Our Alberta skies

For my Brother

I don't know if any of my photos will be able to be used for my brother John's funeral service, but I did want to pick out a few just in case. It felt good, anyway, just to go through all my images and think about which ones John may have enjoyed the most when he went off to the Library (in Birmingham, England) once a week, to view all my latest Flickr photos. I loved sharing the miraculous litt…  (read more)

17 Oct 2009

179 visits

Our Alberta skies

This was taken on 17th October, when I dashed out along a few muddy, gravelly side roads just outside the city, because the sun had finally just come out briefly. I love seeing a field of hay bales at this golden time of year, along with a sky full of interesting clouds. I LOVE Alberta (except for the bitter cold and snow/ice)!!!

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12 Aug 2010

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298 visits

This little light of mine ...

The actual quality of this photo is far from good, taken in really low light, but I still like it : ) I think this little fungus was something like 1" diameter. Found on 12th August in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis, west of the city. Thanks, Sandy! Just a reminder of the tiny miracles of nature's beauty! What we can find if we don't just "look", but really "see".

22 Jan 2010

168 visits

Can't beat a red barn

Passed this little red barn the other day, when I drove a few of the backroads south of the city. That day and the previous one, we had had a beautiful hoar frost, so I just had to go and enjoy it out of the city, despite the fact that the sky was grey and not a glimmer of light anywhere. Was out all this morning on a walk at Griffith Woods. Very few birds to be seen and nothing unusual. I did learn one thing, though - trust your intuition. If a small creek looks just that much too wide for YOU to leap (well, slight exaggeration!) across, then don't do it, LOL! Now I need to go and limp around the local grocery store : ) Thanks for trying, Phil!

09 Jan 2010

1 favorite

1 comment

219 visits

Hello, little guy

Sometimes I take photos of the birds on my own hand, but if the chance arises to shoot one on someone else's hand, as in this image, that's fun, too : ) The little Red-breasted Nuthatch is such a small, light and cute bird. One of my favourites to have on my hand. They are pretty fast little birds, but not quite as fast-moving as their friends, the Black-capped Chickadees. The light was not good, so had to use flash, which has resulted in a rather harsh outline - but, hey, at least it's sharp, LOL! Background colour is from snow.

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28 Aug 2010

134 visits

Middle Lake, Bow Valley Provincial Park

I went with friends to Bow Valley Provincial Park near the end of August, for a day of botanizing. They were searching for lichens, especially any ones that were new to them, but of course I had to get it a few scenery shots, too ; ) There are several trails one can follow in this Park, all beautiful, and this was seen at the Middle Lake trail. It is less than an hour's drive from Calgary west to Bow Valley Provincial Park, and it is a superb place for wildflowers, especially in June. Wish I had the courage to drive there myself, though it's probably not a good thing to do on one's own, anyway.

21 Dec 2006

153 visits

Like my colour?

Oops, again - my flash delayed the photo of this Northern Flicker, but I ended up with this gorgeous display of colour and pattern instead! So beautiful.

31 Jan 2010

162 visits

Winter magic

Very simple, but there is just something that appeals to me about the colours and light. A couple of tiny waterdoplets on a tiny bird feather (in my kitchen, LOL). Makes me think of a winter scene with a delicate, snow-covered branch. Finally got out for a very short walk this afternoon, to test my knees after landing very heavily on them last Tuesday, when I tried to jump across a small creek. Have stayed home the last four days to give them a chance to recover, so it was good to get a bit of fresh air today. Saw one of the few American Robins that overwinter in the city, too, which was a treat. It was the first Robin I'd seen this year. Nothing worth keeping as far as photos go : )

27 Dec 2008

150 visits

Sunrise of the day

Four of us set out at 7:00 a.m. (actually, I had left home at 6:30 a.m.) to drive around the area near Cochrane (north west of Calgary), to record birds and mammals seen on the Cochrane Bird Count. We found only 12 species of bird but 6 species of mammals, including two Moose. We did a pretty brutal hike at Big Hills Spring Provincial Park, often following the partly frozen creek seen in my next photo. Lots of snow on the ground, of course covering those nasty fallen branches and rocks : ) Around mid-afternoon, we called in at a farm to see what birds might be hanging around. However, our vehicle got stuck in the snow in the long driveway and took forever to get it cleared. The owner of the farm got his son to drive a piece of equipment to help clear some of the snow and get us out of there. Our temperatures rose to around 4C this afternoon, but there was a very cold wind. This gorgeous sunset started off our day to perfection : ) Straight out of the camera, by the way : )

01 Nov 2004

1 comment

213 visits

This time, a wild Chickadee

The Black-capped Chickadee is the most common bird to fly down to one's hand (my daughter's in this photo) here in Calgary. I have only had these, plus Boreal Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches on my hand but will hope for a White-breasted Nuthatch and maybe even a Downy Woodpecker this winter. Thanks everyone!
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