Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: beehives

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 playing 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. There is a total of seven wetland basins, including these. 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On the way home, I couldn't resist stopping at this familiar row of colourful old granaries. I had seen someone's photo, taken fairly recently, of the surrounding fields golden with Canola. I was, sadly, too late, but I took a photo anyway - of course!

Five days ago, on 4 June 2015, it was a dry day, though a thunderstorm was forecast. After grey skies and rain the previous couple of days, I felt like going for a drive. Started at a wetland in SW Calgary, where I saw the usual Lesser Scaup and Redheads. The male Redhead did not like any of the other ducks around him and would chase away each one in turn. Quite the bully! Also managed to get a few more shots of a Common Grackle, though they move fast and seemingly constantly. From there, I drove some of my usual backroads SW of the city. The clouds were building up quite dramatically, and I stopped at one wetland where they were reflected quite beautifully. I didn't see all that many birds, but was content to get a few chances to photograph a pair of Mountain Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, an Eastern Kingbird, and a Savannah Sparrow. No Wilson's Snipe this time, though I thought I had one on a distant fence post. Turned out to be a Mourning Dove - only the second time I've ever seen one on a fence post. Also saw a Swainson's Hawk which flew and landed on a high power pole near where the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows were nesting. The Tree Swallows, in true fashion, were causing the Bluebirds enough stress by flying and landing just a foot or two away from the Bluebirds' nesting box. The male Bluebird did such a great job of chasing away its rather beautiful, iridescent neighbours - which I also enjoy photographing. On the way home, I couldn't resist stopping at this row of colourful old granaries. The last photo I posted of them was taken on a cloudless sky and it was a rather uninspiring image. When I called in there five days ago, the field was full of Dandelions (mainly gone to seed) and the sky was full of clouds. So, a short trip, but one that I always enjoy, especially each spring. I never forget how lucky I am to live near such beautiful places and be able to see the local birds and wildlife. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some of you have already seen the following information, but for anyone else who might be interested, the folllowing link, with the information below, answers the question: "WHY ARE BARNS USUALLY PAINTED RED?" home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm "If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red. Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from? In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories. One is that wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red. The other is that farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay. Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse. As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up. Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used."

A rather plain capture of this well-known row of five red granaries - you really need some photogenic clouds or snow to make the photo more interesting. However, I couldn't resist just stopping by to see them and to check out the changes in the field that I had seen the last time I was there. My next photo might just be of interest to a handful of local people, as until the land was recently taken over by new owners, the field had been just one huge, open field. Now there are a few patches of trees dotted here and there, and also a line of coniferous and deciduous trees just inside the fence line. Three days ago, on 17 May 2015, I finally got out with my camera for a few hours. The previous few days had been dreary and overcast, with rain the last couple of the days. The sense of freedom felt so good, as I stopped in at a wetland in SW Calgary and then drove a familiar loop along the backroads SW of the city. At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. Something I didn't know until a few minutes ago is that many female Redheads make no nests of their own, but instead lay their eggs in the nests of other ducks. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from which I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them. A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of a pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than in previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. Makes me thankful to have seen the pair fairly close 10 days ago. From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes. In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I did manage to get a few distant shots of the Teal. At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra (apparently a Trumpeter). I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby. Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of American Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a distant Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! Surprisingly, it didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots. From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car. It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was, as always, happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.

Finding it hard to get myself moving since returning from my wonderful week with friends, Linda and Tony, driving down to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. Wish I was still down there and that my special friends were still here - they should be back home in England by now. However, made myself take off for a couple of hours two days ago (23 September 2012), driving a few of the gravel backroads SW of the city, before all signs of fall have disappeared. Discovered that there was an unpleasant haze, presumably due to forest fires, and the mountains could barely be seen. By the way, there is a For Sale sign by the fence, so I really hope that any eventual buyer lets this beautiful row of five old granaries remain standing.