Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: houses

I so rarely see a Red Fox, so I wanted to add this to my albums, just for the record. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the 'wrong' side of the car, and also zoomed in too far. I suspect heat distortion also added to the awful quality of this image. I joined nine birding friends on 25 March 2018 for a trip east of the city. Not a lot of birds to be seen, but we were lucky to start the day with a Brown Creeper and end the day with a single male Mountain Bluebird. This was the first Bluebird I had seen this year - they are just starting to arrive now. No Snowy Owls were seen. A new bird species for me was a juvenile Iceland Gull. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is way past time that I add apologies for falling way behind, not only with my commenting on other people’s photos, but also on keeping up with my own postings. Over the last three or four months, it has been one thing after another that needed to be dealt with – why is it that the unwelcome things never seem to come one at a time, ha? Times like Thanksgiving and Christmas are always difficult times for me, along with various 3rd anniversaries connected to my older daughter. For some reason, this season was more difficult than last year. I could definitely have done without the whole hassle of having to sort out and fix the mess that was caused when someone (or two separate people) tried to make suspicious purchases using my credit card, resulting in my card being cancelled (without any notification from the Bank!) and various services being shut down. Took about five weeks to get everything sorted out. Throw in a long issue with a camera that I bought more than a year ago and am still trying to get the manufacturer to fix the problem. When I use Playback, the camera keeps skipping over some of the photos, and it has done this since I first used the camera. When I went back to the store at the beginning, I was told that it would have to be sent off for repair. I couldn’t do that because I needed it for my Trinidad & Tobago trip. Finally, I let it be sent off just before the warranty ended, shortly before Christmas. It was so-called “repaired” and returned, but in fact it was exactly the same as before. Now I am without it for the second time, hoping that this time it will actually be fixed. Not the end of the world, that’s for sure, though photography is vital to me. I am still working on a major photo contract, which I will describe once the whole thing is finished. I’ll just say that it is a very special and exciting project for someone, involving a set of images that I took a few decades ago. Stress over my daughter’s upcoming major surgery is unavoidable and we will both be enormously relieved when it is all over with. Heavily overshadowing everything during the past three or so months was my own health. After worrying myself sick, and for much too long, I finally saw my doctor, who ordered various tests including an ultrasound, to see if I had cancer. Three days ago, I was told that nothing of any concern had been found, to my huge relief. I’d like to think that I will never be in that situation again, as ‘terrifying’ would be the word to describe it. How I feel for all those who are not so fortunate to get good news. Anyway, all these things left me feeling totally stressed out and drained, with no energy to do much at all. The day before I had my tests done, I knew I just had to get out and look for an owl, and I was so lucky : ) I have taken so few photos the last few months, which I always find depressing. Yesterday and the day before, too, I just had to get out on a couple of day trips with friends. Too tired to add descriptions on Flickr the last two mornings, but hopefully I will catch up. Thank you to anyone who happens to read this!

Two days ago, 7 November 2015, I was out all day with my daughter. She had asked if I wanted to go to several Christmas Fairs south of Calgary, including Millarville and Okotoks. Then, in the evening, I was out at the annual 'Banquet' for the nature group I belong to. So, the whole day was most enjoyable. I think half of Calgary as well as everyone from the surrounding areas were there at the same Christmas markets. Everywhere was absolutely packed! Normally, I don't go to any Christmas fairs any more, but it does make a lovely day out with my daughter. Each Christmas, I treat myself to one new thing, and this year was no exception : ) Also bought a Bison and roast vegetable pie from the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch exhibit, the first time I had ever tried anything from them. Our drive in between fairs took us through some beautiful scenery. I absolutely love our rolling hills with the Rocky Mountains in the distance - partially zoomed in, so the mountains look closer than they really are. Love them at any time of the year, but I especially love to see them in fall and when covered in snow. Took this shot when we stopped to photograph a row of six wooden granaries plus two round silos. I waited and waited for there to be no cars in sight, but had to give up in the end. How dfferent everywhere will be looking today, though - a winter wonderland! It has been snowing since last night and everywhere is under a blanket of snow. The temperature this morning is 0C (windchill -3C). We have been so lucky to have enjoyed an amazing fall season, so we really shouldn't complain.

Posting later than usual today, as I was just too tired last night to find and edit three photos to upload. I really don't enjoy having to do it in the morning : ) This was taken yesterday, 22 October 2015, at a wetland in the SW of the city. Earlier, I had been to collect my car after getting my snow tires put on. I knew that everyone would be wanting to make an appointment for this reason if I left it much longer. From the tire place, I decided to call in at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on the way home. As sometimes happens, I saw nothing but a little Red Squirrel, but the light was so bad that my few photos all came out blurred. Feeling a little disappointed, I called in at this wetland area in the SW, where I knew there would at least be a few Mallards to photograph. It was such a beautiful, sunny day, it seemed a shame to be indoors - though this big, black cloud did roll in towards the end. Sure enough, the Mallards were there, plus a Coot or two, a pair of distant Ring-necked Ducks, a pair of Canada Geese, and a Lesser Scaup. I really do need to practice my skills when it comes to photographing ducks that are swimming fast, as most of my shots came out very blurry! Ha, I've just checked our weather forecast and I see that it is supposed to snow tomorrow! The morning temperature should be -1C, warming to 7C in the afternoon. I'm definitely not ready for this, even if my car is!

When I was on a walk with friends on Sunday morning, we were walking along the path down by the edge of the Bow River in the LaFarge area. For maybe 45 minutes or an hour, we heard the distant call/bark of a Coyote. It was a little difficult to tell if it was just a single animal or more, but the sound didn't stop. When we climbed up to the main path, we were able to see this lone Coyote, way across open grassland and on a slight hill near the extremely distant houses. This is a fully-zoomed and heavily cropped image of an animal that I could barely see with my naked eye, lol. It always amazes me how you can get a photo from such a very long distance. Always worth trying. Despite the awful graininess, I liked the head tilted and mouth open in mid-call. It seemed very strange behaviour - I wonder if it had a mate with it, that was in trouble. Guess I'll never know ....

Just a small part of a beautiful sky that accompanied us on a bird walk a few days ago, from Bankside to Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park. Taken on the same day as the tiny fungi in my previous image. Can you tell that there were no birds close enough to photograph, ha?

Just a small part of 12 Mile Coulee, up in the north west part of the city, where a handful of us walked yesterday afternoon. On the return walk, the snow began to fall : ) We had wanted to see some rare Townsendia hookeri plants and we were lucky! There were also lots of Prairie Crocus in bloom.

This stormwater holding pond is at the site of a city Pumping Station. Four of us went there this morning at the request of a lady who wants to learn a lot more about the flora and fauna of the surroundings. She volunteers to keep the area tidy and to find out more, in order to write an informative article for her local Newsletter. All being well, more people will become familiar with the plants and birds that live here. One of our interesting finds was what looked like a dead Mudpuppy (salamander) floating in the water.