Barns and old things

The light was rather low and flat on Saturday morning, 25 May 2013, when my youngest daughter and I drove some of the backroads SW of Calgary, including to visit this "famous" row of five red granaries. They seemed less red, somehow - maybe they are just showing their age more, losing that layer of old, red paint. Or maybe it was just the light - they look so different when the sun is shining on them. (Ha, couldn't stand looking at the original post, so I've just replaced it with a very slightly brighter copy). The far side of the sheds, there is a pile of colourful beehives and the bees had found them. Rachel had asked if I wanted to go along the backroads for my birthday - and what more enjoyable way to spend the day!!! Despite not being able to find a Great Gray Owl for her to see, certain other birds were right where I'd hope they would be - such as Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Wilson's Snipe, Mountain Bluebirds, Ruddy Ducks, Black Terns, etc., etc.. At one tiny slough, there were maybe just four or so birds on the water, and I suddenly realized that one pair was not "just" a pair of Common Goldeneye, but a pair of Barrow's Goldeneye (seen in the first photo I posted today), which Rachel had never seen. By the end of this great day, I think she had an even better understanding of why I love spending a day (any day!) in this way : ) The weather was good, other than a few raindrops, so we were lucky. Thanks so much, Rachel, for spending the day with me! Hope your photos came out better than mine did - got more blurry photos than I'd have liked, but that's usually the case, anyway, lol. By the way, if it's any comfort (and I'm sure it's not, lol!), we couldn't find any Great Gray Owls yesterday, on the annual May Species Count that covers some of the area you and I went to, plus other roads. Thanks for a super day!

Took this photo of part of one of the old buildings that are near the Bow Valley Ranch in Fish Creek Park. It is one of the photos I took during the excellent one-day Photography Course that was put on yesterday by the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park.

This is the kind of day we had today! Gloomy, wet and miserable. Luckily, the rain did stop later in the day. It was the 75th Parks' Anniversary celebration this afternoon and I took this photo of this 100-year-old barn that we passed on a short nature walk. It is not used at all - though a stable had horses there till fairly recently. I really hope they don't pull down this old structure. It really is an attractive building.

I love red barns and found this one on a side road that I was driving along this afternoon. I'd hoped to get a picture of it in the snow, but who knows - maybe there is still more of the white stuff to come before spring truly arrives.

The replica door of the Sod House at Beiseker. Early Pioneers built homes such as this one - the absolute basic shelter! We saw this replica Sod House (built in 2006) on the way to visit the Hutterite Colony (Fairview Colony) for the afternoon. A very enjoyable and interesting visit, and the members were delightfully friendly and welcoming! How we enjoyed the apple pie and ice-cream, tea/coffee that was provided for us!

Came across this decorated shed whilst on a birding outing to a gentleman's ranch outside Calgary.

Saw this row (there were several others in the row) of red, weathered, wooden sheds in a farmers field on Thursday. I was exploring a few side roads off Highway 22X, going west from Calgary towards the mountains.

This replica of a Sod House, typical of those built by early Pioneers, was built in Beiseker in 2006. I try to imagine how it would feel when the temperature drops to -35C!

I was out from 6:10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today, taking part in a Christmas Bird Count on the Cochrane Reserve, north-west of Calgary. Not sure of the exact number of bird species we saw, but it was around 23. Just outside our count area at the end of the day, we saw a beautiful little Northern Pygmy-owl atop a tall Spruce tree. Thanks, Tony, for bringing your scope - what an amazing view we were able to get of this tiny, perfect owl! We called in at various farms and ranches and saw all sorts of things in addition to the birds. This bright red barn was a photographic "must", as I love barns and I love red : ). We have a similar day tomorrow, only starting around 7:10 a.m. (phew!), and in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of the city. Can't wait to see what we will find.