Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: deep red

I almost didn't take a photo of this barn, because it wasn't old and weathered, but I loved the fact that the owners had added something attractive to their farm and not one of the "ugly" metal quansets. On 12 September 2015, I drove further than I've ever driven before in one day - a total of 410 km (254 miles). This particular farm scene was taken along one of the backroads on the way to Bowden, Alberta. I met my daughter at 9:00 am and we headed northwards, with our main destination being the Bowden Sunflower Maze. She was feeling well enough after her recent hospital stay, to get out for a day trip. The quickest route from Calgary is a distance of 96 km (60 miles), but I needed to avoid the main, busy route. Also, the backroads are more pleasant to drive - less traffic and, if one is lucky, the occasional old barn. There was one barn in particular that I had seen last year, that I really wanted to show my daughter and this took us a little out of our way. We drove through the town of Olds, stopping briefly to take a couple of photos of the bright orange grain elevator. Going north, we drove the roads to the west of the main Highway 2, and on our return trip we drove the roads to the east of Highway 2. I think this trip really convinced my daughter, more strongly than ever, that sadly she has a mother with almost zero sense of direction! This was the first time I had ever been to Bowden and the Sunflower Maze. For years, I had wished we had a field of Sunflowers somewhere within reach, as I had seen so many gorgeous photos taken by other people in various parts of the world. I certainly didn't get photos like those, but I was happy to get any shots at all. Apparently, that weekend was going to be the last chance to really see the flowers, so we were only just in time. This maze at Eagle Creek Farm is apparently the only Sunflower Maze in Canada. There is also an adjoining Corn Maze, but neither of us wanted to walk through that one, thanks to remembering the horror movie, "Children of the Corn"! The farm also has U-pick vegetables and flowers. www.sunmaze.ca/ Thanks, Rachel, for spending the day with me - and for all your directions getting us there and back to the city! Lucky we went when we did, as it rained the next few days.

Yesterday, a botanizing outing had been planned to an acreage west of Calgary, near the hamlet of Bragg Creek. The forecast included rain, which started just as I left home. Hoping that it would have stopped by the time I had driven out there, I decided to still go. Only two others arrived and, after a while, it became obvious that the rain was not going to let up, so back home I went. Not before I was told to drive down the driveway to look at a couple of old barns that had been renovated. The present owners of the property have only lived there for four months. This morning, it's raining again. We desperately needed rain, but if only it could rain just at night.

This plant had deeper red bracts than I usually see - quite a pretty colour. Photographed near Forgetmenot Pond, Elbow Falls Trail, Kananaskis, on August 16th. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja