Homestead remnants

The upload problem on Flickr seems to have been solved - for now. Couldn't upload my daily three very early this morning and I have been out for the whole day. Got home late afternoon/early evening and discovered that, yay, I could upload my photos. Kind of too late in the day really, but thought I would post them anyway.

Yesterday evening, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day today. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. The highlight for me was when we saw Strawberries and Cream fungi / Hynellum peckii, my favourite fungi. Quite a few of them, too. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for today, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier!

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Generosity comes in all shapes and sizes. Yesterday, 30 July 2016, six of us from Calgary had the honour of meeting a 92-year-old gentleman who has lived most of his long life on a huge area (380 hectares, 939 acres) of beautiful land near Hanna, Alberta. Though Gottlob Schmidt (known as Schmitty) has now moved into town (Hanna), he is not far from his beloved land and still loves to spend a lot of time there. My friends and I understand why. This untouched land is not only beautiful to the eye, with its undulating hills with small, scattered pockets of woodland, but it also hides all sorts of natural treasures, including the wildlife that enjoys this native grassland. There are so few areas of native grassland left in Alberta, so each one is very precious. Schmitty told us that he has never seen his land looking so green! Perhaps not too surprising, as we have had so much rain recently, often accompanied by thunderstorms. In fact, the rain started on our return journey to Calgary and I was driving from our meeting place back to my house in torrential rain.

This is where the word 'generosity' comes in. Two years ago, Schmitty donated all his land to Alberta Parks, along with certain strict regulations (listed below) on how the land was to be maintained. He was very warmly recognized for his extreme generosity. The Park is known as Antelope Hill Provincial Park and, when Schmitty is no longer able to visit and enjoy his old, family homestead, the Park will be opened to the public. For now, it remains his own, private property.

The highlight for us was meeting Schmitty himself. I can only hope that I might be lucky enough to be in half his shape if I ever reached that age! It was an absolute delight to spend a little time with this man with the big heart when we first arrived and again later in the day, when it was time for us to head back to Calgary. We also got to meet Schmitty's good neighbours, Donna and Ken.

www.albertaparks.ca/media/5788002/antelope-hill-pp-fact-s...

calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/you-can-thank-this-man-...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVVBdkoUVY&feature=youtu.be

My friends (specialists in mosses, lichens and liverworts and other things) and I, were given permission to spend the day there, to list all our findings. Our time was spent climbing one main hill and walking part way around it, calling in at several of the small areas of woodland. One of the highlights for me yesterday was seeing a patch of Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric) mushrooms. They were at various stages - for me, the earlier stage is the most exciting, when the mushroom has a round cap, speckled with white flecks. It is quite rare that we come across one of these, and it is so exciting and such a treat when we do! They are so beautiful and amazing. Of course, it's just a "fungi nut" talking, ha. They are so attractive but also poisonous!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

Various plants were good to see, too, including about four Prairie Crocuses that were still in bloom. I hadn't seen Skeletonweed for a long time, but there were quite a few small clusters of it. A new plant to me was a tall one with white flowers, that I still need to identify properly. The occasional gorgeous wild Rose made a bright splash of colour.

After a few hours of exploration, the only things that we were so happy and relieved to leave behind were the mosquitoes! Never had I seen so many of them - the air was filled with these tiny, blood-sucking insects that followed us every step of the way!

Thanks so much, Heide, for driving Sandy and myself all the way out there - about a two and three-quarter hour drive. Much of the distance was on the same roads that I had driven last week with my daughter, but this was the first time I had ever been as far as Hanna and just beyond. Hanna now has a Tim Horton's, opened around three months ago : ) Thanks, Heide, too, for trying to find the old railway roundhouse - unfortunate that there was too much construction in the area, so one can't get to the roundhouse. And thank you so much, Peter, for arranging and organizing this wonderful trip! Most importantly of all, our thanks to Schmitty, who so kindly allowed us to share the special land that he has called home for so many decades. Our thanks for allowing us to spend the day there and, even more importantly, thank you for your great gift to all Albertans, with your incredibly generous donation of Antelope Hill Provincial Park.