The long road south
Our beautiful foothills on an overcast day
Following the fenceline
One of my favourite views
The fun times are over
Heading into the mountains
The storm rolls in
Gravel and dust - a favourite road
A fine old barn
Time for an old barn again
Home of the Snowshoe Hare
From the archives
One of my favourite barns
Roller coaster roads in winter
No two are the same
A barn to be proud of
A prairie view
Old barn on the prairie
Do you see what I see? Look very closely at the w…
Made to feel welcome
View from a barn doorway
Red
Weathered
Of days gone by
The perfect mailbox
A country road in fall colours
Juvenile European Starling
European Starling juvenile
12 baby Tree Swallows!
A baby Tree Swallow about to be banded
Handsome male
Sharing her catch
A different kind of perch
Little Bluebird on a snowy day
Beautiful catch
A posed Crow
Juicy snack for his babies
Dressed in gold
Winter sunrise.jpg
When winter is beautiful
Buzzed by a Red-winged Blackbird
Abandoned
The beauty of golden stubble
A face at the window, but not an owl : )
Towards the sun
Harsh reality
Winter simplicity
Road conditions
Backroads only for the brave
Joyful memories
Suppertime catch
A touch of autumn colour
Blanket of gold
Bluebird of happiness
Sleepy baby
Time to head for home
A beakful of bugs
Iridescence
Little bird, big caterpillar
On the supper menu
Spider on the menu
Six little siblings
If every day was like this ....
Bluebird and bokeh
In the other direction ....
One of the joys of spring
Colours of fall
Hills and peaks of Alberta
The touch of winter
Surrounded by colour
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And they call this winter (in Alberta)?
![And they call this winter (in Alberta)? And they call this winter (in Alberta)?](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/30/32/41313032.f81934e1.640.jpg?r2)
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This photo was taken yesterday, 5 March 2016, when I drove NW of Calgary again. The previous time, two days earlier, had proven to be a complete wash-out as far as finding any owls and I came home with just a few shots of a beautiful little country church. Made me decide to do the long drive again, in the hope that I would be luckier. It turned out to be suceessful, as we did get some distant views of a Great Gray Owl (or two). It's difficult to know if one is seeing the same individual each time or if they are different.
Tremendous patience is needed to see one of these owls, though one can very occasionally be really lucky. On my last trip three days ago, there was no sign of an owl and I was the only person there. I spent my time slowly driving back and forth along the road, picking up all the empty beer cans and bottles - two Safeway plastic bags overflowing with them, so maybe around 50? I REALLY like to think that these discards have absolutely nothing to do with birders/photographers, but had been thrown out by local people! It just seems such a coincidence that there were so many in a popular birding area : ( Yesterday, I noticed that there were already several newly discarded cans. I really dislike seeing them, as the sun catches the metal and makes them gleam - so out of place in nature. Also, they can be dangerous to wildlife, especially if glass bottles are broken or sharp edges of metal cans get exposed. I wasn't sure if the Bottle Depot would accept filthy cans and bottles covered in dried mud. I called in at the recycle bins before the Bottle Depot and a youngish man was digging into the bins to find any cans and bottles. I told him I wasn't sure if they would be accpted, but that he was welcome to the ones I had in my car, and he gladly took them. Worked out perfectly in the end.
Back to yesterday, it was such a beautiful day and just had to be spent outdoors. This photo, taken when I drove up one of the side roads on my way home, shows how much of our countryside is completely bare of snow. This winter has been completely crazy weather-wise, just as it has been in so many parts of the world.
Two or three cars were pulled over further north in the morning. Friends had been watching a Great Gray Owl that had then flown off into the trees and disappeared. No luck with it returning, but we were told about another owl further along. This time, we got distant views of it in the trees at the edge of the forest. It made a couple of dives and was definitely successful in catching a Meadow Vole the one time (see previous photo). So, once again, some distant shots, but they were more than enough to make one feel very happy and grateful, and the long drive feel worthwhile. Always great to have a chance to catch up with friends, too, of course.
Tremendous patience is needed to see one of these owls, though one can very occasionally be really lucky. On my last trip three days ago, there was no sign of an owl and I was the only person there. I spent my time slowly driving back and forth along the road, picking up all the empty beer cans and bottles - two Safeway plastic bags overflowing with them, so maybe around 50? I REALLY like to think that these discards have absolutely nothing to do with birders/photographers, but had been thrown out by local people! It just seems such a coincidence that there were so many in a popular birding area : ( Yesterday, I noticed that there were already several newly discarded cans. I really dislike seeing them, as the sun catches the metal and makes them gleam - so out of place in nature. Also, they can be dangerous to wildlife, especially if glass bottles are broken or sharp edges of metal cans get exposed. I wasn't sure if the Bottle Depot would accept filthy cans and bottles covered in dried mud. I called in at the recycle bins before the Bottle Depot and a youngish man was digging into the bins to find any cans and bottles. I told him I wasn't sure if they would be accpted, but that he was welcome to the ones I had in my car, and he gladly took them. Worked out perfectly in the end.
Back to yesterday, it was such a beautiful day and just had to be spent outdoors. This photo, taken when I drove up one of the side roads on my way home, shows how much of our countryside is completely bare of snow. This winter has been completely crazy weather-wise, just as it has been in so many parts of the world.
Two or three cars were pulled over further north in the morning. Friends had been watching a Great Gray Owl that had then flown off into the trees and disappeared. No luck with it returning, but we were told about another owl further along. This time, we got distant views of it in the trees at the edge of the forest. It made a couple of dives and was definitely successful in catching a Meadow Vole the one time (see previous photo). So, once again, some distant shots, but they were more than enough to make one feel very happy and grateful, and the long drive feel worthwhile. Always great to have a chance to catch up with friends, too, of course.
Annalia S. has particularly liked this photo
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