Sunlit moss
Nearing its end
Red-blue Checkered Beetle on Yarrow
Western Toad / Boreal Toad / Bufo boreas
Swallowtail
Virginia Ctenucha / Ctenucha virginica
Zakyra
Happy day! And Happy 4th July to all Americans, e…
Tiny fungus
Spotted Coralroot / Corallorhiza maculata
Three farm buddies
Red-tailed Hawk / Buteo jamaicensis
Wood Frog
Yellowjacket
It's beginning to look a lot like autumn
You take what you can get
Between the distant trees
Pinkish
Yarrow with tiny visitor
A change of subject
Ruffed Grouse - from my archives
Great Gray Owl in early morning light
Hairy Woodpecker
The rule of red
Lovable, but shy
Remnant of the old days
Little cabin in the woods
A toothy smile
Farm friends
A fine old barn
Mystery rock
A sweet face
Yesterday's treat
Much better than a utility pole
Taking the quieter road
On the hunt
Pretty good camouflage
Swivel-head
A photographer's nightmare
A quick glance
Northern Hawk Owl with Meadow Vole
Focused, listening, watching
Watchful eye
Narrow strip of light
Yesterday's treat - a Great Gray Owl
Smiling in the snow
A view through the bushes
Well camouflaged, except for those eyes
Sunlight on distant peaks
And they call this winter (in Alberta)?
Great Gray Owl with its catch
Natural beauty
Hunting for Meadow Voles
A quick glance
Mountain view on an owl-less day
One of a pair
Got my eyes on you
Remembering a winter day
A sky filled with clouds
Rolling hills and distant peaks
Perched on a broken tree trunk
Blowing in the wind
Surveying its territory
Before they go to seed
Sun halo
The art of building a nest
Time for nest building
Night-flowering Catchfly / Silene noctiflora
Cormorants and their reflections
Great Gray Owl in early morning light
Can't resist a barn mailbox
Layers of blue
Water Valley Church
Some like wood, others like metal
A Swallowtail's tails
Good friends
Indian Paintbrush
Love those ears
Bundle of fluff
Balance is a fine art
Thanks for the pose
Red barn in winter
Now, the big adventure begins
Barn beauty
A quick, backwards glance
Time for a snack
Puffballs
Gotta love those owls
Love those legs
Thankful for archives
Patiently watching
I think I can ... I think I can ...
Hidden treasure
If I just close my eyes, maybe she'll go away
First day of adventure
Swainson's Hawk
Little beauty
A look that needs to be shared : )
Spruce Grouse in all her finery
Tussock Moth caterpillar sp.
Drummond's Thistle
Hiding
Woundwort / Stachys pilosus
Blue fungus : )
Hiding in the grass
Crab Spider on Richardson's Geranium
How to start the day well
Delicate Harebells
Wood Frog
Chipping Sparrow
Spruce Sawyer
Three-banded Ladybug
Downy Woodpecker
Little church with personality
Winged beauty
Tiny trio
Yesterday's delight
Changing positions
Horsetail
A breathtaking encounter
Mighty Moose
Driving the Wildcat Hills
Great Gray Owl in a snowy setting
In the other direction ....
Glorious light
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One of three
![One of three One of three](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/20/02/38352002.ea225549.640.jpg?r2)
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All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 25 May 2015, when my daughter and I spent the day driving a large area NW of Calgary - a round trip of 340 km. The perfect way to celebrate my birthday : ) Most of the roads were roads that I had driven before, but my daughter had never been to most of the area. I had never driven to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, but had been several times on birding trips with friends.
I had really, really hoped to find a Great Gray Owl, as my daughter has never seen one in the wild. No luck yesterday, even though I knew a few areas to check. In fact, we saw so few birds of any kind! I'm always thankful that we both enjoy taking photos of all sorts of things, including barns. The old barn in this photo was one of three at this particular location. Though you can't really tell from my photo - difficult to get a good angle from the road, especially as the barns are side by side - these barns are very long, with a good number of cupolas on the roof.
Just over two years ago, a friend had asked if I wanted to "go on a drive" and we came across this ranch and stopped briefly so that I could take a couple of shots. That day must have been the worst day of that winter, lol! Blowing snow that made it so difficult to tell ground from sky and road from ditches. A white barn on white ground against a white sky had been a challenge! Ever since then, I had vowed that one day, I would be brave enough to drive myself and revisit in better weather. Knowing how much my daughter loves old barns was a huge motivation to make the drive, too. I was almost tempted to go up to the farm house yesterday and ask if it would be OK if we photographed these barns (from the road), but I chickened out. Regretted it later when I got home and confirmed that this ranch was owned by the same owners as another location just outside the city, that I had been lucky enough to visit on a botanizing trip in 2009 - wonderful old barns at that location, too.
Our little adventure started off in hopes of seeing a Red Fox family (out of luck), then driving the Grand Valley Rd and area. We stopped at Wynchell Lake, where my daughter spotted a Great Blue Heron and a very distant Kingfisher perched on a piece of driftwood. Also some kind of shorebird. She has great eyes for spotting things!
From there, we travelled eastwards and eventually reached Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. I had been hoping that there might at least be some wildflowers in bloom, but Dandelions were all we saw all day! Plenty of green foliage everywhere, but no flowers. Since yesterday, Alberta is under a province-wide fire ban thanks to the lack of rain. Everywhere is bone dry, which I would imagine is affecting the growth of plants. After I had dropped my daughter off at home, I did get some rain on my drive home - there were even snowflakes mixed in with the rain.
Another thing I saw on my drive home, while stopped at a traffic light, were four Jack Rabbits that had fun chasing each other round the base of a huge Spruce tree near the edge of the road and then they all ran across the road in single file between my car and the car in front. They were so, so cute : )
I had really, really hoped to find a Great Gray Owl, as my daughter has never seen one in the wild. No luck yesterday, even though I knew a few areas to check. In fact, we saw so few birds of any kind! I'm always thankful that we both enjoy taking photos of all sorts of things, including barns. The old barn in this photo was one of three at this particular location. Though you can't really tell from my photo - difficult to get a good angle from the road, especially as the barns are side by side - these barns are very long, with a good number of cupolas on the roof.
Just over two years ago, a friend had asked if I wanted to "go on a drive" and we came across this ranch and stopped briefly so that I could take a couple of shots. That day must have been the worst day of that winter, lol! Blowing snow that made it so difficult to tell ground from sky and road from ditches. A white barn on white ground against a white sky had been a challenge! Ever since then, I had vowed that one day, I would be brave enough to drive myself and revisit in better weather. Knowing how much my daughter loves old barns was a huge motivation to make the drive, too. I was almost tempted to go up to the farm house yesterday and ask if it would be OK if we photographed these barns (from the road), but I chickened out. Regretted it later when I got home and confirmed that this ranch was owned by the same owners as another location just outside the city, that I had been lucky enough to visit on a botanizing trip in 2009 - wonderful old barns at that location, too.
Our little adventure started off in hopes of seeing a Red Fox family (out of luck), then driving the Grand Valley Rd and area. We stopped at Wynchell Lake, where my daughter spotted a Great Blue Heron and a very distant Kingfisher perched on a piece of driftwood. Also some kind of shorebird. She has great eyes for spotting things!
From there, we travelled eastwards and eventually reached Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. I had been hoping that there might at least be some wildflowers in bloom, but Dandelions were all we saw all day! Plenty of green foliage everywhere, but no flowers. Since yesterday, Alberta is under a province-wide fire ban thanks to the lack of rain. Everywhere is bone dry, which I would imagine is affecting the growth of plants. After I had dropped my daughter off at home, I did get some rain on my drive home - there were even snowflakes mixed in with the rain.
Another thing I saw on my drive home, while stopped at a traffic light, were four Jack Rabbits that had fun chasing each other round the base of a huge Spruce tree near the edge of the road and then they all ran across the road in single file between my car and the car in front. They were so, so cute : )
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