Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014March04

On 25 January 2014, I spent an amazing day with friends Cathy and Terry, SE of Calgary. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, though a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Along one of the roads, we came across these abandoned old buildings. Much as I love seeing and photographing birds, I have always loved old barns and homesteads, too. They have so much charm and character and always make me wonder who used to live in them and why they left. Unfortunately, there are people who enter such places, out of curiosity or to photograph the insides, and sometimes to steal various old items. These buildings always stand on land that is owned by someone, so removing any object is stealing. Also, of course, many of the crumbling buildings are unsafe. Sometimes, a No Trespassing sign is in view. My friends and I always stay on the road and photograph from a distance - thank goodness for zoom. Much as I would love to see the inside of some of these fascinating places, I've only ever been inside one, and that was on a botany day trip a few years ago, where we were shown around the farm buildings by the owner of the land. We were lucky enough to see 16 owls that day! 8 Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. Perhaps I should add that maybe 15 of the owls that were seen would never have been seen by less experienced birders (and I include myself in that category!). My friends have brilliant eyes when it comes to spotting owls! Just left me shaking my head each time they found one! I'm not too bad at finding owls, but not at that distance!

Thought this photo of the Bruderheim Windmill would make a change from owls and snow scenes : ) Taken on 14 September 2013, when I spent the day at Heritage Park with my youngest daughter and the photography group that she ran for a few months, including lunch at the old Wainwright Hotel. Great company, most enjoyable. "Wilhelm Mallon, a carpenter and blacksmith of German descent, arrived in Canada in 1910. He happily discovered that the sandy soil of his farm near Bruderheim, Alberta, about 50 kilometres north of Edmonton, grew a good crop of spring rye. The next step was building a mill to make the sort of rye bread that had been a staple back home in Belarus. From 1920 to 1924, Mallon completed this mill, which was the second he'd built on the farm. Mallon used hand tools to shape the gears, wheels and shafts from scrub birch, and shaped his millstones from granite found in the North Saskatchewan River. Despite being constantly hampered by a lack of wind, Mallon's mill did a good business in the area. In 1964, the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations donated the structure to Heritage Park, along with $35,000 for its restoration." www.heritagepark.ca/plan-your-visit/attractions-and-exhib... "Newcomers to Western Canada were dismayed by the scarcity and cost of flour. Those with a millwright’s skills often ground wheat or rye for the community. This was the case for Wilhelm Mallon, who built this windmill in the Bruderheim district near Edmonton. Mallon used only materials at hand. Local timber provided the framework. The gears, wheels and shafts were made from scrub birch. Paraffin wax was used to lubricate all moving parts. There was not a single piece of metal in the original millworks. Mallon’s mill turned out 150 pounds of flour each day if the winds were right. As was the custom, the miller kept a portion of each run as a payment for his services." www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2CKR_Bruderheim_Windmill_He...