Frank Lake & area

This was our weather over the weekend of 27 and 28 April 2019, when Calgary was under a Winter Storm Warning. More snow tomorrow, 30 April? Whatever happened to spring?! "Hazardous winter conditions are expected. Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow." Early evening, wow, we have such a snowstorm - almost total white-out, with blowing snow! I don't know how anyone can see to drive. I don't look forward to looking out of my window in the morning." Still trying to catch up with various recent photos taken locally, before getting back to sorting and editing images from Day 5 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas. I think I have just one more outing from a few days ago to edit and upload, then I should be ready to get back to South Texas. The 18 photos I have just posted early this afternoon were taken on a day's drive south of the city on 18 April 2019 - same day as I saw the Mountain Bluebirds in my previous batch. On 18 April 2019, I had to move my car out of the parking lot between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, so that the lot could be cleaned (dried mud and gravel from all the months of winter). This meant I would have to find something to do for all those hours, so a drive out of the city made the most sense. The morning started off with looking for a Mountain Bluebird or two. I saw several and was lucky enough to get a few photos of both the male and female. Though the male is much more colourful, I always think the female has her own beauty. The only other birds I saw and photographed were a Rough-legged Hawk and a Tree Swallow. The latter was giving the Bluebird pair a rough time, often going close to the Bluebird nesting box and causing the male to come in for the attack. Much as I love Tree Swallows, too, they can easily go to a nearby empty box and build their nest there. In fact, two boxes are supposed to be placed close together for this very reason. As it was still so early in the day, the thought of an early lunch at the Saskatoon Farm came into my mind. I thought I knew the way to get there, going eastwards. However, it took me ages to find the way, as roads have two numbers/names and this is so confusing. I then remembered that this had happened to me in this area once before, ages ago. Eventually, I did get as far as the Farm, where I enjoyed their delicious quiche. A short wander round the grounds gave me a few photo opportunities, but the gardens have not yet been planted with all their flowers. Still too early to return home, so I drove a bit further south and made a quick visit to Frank Lake. So much water around the blind and practically no birds. A number in the far distance, but a Canada Goose and a couple of Coots were the only ones near the blind. Things will get much better as time goes by. It was also very windy.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.