The beauty of our mountains
Waiting for the herd to descend
A favourite road
Scenery along Highway 40, Kananaskis
On the way down
Sheep on a smoky day
Yesteryear, in Alberta
Walker House, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
Our precious Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta…
Road through Kananaskis
Owl and spider webs
In the middle of nowhere - spot the truck
Waterton Lake from the townsite - before the fire
The colours of fall
Ah, those glorious Larches in their fall colours
Things are not always what they seem
Beautiful Mule Deer doe
Before the snow arrived
Kananaskis before the snowstorm
Heading for the mountains on a hazy morning
Cattle drive in the mountains of Kananaskis, Alber…
A mountain meadow, Kananaskis, Alberta
Fish Creek Park on a low-light day
Friendly visitor
Side by side
Complete with little red birdhouse
A new-to-me old barn
A view from Quarry Lake, Canmore
Sun halo over Glenmore Reservoir
Pam and friend
When the storm moved in
Town of Canmore, Alberta
A drive through Kananaskis
Storm arriving at Quarry Lake, near Canmore
Early morning sunrise over the mountains
International Loadstar 1600
And down(y) he flew
Hello, winter
Common Redpolls / Acanthis flammea
Start of the storm
Alberta foothills in the fall
The beauty of erosion
Common Redpoll / Acanthis flammea
A peaceful winter scene
Autumn in Alberta
A country scene
Walking in a winter wonderland
Behind the tangled branches
A patch of blue
A white world
Standing at the edge of the storm
Dazzling sunlight on distant peaks
When the land turns white
Barn with the fallen cupola
Glorious scenery for a Christmas Bird Count!
Love a Llama
On a Christmas Bird Count, -23C
Happy New Year, everyone!
On a New Year's Day Bird Count
A rural Christmas
The Bow River at Carburn Park
Tree stump covered in fungi, Trinidad
A most welcome find
A road less travelled
Little country school with company
Vanishing landscape
Love those hills
No longer a home
Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park
Old barn in a field of canola
Sheep at the Rusty Bucket Ranch
A view from Red Rock Canyon, Waterton
Cameron Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
A different view from Maskinonge lookout, Waterton
Upper Waterton Lake, seen from the town
Maskinonge Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Slough near Eagle Lake
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Masked Cardinal / Paroaria nigrogenis, Trinidad
A hazy view with Dandelions
Mallard female
Mallard female
Alberta's beautiful foothills and mountains
Rough-legged Hawk / Buteo lagopus
Pine Coulee Reservoir trip
Steps from my cabin to main building, Asa Wright
Masked Cardinal / Paroaria nigrogenis, Trinidad, D…
Gilpin Trace trail, Tobago, Day 2
Is this a Giant Cowbird?, Tobago, Day 2
Old plantation equipment, Tobago, Day 2
Green Heron, Tobago, Day 2
Green Heron, Tobago, Day 2
The Green Heron area, Tobago, Day 2
Sand and sea - Blue Waters Inn beach, Tobago
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Tropical beach beauty, Tobago
Rocks near Little Tobago island
Peace
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Frank's Glass-bottomed boat, Blue Waters Inn, Tob…
Batteaux Bay at Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Batteaux Bay, from Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Well-protected
02 Bald Eagle in late afternoon sun
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Logging piles in the Porcupine Hills
Great Gray Owl, focused
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Moose in the mountains
The old-fashioned way
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
The peace of a prairie farm - my main photo today
Better than nothing - this is NOT my main photo!
Modern - but I like it
Down by the river on a frosty morning
Moose from the archives
Mailbox or birdhouse?
Barn with a mural
Our beautiful Alberta
A sweet encounter
Winter walking
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197 visits
Clouds over the mountains
I'm not sure if some of the clouds I saw yesterday were lenticular clouds, but I think they could have been. This shot was taken from the parking lot at Highwood House, on Highway 40.
Yesterday, 18 August 2017, I made a very last-minute decision (just after midnight) to return to this location. Last year (2016), I had finally made myself do this long drive (293 km), after longing for years to be able to get there on my own. I was determined to go again this summer, and yesterday was the day.
I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and took the scenic back road to Highway 40. Unfortunately, we are still getting the smoke from the British Columbia and Alberta wildfires, so distant shots are not the best. However, the landscape on this whole drive is spectacular and I could never tire of it. I would imagine most people drive the whole loop along Highway 40, but my destination was the place where Pikas live, keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them would show up. I was in luck and saw two of them, and managed to get a few photos, though nothing that I was too happy with.
While I was standing near the base of the huge talus slope, I started hearing the sound of rocks falling! The first thing that flashed through my mind was that I was not standing in the best place if a rock slide happened, and then I remembered seeing someone's photo of a bear with her two cubs walking across the rocks just above where I was standing. Looking around, I could see nothing - and then, suddenly, I could just make out the tiny silhouette of a Bighorn Sheep on the very top of the very distant ridge, and then several others came along. In a short time, one of them walked to the end of the ridge and stood there, on guard the whole time it took for the rest of the herd to slowly make its way down the rocky mountain side. They ended up passing me on a closer ridge and finally reached the road. What a journey they made in order to get salt off the road surface! I watched them for maybe a couple of hours, while they hung around just below me, refusing to leave the road when cars came along. Nothing would make them budge! It was just as interesting to watch the reaction of the drivers - most slowed right down or stopped, and most people stayed in their vehicles.
After calling in again at Highwood House to pick up a much-needed coffee, I carried on with the drive home via various backroads, including the Priddis area. My early morning drive had given me just two birds - a Northern Harrier and some other Hawk. The return drive gave me maybe four Hawks, none of which stayed long enough for a photo. A strange, empty feeling, as two days earlier, friends and I had seen dozens of Hawks during a day's drive.
For maybe the last 10 days or so, I had been wondering why the little orange maintenance light had not come on, on the dashboard of my car. I have had the vehicle one year now and felt sure that I should have been notified to get an oil change way before now. Each time I have done a long drive recently, I was worried that the light would come on when I was in the middle of nowhere. Well, yesterday, it finally did come on (at around 9,200 km), right where the Pikas live. Guess I'll have to limit my driving to local grocery shopping till I can get my car serviced.
Yesterday, 18 August 2017, I made a very last-minute decision (just after midnight) to return to this location. Last year (2016), I had finally made myself do this long drive (293 km), after longing for years to be able to get there on my own. I was determined to go again this summer, and yesterday was the day.
I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and took the scenic back road to Highway 40. Unfortunately, we are still getting the smoke from the British Columbia and Alberta wildfires, so distant shots are not the best. However, the landscape on this whole drive is spectacular and I could never tire of it. I would imagine most people drive the whole loop along Highway 40, but my destination was the place where Pikas live, keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them would show up. I was in luck and saw two of them, and managed to get a few photos, though nothing that I was too happy with.
While I was standing near the base of the huge talus slope, I started hearing the sound of rocks falling! The first thing that flashed through my mind was that I was not standing in the best place if a rock slide happened, and then I remembered seeing someone's photo of a bear with her two cubs walking across the rocks just above where I was standing. Looking around, I could see nothing - and then, suddenly, I could just make out the tiny silhouette of a Bighorn Sheep on the very top of the very distant ridge, and then several others came along. In a short time, one of them walked to the end of the ridge and stood there, on guard the whole time it took for the rest of the herd to slowly make its way down the rocky mountain side. They ended up passing me on a closer ridge and finally reached the road. What a journey they made in order to get salt off the road surface! I watched them for maybe a couple of hours, while they hung around just below me, refusing to leave the road when cars came along. Nothing would make them budge! It was just as interesting to watch the reaction of the drivers - most slowed right down or stopped, and most people stayed in their vehicles.
After calling in again at Highwood House to pick up a much-needed coffee, I carried on with the drive home via various backroads, including the Priddis area. My early morning drive had given me just two birds - a Northern Harrier and some other Hawk. The return drive gave me maybe four Hawks, none of which stayed long enough for a photo. A strange, empty feeling, as two days earlier, friends and I had seen dozens of Hawks during a day's drive.
For maybe the last 10 days or so, I had been wondering why the little orange maintenance light had not come on, on the dashboard of my car. I have had the vehicle one year now and felt sure that I should have been notified to get an oil change way before now. Each time I have done a long drive recently, I was worried that the light would come on when I was in the middle of nowhere. Well, yesterday, it finally did come on (at around 9,200 km), right where the Pikas live. Guess I'll have to limit my driving to local grocery shopping till I can get my car serviced.
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