Sunflower

This morning, 14 August 2019, I added 9 photos taken at the Saskatoon Farm, after my longish drive further SE, to look at a few old barns. Lots of colour at the Farm - lots of people, too.

Our few hot days have come to an end, at least for now, and we are back to rainy days (the last few days, with more to come). This afternoon, though the day started sunny, we now have thunder and rain - actually under a weather alert, Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

Six days ago, 8 August 2019, was definitely more of a barn day than a bird day. A while ago, another photographer had mentioned that a few barns in a certain area SE of Calgary had been removed and I was curious to see if any of the ones I had seen before were now missing. There is one huge barn in particular that I am always hoping still stands. I would love to be able to get photos from both sides of it, but it is way out in a farmer's field that is, of course, private property. Standing in the road, I can only get a distant shot and, as often happens, I had a problem with heat distortion on distant shots. There is an old, round, wooden grain bin and a partly hidden, smaller barn just near the barn, too. I think the first time I ever saw the barn was on 21 January 2015, when I took my daughter out for the day.

My intention six days ago had been to leave early in the morning, but it was already 10:45 am when I climbed into my car. Seeing that the weather forecast for the next six days included rain on each day, I knew I just had to do this trip straight away. Some of the roads I drove to get to my destination(s) were familiar, but others less so. There are two or three highway intersections that are confusing to me and I usually end up taking the wrong turn.

For a change, I turned off the main highway going south before my usual turn, in order to shorten the distance. My first sighting was a distant Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence at a wetland that used to be a great spot, but now is totally dried up.

After a quick stop at a tiny church that I always photograph when I am out that way, I continued east till I came to the three old Mossleigh grain elevators - one of the places I always get confused about which way to drive. Ideally, a dramatic sky would have been great, but I have taken better photos in the past.

From Mossleigh, I did my usual exploring, finding that a lovely old, wooden house was still standing. I believe this was built from a kit years ago, and it remains in reasonably good condition.

Eventually, I found the large barn that I wanted to see again and check on. It took me a while to work out which road it was on (thought I knew!), but I found it after some driving back and forth. It was good to see the smaller barn, in less then good condition, just down the road. The other two times that I have been standing in the road to take photos of this smaller barn, a lady has come along the road from a nearby farm and very kindly told me to on in and take any photos I'd like. No-one around this time, so I stayed on the road,of course. At one point, I happened to glance up the road and saw what I thought was someone's dog on the crest of the road. When I zoomed in on my camera, I realized it was a coyote, who started walking towards me. Unfortunately, it turned off into the field and disappeared. When I was at this smaller barn, it amused me to see a magnificent Mule near the barn, plus a horse. The Mule looked huge and was a real poser, wanting to be in almost every shot I took. Such a gorgeous creature, that I don't remember seeing there before.

Once I had taken a few photos, I started on my homeward drive, not stopping anywhere as I could see that, if I hurried, I could get to the Saskatoon Farm in time to get a meal before the restaurant closed for the day. Yay, I just made it.

Knowing that Frank Lake was only a short drive away, I couldn't resist driving back south to have a quick look. Found a couple of my friends there and spent some enjoyable time with them. Only took a few photos there, most to be deleted, before heading home. A fun day, though hot and hazy. Total distance covered was 275 km.