Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: front of barn

On 21 December 2015, my daughter and I had our Christmas get-together. Like the previous year, she asked if I wanted to spend the day out of the city, looking for Snowy Owls (and other things). We were both so happy to at least see a (very distant) Snowy Owl, which she cleverly spotted, even though we had hoped to find a much closer one. Thank goodness, last year, my daughter and I did see and photograph beautiful Snowies that were closer. Finding one of these magnificent birds of prey was not the only purpose in our minds, though. It was our Christmas get-together, and we had a great day, in beautiful sunshine and in one of my favourite areas to explore. We had first planned to go NE of the city, but my daughter, waiting for her surgery on 11 January 2016, didn't feel up to travelling that far. So, plans changed and instead, we went first to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast. 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. www.saskatoonfarm.com/ Afterwards, we then went a bit further south, to drive some of the roads east of High River, hoping to possibly find a Snowy Owl. We went as far as Mossleigh, where we stopped to take a few quick photos of the three grain elevators and later found a group of old barn, house and silo that I don't remember seeing before. This photo shows a closer view of the top half of the front of the barn. These buildings were off the main road, but fortunately the narrow gravel road/trail had enough snow packed on it that the short drive was very smooth. From there, we stopped at the little wooden church at Dinton. I'm not sure, but I think the 'brick' covering of the old house that is standing near this barn is called insulbrick. "The name Insulbrick is misleading because it is not a brick. This imitation brick has been popular for years and still can be found on some older houses, garages and workshops. Insulbrick is a fibreboard sheathing coated with tar and added granular material, similar to asphalt shingles. The surface was stamped with a brick or rectangular stone pattern. Insulbrick is a brand name and was used for all types of asphalt siding much like most tissues are called Kleenex. As a rule, tar paper and Insulbrick were applied over wood siding. Insulbrick was the preferred choice for replacement siding until aluminum and vinyl siding became available in the late 1950s. Asphalt siding was available from the 1930s to about 1960. Houses clad in Insulbrick can appear to be brick houses from a distance. Insulbrick carried an UL rating for fire suppression and had an insulating value of R 1.3. It was easy and quick to install. The siding also provided an excellent hiding place for insects." www.eureka4you.com/home/SidingInsul.htm Later in the afternoon, we couldn't resist the temptation to call in at Glamorgan Bakery on the way home and buy a few Christmas goodies, followed by a desperately needed food shopping trip. I just hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping and had run out of even basic things. This was a huge relief, especially as I had a very long day the next day, taking part in the Drumheller area Christmas Bird Count. Thanks so much for a great day out, Rachel. The best kind of day, as far as I am concerned : ) Many thanks, too, for the beautiful, very carefully chosen (as always!) Christmas gifts. Love the owl that looks rather like a furry, stuffed children's toy, that is in fact a wonderful heat pad (that you warm in the microwave), full of lavender.

21 January 2015, my daughter and I spent the day together, out in nature. I know I needed to get out myself and the fact that my daughter asked if we could do that, told me that she, too, desperately needed to get a break from all the sadness and reminders of her big sister/my older daughter for a few hours. Friends had been telling me how important it is to be outdoors with my camera, especially at a time like this, and I know they are right. Much as it would have been great to have gone looking for Snowy Owls, I just didn't feel up to that long of a drive. Instead, I drove to a much more familiar, closer area, SE of the city. The day was a mix of sun and cloudiness, and though the sun was in the wrong position for some of our shots, we did OK. As for birds, we saw a couple of Great Horned Owls, a very distant Snowy Owl, a raptor of some kind (either a Prairie Falcon or a Gyrfalcon), several Gray Partridge and what I think were Horned Larks. The rest of the day, my daughter and I drove mostly roads that we had driven before, except for one short stretch where we found not just one beautiful, old, red barn, but two. This photo was taken at the second barn - previously posted image of the whole barn is in a comment box below. This day was as much a barn day as a bird day, as there was one particular barn that I really wanted to see for the first time. We were lucky that this second barn was just down the road. Normally, I never walk from the road on to the surrounding land, even when there is no "No Trespassing" sign, so we were standing on the road, photographing this second barn. While we were there, a lady on horseback came towards us along the road, calling out that it was her property, so to go over and explore. We had to smile when she apologized that the barn wasn't in better condition - as we told her, we like barns to be old and weathered, of course! I think being out with our cameras, driving the backroads, was therapeutic - certainly for me, as I could enjoy my daughter's company, and hopefully for her, too.

This is the view of the front of this old barn, which is more weathered than the back. The light, too, was not good. Three recent shots of the back of the barn, the inside stables, and a window close-up all belong to this barn. Another photo I posted today shows the view taken from the inside of the barn, looking out of the open front door that you can see in this photo. The view shows a distant larger red barn that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time. Four days ago, 21 January 2015, my daughter and I spent the day together, out in nature. I know I needed to get out myself and the fact that my daughter asked if we could do that, told me that she, too, desperately needed to get a break from all the sadness and reminders of her big sister/my older daughter for a few hours. Friends have been telling me how important it is to be outdoors with my camera, especially at a time like this, and I know they are right. Much as it would have been great to have gone looking for Snowy Owls, I just didn't feel up to that long of a drive. Instead, I drove to a much more familiar, closer area, SE of the city. The day was a mix of sun and cloudiness, and though the sun was in the wrong position for some of our shots, we did OK. As for birds, we saw a couple of Great Horned Owls, a very distant Snowy Owl, a raptor of some kind (either a Prairie Falcon or a Gyrfalcon), several Gray Partridge and what I think must have been Horned Larks. The rest of the day, my daughter and I drove mostly roads that we had driven before, except for one short stretch where we found these two old, red barns. This day was as much a barn day as a bird day, Normally, I never walk from the road on to the surrounding land, even when there is no "No Trespassing" sign, so we were standing on the road, photographing this second barn. While we were there, a lady on horseback came towards us along the road, calling out that it was her property, so to go over and explore. A similar story to the Great Horned Owl story under one of my recent images, thanks to someone's kindness. We smiled when she apologized that the barn wasn't in better condition - as we told her, we like barns to be old and weathered, of course! I think being out with our cameras, driving the backroads, was therapeutic - certainly for me as I could enjoy my daughter's company, and hopefully for her, too.