Odds & ends

Just playing around on a bad-weather day! I am NEVER bored, but this was rather ill-used time, LOL!

This is part of the wooden "hide" built at Frank Lake, Alberta, for people wanting to observe the various species of ducks. This fence was reflected strongly in the lake.

A bit of urban rust and art/graffiti on a local bridge that spans the Bow River.

Took this photo yesterday afternoon when a friend took me to our favourite natural area and showed me a small forest trail that had been lined with many, many dozens of these spray-painted stones. It ended at a huge fallen log, near which we saw several planks and a couple of sets of two branches tied togther with rope in the form of an cross. No idea if children/teens have created this scene or if it might be something a little more sinister. However, Jan, I thought of you immediately I saw the red hearts painted on many of the stones! This natural area is so beautiful and peaceful, so it was a nice place to think of someone, especially someone with a big heart and a big smile!

Couldn't decide whether to post this photo or not. It might just disappear, LOL! Nature's "doodles" with reeds in the the water at Frank Lake.

There were only four of us on a walk this evening, and this little guy accompanied a couple who had come to see what birds were in this area. What wonderful little faces these dogs have! He was absolutely adorable and very well-behaved! Trisher, I thought of you and London immediately I saw this little dog this evening! I want one - to photograph every day!

Yeah - right! It wasn't raining when I left home this morning, but by the time I arrived at one of the local parks, it was definitely raining. The park paths and trails were thick, slippery mud, which made climbing up and down the hillside pretty treacherous. Still, we did see all sorts of interesting wildflowers, even if conditions were far from ideal for taking macros and supermacros! My washing machine is busy as I type, LOL!

A friend very kindly asked if I'd like to go to the Calgary Stampede Grounds this afternoon. Temperature was high but there was a very welcome breeze down at the Stampede Grounds. There one finds the Chuckwagon Races, the Rodeo, musical entertainment, the Midway (terrifying rides that defy gravity), stuffed toys to be won, the smell of heat and grease. And - Mini-donuts! The smallest size bag holds 18 of these tiny rings - it's all I can do to even look at my photo this evening! However, I took the photo for my kids, especially my daughters, one of whom who doesn't go to the Stampede and the other lives in Vancouver (though she came here for three days for a meeting and managed to go the Grounds the very first evening).

One of the impressive Caribou on the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch. This place belongs to a cousin of a friend of mine and we called in to say Hello on our way out to hike the Fullerton Trail, out past Bragg Creek along the Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66).