was a very different story two days ago, when we learned that he had offered a free bio-blitz (mind you, our bio-blitzes are always free!) at a Silent Auction : ) This family had won this "prize", and we couldn't have asked for a more appreciative group of family members to offer our help to. As always, the landowners 'win' by being given a very detailed list of every plant, etc. that is growing on their land. We also 'win' because we get to meet so many great people and see so many places that we would otherwise never get the chance to see.

On 27 December 2017, there were six of us (in the group I was in) taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley area. Our time was spent travelling in two cars, driving the back roads SW of the city and calling in at various acreages/ farms. Thanks so much, Joe and Dave, for being the two drivers. This was so much appreciated! With brutally cold temperatures for days, and wind chills plunging to as low as -37C if not more, and lots of snow, we were thankful that only part of the day was spent out of the car! I took part in this Count for 2015 and 2016, but had missed it for a few years before that. I believe I had only ever done it twice before that, a few years ago (December 2007 and December 30, 2008). This time, like last year, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again. A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us go there very occasionally on botany trips and he always has the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest in the fall. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there. Rod is always so wonderfully hospitable, and he had driven out to the cabin and had delicious coffee and baked goods ready for us! This was so much appreciated and enjoyed, and I know that I, for one, felt re-energized after this treat and being able to warm up in his home. As always, many thanks, Rod! We met with nothing but pleasant landowners, so willing to allow us to wander their properties. One of them, Doug J, had the highlight of the day for us - a Steller's Jay! The status of the Steller's Jay in Alberta is "locally uncommon year-round". They are spotted most often in the Rocky Mountains. Waterton Lakes National Park seems to be the best area for these stunning birds. They have also been seen at either Exshaw or Harvey Heights - the latter, I think. Another welcome sighting was a group of 10 Wild Turkeys at a location where we have previously seen them. Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls helped make the day enjoyable, too, along with the 'regulars', including Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Canada Geese, and three types of Chickadee. Everything seen in such spectacular scenery, too. I love this whole area and, thankfully, it is an area that I can drive to myself - but not in winter! Needless to say, I know I am very lucky. By the way, we briefly stopped and looked down a hill to see one of the 'sets' for the TV series, "Heartland". This is a real-life farm, including the big, red barn. This is a family drama on CBC TV about a family dealing with the highs and lows of life on a horse ranch in the stunning the foothills of Alberta. I don't watch it often, but when I do, I love it, seeing the countryside so close to home. They use the old, red barn for some of the scenes, plus a replica of the barn's inside in a studio. Heartland is the longest running hour-long drama in Canadian television history, and is syndicated to countries around the world. A short Blog article by one of the sons raised in real life on this farm that is used in Heartland: www.cbc.ca/heartland/blog/a-bit-of-real-history-of-the-he... youtu.be/7LEvpS4zd2E

An interesting article from AlbertaFarmer, published on 13 February 2017, about the MULTISAR (Multiple Species At Risk) program. Fifteen years ago, no one wanted to sign up for the conservation initiative. Now, ranchers in Alberta are so eager to make their grazing land better for native species, there’s a waiting list to sign up for the conservation program that makes it happen. Very good news! www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2017/02/13/multisar-conservatio... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friends, Dorothy and Stephen, made a decision to drive down south on 20 February 2017 and asked if I would like to go with them. As always, my answer was a delighted "Yes, please!" Our mutual friend, Janet, also came along. The weather forecast looked good, especially compared to the forecast snow for the next few days - actually, it's snowing very lightly as I type this. After meeting at their house, the four of us left at 8:30 am and drove to Nanton. If one travels on Highway 2, Nanton is a 46-minute drive from the southern edge of Calgary, about 72 kms. From Nanton, we basically drove in a huge circle between Highway 2 and Highway 22, covering such beautiful scenery. Some of these roads were new roads for us, certainly for me. Each year, I take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton, and my small group covers the area to the SW of Nanton, but much closer to the town than the area we explored two days ago. This photo of a beautiful old, wooden wagon was taken fairly early on the loop, before we got into the more rugged, hilly area, south into the Porcupine Hills. As you can see, there was very little snow to be seen - the lack of moisture must be a concern to some of the local farmers. Most of the fields were completely bare. My friends' target bird was the Golden Eagle, but all of us were happy as can be to see anything else that we might come across. As it turned out, not only did we not see a single Golden Eagle, there were not many birds of any kind to see all day. A flock of 50+ Starlings, and 25 Common Ravens, various Magpies, a few Pigeons, Canada Geese and a couple of heard Red-breasted Nuthatches were all that we saw. For animals, we saw one Coyote, 5 Mule Deer and a couple of White-tailed Deer. However, perhaps our biggest excitement came when we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive. We could see the huge herd in the distance, with one lone cowboy on his horse, coming towards us. The whole procession was following another farmer, driving very slowly with a huge hay bale in the back of his truck. After taking a quick few distant shots, we climbed back into our vehicle and waited, and waited, and waited till the very last cow had walked past us. The cowboy said he appreciated the fact that we had stopped, not wanting to spook any of the animals. As soon as they were past us, we climbed out of the car to take a quick photo or two. I think I've only ever seen a cattle drive maybe twice before. So good to see a genuine cowboy at work, doing what he does so well. Another interesting stop was when we were driving along part of the Sky View Road. We came across a logging sight, with a couple of large piles of cut logs waiting to be trucked out of the area. Fortunately, it was Family Day, so there were no huge logging trucks on the rough, gravel road leading up the hillside. We were hoping to reach the Lookout in case there were amazing views from up there, but we decided that it might be risky to drive the last part of the road that would have led to the Lookout. We had climbed high enough to already find a lot more snow and the rough road was not in the best condition. This was where we saw the two White-tailed Deer. We had seen beautiful views already, lower down the road, so we were happy. "Between the Rockies' vigorous upthrusts and the recumbent lines of the grassland plains, the Porcupine Hills provide a softly rounded interface, gentle contours that stir the heart, They are always so beautiful, from the wildflowers of spring to the hazy shimmer of summer and the sharp gold of fall aspens, and even in the austerity of a landscape under the sharp shadows of snow. The hills bring magic to all the seasons." These are the first few lines from the book, "Exploring the Routes Less Travelled - Country Roads of Alberta", by Liz Bryan. This is a book that my daughter gave me a year or two ago and I had forgotten just which journeys it covered. Last night, while I was Googling the area that I had just spent the day exploring with friends, Dorothy & Stephen, and Janet, I came across this book. The short chapter on this area made interesting reading. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a great day, exploring a new area. It was so much fun to see some new things and, of course, the scenery was spectacular. How lucky we are to live within reach of such beauty! Having been out so few times in the last few weeks and having taken barely any photos at all, this kind of day was exactly what I needed.

I love to see this bright red, old wagon that sits in Fish Creek Park by the Bow Valley Ranch. Next to it is the Artisan's Garden.

On 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 - the Hoodoo Trail. A few times since then, 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 had been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and 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 this day was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going! I think this was the longest day of driving I had ever done, especially to, and in, an area that I'd never driven to before. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have no 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 three main areas - The Hoodoo Trail, Dorothy and Rowley, in different directions from Drumheller (which is 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 going on this trip on that particular day. 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. So, the first of our destinations was The Hoodoo Trail, a small area of protected, spectacular hoodoos (rock formations), and then we went further, to the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy. I had longed, for such a long time, to see the two small, old churches that are to be found in Dorothy, as well as the old grain elevator. After that, we drove over 11 bridges and called in at the tiny hamlet of Wayne. We passed the old Atlas Coal Mine near the main highway, but, much as we would have liked to visit the mine, we knew that we just didn't have time. From Wayne, we continued to Rowley to see the three old grain elevators and to wander round part of this very small, historical place. I decided last night to add a filter to this image, to bring out a little more of the wood detail. 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 no longer 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!!

On 14 April 2014, I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns and anything else that we thought was interesting and/or beautiful. We thought this old farm wagon was a neat find. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less Mossleigh and Arrowwood, though it was disappointing that the "heat wave" distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos. It was quite a hazy day, which never helps. Once we got really close, the problem thankfully lessened.

This old wagon used to belong to the Burns family and it now sits near the Bow Valley Ranch, in Fish Creek Park. In a grey/white landscape, with grey/white sky above, the vivid red always says "Welcome"!

Came across this lovely old wagon south of the city when I got myself lost five days ago. The hoar frost was gorgeous and, for once, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.

This is what everyone in this city woke up to this morning! Decided it was a case of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and so I made myself go for a walk in a local park, down by the Bow Valley Ranch in Fish Creek Park. I headed for this bright red wagon, knowing that it was definitely an "I need RED" day!

Think I will have to go back to this wagon with nice fresh batteries. I am finding it hard to know when to use flash or not. Note to csharp_gal: I use Auto (well, the dial is turned to P) and I don't understand anything further, LOL! I did discover one nasty thing today, though - that if I use flash and there is very fine snow falling, the flash picks up those flecks and my photo is covered in most unpleasant little bright dots. Fortunately, not all my photos today suffered this way. I never know when to use flash, but I think, on the whole, my snow photos come out better when I use it - as long as there is no snow falling.

I was really happy to come across this old, red wagon this afternoon. Funny, I don't remember seeing it before. Or maybe I noticed it this time because of this new (no doubt temporary!) focus on colours. Such a beautiful colour against the snow. I have a photo of the whole wagon that I will post next time. I couldn't help but think of all those early pioneers who braved the bitter winters and difficult terrain to settle here.

I loved coming across this fine, old, red wagon today. So cheery in the snowy landscape.

Just a typical old wooden wheel seen on a ranch outside the city.