Odds & ends

On 15 and 16 August 2018, Calgary's AIR QUALITY hit 10 and 10+, the worst possible rating, as wildfire smoke blankets Alberta. The smoke blown from the BC wildfires is intensely unpleasant - no sign of the mountains and we can barely even see the foothills, the smoke is so thick. Not just unpleasant outside, but I can also smell the smoke inside my home. I really, really hope BC gets some heavy rain as soon as possible, giving the brave firefighters a break and preventing even more loss, of lives, homes, wildlife and forest. calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/air-quality-deemed-high... B.C. (British Columbia) State of emergency declared across province as 566 fires burn. For the second year in a row, wildfires have prompted the B.C. government to declare a province-wide state of emergency. calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/b-c-wildfires-2018-stat... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, 16 August 2018, I was invited to go with a friend to visit a mutual friend down in Turner Valley and see the birds that come to her beautiful back garden. Only small, this area has been so thoughtfully and beautifully laid out, encouraging all sorts of birds and other wildlife to visit. She is so fortunate that a wildlife corridor is just beyond her deck and garden. Totally unexpectedly, Jackie made us a delicious cheese bun sandwich for lunch that included tomatoes she has grown herself on her deck, along with cold, refreshing lemonade. Thank you so much, Jackie, for your kindness, as always! Pam, I really appreciate your invite to go with you, and thanks so much for driving a few new back roads and a stop at Frank Lake. I don't know where all the birds were, but there were so few at the Lake and most of those were far, far out. It was a real treat, though, to start off our morning with a beautiful Swainson's Hawk that was perched on a metal fence railing, and to end our day with several (was it three?) American White Pelicans in flight and then landing on a pond in the city. We were lucky that one of them was still on the water by the time we had parked and walked to the pond. Part of our drive was through High River, where we spotted this unusually shaped house. We couldn't resist stopping to take a photo or two. When I got home, I did some research and discovered that this house was used in the 1983 movie, Superman 3. Annette O'Toole played Lana Lang, Clark Kent's high school friend. This was her house in Superman 3. High River was Smallville in the movie. A clip from the movie, showing the house : ) youtu.be/MYj-L8n75IU www.elisafriesen.com/prompt-me/2016/2/17/2016-366-project... Despite the thick blanket of smoke everywhere and the dreadful air quality, the faint landscape that surrounded us was eerily beautiful. It will feel almost strange to see our beautiful foothills and mountains once again, when the wildfire smoke finally comes to an end.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday (25 August 2018) while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! It was a fairly cool day, which was great, but the smoke is still being blown in from the wildfires in British Columbia. I was just reading an article this morning about the awful air quality in Seattle and theirs has been roughly the same as ours. They reckon the very poor air quality is equivalent to smoking seven cigarettes a day. It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. Compared to our visit on 17 June 2017, there were fewer species to be seen, but enough to keep us happy. I think the highlight for me was a Western Kingbird that posed so beautifully on a tangle of metal pipes down near the edge of the water. I also loved taking a couple of quick shots of this cute goat just as we were leaving. We had stopped so that one of us could get out and buy several food items from a Hutterite stand that was in the trailer campground. I got out to get a bottle of water from my backpack in the back of the car and a friend in the car behind caught my attention and pointed out this animal posing so nicely. Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of delicious salads and desserts that left me feeling full till the early evening. We also enjoyed meeting your two Grandchildren, Shirley, who happened to be staying with you for the weekend. So good to see them both making lists of the bird species seen. Many thanks, Anne B, for driving some of us us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Please, no need to make any comments! Just finishing off the last 10 photos taken during our trip east to Eagle Lake, on 25 August 2018. Some are similar to others, so I'm sure won't be of too much interest to anyone other than myself. Today, 28 August 2018, I did another long drive, this time SW of the city into the mountains. This is a second area that I try to do on my own each year now, to make sure that I don't lose confidence to do the drive. Too tired to sort and edit any of the images yet, but I will try and get three or four ready to upload tomorrow. Luckily, I saw a few furry, four-legged critters, which will make a change from all my recent photos. Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you the day before yesterday (25 August 2018) while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! It was a fairly cool day, which was great, but the smoke is still being blown in from the wildfires in British Columbia. I was just reading an article this morning about the awful air quality in Seattle and theirs has been roughly the same as ours. They reckon the very poor air quality is equivalent to smoking seven cigarettes a day. It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. Compared to our visit on 17 June 2017, there were fewer species to be seen, but enough to keep us happy. I think the highlight for me was a Western Kingbird that posed so beautifully on a tangle of metal pipes down near the edge of the water. The soapsud "icebergs" were interesting to see, too, but no doubt were polluting the lake! I also loved taking a couple of quick shots of a cute goat just as we were leaving. We had stopped so that one of us could get out and buy several food items from a Hutterite stand that was in the trailer campground. I got out to get a bottle of water from my backpack in the back of the car and a friend in the car behind caught my attention and pointed out this animal posing so nicely. Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of delicious salads and desserts that left me feeling full till the early evening. We also enjoyed meeting your two Grandchildren, Shirley, who happened to be staying with you for the weekend. So good to see them both making lists of the bird species seen. Many thanks, Anne B, for driving some of us us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

On the spur of the moment tonight, I decided that I might just try and get up early tomorrow morning and go for a drive. The smoke from the British Columbia wildfires hasn't been hanging around the last few days, so I really should make the most of a clear day. Rather than post my three photos in the morning, I thought I would post them tonight, to avoid leaving home later than I want. On 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body ached like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. I left home at 9:00 am, just a bit later than I had hoped. Arrived back home somewhere around 8:30 pm. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. Unfortunately, this Bison is a domestic animal, on a farm. A Prairie Bison? I have seen wild Bison and I do have photos of them in the wild. Couldn't resist stopping to take a few shots of these animals. It was also a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two of the hawks, as the hay bale was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. A Horned Lark, a Vesper Sparrow, a Mourning Dove, and a Western Meadowlark gave me the chance for a photo or two and, to my delight, a hawk I spotted way in the distance turned out to be a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as they tend to be few and far between. My actual destination was the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge. I know some people feel that photographing birds that are not out in the wild is cheating. I kind of agree, though I think it's fine as long as someone says where it was taken. I have seen and photographed many wild owls in their natural habitat, but I still love seeing them at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale - up close and personal, at least when zoomed.

The day before yesterday, 6 September 2018, turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, for comparison, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting. So far, in general, I think I am liking how the P900 takes photos.

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight. This painted cow, now residing in someone's front garden in Calgary, dates back to the year 2000. The story behind this and many other cows is given in the Avenue magazine article below. "If you’ve ever noticed large, strangely decorated cows that seem to dot the city and wondered, “what’s up with that?” wonder no more. The story goes back to the year 2000. A group of charity-minded individuals, led by artist and businesswoman Bonnie Laycock, thought Cowtown was lacking in cows, and so the Udderly Art: Colourful Cows for Calgary project was born. Taking inspiration from similar CowParade projects staged in Chicago and Zurich, the volunteer driven, not-for-profit project began creating large cow statue canvasses to be decorated by local artists and strewn about the city for a six month period, with its stated goals being to: - Generate artistic creativity and showcases for Alberta artists, - Bring smiles and chuckles to the faces of children and adults, Calgarians and visitors alike, and - Raise funds for many charities. The molded fiberglass cows were originally white, clocking in at 54 inches tall from head to hoof; 84 inches long from nose to tail; and weighing 90 pounds. (Though that number shot up to 900 once the concrete bases were added). Individuals and companies who initially purchased the cows for $5,000 each chose which artist would work on their bovines and, starting May 15, 1999 the cows were on display everywhere in the city from the airport to the zoo." www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/The-Story-of-Calgarys-Cow...

I THINK this sounds promising? "Autumn is a tumultuous season, famous for wild temperature swings and powerful fall storms," said Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist at The Weather Network. "Of course, this fall will include both, but overall we expect a less active and less tumultuous pattern than normal. This means we'll experience a more gentle slide rather than a freefall, as we make the inevitable transition from summer to winter. Most Canadians can expect a mild fall with near normal or above normal temperatures for nearly all of Canada except for parts of Nunavut, northern Quebec and Labrador. The warmest weather relative to normal is expected from the Maritimes to Southern Ontario and across the far western side of the country including B.C., parts of Alberta and the Yukon. In between the back for swings in temperature that are typical of the season should come close to offsetting each other." From the weather Network. www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/fall-forecast-win... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whatever happened to sunshine and warmth? Recently, we have been having rainy, dreary (and yesterday, very foggy!) weather. A decision needed to be made - to go or not go on a birding day trip east of the city. Usually, people don't have to register, but yesterday's trip was different, thanks to a change in how outings will be run in the future. I had registered, which helped push me out of the door on a day with a forecast for rain all day. So glad I did go, though, as once the dense fog eventually pretty much lifted half way through the day, the sun came out and it was beautiful. In the morning, the sun. hidden behind the fog, almost looked more like the moon. Our route took us to places such as (very foggy) Weed Lake and, much further east, Marsland Basin. I love our trips in this direction from the city, even more so because I very rarely do the drive myself. As for birds, 56 species were spotted, most at extremely far distances. As usually happens, I only saw some of them, but was happy with the ones I did see. Not much chance to take photos of birds, but as usual, my camera lens turned to everything else around me - scenery, wildflowers, insects, old barns and sheds, and a few beautifully delicate spider webs covered in dew, rain or fog drops. I wish I knew what kind of spiders create these much more random webs - different from the full-circle ones I normally come across. I can only imagine what these webs might have looked like in sunshine, instead of heavy fog. Still, I'm happy that a few photos are fit to post, to remind me of nature's beauty this day. After our first stop, we decided to have an early coffee break, in hopes that the fog would improve. Eventually, it did, slightly. Fog is definitely not what one wants on a birding trip! I think we had seven stops in total, including one at Marsland Basin, our most distant destination. Such a great place to visit and enjoy. While everyone else was peering through their binoculars at the distant wetland, I was wandering through the trees and grounds surrounding Lynn and Sue's home, catching a Sunflower shot here and a donkey shot there, and so on. One of my favourite places. Sorry we missed you, Lynn! Many thanks as always, Andrew, for yet another very enjoyable trip. Thanks, too, for everyone combining to create the list of total species. So many great pairs of eyes. It felt so good to be away from my computer for hours, too, especially after getting a Virus the previous day and coming very close to losing everything on my computer!

Today, 1 October 2018, we are under a Special Weather Statement. A heavy snowfall is likely for parts of western Alberta this week. This morning, it is -2C (windchill -6C) with freezing drizzle in the morning with a few flurries this afternoon. I think the normal temperature for 1 October is around 15C, so we are well below average. Snow tonight, which means I am getting my snow tires put on (tomorrow) one day too late. "The start of October will look more like the middle of winter across much of southern Alberta this week, as cold air and snow feature prominently in the forecast. After what have already been record-breaking amounts so far this year, more snowfall is on the way for parts of the Prairies, as Arctic air pours down from the north and Pacific moisture creeps over the Rockies. We're looking at the risk for some significant totals this week." From the Weather Network. I had been hoping to get over to Granary Road all summer, but it just didn't happen. This is a fairly new market garden, SW of the city, with an Active Learning Park, too. Before this, the area was simply a huge, empty field, except for the row of bright red sheds. I was very disappointed some time ago, when I first saw what was being planned for that particular area. Most of all, I and many other photographers, were horrified when we discovered that the row of five old, red granaries/sheds had been removed from the landscape. Some of you may remember my photos of these granaries, which I called "The Famous Five". They have been replaced by five new, red sheds which, I have to say, look better than I had originally thought. Link for my album, "The Famous Five" - 25 images of the original, old row of five, red granaries. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157648910659879 My daughter finally had a day free for us to get together on 23 September 2018. She suggested we could go to the Saskatoon Farm, a place we both love, for breakfast and a wander round the grounds with our cameras. After that, we drove west to Granary Road. Though the Active Learning Park had closed for the fall and winter, it was open for the day on the day we went, It covers a large area and has all sorts of learning areas, including a mushroom area. granaryroad.com/active-learning/ granaryroad.com/