Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: farmhouse

Maybe an early Eaton catalogue kit home design? The day before yesterday, 8 August 2019, was more of a barn day than a bird day. A while ago, another photographer had mentioned that a few barns in a certain area SE of Calgary had been removed and I was curious to see if I could tell which ones were missing. There is one huge barn in particular that I am always hoping still stands. I would love to be able to get photos from both sides of it, but it is way out in a farmer's field that is, of course, private property. Standing in the road, I can only get a distant shot and, as often happens, I had a problem with heat distortion on distant shots. There is an old, round, wooden grain bin and a partly hidden, smaller barn just near the barn, too. I think the first time I ever saw the barn was on 21 January 2015, when I took my daughter out for the day. My intention two days ago had been to leave early in the morning, but it was already 10:45 am when I climbed into my car. Seeing that the weather forecast for the next six days included rain on each day, I knew I just had to do this trip straight away. Some of the roads I drove to get to my destination(s) were familiar, but others less so. There are two or three highway intersections that are confusing to me and I usually end up taking the wrong turn. For a change, I turned off the main highway going south before my usual turn, in order to shorten the distance. My first sighting was a distant Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence at a wetland that used to be a great spot, but now is totally dried up. After a quick stop at a tiny church that I always photograph when I am out that way, I continued east till I came to the three old Mossleigh grain elevators - one of the places I always get confused about which way to drive. Ideally, a dramatic sky would have been great, but I have taken better photos in the past. From Mossleigh, I did my usual exploring, finding that a lovely old, wooden house was still standing. I believe this was built from a kit years ago, and it remains in reasonably good condition. Eventually, I found the large barn that I wanted to see again. It took me a while to work out which road it was on (thought I knew!), but I found it after some driving back and forth. It was good to see the smaller barn, in less then good condition, just down the road. The other two times that I have been standing in the road to take photos of this smaller barn, a lady has come along the road from a nearby farm and very kindly told me to on in and take any photos I'd like. No-one around yesterday, so I stayed on the road,of course. At one point, I happened to glance up the road and saw what I thought was someone's dog on the crest of the road. When I zoomed in on my camera, I realized it was a coyote, who started walking towards me. Unfortunately, it turned off into the field and disappeared. When I was at this smaller barn, it amused me to see a magnificent Mule near the barn, plus a horse. The Mule looked huge and was a real poser, wanting to be in almost every shot I took. Such a gorgeous creature, that I don't remember seeing there before. Once I had taken a few photos, I started on my homeward drive, not stopping anywhere as I could see that, if I hurried, I could get to the Saskatoon Farm in time to get a meal before the restaurant closed for the day. Yay, I just made it. Knowing that Frank Lake was only a short drive away, I couldn't resist driving back south to have a quick look. Found a couple of my friends there and spent some enjoyable time with them. Only took a few photos there, most to be deleted, before heading home. A fun day, though hot and hazy.

I had not planned to post any photos today, as I was expecting to be at a hospital across the city, waiting for my daughter to have her major surgery. However, yesterday evening, she told me not to bother to go early, as she had to be there at 6:00 am and would then be going straight in to get ready for surgery and then a recovery period of 1-2 hours after roughly 4-5 hours of surgery ( longer if necessary). It is now 11:08 am and I am so stressed out, not knowing how things are going and not sure just how to plan the rest of the day. My daughter said that if I am thinking of going over later, to phone the hospital and check with the unit to see if she is up to having visitors. Will need to get a taxi, as I will never drive to that part of the city. To add to my stress, I have a MOUSE in the HOUSE, for the very first time ever. A few years ago, a number of my neighbours had mice indoors, but not me. I love wildlife, but when it comes to having a mouse inside my home, that is a very different matter. It terrifies me, wondering where it is and if it will suddenly run across the floor, making me scream. I was watching TV yesterday afternoon, when I suddenly saw out of the corner of my eye a dark shape run across my hall floor and into the kitchen. A minute later, it ran back in the opposite direction - and disappeared. I think it may have got in through my front door when I opened it yesterday, to place something in my mailbox for a neighbour to pick up. There are now five traps set! I see one is now upside down, but I don't know if the mouse triggered it or if it was too delicately set. This is not just a mouse, it's a LARGE mouse - or maybe it's not even a mouse, but maybe something like a Meadow Vole? All I know is that it is not welcome and it is making me extremely nervous and stressed out. And so goes my day, lol! This photo, zoomed in from the road, was taken on 30 October 2017. I spent the day driving mostly roads that I had been along before (a round trip of 230 km). I still find a few roads so confusing! My destination was partly to check on two old barns that I had only seen and photographed once before. Having been there with my daughter in January 2015, I knew that there were several other old barns and homesteads en route. This day was definitely a barn day, not a bird or wildlife day. Once again, I added a touch of filter in post-processing, to bring out a bit more detail. A large barn in a photo I posted a while ago was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time, which I finally did in January 2015, with my daughter. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. The second old barn that I saw in this area is in far worse condition, but I love it. It was funny, because I was standing in the road and had taken just a handful of photos of this crumbling, weathered structure, when I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance. Talk about deja vu! I started walking towards her and it turned out that she lived at the farm just down the road, but had previously lived in the house next to the decaying barn and it was her property. She told me to wander wherever I wished, take as many photos as I wanted. I laughed and said that in January 2015, when my daughter and I had been standing right there in the road, a lady came by on her horse and told us the very same story - it must have been the same person! Felt so good! Another place I stopped at was a farmyard full of old barns, sheds and vehicles. I pulled over and stood by my car to take a quick shot of an old, blue truck from across the road. A person happened to just appear, walking across his farmyard, so I called out to him and we had a delightful chat. I think he was very amused at my passion for old things and told me to walk around and take whatever photos I wanted. Which I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The blue truck was just one of several old vehicles, mainly cars. I told him what an amazing place he had, full of interesting things. I got the impression that he saw things very differently - lots of old things that needed fixing or tidying up : ) I told him to just leave everything as it is - a photographer's dream : ) On the way home, I called in at the Saskatoon Farm to see if the restaurant was still open, but it had just closed (3:30 pm). I realized I had been enjoying myself so much that I had totally forgotten to eat anything all day. Managed to get a much-needed cup of coffee, though, and I did buy a box of frozen, uncooked Saskatoon Berry and White Chocolate scones. I bought some of these last time I was there and they are so good, piping hot, straight out of the oven.

There seems to be so little activity on Flickr this morning. Hardly surprising with the website still in such a mess. Bad Pandas and almost every single thing not working properly or at all. Makes me wonder if Flickr is about to make yet another huge change. Also, I guess lots of people are out doing their Christmas shopping : ) I won't be posting any photos tomorrow morning, as I have an early start and won't have time to mess around with Flickr and all its present problems. Last night, when I checked the weather forecast for today, 16 December 2017, I was so happy to see that it had changed and that the snowflake icons for last night and today had been removed. Well, how wrong can a forecast be?! Hello, again, winter! Woke up to glorious blue sky and sunshine - and a winter wonderland. Not what I wanted though, as I had just washed off all the gravel road dust and dried mud from my car, ready for spending a few hours out with my daughter for our Christmas get-together. The roads are not going to be good. This photo, zoomed in from the road, was taken on 30 October 2017. I spent the day driving mostly roads that I had been along before (a round trip of 230 km). I still find a few roads so confusing! My destination was partly to check on two old barns that I had only seen and photographed once before. Having been there with my daughter in January 2015, I knew that there were several other old barns and homesteads en route. This day was definitely a barn day, not a bird or wildlife day. Once again, I added a touch of filter in post-processing, to bring out a bit more detail. The large barn in a photo I posted a while ago was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time, which I finally did in January 2015, with my daughter. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. The second old barn that I saw in this area is in far worse condition, but I love it. It was funny, because I was standing in the road and had already taken a handful of photos of this crumbling, weathered structure, when I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance. Talk about deja vu! I started walking towards her and it turned out that she lived at the farm just down the road, but had previously lived in the house next to the decaying barn and it was her property. She told me to wander wherever I wished, take as many photos as I wanted. I laughed and said that in January 2015, when my daughter and I had been standing right there in the road, a lady came by on her horse and told us the very same story - it must have been the same person! Felt so good! Another place I stopped at was a farmyard full of old barns, sheds and vehicles. I pulled over and stood by my car to take a quick shot of an old, blue truck from across the road. A person happened to just appear, walking across his farmyard, so I called out to him and we had a delightful chat. I think he was very amused at my passion for old things and told me to walk around and take whatever photos I wanted. Which I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The blue truck was just one of several old vehicles, mainly cars. I told him what an amazing place he had, full of interesting things. I got the impression that he saw things very differently - lots of old things that needed fixing or tidying up : ) I told him to just leave everything as it is - a photographer's dream : ) On the way home, I called in at the Saskatoon Farm to see if the restaurant was still open, but it had just closed (3:30 pm). I realized I had been enjoying myself so much that I had totally forgotten to eat anything all day. Managed to get a much-needed cup of coffee, though, and I did buy a box of frozen, uncooked Saskatoon Berry and White Chocolate scones. I bought some of these last time I was there and they are so good, piping hot, straight out of the oven.

On 30 October 2017, I spent the day driving mostly roads that I had been along before (a round trip of 230 km). I still found a few roads so confusing! My destination was partly to check on two old, red barns. Having been there once before, with my daughter in January 2015, I knew that there were several other old barns and homesteads en route. This day was definitely a barn day, not a bird or wildlife day. The much larger barn of the two was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time, which I finally did in January 2015. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. The second old barn that I saw in this area is in far worse condition, but I love it. It was funny, because I was standing in the road and had already taken a handful of photos of this crumbling, weathered structure, when I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance. Talk about deja vu! I started walking towards her and it turned out that she lived at the farm just down the road, but had previously lived in the house next to this decaying barn, and it was her property. She told me to wander wherever I wished, take as many photos as I wanted. I laughed and said that in January 2015, when my daughter and I had been standing right there in the road, a lady came by on her horse and told us the very same story - it must have been the same person! Felt so good! Another place I stopped at on this day was a farmyard full of old barns, sheds and vehicles. I pulled over and got out to take a quick shot of an old, blue truck from across the road. A person happened to just appear, walking across his farmyard, so I called out to him and we had a delightful chat. I think he was very amused at my passion for old things and told me to walk around and take whatever photos I wanted. Which I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I told him what an amazing place he had, full of interesting things - some of which are seen in the next photo. I got the impression that he saw things very differently - lots of old things that needed fixing or tidying up : ) On the way home, I called in at the Saskatoon Farm to see if the restaurant was still open, but it had just closed (3:30 pm). I realized I had been enjoying myself so much that I had totally forgotten to eat anything all day. Managed to get a much-needed cup of coffee, though, and I did buy a box of frozen, uncooked Saskatoon Berry and White Chocolate scones. I bought some of these last time I was there and they are SO good, piping hot, straight out of the oven.

Why is it that so often when I go out for a long drive, the weather forecast is wrong?! Far too many of my photos have uninteresting, cloudless, washed-out skies. Nothing I can do about it, though it does make me wonder how many photographers get their spectacular skies with a little help from Photoshop : ) This photo, zoomed in from the road, was taken five days ago, on 30 October 2017. I spent the day driving mostly roads that I had been along before (a round trip of 230 km). I still find a few roads so confusing! My destination was partly to check on two old barns that I had only seen and photographed once before. Having been there with my daughter in January 2015, I knew that there were several other old barns and homesteads en route. This day was definitely a barn day, not a bird or wildlife day. Once again, I added a touch of filter in post-processing, to bring out a bit more detail. The large barn in a photo I posted the other day was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time, which I finally did in January 2015, with my daughter. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. The second old barn that I saw in this area is in far worse condition, but I love it. It was funny, because I was standing in the road and had already taken a handful of photos of this crumbling, weathered structure, when I noticed someone walking towards me in the distance. Talk about deja vu! I started walking towards her and it turned out that she lived at the farm just down the road, but had previously lived in the house next to the decaying barn and it was her property. She told me to wander wherever I wished, take as many photos as I wanted. I laughed and said that in January 2015, when my daughter and I had been standing right there in the road, a lady came by on her horse and told us the very same story - it must have been the same person! Felt so good! Another place I stopped at was a farmyard full of old barns, sheds and vehicles. I pulled over and stood by my car to take a quick shot of an old, blue truck from across the road. A person happened to just appear, walking across his farmyard, so I called out to him and we had a delightful chat. I think he was very amused at my passion for old things and told me to walk around and take whatever photos I wanted. Which I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The blue truck in a photo posted a few days ago was just one of several old vehicles, mainly cars. I told him what an amazing place he had, full of interesting things. I got the impression that he saw things very differently - lots of old things that needed fixing or tidying up : ) I told him to just leave everything as it is - a photographer's dream : ) On the way home, I called in at the Saskatoon Farm to see if the restaurant was still open, but it had just closed (3:30 pm). I realized I had been enjoying myself so much that I had totally forgotten to eat anything all day. Managed to get a much-needed cup of coffee, though, and I did buy a box of frozen, uncooked Saskatoon Berry and White Chocolate scones. I bought some of these last time I was there and they are so good, piping hot, straight out of the oven.

Many times, I am just blown away by how powerful the zoom in my point-and-shoot camera is. This old house was so far away, on a very distant hillside and I really didn't think that my photos would turn out at all. Heat distortion ruins too many images, but I thought this was still usable. It seemed OK in the original version, but I still decided to run it through a filter, which gives it a slightly more detailed, sharper appearance. Photos were taken from the main road and there is no track or rough road that leads to this fine old house. A few people have got close photos, but, at least the ones I read about, they did get permission to go on the private land and to enter the building. It's obviously a long, tough slog across the badland landscape. Quite apart form the fact that old barns and houses can be really dangerous inside, they are also on privately owned land. This means, in theory anyway, that no one should trespass. Sadly, though, some people still do it and some even steal some of the priceless old treasures left behind by the original owners of a building. I guess these people simply have no conscience - and they give photographers a bad name. Last night, I stayed up a good part of the night, trying to find information about this abandoned, weathered house. Very little to be found, but I will add links to several things I did find, for my own memory and just in case anyone else is interested in the history of this place, I will try and remember to post a distant shot sometime. So sad to see any old house, barn or shed fall into such decay. www.bigdoer.com/22257/exploring-history/laing-house-frien... www.pbase.com/impalass/image/110826402 www.youtube.com/user/asecondaryhighway On 18 July 2016, I had a wonderful day out NE of the city with my daughter. The last time I actually drove eastwards was about six months ago, when I was shooting Short-eared Owls near the end of January. The last time (also the first time) I had ever driven out as far as Drumheller was on 29 September 2014. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my daughter and I had a great time exploring some of the roads between Calgary and Drumheller. There were a handful of things or places we wanted to check out, but many things were total surprises. We knew we wanted to see fields, yellow fields full of canola as far as the eye could see. No disappointment there as we took in the gorgeous colour and the perhaps not so pleasant smell of this crop. When we were driving through regular, green landscapes, it all seemed so 'ordinary' after being treated to vibrant gold. As well as canola fields, we also knew of a particular grain elevator and nearby old barn that we were keen to see. There was also an old, two-storey house in a hilly setting that we knew would have to be photographed from a great distance, but we were curious about it. There was also a small wetland that I wanted to drive by, just in case there was something to see. How glad we were that we went, as a magnificent Black-crowned Night-heron was posing nicely on a post out in the open. This was the first time I had ever seen one close, so it made my day. At least, an adult - in October 2015, I had seen a gorgeous juvenile in Fish Creek Park. Continuing on our way, we stopped to take a couple of quick shots of an Eastern Kingbird and then my daughter spotted a dark patch just above ground level, hidden in the bushes. It turned out to be an Eastern Kingbird's nest, with what looked like three large babies in it. No idea how she caught sight of this, but it was a treat to see. Soon after this, we stopped to photograph two beautiful red barns and then stopped again to photograph a Western Kingbird. This is not a bird I normally see, so i was very happy to catch sight of this one. A short drive further, we spotted a shorebird standing on a fence post - and then a second one a few posts away. At first, we thought maybe they were Wilson's Snipe, but then realized that they were something different - two beautiful Upland Sandpipers. I had seen one a number of years ago, but it was too far away for a photo. These are uncommon in Alberta. So, another very lucky find. It was a pretty good day for hawks, too - so much so, that I got a gentle reminder form my daughter that I didn't need to photograph EVERY hawk we saw, lol. We had other places and other things that we wanted to get to. As well as birds and beautiful scenery, we saw several old barns, including a special small shed/granary. Each year, the farmer allows the graduating class from the local high school to decorate this old building in any way they wish. A fun idea and it certainly adds a splash of colour. I was absolutely fascinated to read a little bit of history from someone who was a contact of mine on Flickr two or three years ago. Her Grandmother was apparently born in this house/shed. It was later converted to a granary and now, of course, has become the canvas for local students. One of our main goals was to visit the old grain elevator at Sharples. I had wanted to visit there for quite a while and finally, we made it. Unfortunately, the elevator and nearby barn were in shadow, but it was great to see both old structures. We also passed another old elevator when we were driving along the road north of the river, on the way to Drumheller. This, needless to say, meant another stop for photos. A great day of fun, seeing and photographing such a variety of things. Beautiful weather and, best of all, a day spent with my daughter. Thanks so much, Rachel - glad you felt up to a day out, but sorry you got so many mosquito bites!

It was so weird yesterday! I drove SE of the city to the Frank Lake area in the afternoon, hoping that I would not have another day where I'd come home without taking a single photo. The previous day, 14 February 2015, I had driven all the way NW of the city, hoping that there might be some sight of the Northern Hawk Owl. However, I was out of luck. Thankfully, it rarely happens that I take no photos during a few hours outdoors. Yesterday, there was one area in particular that I wanted to explore. Most of the roads were backroads that I've never driven and I found it so hard to keep track of which direction I was driving. Easy enough when I was home looking at Google Earth, but a whole different story when I was out there. One of the roads, that I had driven a couple of times before, took me past this old barn and homestead. I had a CD playing and a few minutes before I reached this barn, the song, 'Superman, where are you now?' started playing. The weird part is that this barn and old homestead were used in the first Superman Movie in 1978! Talk about coincidence! This whole area had me totally in a 'Land of confusion', as singer Phil Collins would say in that song. youtu.be/ZujuYiweht8 This is where young Superman arrived as a young child and spent his younger years. I should add that this is private property (naturally) and this photo was respectfully taken from the road. Apparently, a family member of the now owner of the property says that the family "does have plans to restore this property in it’s present state." www.bigdoer.com/2383/exploring-history/superman-1978-kent... youtu.be/kI4xzWFDnkQ

On 14 April 2014, I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns. One of the places we were hoping to be able to find was the Superman (Kent) farmhouse and barn from the 1978 "Superman: The Movie", starring Christopher Reeve. We had both seen photos on the Internet that other people had taken, and knew that we would do our best to find this location. I was up till the early hours of that morning, Googling information about this place, it was so fascinating. I'll add a previously posted photo showing both this farmhouse and the beautiful barn that was also seen in the 1978 movie. This is where young Superman arrived in his "crystal space capsule" as a young child - it crashed into the gravel road where my daughter and I were standing - and grew up with his adoptive parents till he was a young man. I should add that this is private property (naturally) and this photo was respectfully taken from the road. It's amazing how many movies have been filmed around Calgary - quite fascinating. Apparently, a family member of the now owner of the property says that the family "does have plans to restore this property in it’s present state." www.bigdoer.com/2383/exploring-history/superman-1978-kent... youtu.be/kI4xzWFDnkQ

This abandoned homestead was fairly plain, yet there was something that I liked about it. I was lucky that these Pigeons decided to fly to it while my daughter and I were standing there, taking photos. I love the way the pretty much flat, endless landscape is dotted here and there with an old barn or an abandoned farmhouse. Makes one want to photograph them all before they eventually rot and tumble to the ground. Love a day like this! This was seen on 14 April 2014, when my youngest daughter and I spent the day driving some of the backroads SE of Calgary.

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less, though it was disappointing that the "heat wave" distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos. Unfortunately, it was quite a hazy day, which really didn't help. Once we got really close, the problem thankfully went away. Another place we were hoping to be able to find was the Superman (Kent) farmhouse and barn from the 1978 "Superman: The Movie". We had both seen photos on the Internet that other people had taken, and knew that we would do our best to find this location. I was up till the early hours of this morning, Googling information about this place, it was so fascinating. This is where young Superman arrived as a baby and spent his younger years. I should add that this is private property (naturally) and this photo was respectfully taken from the road. Will add more information when I've "dealt with" the other two images I've just uploaded. Apparently, a family member of the now owner of the property says that the family "does have plans to restore this property in it’s present state." www.bigdoer.com/2383/exploring-history/superman-1978-kent... youtu.be/kI4xzWFDnkQ flic.kr/p/n917jn