Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: the Saskatoon Farm

Thinking especially of you and your family, Pam, on this special day of Thanksgiving. I know you have much to be thankful for, and I join with everyone else in saying that we are all so thankful that you are still here, and making great progress. Hope all my American friends will be lucky enough to enjoy a turkey (or equivalent such as vegetarian) dinner tomorrow, 22 November 2018, the US Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for, though of course more so for some people than others - thinking of all the devastation and loss in California. A special Happy Thanksgiving to all those US servicemen and women (and their families, who also make so many sacrifices), who risk their lives on a daily basis, in order to keep the rest safe and free. Happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow),to all Americans, whatever part of the world you are living in. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on 8 October this year. This photo was taken on 6 September 2018, which turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again on this day, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot, though this one was taken with my old Panasonic FZ200. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting. So far, apart from this major issue, I think I am liking how the P900 takes photos.

Hope all my American friends will be lucky enough to enjoy a turkey (or equivalent such as vegetarian) dinner tomorrow, 22 November 2018, the US Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for, though of course more so for some people than others - thinking of all the devastation and loss in California. A special Happy Thanksgiving to all those US servicemen and women (and their families, who also make so many sacrifices), who risk their lives on a daily basis, in order to keep the rest safe and free. Happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow),to all Americans, whatever part of the world you are living in. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on 8 October this year. This photo was taken on 6 September 2018, which turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again on this day, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot, though this one was taken with my old Panasonic FZ200. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting. So far, apart from this major issue, I think I am liking how the P900 takes photos.

Ha, I almost titled this: "Remember my face while you eat your turkey dinner"! This Turkey lives at the Saskatoon Farm, SE of Calgary. I'm never sure whether to call this bird a Wild Turkey or just a Turkey. Took this shot on 8 September 2017, knowing that Thanksgiving was coming up. I find it hard to put the two together - the naked, frozen bird that you see in the supermarket, and this huge, magnificently-feathered, living creature : ) Hope this doesn't spoil your appetite! Here in Canada, it is our Thanksgiving long weekend, with tomorrow, Monday 9 October 2017, being the official Thanksgiving Day. Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (today) and others on the Monday (tomorrow). I wanted to wish all Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day in this country, even in difficult or sad times! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy and safe time, everyone, whether you are fortunate enough to get together with family or spend the time quietly by yourself. On the day I took this photo, I decided on the spur of the moment, to drive south to the Saskatoon Farm. I wasn't sure what I would be doing that weekend and wanted to make sure I went there to buy a few of their vegetables and fruit. I knew that a weekend would be a much busier time and definitely wanted to avoid that. I also wanted to photograph a few of their beautiful Artichoke flowers before they were all past their prime. These flowers were very popular with the bees, which was so good to see. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera, catching one of the cats, one of the dogs, and a few of the chickens, an old tractor, as well as flowers. I never return home with an empty memory card when I visit this place. Unfortunately, it was a smoky day (what's new?) with the air quality rating an unpleasant High Risk level. In fact, I almost turned back before I was half way there. This interesting place is maybe a 25-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. www.saskatoonfarm.com/ We had snow this morning, 8 October 2017 - all five minutes of it : ) I don't mind that kind of snow. Our temperature shortly before noon is 3C (windchill -3C).

Another day of snow today, 10 October 2016. Needed something colourful to post and thought I'd add this Wild Turkey that I photographed a few weeks ago, at the Saskatoon Farm. Our temperature this morning is -2C (windchill -6C) and tomorrow morning, it's forecast to be -7C (windchill -11C). Looks like we should be having sunshine for a few days, though, which makes all the difference. Here in Canada, it is our Thanksgiving long weekend, with today, Monday 10 October 2015, being the official Thanksgiving Day. Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (yesterday) and others on the Monday (today). Have a happy and safe time, whether you are fortunate enough to get together with family or friends, or spend the time quietly by yourself. On 21 September 2016, I left home in sunshine, but by the time I reached my destination south of the city, at the Saskatoon Farm, it was overcast and dreary. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food - I had a delicious meal of quiche and sweet potato fries. www.saskatoonfarm.com/

This is NOT my main photo posted this morning! It is the second photo - the Tree Swallow close-up is supposed to be my MAIN image, but Flickr seems to be messing up again the past week. In the morning of 25 September 2015, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. This photo was taken looking across the large pond on the Dovers' property. I will copy and paste the description I posted on Flickr from our first visit to the Dover's acreage, on 7 August 2015 (to jog my own memory!): "Yesterday, 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land. This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little gems exist out there. This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion! There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. It was while walking around the latter that a large brown 'shape' could be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and will slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!). There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen! Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! Yesterday, while I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area. There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens. books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp... www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/... David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link. www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP... ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc... glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45 ." After our visit to the Dover's on 25 September 2015, I decided to drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the gift shop has recently been renovated and they now have a pizza oven and area.

Ha, I almost titled this: "Remember my face while you eat your turkey dinner"! This Turkey lives at the Saskatoon Farm, SE of Calgary. I'm never sure whether to call this bird a Wild Turkey or just a Turkey. Took this quick shot on 25 September 2015, knowing that Thanksgiving was coming up. Here in Canada, it is our Thanksgiving long weekend, with today, Monday 12 October 2015, being the official Thanksgiving Day. I wanted to wish all Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day, in this country, even in difficult or sad times! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy, safe time, everyone! Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (yesterday) and others on the Monday (today). Have a happy and safe time, whether you are lucky enough to get together with family or spend the time quietly by yourself. I find it hard to put the two together - the naked, frozen bird that you see in the supermarket, and this huge, magnificently-feathered, living creature : ) Hope this doesn't spoil your appetite!

This photo was taken ten days ago, on 25 September 2015, at the Saskatoon Farm. just SE of Calgary. They have a short row of buildings there, housing the restaurant and gift shop. There is just something I like about the building on which this beautiful ornamental sun is hanging. In the morning of that day, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. After our visit to the Dover's. I decided that I would drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the restaurant/gift store building has been changed and now one can order home-made pizza. Quite a nice touch, I thought. I don't usually eat pizza, maybe once a year or less, so this made a change. www.saskatoonfarm.com/

Argh! I overslept by almost an hour - will have to finish all my descriptions, etc., later today. This photo was taken two days ago, on 25 September 2015, at the Saskatoon Farm. just SE of Calgary. They have a short row of buildings there, housing the restaurant and gift shop. There is just something I like about this particular building. On that day, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. After our visit to the Dover's. I decided that I would drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the restaurant/gift store building has been changed and now one can order home-made pizza. Quite a nice touch, I thought. I don't usually eat pizza, maybe once a year or less, so this made a change. www.saskatoonfarm.com/

I'm never sure whether to call this bird just a Turkey or a Wild Turkey - to me, it looks like the Wild Turkeys I have seen in the wild, but it lives at the Saskatoon Farm, a short drive SE of Calgary. There is a pair of them, sharing an enclosure with several different varieties of chicken. Are Turkeys that are raised for meat, white (so that their skin isn't pigmented)? Here in Canada, it was our Thanksgiving weekend, with today, Monday 13 October 2014, being the official Thanksgiving Day. I wanted to wish all Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day, in this country! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too often the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy, safe time, everyone! Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (yesterday) and others on the Monday (today). Yesterday, I had a lot to be thankful for, lol! For the first time in almost two years, I made myself drive east of the city on my own. Recently, I did drive all the way to Drumheller and the Badlands, but I had my youngest daughter with me. The weather was so beautiful again yesterday and, after six days of not going out with my camera, I was itching to go "somewhere". I had been worried all week, as my oldest daughter had developed a haematoma in her upper thigh and, though she had been to Emergency straight away, I wasn't sure if she was going to end up in the hospital at any time. A number of years ago, she had a massive, major blood vessel aneurysm in her leg, which left her bruised from her toes to the top of her thigh. It had meant a stay in the hospital that time and they weren't sure if it had damaged the main nerve in her leg (which would have meant she could no longer walk). It took her six months to recover from this. This time, thankfully, it was a smaller thing, though it will still take a few weeks for the haematoma to fully drain. I just didn't feel like going off anywhere, but yesterday, I thought it would do me good to get out in the sunshine and fresh air. Once my daughter's leg has healed, she can then go for new X-Rays in preparation for getting two knee replacement surgeries! Along highway 22X going east from the city, they spent so many months on major road construction, building the eastern part of a huge ring road around the city. This was one of the main reasons I hadn't driven out that way for so long, as the roads were one huge confusion. After yesterday, I can't see myself going out that way ever again, lol! Knowing that I had to concentrate really hard on all the endless, new road signs, I was fairly sure that, now that construction had more or less ended, all I would have to do was drive in a straight line. Well, somehow, I was in the wrong lane and, to my horror, I found myself heading north on the new ring road. All I could do was just keep driving, hoping I would eventually hit Glenmore Trail which would take me east of the city. Thankfully, that is exactly what happened. I did end up in a totally different area to the east, but ended up seeing two beautiful barns - a red one and a white one - because of it. Later in the afternoon, I ended up roughly in the area I had originally planned on, thinking that the drive back to Calgary would be just one straight line on 22X. Finding my way to 22X brought me to two lovely finds - an old grain elevator that I didn't know about, and a Great Horned Owl (48x zoom and well cropped). How wrong I was about the return drive! Somehow, I found myself on Deerfoot Trail, heading south towards the Canada/US border (well, Okotoks might be a little less of an exaggeration, lol!). Nothing I could do, but just keep driving south until I was able to turn off at some familiar place - which happened to be The Saskatoon Farm : ) Fancy that, their restaurant was pretty much empty and I was just in time to enjoy their Quiche meal : )) And so, I eventually arrived back home, feeling both relieved - anyone with a driving phobia will understand! - and so happy and thankful for my various finds. HAPPY THANKSGIVING, everyone!

My youngest daughter treated me to a great day out on Saturday, 24 May 2014, for my birthday, which was actually the following day, but I had the annual May Species Count that day. After trying to find a few birds close to Frank Lake, SE of Calgary, we then went to the Saskatoon Farm for a delicious lunch and to wander the grounds with our cameras. I kind of liked this Gecko, embedded in a colourful outside wall - there were a couple of frogs in the wall, too. Felt so good to see colourful flowers after such a long, brutal winter. Thanks so much, Rachel, for such an enjoyable day, with so many treats! www.saskatoonfarm.com/

My youngest daughter treated me to a great day out on Saturday, 24 May 2014, for my birthday, which was actually the following day, but I had the annual May Species Count that day. After trying to find a few birds close to Frank Lake, SE of Calgary, we then went to the Saskatoon Farm for a delicious lunch and to wander the grounds with our cameras. This is one of several gargoyles seen around the Farm. Felt so good to see colourful flowers after such a long, brutal winter. Thanks so much, Rachel, for such an enjoyable day, with so many treats! www.saskatoonfarm.com/

I love this idea for an outside wall - they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken two days ago, 6 February 2014, when I went with my youngest daughter to the Saskatoon Farm after a few hours of searching for a Snowy Owl in vain. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food!

... keeps the doctor away. Needed a colourful, warm image to add to my photostream, as I'll be posting a number of cold, white and blue shots. Yesterday was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Nanton, an hour's drive S of Calgary. Two friends and I covered the SW quarter of the huge circle around this small town and a number of other people, including a few from that area, drove the backroads of the rest of the circle. I absolutely love the scenery that we cover between approximately 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. In winter, these rolling hills have a special charm, though they are not the best roads for driving, especially the gravel roads. There were a few roads that we had to miss out because there was just too much snow on the ground. Also, the snow made it either difficult or impossible to walk round some of the farmyards that we call in at, so we were unable to search all the bushes and trees that we would have liked to. Not a whole lot of birds this year, though we enjoyed finding two extremely distant Golden Eagles and two Bald Eagles. Another bird that either we don't normally see or hadn't seen before in our quadrant was the Mountain Chickadee. My next posted photo was the "best" I managed to get of one of them, but at least you can see the black and white striped head, for those of you who are not familiar with this small bird. Will add the complete list of the birds we managed to find as soon as I receive it. On the drive S from Calgary, the coldest temperature we encountered was -34C (-29.2 F) - and that's without any windchill! Brutally cold temperatures, but thankfully no wind, which makes all the difference. The next few days are supposed to be warmer. The image above was taken on 28 September 2013, when I went with my youngest daughter to the Saskatoon Farm for a few hours. I have an appointment this morning and apparently it's impossible to park there. Haven't had to use a cab for years (?), but ended up having to book one for today. Need to dash.

On the Internet, I saw a couple of photos of flowers just like this one, that were identified as Purple Star Thistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, but lots of photos of a different plant that had this name. So, I don't think I do have the right name. Could it be Silybum marianum? Yes, I think that is what it probably is - also called Milk Thistle. Anyway, I thought it was a beautiful plant, though the purple flower was on its last legs. Taken on 28 September 2013, when I spent a most enjoyable few hours at the Saskatoon Farm with my youngest daughter and two members of the photography group that she leads. It's a fascinating place to visit, maybe 20 minutes' drive south from the southern edge of Calgary, with all sorts of things to photograph, a gift shop, a food shop, and a restaurant that offers delicious food! I love their quiche. So nice to just wander at leisure and have lunch together. This was the very first time that I had driven there, though I had been with various friends maybe three or so times before. So, that's one more place I can now drive to, which feels good. "Silybum marianum (milk thistle) is an annual or biannual plant of the Asteraceae family. This fairly typical thistle has red to purple flowers and shiny pale green leaves with white veins. Originally a native of Southern Europe through to Asia, it is now found throughout the world. The medicinal parts of the plant are the ripe seeds. Other common names for this species include blessed milk thistle, Marian Thistle, Mary Thistle, Saint Mary's Thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle. "Milk thistle has also been known to be used as food. Around the 16th century the milk thistle became quite popular and almost all parts of it were eaten. The roots can be eaten raw or boiled and buttered or par-boiled and roasted. The young shoots in spring can be cut down to the root and boiled and buttered. The spiny bracts on the flower head were eaten in the past like globe artichoke, and the stems (after peeling) can be soaked overnight to remove bitterness and then stewed. The leaves can be trimmed of prickles and boiled and make a good spinach substitute or they can also be added raw to salads." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silybum_marianum www.saskatoonfarm.com Posting really early today as it's the annual High River Christmas Bird Count, half an hour's drive south of Calgary. Unfortunately, there is a Wind Alert in place, for winds up to 100 km! I would imagine all the birds will be hiding in hidden, sheltered places. Will be interesting. I think it's only -1C at the moment - snow forecast for late today. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Spent a most enjoyable few hours at the Saskatoon Farm on 28 September 2013, with my youngest daughter and two members of the photography group that she leads. It's a fascinating place to visit, with all sorts of things to photograph, a gift shop, a food shop, and a restaurant that offers delicious food! I love their quiche. So nice to just wander at leisure with our cameras and have lunch together. This was the very first time that I had driven there, though I had been with various friends maybe three or so times before. So, that's one more place I can now drive to, which feels good. The Saskatoon Farm is about 20 minutes' drive south of Calgary, and this is one of the views seen from the farm. www.saskatoonfarm.com

I needed colour for my uploads today - I think I've been looking at too many green moss and green lichen images recently : ) I couldn't compose an image of these old teapots quite how I would have liked, because I had to peer through a gap in the trees to see them. However, I love this idea for an outside wall and love the shade of blue of the pottery. Actually, they also had other colours of teapots on different parts of the wall. Taken on 28 September 2013 when I went with my youngest daughter and two of the people from the photography group she leads, to the Saskatoon Farm. This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive south from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, at their inside gift shop full of very unusual things, buy special baking, jams, teas and so on, and they also have a restaurant that offers absolutely delicious food! It was so enjoyable to wander everywhere with our cameras and then have a great lunch.

Monday, October 14th is the Canadian Thanksgiving, so I wanted to wish all my fellow Canadians a very Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day, in this country! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too often the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy, safe time, everyone! Photographed on 28 September 2013 at the Saskatoon Farm, a 20-minute drive south from the southern edge of Calgary.

On the Internet, I saw a couple of photos of flowers just like this one, that were identified as Purple Star Thistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, but lots of photos of a different plant that had this name. So, I don't think I do have the right name. Could it be Silybum marianum? Yes, I think that is what it is - also called Milk Thistle. Anyway, I thought it was a beautiful plant, though the purple flower was on its last legs. Taken on 28 September 2013, when I spent a most enjoyable few hours at the Saskatoon Farm with my youngest daughter and two members of the photography group that she leads. It's a fascinating place to visit, with all sorts of things to photograph, a gift shop, a food shop, and a restaurant that offers delicious food! I love their quiche. So nice to just wander at leisure and have lunch together. This was the very first time that I had driven there, though I had been with various friends maybe three or so times before. So, that's one more place I can now drive to, which feels good. "Silybum marianum (milk thistle) is an annual or biannual plant of the Asteraceae family. This fairly typical thistle has red to purple flowers and shiny pale green leaves with white veins. Originally a native of Southern Europe through to Asia, it is now found throughout the world. The medicinal parts of the plant are the ripe seeds. Other common names for this species include blessed milk thistle, Marian Thistle, Mary Thistle, Saint Mary's Thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silybum_marianum www.saskatoonfarm.com