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The weather forecast warns:
Pink Tornados approaching the coast! :)
Stavanger skies always present something new... :)
The weather forecast confirmed snow for this weekend, finally!
Ziva hasn't touched the snow yet. I hope she will like it ;-)
The weather forecast was iffy, and we considered hiking another day. THANK GOODNESS we went, because it was a perfect day's hike: not too hot, not too cold; a little breeze to keep things fresh; and a trail with snow nicely packed down, but not icy. It was a bit unusual for us, because we could see from the cloud movement there were big winds afoot, but this time, they were from the north, and we were completely sheltered from them the entire hike. An odd thing happened as well. Early, we met a fellow descending on a mountain bike. He looked a little worried, because he lost track of his dog Cypress. When we returned to the trailhead, we saw that his car was gone, so we're assuming there was a happy ending to his story. Total return distance, 7.4 km's, total elevation gain, 706 m's, moving time, 2 hrs, 27 minutes; total time, 3 hrs, 17 minutes.
I create a report for myself on all hikes climbed and have included a recent one here. If interested you might require fifteen minutes and a cuppa to read my notes from this hike.
Our plans for this day had once again flirted with the idea of climbing Mike's mountain, An Teallach. Not for the first time though did the weather forecast intervene and put a spanner in the works. Ok, we hadn't been threatened with a howling gale, a snow storm or torrential rain, but we both wanted good visibility so that we could enjoy the climb over many people’s favourite British mountain. That and Marks decidedly cautious approach to the spiky ridge meant that we would save that mountain for a better forecast. The other consideration was that we didn't know if we had enough daylight at that time of the year. Would we come to regret this decision later when we were down to just a few munros and very little time in which to make the climb? Only time would tell.
Having seen a forecast which included a poor afternoon’s rainfall we made the decision to head for the hills south of a starting point we had previously used in a small settlement called Achnashellach. Our plan was to climb Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr a' Chaorachain and then hopefully head for home before we received a good soaking. We knew there were three munros down that way but they involved a fairly long access hike and would really have to be split into two hikes. With this in mind we chose to leave the third Munro for another day when we could take the bikes along for ease of access.
Leaving behind the other tourists that had decamped on their highland coach tour holidays at the Ben Wyvis hotel in Strathpeffer we picked up our rations for the hills from the local grocery and headed west past Achnasheen along the cracking road to Achnashellach. A midge infested car park was found on the edge of the pine forest, where we met one of those characters who make the outdoors worthwhile but end up leaving you breathless. This chap was older than us; clearly he had a fine outdoors CV and was first seen strapping a substantial third wheel to the rear of his bike. This wheel was weighed down with his camping gear, but by all accounts it was his normal weekend set up. We knew the Land Rover track all three of us were to use had its fair share of hills so midge permitting we would have taken our hats off to this bloke. This chap managed to set off before us but we were soon back in front of him. Literally one hundred yards from the car park we had to cross a railway line and he had to dismantle his rig.
A short while further on we could hear the rustle of tyres on the dirt track and sure enough past us he went waving and wishing us a good day on the hills. The track would descend a little until a bridge over the river was reached. At this point we came across the first signs of the hydro power plant that was creating a great scar on this glen. It would seem that a huge pipe several miles long was being buried adjacent to our access route. This pipe would wind its way up into the hills and no doubt drain a far flung loch allowing for hydro power to be generated as the water flowed downhill. I seem to recall that several years ago they had been working on this scheme, so it was either a task being performed by a limited few or a much greater project than I expected.
Onwards the track went, walking poles clicking away, good progress being made and all along the tyre tracks of our cyclist friend were seen showing us the way uphill. Before the off we had been a little concerned over the weather and after half an hour this concern proved real as initially it started to drizzle until down it came in a fine deluge. Water proofs were donned and with our task looming large in our minds off we went following the track wind its way uphill. Sure enough after the best part of an hour we reached the locked gate that near enough marked the high point of this Land Rover track. Would you believe it there was a car parked by the gate. It had a cycle rack on the back so was pretty surely used by a lazy set of hikers. Why hadn't we thought of doing that? With the gate out of the way I was soon scurrying for a little privacy. When the mornings breakfast has worked in conjunction with my early morning exercise there is only one outcome. I know this isn't great but I cannot do anything about it. Suffice to say I made sure it was buried neatly under a little cairn out of sight and harm.
Having started our descent the views down the glen started to open up. Our first target Sgurr Choinnich was seen directly in front of us. Or rather its bottom half was as the rest was hidden under a fine layer of clag. It was around this point where I came across a sign I hadn't seen in the hills before "Keep Out, Water Vole Colony". Needless to say we didn't see one, but it was a nice reminder of what the British countryside does hold. Onwards we plodded and after a while our path would closely follow the banks of a stream/river that meandered down the middle of the glen. By now the weather had improved and offered a good degree of promise. Our only issue was finding the crossing point of the river from where we could take a westerly bearing and head for the beallach. Before we could do this we came across a couple of those superb wire bridges. They were in a different rickety league to the one we had previously crossed up Glen Nevis. They simply had one wire to walk on and another one at chest height to hold onto. Needless to say they swayed with a vengeance. Mark tried the first one we came along and did a fair job of staying reasonably stable, I, however looked more like a precarious circus act as I tried to stay reasonably upright. Ok, the drop was insignificant, but it would have resulted in a good soaking to say the least.
Having thrown the walking poles over the river we followed over the wire bridge and then squelched our way up the muddy embankment at the far side until we soon found ourselves on the beallach access path. With the weather now pretty much improved I took a few pictures, whilst Mark did a disappearing act and headed for the beallach. Layers were shed and a steepish grind followed before once again I caught up with him in time for a butty stop. The weather had taken another change for the worst but it was nothing serious. Suitably refilled with chocky bars and sarnies I set off first and headed off up the obvious ridge that doubled back on our accent route. Height was gained well and in no time at all we had a fine view over to the range beyond, the one that included the infamous Lurg Mhor. I was going well now and the weather was once again taking a turn for the better so off I went whilst Mark took a much longer lig art at the beallach. This was what hiking should be all about.
After a good thousand foot pull the ridge started to narrow and then a small cairn appeared on the horizon. Sure enough it was the summit of the day's first Munro. Now it was my turn to lig art, but this time I would have a stunning view in all directions and the warmth of the sun on my back. After Mark arrived we must have spent a good half hour on this summit. After all we could see the next and final Munro, not a million miles away, so we had plenty of time. Looking south from this summit we now had a first class view of one of the routes to the most remote of all munros, Lurg Mhor. From this side the ascent would involve the same climb we had made to the beallach, the ascent of a Corbett, then another Munro and then Lurg Mhor. Guess what? the return journey would be a reversal of the ascent. Just wonderful and a thought that was starting to haunt the two of us. That being said the cyclist we had met earlier in the day had recommended a long bike ride in from the west. Maybe that would be the option we would take.
Time was moving on and the ascent of Sgurr a' Chaorachain didn't look too far off. There was a fine path linking the two hills, yes a fairly long descent but we had great visibility and it would simply be a case of just plodding on to link the two. This proved to be the case and once again with Mark ligging art somewhere I made good progress to the summit. Once more the weather really was out of the top drawer. This time though I didn't have as long to wait for Mark and anyhow Chris the schemer had a plan. "Mark, you know that third remote Munro we are going to leave for another day, what do you think of the idea of adding it to today's hike?" The weather was fine, we had daylight, a great but long path back to the road and it would save us a days hiking at some point in future. Silence followed!!! Mark knew we didn't have a map, that the weather was likely to change and that it would extend the walk to around eighteen miles, something we hadn't planned for whilst we had ligged around earlier in the day. Whilst he was chewing over the idea I took a few pictures of the distant ridge. At least that way we would have something to look at if the clag came in. It wouldn’t be a map but would give us some idea of the twists and turns of the ridge. Being the realist, I knew his views were to stick to the plan so when he reluctantly asked me what I wanted to do, Chris the bold stepped forward and suggested we should give it a go.
Either way, we could descend to a low beallach and make our final decision at that point. Mark set off as though he was chasing Mo Farrar, I bounded along behind over the tussocky grass and great progress was made. On route to the beallach we passed a tent pitched by a cracking lochan. Perhaps that would belong to our new found cyclist pal. Well, the beallach was reached, a huge black cloud now cloaked our final hill, Maile Lunndaidh, the wind had picked up whilst we stood there glum faced looking at one and other. Mark fully expected me to agree to the return to the Land Rover track, but with my "muck or nettles" head on he should have known better. The first section in front was quite a climb, but one where we only had to stick close to the edge of the ridge. Beyond that my memory, pictures taken earlier and a little compass craft would have to come into use.
So off we went. We definitely had a purpose now and knew we were in for a little adventure as well as a late finish. There were two thousand feet of extra climbing ahead and although reasonable progress was made my limbs were starting to feel a little tired. Visibility went pretty quickly and the only point of note was when we passed a lone hiker heading downhill in the opposite direction. It was our new found pal. He had pitched his tent and been out and back to our third Munro. Having a natter in amongst plenty of weather with a stranger who shares the same hobby is one of hill walking’s real pleasures. He had plenty of time, but we didn't so we had to press on. He gave a few hints regarding the route finding on the summit plateau but we didn't dare admit we were map less!
Sure enough the situation deteriorated, we were engulfed in a blanket of white clag, it was chucking it down, it was also cold as well, so there wasn't a great deal to shout about. We knew there were three large cairns, effectively in a line that gradually arced northwards from our easterly direction. We also knew that there was a relatively narrow ridge to follow, so if we found that we would simply head north until we had dropped about five hundred feet. Thankfully for once Mark had remembered his altimeter. Sure enough, after quartering the summit plateau for a while the first of the cairns appeared out of the gloom and one by one so did the rest. The narrow ridge was found, crossed with ease and then a battle against the northerly winds followed for a miserable ten minutes.
As if out of the blue (or was it the grey clag) a glimpse of greenery from the valley bottom appeared. Then another, until we could make out the miniscule lodge that occupied the very end of the Land Rover path. It looked like it was within touching distance, but any path we had soon deteriorated until we were scrambling through rock and then long tussocky grass. It really was ankle breaking territory. Thankfully many years of experience of hiking through and over this type of terrain made for an easier crossing. Lower down we would be bog hopping through peat hags, channels and plenty mud. When you have been on the hills all day it is so easy to let your guard drop and twist an ankle. Care and attention was required. Just as it was when I finally reached the lodge which was surrounded by a shaggy looking herd of highland cattle. That incident years ago with the bull will never leave my mind. Of note at the lodge was a simple little shed which carried a sign which stated that it could be used as an emergency shelter.
After seventy minutes of quick descent, Mark was once again back with me. All we had to do now was make the eight mile hike back home along this fine track. There never has been a time when I have been able to keep up with Marks stride pattern. At six foot four I am often left in his wake when we encounter the long hike home. This is fine and to be fair he is pretty considerate. Off we went, click click the walking poles went, as fast as I could go, all the time being as determined as ever to get as far as possible before darkness descended upon us. Yes, we had our head torches, but more importantly we had the need to get a good, filling evening meal. The next couple of hours drifted by with my eyes gradually getting used to the half light, the moon and starlight and then as the cloud cover came in nothing but the benefit of fifty plus years worth of carrot eating. It was a struggle, but we made a fine return back to the car. It wasn't pitch black (dad says you don't know the meaning of the term Pitch Black unless you've worked down t’pit), but it is fair to say we really were at our limits.
Back at the car a lightening change was made and off we went in search of food. With a screech of tyres on the gravel we pulled up at the Ledgowan hotel in Achnasheen where we had recently stayed and eaten quite a bit. Mark went in to see if we had missed last food orders, this turned out to be an hour earlier at 8pm, but hey ho they rustled up a fine snack for us. At long last we were able to savour our extended day on the hills, I was able to say I knew all along that we would manage without a map in garbage weather and that it had been a worthwhile exercise. All’s well that ends well and a superb day on the hills. I guess An Teallach will have to wait for another day.
On 17 September 2017, after noticing snowflake icons in the weather forecast for Calgary this week, I decided I would do a drive east and north-east of the city. In 2016, I had done a similar drive with my daughter, but this time I did not go as far as Drumheller. Actually, I still drove quite a bit further than I had intended - 346 km, 215 miles. If I had had enough self-discipline, I would have left home much earlier, as it was 11:20 am when I finally got into my car.
My intention was to drive a few back roads, searching for old barns. Most of my drive was on highways, simply for the purpose of saving time, so it wasn't till I was more or less at the furthest point that I actually saw a barn.
I think my first stop was at Sharples - I couldn't see a sign pointing to this tiny place, so it took me a while to find the hilly, gravel road leading to it. By this time, unfortunately, there was a haze over the landscape and the light was far from good. Having driven so far, I was determined to take photos. As with any beautiful old elevator or barn, it will be a sad day when each one finally collapses. The grain elevator at Sharples certainly does not look in good condition, with its outer layer (fire retardant?) peeling badly.
"The Elevator is marked P&H. This company, Parrish & Heimbecker, was one of the smaller players in the Canadian grain industry with a fewer number of elevators seen when compared to the big boys like UGG (United Grain Growers), Pioneer and the Alberta Wheat Pool (“The Pool”). Interestingly, each elevator company used specific colours on their structures making identifying them a fairly easy task. P&H mostly used either silver like what’s seen here, or a light yellow-ish colour – most other companies stuck to one colour.
The elevator here was built just after the rail line was opened (early 1920s) and the large annex attached was added some twenty years later. An annex like this was a quick and easy way to increase capacity and a large elevator allowed for more efficient loading of rail cars. While solid looking, the building is succumbing to the elements. The siding in particular is starting to peeling away.
There used to be a second elevator here, an AWP, Alberta Wheat Pool built late 1920s, that was torn down in the 1980s." From the link below that leads to an excellent site by Chris and Connie "bigdoer".
www.bigdoer.com/461/exploring-history/sharples-alberta-gh...
While I was standing there, taking photos of the grain elevator and the old barn that isn't seen in this photo, a farmer came down to the gravel road on his tractor and stopped to have a pleasant chat. I guess I could have asked for permission to walk closer to the barn, but it is not on his property. Anyway, I never go close to barns or go inside, as I never ask for permission. That doesn't stop a lot of photographers, but I can't do it.
I told this pleasant man that I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, and he said that we WERE in the middle of nowhere, ha. I was planning to go back the same way I had come, but he told me that there was an old house the other way, that people photograph. That changed my mind, though I knew I would continue to feel in the middle of nowhere. Definitely worth it, as I also came across a site of old, abandoned miners' cabins before reaching the old house. I'm not sure what each old building was used for, but this one looks like it might have been one of the cabins. When coal was no longer mined, the area was left and the railway lines were torn up at a later date.
One other abandoned house I passed was one that my daughter and I had found last year. It was built among the rolling hills, far, far away from any road, and is a very impressive sight. This year, they were doing road work repair by a bridge just a matter of feet away from the only possible place to pull over and stop. Thankfully, I was still able to stop and take photos.
The last place I stopped on the way home was to take a few shots of a row of five old granaries. They are quite popular with photographers.
Altogether, a good few hours out. Though I didn't see a lot, the things I did see were most welcome and appreciated. I was glad to get in one more long drive before 'the white stuff' arrives and keeps me close to home. It has already fallen to the west of us.
There was weather forecast for the afternoon, so we got an early start on this hike to Forgetmenot Ridge. This hike requires a ford of the Elbow River. On previous visits, that hadn't been an issue, but the floods of 2013 changed the channels, and we had been staying away fearing deep water. But we were able to hip-hop over a shallow section, and all was well. Although when driving to the trailhead, you feel you are deep in the Rocky Mountains, this place is still very much the "Front Range," the first line of mountains next the foothills, and you can get distant views of Calgary from the top.
Always good to add a wee story to a photograph but I think this snap speaks for itself!
© All rights reserved
The weather forecast wasn't too good today, but stayed dry while I was in town, so I took a few shots from the top of the car park.
Photo 11/31 October picture a day.
Today's weather forecast: "Extreme Cold Warning. A prolonged period of very cold wind chills is expected. Extreme cold conditions are expected to continue through the weekend." Our temperature today is -29°C (windchill -38°C) and light snow is still falling. Will this extreme cold ever end? Having just done three, day-long Counts in such bitterly cold weather, it looks like things should warm up just in time for the Fish Creek Provincial Park's annual New Year's Day Count. We will have an awful lot of snow to trudge through, though.
A video from the Weather Network website, showing how cold it is in Calgary right now:
www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/watch-this-ho...
This photo was taken yesterday, 29 December 2017, when four of us (using just one car) took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of back roads and farms just like on our other Counts. The area we covered (right on the east edge of the count circle) was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area).
The first evidence of any wildlife for me, first thing in the morning, was a Jackrabbit that was nibbling on snow-covered plants right outside our leader's house. Of course, at 7:15 in the morning, it was still dark.
Each year, I look forward to seeing several Llamas at one of the farms we call in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. I'm not sure how many Llamas they have - somewhere around 7? Most of these animals were given to them by other farmers who no longer wanted them.
"Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia.
Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. This day, though, with a temperature of -23C all day (windchill probably at least -30C), kept cats indoors. I caught a brief glimpse of just one cat outside. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, but I did get the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of one of the barns, from a side view, which I had only seen for the first time on last year's Count.
Another farm we stopped at had beautiful Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls coming to a feeder. A joy to see these splashes of colour in a very cold, white, white world.
So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Too cold and too much snow to spend much time searching various farmyards, and we had finished the Count by 2:30 pm. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below. Many thanks, Dave, for driving us. You did a great job of handling roads that were not in the greatest condition, and it was greatly appreciated. The light was awful all day, and it was so difficult to see where the ditch was and where one road turned off to another. There is no way I would ever try driving on our back roads in winter! Also, a huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander around their farmyards. These visits make our day much more interesting!
An article from CBC News, including words from Brian Keating about how birds stay warm in such cold weather:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/how-birds-survive-winter-1...
""Common Redpolls can survive up to 20 hours without access to food, even if temperatures drop to -54 C," Brian Keating said.
Redpolls have specially designed esophageal pouches that allow them to hold on to seeds, then later slowly digest them to provide them with energy to maintain their core at a balmy 40 C — "kinda like throwing logs on a fireplace.
Their internal temperature can be 73 degrees warmer than the surrounding air, with the two extremes being separated by less than a half a centimetre layer of feathers."
The weather forecast is, 6 more days of rain. ( Oh, no )... I've always heard if it rains the first day of the month.. it will rain 15 days that month... So, if we get 6 more days, we'll have that total of 15 days of rain for the month of May.
~~ Thanks for your visit and have a terrific weekend.
With the weather forecast in Kent far from ideal for photography (and travelling!) I decided to take advantage of the ARRIVA Kent & Sussex Explorer and ended up spending the majority of the day riding one of the final P-reg Darts in existence in Kent.
Seen here only a few weeks from its possible withdrawal date (assuming it's MOT is not renewed), ARRIVA Kent & Surrey 3242 P242 MKN is captured on Mount Pleasent Road, Tunbridge Wells as it waits to depart on route 218. Saturday 31st January 2015
This is now the sole vehicle in the ARRIVA Kent & Surrey fleet based in Kent (Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Gillingham and Sheerness) whose heritage dates back to Maidstone & District. It's also worthy to note that this is the final vehicle allocated to Tunbridge Wells to retain the original ARRIVA livery.
Dennis Dart SLF 10.6 - Plaxton Pointer (Ex-Maidstone & District 3242)
IMG_20403
The weather forecast called for clouds, so I took a gamble and drove 90 minutes to this location, which I've been wanting to check out for quite some time. It was a super-low negative tide, so I knew there would be no issues getting through the Hole in the Wall.
I discovered that climbing the rocks from the beach to get to this spot was a little dicey (for me at least), and I almost chickened out. However after watching a couple of other explorers navigate the terrain, I followed their lead, climbing up and over a big boulder.
I had arrived over an hour early, so I picked a composition, set up my tripod, and waited. I snapped several exposures as the sun was setting, but just wasn't feeling it. The lighting was just OK, plus my composition was not the best. After sunset the sky began to illuminate with color. Abandoning my original composition, I quickly shifted positions and set up an alternate composition, including leading lines in the foreground and also the beautiful clouds. One of the best sunsets I've ever seen.
Nikon D7100
Tokina 11-16 mm lens
ISO-100
f/9
3 seconds
+0.3 step exposure bias
11 mm
0.9H grad ND Lee filter
single exposure
4:08 pm - low tide (-1.48 feet)
4:55 pm - sunset
5:06 pm - photo taken
This view is the best tool I have for weather forecasting and looking at this I'd say there's definitely some on the way!
Our weather forecast for tonight was cloudy and an auroral forecast for a storm.
Obviously, the clouds did not materialize. While there is an aurora tonight, it is not a storm as predicted.
I guess weather prediction on both the sun and the earth is difficult.
Another mediocre day in southwestern Ontario.
Tomorrow promises to be much better...mostly sunny & near 70!
Still we are way way below historical average temps & way above precipitation values...very soggy putting the farmers back at least a month from getting onto their fields.
There is plenty of standing water.
Warnings have been issued about getting too close to local waterways.
A wander along the beach this morning, enjoying this spell of warm weather.
A good time to blow the dust off the crystal ball.
Weather forecasters promises afternoon sun to southernmost Finland. Apparently that means some 50 kilometers away? Challenging to find an area with sunshine AND snow...
Beautiful weather forecast for the weekend. What to do? ….other than it being Mother’s Day and me shutting daughters from/to the city for the weekend, got to get some seeds in the garden too. Busy busy.
The weather forecast
“An east wind blowing a chill whisper from Moscow, cold on my collar.”
It applies a lot in Scotland.
P1013800 Taken at: Corbenic Poetry Path, Perthshire, Scotland. An east wind blowing a chill whisper from Moscow, cold on my collar.
The weather forecast was not good for this re run of the IT57 end of steam rail tour.Arrival at Settle was met with a heavy downfall of rain and gale force winds.I decided to watch the event just outside Horton in Ribblesdale station taking up my position at 12.45 and by 1.30 the field was full of photographers.Difficult at times to stay on your feet the wind was so strong.In fact some photographers/video had come back from Ribbleshead because the wind was like galeforce they said.
BR Britannia class No 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' arrived at 2.06 past the gallery of watchers.I decided becasue of the weather not to stay and watch the later run with 450407 + 45231.Great day though even with the weather.
Just checked the weather forecast and saw that our first snow of the season is forecast for Friday 6 October 2023, with a temperature of -1°C (windchill -5°C). Of course, it could change by then - here's hoping! Our first snow in fall/winter 2022 was on 22 October.
Four more photos from my long drive SE of Calgary, on 18 September 2023. The pumpkin photo was taken at the Saskatoon Farm on 15 September 2023.
On 18 September 2023, the weather forecast was pretty good, though the mention of wind did concern me a little. However, as time is running out for making long drives, I decided to take the risk. Shortly after leaving home and just out of the city limits, I could see smoke haze hiding the distant hills. I was so tempted to turn around and return home, but instead chose to continue.
Most of my driving was on the main roads, in order to get to my destination as quickljy as possible. The total drive of 473 km took me eight and a half hours, between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm. Much as I would have loved to check out a few back roads, I knew I absolutely had to get home before the light started fading. The wind was strong and stirred up all the dust from the roads and fields and made it a real challenge to take photos. All my images were taken from inside my car and, even then, the rocking motion made things more difficult.
The small ghost town, that I was so keen to revisit yet again, had to be seen from my car, because it was too windy to walk, which was a shame. Fortunately, I have photos taken from a couple of previous visits. If I remember correctly, this was my third visit - the others were in July 2020 and August 2022.
Once I reached the ghost town, I was the only person there, as usual. It is only a small place with a handful of old buildings, but very nicely kept. One of its main buildings is a beautiful country United Church, kept in great condition both inside and out. I had read online beforehand that people can go inside the church and sign their Guest Book, otherwise I probably would not have gone in. Really like the door knobs to the front door. The link below gives a very interesting, detailed history, including an old photo of the church in 1980, before restoration. I would love to have seen it back then.
www.facebook.com/LethbridgeHistoricalSociety/posts/retlaw...
As well as the old ghost town, I also wanted to check on a favourite abandoned house - simple, old and leaning. It was a relief to find that it was still standing.
From there, I took more or less the same route home, Too late in the season for wildflowers. Very few birds to be seen, too, though I did see four hawks that were too far to photograph. Fortunately, I still had a little gas left in the gas tank by the time I reached home. Always a concern when I do a long drive.
Despite the strong wind and the smoke haze, it was a good day. SInce then, we have had a tiny bit of rain, and I noticed that the golden leaves are already falling.
A week ago, on 17 September 2017, after noticing snowflake icons in the weather forecast for Calgary this week, I decided I would do a drive east and north-east of the city. In 2016, I had done a similar drive with my daughter, but this time I did not go as far as Drumheller. Actually, I still drove quite a bit further than I had intended - 346 km, 215 miles. If I had had enough self-discipline, I would have left home much earlier, as it was 11:20 am when I finally got into my car.
My intention was to drive a few back roads, searching for old barns. Most of my drive was on highways, simply for the purpose of saving time, so it wasn't till I was more or less at the furthest point that I actually saw a barn.
I think my first stop was at Sharples - I couldn't see a sign pointing to this old grain elevator, so it took me a while to find the hilly, gravel road leading to it. By this time, unfortunately, there was a haze over the landscape and the light was far from good. Having driven so far, I was determined to take photos. As with any beautiful old elevator or barn, it will be a sad day when this one finally collapses. It certainly does not look in good condition, with its outer layer (fire retardant?) peeling badly.
"The Elevator is marked P&H. This company, Parrish & Heimbecker, was one of the smaller players in the Canadian grain industry with a fewer number of elevators seen when compared to the big boys like UGG (United Grain Growers), Pioneer and the Alberta Wheat Pool (“The Pool”). Interestingly, each elevator company used specific colours on their structures making identifying them a fairly easy task. P&H mostly used either silver like what’s seen here, or a light yellow-ish colour – most other companies stuck to one colour.
The elevator here was built just after the rail line was opened (early 1920s) and the large annex attached was added some twenty years later. An annex like this was a quick and easy way to increase capacity and a large elevator allowed for more efficient loading of rail cars. While solid looking, the building is succumbing to the elements. The siding in particular is starting to peeling away.
There used to be a second elevator here, an AWP, Alberta Wheat Pool built late 1920s, that was torn down in the 1980s." From the link below that leads to an excellent site by Chris and Connie "bigdoer".
www.bigdoer.com/461/exploring-history/sharples-alberta-gh...
While I was standing there, taking photos of the grain elevator and the old barn that isn't seen in this photo, a farmer came down to the gravel road on his tractor and stopped to have a pleasant chat. I guess I could have asked for permission to walk closer to the barn, but it is not on his property. Anyway, I never go close to barns or go inside, as I never ask for permission. That doesn't stop a lot of photographers, but I can't do it.
I told this pleasant man that I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, and he said that we WERE in the middle of nowhere, ha. I was planning to go back the same way I had come, but he told me that there was an old house the other way, that people photograph. That changed my mind, though I knew I would continue to feel in the middle of nowhere. Definitely worth it, as I also came across a site of old, abandoned miners' cabins before reaching the old house. When coal was no longer mined, the area was left and the railway lines were torn up at a later date.
One other abandoned house I passed was one that my daughter and I had found last year. It was built among the rolling hills, far, far away from any road, and is a very impressive sight. This year, they were doing road work repair by a bridge just a matter of feet away from the only possible place to pull over and stop. Thankfully, I was still able to stop and take photos.
The last place I stopped on the way home was to take a few shots of this row of five old granaries. They are quite popular with photographers. Thought I'd add a black and white version, for a change.
Altogether, a good few hours out. Though I didn't see a lot, the things I did see were most welcome and appreciated. I was glad to get in one more long drive before 'the white stuff' arrives and keeps me close to home. It has already fallen to the west of us.
the weather forecast was pretty grim for most of scotland.....and is for the weekend, and to be fair it is spot on, but i still decided to head out and try some shots - best chance - the coast - so we headed down to Crail on the Fife coast and this was the sunrise - best time of the day yet again!! 09.02.13
The weather forecast was catastrophic but the morning sun convinced me I could try my luck. Before the first raindrops fell on dry wetlands soil I was rewarded by this old acquaintance (Swamp Harrier) flying low towards me.
Even though the weather forecast didn't turn out as sunny as expected, Morgan, Debbie and I had a wonderful hike up to the summit of Cirque Peak on Monday. There are pretty spectacular 360 degree views from this peak which is along one of the most scenic roads I know -- the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper. You can see Crowfoot glacier on the left and the Bow Glacier on the right, just above Morgan.
Here's the 360 degree panorama... www.marcshandro.com/panoramas/Cirque_Peak_360.htm
Here's what this view looks like in Google Earth
The larger view is always better... B l a c k M a g i c or as a Slideshow
At first, the weather forecast for the OFT-2 Starliner launch was at a 40% probability of favorable conditions. Even when it improved to 50%, it still seemed most likely that at the scheduled launch time of 2:53 pm on Friday, storms would be in the area.
What would end up scrubbing the launch was much less predictable than Florida summer weather. As we were waiting at the gate to LC-41, the MLM that had just docked at the International Space Station fired its thrusters. This was entirely unplanned, and the Space Station began to pitch about .5 degrees per second. To counteract the thrust from the MLM, station controllers fired engines on the Service Module and later the Progress spacecraft. Mission Control would describe this as a "tug-of-war" as they attempted to maintain attitude control. Eventually, the MLM ran out of fuel, and the engines shut down, and ultimately, attitude control was restored.
There's lots of good reporting on today's events, so I won't go into greater detail, but I'll say here that the men and women of the ISS program are badasses for how they handled themselves today.
It was odd following along while sitting a few hundred feet from the Starliner, what was supposed to be the next scheduled spacecraft to dock with the Space Station. Ultimately, it was decided not to send another spacecraft to station until the team knows more about what happened today, so tomorrow's launch was scrubbed.
The next option for launch is August 3 at 1:20 pm.
(Pics: me / National Geographic)
The weather forecast is for strong southerly winds and snow down to 100m. I was working outside earlier and we had sleet and some snow flurries down to about 10m above sea level. On my way home I called by the beach to see another storm over Banks Peninsula.
Weather forecasters predicted waves of 4 metres height crashing into the west coast of Ireland this weekend, in the end they weren't as big as predicted. They thought they would be so big because they were generated by a storm off Iceland and had such a long distance over sea to build up.
The weather forecast was promising, so it was up early to see what i could get and i was not disappointed. Lovely morning.
Weather forecast last Saturday not promising, but perhaps a bit of sun early. Another 2.30 am start and for once the weather worked out better than expected.Looking at the forecast for this week-end (the longest day), I don't think I'll get another shot this year closer to the solstice.
Sunrise from Hillcrest, Thorpe. Slopes of Thorpe Cloud (NT) on left, and Hamston Hill to right
shining tor
A week of weather woes, mostly due to snow. Travel was cancelled, meetings cancelled, flights cancelled, but at least the weather forecast for Saturday looked reasonable.
Once Saturday arrived, instead of sunny spells there was more snow (and more snow) and freezing fog...
Now a 52 week project is supposed to be a challenge, so it was time to embrace the weather and head out into the limited visibility murk.
So here is the trig point on the summit of Shining Tor in white-out conditions!..
Shining Tor is the highest point in Cheshire (but only just as the dry stone wall in the shot marks the border with Derbyshire), and I can walk to it from my own front door - a lovely round trip of 16 miles.
Groundhog Day will be here in the US tomorrow Feb. 2.
In honor of that I thought I'd go back to our weather forecasting roots and post another Irish landscape, where today Feb. 1 is the harbinger for the remainder of winter.
Snippets from Wikipedia:
Imbolc or Imbolg (pronounced i-molk or i-molg ), also called (Saint) Brigid's Day, is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is held on 1 February.
Imbolc was traditionally a time of weather divination, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens may be a forerunner of the North American Groundhog Day.
Imbolc was believed to be when the Cailleach—the divine hag of Gaelic tradition—gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter.
Legend has it that if she wishes to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood.
Therefore, people would be relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.
At Imbolc on the Isle of Man, where she is known as Caillagh ny Groamagh, the Cailleach is said to take the form of a gigantic bird carrying sticks in her beak.
Captured somewhere in Ireland on Sept. 18, 2008, with an Olympus SP-570.
The panorama was created with three images on the desktop in Photoshop, with further editing in Nik's, Viveza and Alien Skin Exposure 7 plug-in. Viveza to adjust colors and details and Exposure to convert to black and white.
This morning, I have added the last eight photos taken on 3 July 2020, on the way home after a drive to Forgetmenot Pond, west of Calgary. The Pond was my main destination.
The weather forecast was for several rainy days in a row, so I wanted to make the most of a sunny day. The past week, I have had to be careful about how many kilometres I drove, before getting a service after the maintenance light came on a week ago, as I didn't want to mess up my car warranty.
On 3 July, however, I decided to drive west of the city, just into the eastern edge of the mountains. It's not a long drive and I was hoping to find some wildflowers before they all go to seed. I almost gave up trying to photograph wildflowers, as it was too windy to keep the flowers in the viewfinder.
What a nightmare few hours, as I think half of Calgary decided to do this trip. So many cars and so many people. Parking lots were overflowing and the main highway was lined with parked cars in many places.
My first stop was at a forested area to have a quick look for wildflowers and to see if there were any fungi that had started growing yet. Very little variety in wildflowers, and I only came across one single mushroom plus a little group of a different species.
From there, I kept driving till I reached Forgetmenot Pond. This is actually a man-made pond, left over from the excavation of a gravel pit. The water is crystal clear. It's just a short walk around the pond, but enjoyable to do. The main road this far into Kananaskis only opens in June each year, as a winter gate at Elbow Falls closes in December for the winter months, to protect the wildlife in the area. This day, though, the path around the pond had so many people on it, and some people (families?) had actually set up various tents near the path. I had to keep walking through the trees to avoid everyone. As for Elbow Falls, there were so many cars there that there was no way I was going to even try and call in briefly. This was a Friday, not even a busy weekend day. I guess this is what it is going to be like the whole of the summer - yikes!
I found the following 4-minute video on YouTube, taken by Kenneth Lori using a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter and taken on 16 June 2016. It travels over Forgetmenot Pond and the surrounding river and mountains. So beautiful.
Later, it was such a contrast to drive a few of my favourite roads closer to home. A few cyclists and a few cars, but, in between them, it was so quiet and peaceful. Felt so good. There was even one Snipe on a fence post to make this extra bit of driving worthwhile. Not that I need any more Snipe photos to post : ) You might be glad to see a Snipe photo as, soon, it will be back to (oh, no!) American White Pelican photos. Just had to get out for a while on 5 July, partly because my place was feeling much too warm. The drive to and from Frank Lake was roughly 145 kilometers.
On 3 July, I found that two of the Mountain Bluebird families had vacated their nest boxes. I had a feeling that I was going to miss their fledging - this is what usually happens each year! However, I was so happy to spot a tiny Bluebird fledgling huddled right against the top of a fence post. Just trying to keep safe. And then, suddenly, it was no longer there. I didn't see it fly and I thought it may have dropped down into the grass. However, when I turned my car around to the other side of the road, I found a fledgling (same one?) down in the field, in an area of dried mud rather than tall grass. SO cute.
To help support a small pub/restaurant in the area, I called in and got take-out. One of the young women who works in the cafe was excited to tell me that they now have homemade chili on the menu again. The minestrone soup is also good. Both were much enjoyed when I got home.
There was still time, after taking a few photos of some of the usual birds, to drive on a road that I have driven so many times before, but not for a while. Happy to see a beautiful Swainson's Hawk perched on a fence post.
Finally reached home around 5:00 pm, after driving roughly 185 km since 9:30 am. So, not a really long drive, and one that still left me with more spare distance before my car had to go in for service yesterday. Hopefully, that will be that, for the rest of the year, as far as my vehicle is concerned!!
Yesterday, 9 July 2020, I gave my car a good test when I did an annual long drive to one of my favourite places. I stopped and started the car so many times, feeling nervous that it might not start, but all worked out well. Lots of beautiful sightings that I will start posting in the next few days. I haven't even downloaded my photos, which is most unusual for me - I was exhausted after driving somewhere around 460 km!
The view from Meteora rocks is just stunning, i could see those clouds over Trikala plains and i knew where exactly it was raining!
The weather forecast said sun with some clouds, well we got clouds with two minutes of sun. But still made the best of it. We spotted this Bald Eagle on an old tree as we crossed a bridge. The gray clouds didn't help any, but I was happy with the outcome. A bit noisy to my liking, however I so loved the capture I can overlook the noise.
Weather forecast for Toronto: HOT !
Tomorrow : Hot , Hazy, Humid 31 celcius = 87 Fahrenheit
So much for Spring.....Winter was longer than usual...now it seems Spring is shorter than usual.
Global warming?
UPDATE: Tornado warnings for Toronto now ! (Now canceled thank goodness!!)
Sorry if I have yet to comment on all my contact's streams as I have limited my time on the computer.....
My sciatica is not killing me quite as much but it means that I cannot sit for long..which is not good for work OR my Flickr addiction!!
:~)
Have a great week ahead!
With the weather forecast at 22 degrees and 30% chance of showers, I went out after work with my camera. A gig had cancelled on me and I wasn't going to haul my stuff all over town without using it!
Had I scrolled just below the pleasant forecast, I would have seen the severe storm warning. Black clouds appeared and suddenly, downtown Toronto was underwater. It was a wet adventure.