Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: ewe

Back to a day out in Kananaskis with friend, Pam, on 5 September 2019. On 5 September 2019, friend Pam and I had a great day out in Kananaskis. It had been just over two months since I drove myself out there, but Pam had been only two days before. There were a few different places that she wanted to stop, and she was hoping to see a bear - preferably a Grizzly, but we were out of luck for that. However, we were lucky enough to see two Black Bears, which was such a treat. Our day started off really well, leaving the city at 7:00 am. Driving along a backroad SW of the city, a small, rather cute, old barn was our first find. It was set back from the road a little and easily missed, so I'm glad I spotted it. Further on, we came across a White-tailed Deer feeding in a field, and it looked so beautiful in the early morning sun. Normally, I don't get out this early and I know I miss that special light. After quite a bit of driving, we were taken by surprise by our first Black Bear sighting of the day. Definitely not in a place that we would have expected. The animal was a long way off, part way up a big hill, and would have been very easy to miss. Luckily, a vehicle had stopped at the side of the road and we saw someone with a tripod - always a hopeful sign. Scouring the hillside, I spotted a black shape amongst the grass and small bushes. Bear! After taking our photos, I made sure I walked over to the other people and thanked them for spotting and stopping. Once we got into the mountains, we found ourselves facing dense fog, which seemed to go on forever. It felt like our outing might just have to end soon after it had begun. Fortunately, though, it did eventually clear when we reached the Ptarmigan Cirque area, and we found ourselves in sunshine. Looking back in the direction from which we had just come, the low cloud made for a beautiful scene. One little White-crowned Sparrow sat in a tree at the edge of the parking lot and gave us a chance to take photos. It seemed unusually tolerant of us. Further north, we stopped at the Pika location and were able to get a few somewhat distant shots. We didn't stay here for very long, as we had other places to visit. A further half-hour drive brought us to a beautiful lake with an incredibly beautiful setting - Wedge Pond. For quite a few years, I have never been sure where this pond was and whether I had ever been there before. It certainly didn't feel familiar. As well as the spectacular scenery, I also photographed a rather beautiful Moth that had landed on a thistle. The bright yellow splash of colour from three or four Goat's-beard wildflowers gave another photo opportunity - they are attractive flowers, but it's too bad they are a highly invasive weed. Leaving Wedge Pond, we continued northwards and were so delighted to see our second Black Bear of the day. This was a very challenging bear to photograph, as it walked off into the trees and soon disappeared completely. Photos tended to be missing either a head, or a rear end, or capturing barely anything at all. Coming back south, about an hour later, we stopped at Buller Pond, where we saw a few mushrooms, including a small scattering of beautiful Shaggy Mane/Inky Cap mushrooms. I love the scenery at Buller Pond and at Peninsular, giving a fine view of the Opal Range with its incredible erosion patterns. A small group of Bighorn Sheep made a nice ending to our day in Kananaskis. No matter how many I see, they are always welcome. Very recently, I seem to have seen them almost everywhere I have been. A most enjoyable day - thanks so much, Pam, for the invite and exciting day. Sorry we didn't manage to find a Grizzly Bear for you, but two Black Bears were still a real treat..

Our local weather forecast has changed - snow was in the forecast for tomorrow, but now it looks like we have a mix of sun and cloud most of the time for the coming week. The forecast for Sheep River Provincial Park is still for snow, which is why I decided to do a drive through that park yesterday, 12 October 2019. Another photographer had just posted photos from there and the paved road was bare. I have only ever driven to that area once before, in August 2017, and almost all the scenery was hidden by thick smoke The summer of that year was dreadful, with endless, continuous weeks of smoke drifting in from various forest fires from British Columbia and the States, as well as forest fires in our own province. My drive was actually through two Provincial Parks next to each other - Sheep River and Bluerock - but as I have no idea which park I was in when I took the various photos, I have included everything together in one album. Later, I will add photos taken during the rest of yesterday's drive, which took me as far south as Chain Lakes. The rest of the day was really just a spur of the moment decision once I reached the town of Turner Valley. Either return home or drive just a little way south, which in fact turned into a long drive south (317 km total for the day).

10 October 2019: temperature is -12C (windchill -14C), but is supposed to get up to 3C this afternoon. Rain is forecast for Sunday and light snow for Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving). Having seen the weather forecast for another snow storm, I made a quick decision to get back to the mountains - I don't drive there when there is snow on the roads. It was going to be sunny, but unfortunately, it was also very windy, which gave me a lot of not-quite-sharp images. Also, much of the highway through Kananaskis is closed for the winter months, for the protection of the wildlife. There were three or four locations that I wanted to photograph with snow on the peaks. With scenic shots in my mind, I took the south route, this time avoiding the dusty, gravel back road that I love to drive. Normally, I would never do a drive like this on a weekend day - more cars and people. Much of the drive was similar to my trip with friend, Pam, on 5 September. A little over a month ago already? The first part of my drive, before turning around and heading home, I had done before, but I had never driven myself the most northerly part. I really wanted to make sure I did this while I could, rather than have to leave it till next year, as I might have lost courage by then. Actually, this north stretch had not been in my plans, but as it was not yet noon, I decided to do it, driving further than Pam and I had gone. A couple of extra stops were added - Barrier Lake and Lorette Ponds. Keeping a close eye on how much gas was left, it was time to turn around and go back home the same way as I had driven earlier in the morning. Lots of animals on the road - mainly cattle! I don't think I have ever seen so many cows on the road before - and, oh, what a mess they were leaving behind them, everywhere! They were as stubborn about moving off the road as the three groups of Bighorn Sheep I came across during the day. I guess cows, too, like licking salt and other minerals off the road surface. So many people were out to go hiking and there were lots of cars parked in many places. On my return drive, I was not too impressed to see about a dozen cars lined up along the edge of the road - thinking 'hikers' and then suddenly thinking "bear?" As I drove past, I caught a glimpse of three brown shapes in the long grass. I did what I don't like doing - a U-turn and adding myself to the end of the line. My handful of highly zoomed photos were all taken through the windshield, turning them into green-tinted blurs. I have added three of them, just for the record. Not sure if I can rescue any others. I tried to read the blurry number on the pink ear tag, which may have shifted upside down, on her right ear. She was busy feeding in the long grass with her two cubs, totally oblivious of the audience. I didn't notice if many people were out of their cars - I know the female idiot (oops, I mean 'driver') of the car in front of me, got out and walked down the road in the direction of the bears, but I couldn't see where she disappeared to. Eventually, a Park ranger arrived and shooed the beautiful bear family into the trees. Such an unexpected sighting and thrill - definitely the highlight of my 440 km drive. If I am right, I think I had only ever seen two Grizzlies in Alberta in all these years - a female with one cub.

10 October 2019: temperature is -12C (windchill -14C), but is supposed to get up to 3C this afternoon. Rain is forecast for Sunday and light snow for Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving). Having seen the weather forecast for another snow storm, I made a quick decision to get back to the mountains - I don't drive there when there is snow on the roads. It was going to be sunny, but unfortunately, it was also very windy, which gave me a lot of not-quite-sharp images. Also, much of the highway through Kananaskis is closed for the winter months, for the protection of the wildlife. There were three or four locations that I wanted to photograph with snow on the peaks. With scenic shots in my mind, I took the south route, this time avoiding the dusty, gravel back road that I love to drive. Normally, I would never do a drive like this on a weekend day - more cars and people. Much of the drive was similar to my trip with friend, Pam, on 5 September. A little over a month ago already? The first part of my drive, before turning around and heading home, I had done before, but I had never driven myself the most northerly part. I really wanted to make sure I did this while I could, rather than have to leave it till next year, as I might have lost courage by then. Actually, this north stretch had not been in my plans, but as it was not yet noon, I decided to do it, driving further than Pam and I had gone. A couple of extra stops were added - Barrier Lake and Lorette Ponds. Keeping a close eye on how much gas was left, it was time to turn around and go back home the same way as I had driven earlier in the morning. Lots of animals on the road - mainly cattle! I don't think I have ever seen so many cows on the road before - and, oh, what a mess they were leaving behind them, everywhere! They were as stubborn about moving off the road as the three groups of Bighorn Sheep I came across during the day. I guess cows, too, like licking salt and other minerals off the road surface. So many people were out to go hiking and there were lots of cars parked in many places. On my return drive, I was not too impressed to see about a dozen cars lined up along the edge of the road - thinking 'hikers' and then suddenly thinking "bear?" As I drove past, I caught a glimpse of three brown shapes in the long grass. I did what I don't like doing - a U-turn and adding myself to the end of the line. My handful of highly zoomed photos were all taken through the windshield, turning them into green-tinted blurs. I have added three of them, just for the record. Not sure if I can rescue any others. I tried to read the blurry number on the pink ear tag, which may have shifted upside down, on her right ear. She was busy feeding in the long grass with her two cubs, totally oblivious of the audience. I didn't notice if many people were out of their cars - I know the female idiot (oops, I mean 'driver') of the car in front of me, got out and walked down the road in the direction of the bears, but I couldn't see where she disappeared to. Eventually, a Park ranger arrived and shooed the beautiful bear family into the trees. Such an unexpected sighting and thrill - definitely the highlight of my 440 km drive. If I am right, I think I had only ever seen two Grizzlies in Alberta in all these years - a female with one cub.

9 October 2019: temperature is -7C (windchill -13C). It snowed again yesterday and more snow is forecast for this coming weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving). Having seen the weather forecast for another snow storm, I made a quick decision to get back to the mountains - I don't drive there when there is snow on the roads. It was going to be sunny, but unfortunately, it was also very windy, which gave me a lot of not-quite-sharp images. Also, much of the highway through Kananaskis is closed for the winter months, for the protection of the wildlife. There were three or four locations that I wanted to photograph with snow on the peaks. With scenic shots in my mind, I took the south route, this time avoiding the dusty, gravel back road that I love to drive. Normally, I would never do a drive like this on a weekend day - more cars and people. Much of the drive was similar to my trip with friend, Pam, on 5 September. A little over a month ago already? The first part of my drive, before turning around and heading home, I had done before, but I had never driven myself the most northerly part. I really wanted to make sure I did this while I could, rather than have to leave it till next year, as I might have lost courage by then. Actually, this north stretch had not been in my plans, but as it was not yet noon, I decided to do it, driving further than Pam and I had gone. A couple of extra stops were added - Barrier Lake and Lorette Ponds. Keeping a close eye on how much gas was left, it was time to turn around and go back home the same way as I had driven earlier in the morning. Lots of animals on the road - mainly cattle! I don't think I have ever seen so many cows on the road before - and, oh, what a mess they were leaving behind them, everywhere! They were as stubborn about moving off the road as the three groups of Bighorn Sheep I came across during the day. I guess cows, too, like licking salt and other minerals off the road surface. So many people were out to go hiking and there were lots of cars parked in many places. On my return drive, I was not too impressed to see about a dozen cars lined up along the edge of the road - thinking 'hikers' and then suddenly thinking "bear?" As I drove past, I caught a glimpse of three brown shapes in the long grass. I did what I don't like doing - a U-turn and adding myself to the end of the line. My handful of highly zoomed photos were all taken through the windshield, turning them into green-tinted blurs. I have added three of them, just for the record. Not sure if I can rescue any others. I tried to read the blurry number on the pink ear tag, which may have shifted upside down, on her right ear. She was busy feeding in the long grass with her two cubs, totally oblivious of the audience. I didn't notice if many people were out of their cars - I know the female idiot (oops, I mean 'driver') of the car in front of me, got out and walked down the road in the direction of the bears, but I couldn't see where she disappeared to. Eventually, a Park ranger arrived and shooed the beautiful bear family into the trees. Such an unexpected sighting and thrill - definitely the highlight of my 440 km drive. If I am right, I think I had only ever seen two Grizzlies in Alberta in all these years - a female with one cub.

My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary early morning on Wednesday, 14 May 2014, and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight on Thursday, 15 May, that they dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! This is just one of the many females - the males were off somewhere else and we didn't see any males at all that weekend. Yes, females also have horns, but just these small ones. Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : ) Over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen. My friends are good at telling individual bears, often by a certain scar and, of course, the actual location. Many of the bears we see, they have seen before. I was so tired after the trip, that I had no choice but to fall into bed at 7:00 p.m. the following evening, thinking that a short nap might help. I slept for something like 13 hours with a couple of hours awake (and on my computer) in the middle! I think the excruciating pain in both arms and shoulders (from inflammation of the rotator cuffs) and my lower back was a factor in my utter tiredness, too.

My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary early morning on Wednesday, 14 May 2014, and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight on Thursday, 15 May, that they dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! This is just one of the many females - the males were off somewhere else and we didn't see any males at all that weekend.

I just think this little guy looks as if he has an attitude! Saw them both on a visit to the Pasu Farm in Alberta.

This little guy at the Pasu Farm, Alberta, looks almost as if he is contemplating a headbutt!