This little (actually, not so little!) ball of fluff was 45 days old when I photographed it on 20 July 2014. Lol, a face that perhaps only a mother could love? I have added a previously posted close-up photo of the owl's face in a comment box below. We don't have Barn Owls in the wild in Alberta, but this was seen at an exhibit.

That day, I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before. I had been that route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my youngest daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre.

This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. There was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl, and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing this baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone.

This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley (photos posted the last two days). After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake, but didn't walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at different wildflowers and photograph a few butterflies. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day.

Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat!

Posting really late again today - early afternoon.

Just a few distant shots taken towards the end of my drive the other day. By the time I reached the lake, the light was not good and it had been very hazy all afternoon. I was just happy to actually see a few birds - can't wait for the chance to get out and hopefully get a few better photos.

Friday, 23 April 2021: winter is back - again. The night before last, we had a bit more snow and very strong wind. The latter played havoc on the repairs to the building, tugging at several loose pieces of whatever the material is, that is used to cover the outside walls before the new siding is installed. Also, a long piece of probably guttering was dangling from the roof, being blown like crazy against the building. I was concerned about my windows! Nothing I could do physically, but I did let someone know, who then contacted the repair company.

Two days ago, on 21 April 2021, I really wanted to get out for a few hours, knowing that snow was forecast for the next day and the coming weekend. I finally made myself drive somewhere that I hadn't been to for a few years, nervous though I was. The last time I went, we were carpooling. I drove various new roads in the whole area. Later, I decided to drive SE of the city to see if Frank Lake was as crowded as it was when I called in for a few minutes days ago. Luckily, there were far fewer people and I got a chance to actually see birds and take a few photos.

I was happy to see my first Yellow-headed Blackbird of this year. It moved in such a funny way, taking a couple of steps and then running a couple of steps, repeated over and over again. I wonder if they always do this. Maybe it was just the joy of being back, but it didn't seem to know which direction to dash to next.

I looked for American White Pelicans in the usual place, but none were to be seen. Then one suddenly flew from somewhere and landed almost out of sight across the lake. A short while later, it flew back, almost over my head and disappeared.

As usual, there were more than enough gulls of various species, noisy as ever. A few of them were flying and then either landing or swooping down to catch a Carp. Sometimes, a few people have been catching as many of these fish as possible, to remove them from the lake, as they are not a native species. I guess the gulls aren't fussy.

Needless to say, a few barns made my day complete. I was also thankful that no side effects from my second COVID jab showed up, other than a painful arm for two or three days.

Thursday, 19 May 2022, just before midnight: our temperature was 4°C (windchill -2°C) at 1:30 pm. Sunrise was at 5:40 am, and sunset was at 9:25 pm. Very unpleasant weather today! Windy, pouring rain, and COLD.

"Warnings issued for up to 20 cm of spring snow over parts of Alberta. There's the potential for accumulating snow across Alberta’s foothills on Thursday, with the snow even creeping into populated centres such as Calgary."

Continuing with a few more old photos from my archives - again. Just not getting out enough and to the right places to take any decent shots. I am adding a description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same trip. I used one of the creative camera settings on my camera for this photo, just for a change.

"As you can see by the colour of the sky, this was not the kind of sky I had hoped for two days ago (29 September 2014). The light really was not good, but I had to take photos anyway. This particular area is the official protected area of hoodoos in the Drumheller area, with steps around the various unique formations. Hoodoos can be seen almost anywhere in the Badlands, but these ones are especially spectacular.

On 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and a day where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!

This drive was the longest drive I had ever done. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!

I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake on going on this trip yesterday. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.

Our two main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail (seen in this photo) and the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy, calling in at Wayne as well.

"Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed). This protected Hoodoos site is a guaranteed spot to see Hoodoos but smaller versions of these sandstone giants can be found all over the Badlands.

The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders." From traveldrumheller.com

www.traveldrumheller.com/index.php/directory/7-Drumheller...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)

After that, we went to Rowley to see the old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with two being right next to each other and the other being a bit further away. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.

From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I really don't like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!"

BlaBlaCar started as an online marketplace for carpooling in France. Later the company expanded to other countries. In 2018 it purchased the Ouibus bus operation of the French Railways SNCF. This is a bus from Lille to the Parc Astérix in Plailly, just North of Paris.

I didn't notice the tiny Crab Spider until I was looking at this image on my computer. It had changed its colour to match the Gaillardia flower that it was hiding in. Also, I was standing quite a few feet away, using telemacro to photograph the flower and Fritillary butterfly. Taken at Bow Valley Provincial Park on 20 July 2014.

That day, I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before. I had been that route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre. We came across Dee (rockymtnchick) and her partner, there to see the owls. Great to see you both!

This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. There was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl (photo posted yesterday), and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing a baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone.

This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley (one of the photos posted yesterday). After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake, but didn't walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at different flowers and photograph a few butterflies including this Fritillary. Though slow, it was still further than I should have walked. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day.

Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat!

Any of you having the same problem as me with Flickr today? Each photo page loads just fine - tags, descriptions, groups, albums are all there, but every single comment has disappeared. New and old photos now have no comments, just a blank, white space, and no comment box! Flickr staff should soon see the messages on the Help Forum, so hopefully it will be fixed very soon!

Yesterday, 25 August 2019, was such an enjoyable, special day, spent with friends. My photos are downloaded, but I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet. Wild mushrooms galore : ) I even got the chance to check off something that had been on my mental Bucket List for decades, lol. So, this morning, I have added another 6 images from our wonderful visit to Akesi Farms on 18 August.

"Domestic geese (Anser anser domesticus or Anser cygnoides domesticus) are domesticated grey geese (either greylag geese or swan geese) that are kept by humans as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times.

Males are typically taller and larger than females, and have longer necks. In addition, males can be distinguished by the protective behaviour they exhibit towards their mates and their offspring. Like their wild ancestors, domestic geese are very protective of their offspring and other members of the flock. The gander will normally place himself between any perceived threat and his family. Owing to their highly aggressive nature, loud call and sensitivity to unusual movements, geese can contribute towards the security of a property." From Wikipedia. They are very loud, as we heard for ourselves when we approached. Very useful in case a predator, such as a Fox, comes to check out the Geese and chickens.

Eight days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! After leaving the farm, I took some back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato at a time was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos the other night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

Yesterday, 25 August 2019, was such an enjoyable, special day, spent with friends. My photos are downloaded, but I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet. Wild mushrooms galore : ) I even got the chance to check off something that had been on my mental Bucket List for decades, lol. So, this morning, I have added another 6 images from our wonderful visit to Akesi Farms on 18 August.

Eight days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! After leaving the farm, I took some back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato at a time was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos the other night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

I really enjoy photographing Wilson's Snipes, and this summer I have been so lucky with them. Saw this one SW of Calgary on 26 June 2013. Not sure if they are still around or have left for now.

Had a long, long day yesterday, when a few of us went east of the city, to a place called Beynon, where there is an Ecological Reserve, SW of Drumheller. It was about half an hour's drive from home to our meeting place at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, from where we carpooled for the one and a half hour drive eastwards to Beynon. Thanks so much, Cedric, for drivng some of us - so much appreciated! This is all the Badlands area of Alberta, where so many fossil Dinosaurs have been found over the years. The eroded scenery is unique and the area we hiked was so different from our more usual forests. I was just so tired by the time I got home 13 hours later, so haven't done anything yet with the photos I took yesterday. It was another of those rare days this summer where it didn't rain! Just so lucky, though the drive out there went through a number of dense fog patches with very poor visibility, so I wasn't sure just what kind of weather we'd end up with for our botanizing day. Ha, when we got back to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, we discovered that the gate was locked and those of us who had carpooled were unable to move our cars. Thankfully, Security eventually arrived at the Sanctcuary, and all was well.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_Snipe

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/id

Yesterday, 25 August 2019, was such an enjoyable, special day, spent with friends. My photos are downloaded, but I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet. Wild mushrooms galore : ) I even got the chance to check off something that had been on my mental Bucket List for decades, lol. So, this morning, I have added another 6 images from our wonderful visit to Akesi Farms on 18 August.

Eight days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! After leaving the farm, I took some back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato at a time was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos the other night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

Three days ago, on 30 August 2021, I decided, after seeing possible rain in the forecast for a few coming days, to do a long drive NE of Calgary, to the Badlands. Knowing that it was getting dark earlier and earlier in the evenings, I knew that I was running out of days on which I would be able to do these long drives. My main destinations to call in at were in the Drumheller area.

I had longed to go out there for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, on 29 September 2014, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip. Since then, I believe I have only driven that way once more, on 5 August 2019, until this most recent trip three days ago. I was out for nine hours and much of that time was actual driving. The further east I went, the more I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere.

Amazingly, the weather was good, with blue sky most of the time. It still seems strange to see blue sky and not overcast and smoky from the British Columbia wildfires. I think the temperature got up to about 28C, so not unbearably hot.

The first thing I photographed was a rather attractive moth, resting next to my front door outside. It may have been the moth that I had photographed earlier, on my bathroom ceiling.

About half way on the drive, I drove several back roads to take another look at an old barn I fell in love with last winter, while searching for a Snowy Owl. I was shocked and saddened to find no sign of the old barn except for a pile of wood that had collapsed or been pulled down. Maybe it was becoming dangerously unsafe in the farmyard.

Feeling somewhat 'down', I continued on my way and eventually stopped to take a handful of photos of a fine church. It seems so out of place on the prairies. The church building, inspired by a typical Danish church, was finished in 1936, though there has been a church on this site since the first settlers arrived in Dalum in 1918.

Two new-to-me grain elevators were enjoyed and quickly photographed. It's not very often that I find one that I have never seen before.

A couple of times, I stopped to take a few photos of wild Sunflowers that were growing at the edge of two or three gravel roads. An attractive moth was at rest on one of the flowers. Insects seem to really like these bright and cheery wildflowers.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that there were not a lot of people at the Hoodoos. I have been there when there were endless crowds of visitors all over the place, making it difficult to take photos, and to find a parking spot. These natural "works of art" are so beautiful and interesting.

Driving further south, I stopped at one of my favourite places - an old almost-ghost town. Dorothy is named after the daughter of Jack Wilson, an early rancher who first arrived in the area in 1900. Here, there are two lovely old country churches, old barns, old cars and tractors/farm equipment. Also, a very old, extremely weathered grain elevator that lost its roof in a storm a few years ago. Such a shame that it has never been replaced. I love the Badlands setting for this prairie sentinel.

A final place to call in at was The Last Saloon, where I bought some Sweet Potato Fries 'to go'. This is a very popular place, including with motorcyclists.

Having left home in the morning a few minutes after 9:00 am, I finally reached home about 6:00 pm, happy and tired out. A great day, full of lots of things to see. Though they were all familiar, they are always fun to see and photograph again. Hope to get in a few more drives in the next three or four weeks, before the snow arrives and stays on the ground for seven months! Where did the summer go?!

Taken using one of the camera's special effects.

Continuing to post photos from my archives until I finally manage to get out for a drive. The last time I was able to go anywhere was 19 October 2023. Our weather has been mixed recently, cold with overcast days and others with some sunshine. A bit of snow is forecast to fall tonight. I am hoping that doesn't happen as my car has been away for yesterday and the previous day, getting my winter tires installed and new brake pads, etc. Always nice to get a free car wash along with the rest. Had another torture session this afternoon - i.e. deep muscle massage therapy, lol!

If I wrote a description under any previously-posted photos that were taken on the same outings as these 'new' photos posted today, I will add it under today's photos.

"On 18 July 2016, I had a wonderful day out NE of the city with my daughter. The last time I actually drove eastwards was about six months ago, when I was shooting Short-eared Owls near the end of January. The last time (also the first time) I had ever driven out as far as Drumheller was on 29 September 2014. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my daughter and I had a great time exploring some of the roads between Calgary and Drumheller.

There were a handful of things or places we wanted to check out, but many things were total surprises. We knew we wanted to see fields, yellow fields full of canola as far as the eye could see. No disappointment there as we took in the gorgeous colour and the perhaps not so pleasant smell of this crop. When we were driving through regular, green landscapes, it all seemed so 'ordinary' after being treated to vibrant gold.

As well as canola fields, we also knew of a particular grain elevator and nearby old barn that we were keen to see. There was also an old, two-storey house in a hilly setting that we knew would have to be photographed from a great distance, but we were curious about it. There was also a small wetland that I wanted to drive by, just in case there was something to see. How glad we were that we went, as a magnificent Black-crowned Night-heron was posing nicely on a post, out in the open. This was the first time I had ever seen one close, so it made my day. At least, an adult - in October 2015, I had seen a gorgeous juvenile in Fish Creek Park.

Continuing on our way, we stopped to take a couple of quick shots of an Eastern Kingbird and then my daughter spotted a dark patch just above ground level, hidden in the bushes. It turned out to be an Eastern Kingbird's nest, with what looked like three large babies in it. No idea how she caught sight of this, but it was a treat to see.

Soon after this, we stopped to photograph two beautiful red barns and then stopped again to photograph a Western Kingbird. This is not a bird I normally see, so i was very happy to catch sight of this one.

A short drive further, we spotted a distant shorebird standing on a fence post - and then a second one a few posts away. At first, we thought maybe they were Wilson's Snipe, but then realized that they were something different - two beautiful Upland Sandpipers! I had seen one a number of years ago, but it was too far away for a photo. These are uncommon in Alberta. So, another very lucky find.

"An adult is roughly 30 cm (12 in) long with a 66 cm (26 in) wingspan. The average weight is 170 g (6 oz). This odd bird has a small dove-like head on a long neck. It is heavily marbled black and brown on the back and wings. The neck is streaked with dark brown which continues down to the breast and on to the flanks. The belly and undertail coverts are white. The tail is quite long for a sandpiper. The upland also sports a white eye-ring and long yellow legs..... Upland sandpipers forage in fields, picking up food by sight. They are frequently sighted on fence posts and even telephone poles. When an "uppy" alights, it holds its wings up for a few seconds. They are constantly scanning the horizon for intruders. The upland sandpiper's diet includes grasshoppers, crickets, weevils, beetles, moths, ants, flies, bugs, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, snails and earthworms. It also eats some grains and seeds." From Wikipedia.

It was a pretty good day for hawks, too - so much so, that I got a gentle reminder form my daughter that I didn't need to photograph EVERY hawk we saw, lol. We had other places and other things that we wanted to get to.

As well as birds and beautiful scenery, we saw several old barns, including a special small shed/granary. Each year, the farmer allows the graduating class from the local high school to decorate this old building in any way they wish. A fun idea and it certainly adds a splash of colour. I was absolutely fascinated to read a little bit of history from someone who was a contact of mine on Flickr two or three years ago. Her Grandmother was apparently born in this house/shed. It was later converted to a granary and now, of course, has become the canvas for local students.

One of our main goals was to visit the old grain elevator at Sharples. I had wanted to visit there for quite a while and finally, we made it. Unfortunately, the elevator and nearby barn were in shadow, but it was great to see both old structures. We also passed another old elevator when we were driving along the road north of the river, on the way to Drumheller. This, needless to say, meant another stop for photos.

A great day of fun, seeing and photographing such a variety of things. Beautiful weather and, best of all, a day spent with my daughter. Thanks so much, Rachel - glad you felt up to a day out, but sorry you got so many mosquito bites!

Total driving distance, round-trip: approximately 397 km, 247 miles."

Four days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

This morning, it's back to posting more photos of fungi from our visit to Rod Handfield's acreage. Still more left to edit and post and I really must get these done. Sorry about the lack of IDs for so many of the fungi, but at least I have made a photo record of species seen.

On that day, 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I think this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. It was so overwhelming yesterday! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking, but also because of all the excitement. That night, I slept well. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with some of the identifications. For the rest, "fungus" will have to be sufficient. As usual, any IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat!

Friday, 30 December 2022: our temperature is -6°C (windchill -8°C) just after 10:00 am. Sunrise was at 8:39 am, and sunset is at 4:38 pm.

Thank goodness our brutally cold spell has come to an end!! That was COLD, with temperatures down into the -30°Cs and windchill temperatures down into the -40°Cs! For now we are a few degrees above or below 0°C. For the past week, since 21 December 2022, days have been getting longer by 2 minutes, 7 seconds each day.

Still no new images, as I have only left the house once since 15 December, and that was to go to one of the Primary Care Centres. My 'normal' chronic cough that I have had for years became worse and I was having extremely painful sharp pains around my right side every time I breathed in or coughed. The cough was causing inflammation in the muscles.

I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same outing.

"On 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey and Titan, and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way."

Yesterday, 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I think this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. It was so overwhelming yesterday! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking, but also because of all the excitement. Last night, I slept well. In the evening, I picked out six photos ready to post today. The quality of many, if not most, of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient. As usual, any IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat!

Another 5 photos, taken at Akesi Farms on 18 August 2019, have been added this morning.

Six days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! After leaving the farm, I took some back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato at a time was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos the other night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

"The Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre is a set of restored grain elevators located in Nanton, Alberta, Canada. The centre's goal is to preserve examples of old grain elevators to educate visitors about the town's, and Alberta's, agricultural history.

In 2001 the last of Nanton’s grain elevator row was threatened by demolition because of recent abandonment of the Canadian Pacific Railway that the elevators stood next to. Many worried citizens in and around the town of Nanton had realized that a part of the town's and province's history was about to be torn down and lost forever.

The concerned citizens of Nanton had rallied together and formed a Historical Society appropriately named "Save One". Of course the original goal of the save one effort was to do just that, save one, but before anything could be done to save the elevator the Society had to gain full title to the land and buildings. Which was a big undertaking that would take three years to achieve. With so many volunteer hours from many local businesses and citizens, the Society was so successful that not only did they end up saving just one elevator, but all three remaining elevators. Many donations from members and surrounding farmers-ranchers, have been made and have helped in replacing the railway tracks next to the elevators the completion of many of the repairs and restorations that needed to be done on the elevators. Including painting the former Alberta Wheat Pool back to its original green and the former Pioneer elevator back to the original orange & yellow.

Included in the row, but not a part of the Elevator Discovery Centre is the Nanton Seed Cleaning Co. elevator which is a smaller elevator." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Grain_Elevator_Discovery_C...

www.bigdoer.com/5814/exploring-history/nanton-alberta-ele...

Two days ago, on 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby, then making our way north to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm.

It takes about 45 minutes to drive south to the town of Nanton. Though I had been quite a few times over the years when carpooling with various friends, I had never driven quite that far south and through the town myself. My daughter wanted to walk round two or three of the antique shops there and we both wanted to take a few photos of the grain elevators.

Once that was all done, we drove westwards from the town. Though the scenery is beautiful, we did not enjoy being on a main road with no shoulder to pull over to. We did stop once in a small pull-off, to get a few scenic shots. This was where we saw the metal cut-out of a cowboy riding his horse, with a real, live bird perched on top of his hat.

We decided to turn around and cross over to the other side of the main highway (#2) and drive north to Frank Lake, hoping to find a few things to photograph along the backroads. A barn or two and a few distant birds were enough to make the drive worthwhile.

Frank Lake was deserted when we arrived there, though a couple of other people turned up shortly. Not that many bird species, either. The water was quite choppy thanks to the wind, and there was just one Coot, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a Barn Swallow, one Eared Grebe, two American Avocets, a Killdeer and a pair of Phalaropes. Franklin's Gulls were their usual noisy selves. Not a single White-faced Ibis to be seen, and only one or two Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. When we had been on a road near the lake, we had seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on a distant fence, being harassed by several smaller birds - Brown-headed Cowbirds? I was so happy to see the Heron, as I so rarely see them. We had also seen a shorebird in a field of stubble, but I'm not sure what it was.

On our way home, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm and were just in time to order a meal before they closed at 4:00 pm.. A quick wander round gave me the chance to grab a shot or two of a very loud Rooster and the male Wild Turkey. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!

Document 725, Published Document Collection, Seattle Municipal Archives.

I saw so many wonderful initiatives for earth Day yesterday and it warmed my heart. Days such as this are not only momentous in reminding ourselves of the dire situation that our wildlife is in, but the incredible initiatives being undertaken by thousands of conservationists in preserving the. However the best quote unsurprisingly, came from the very inspiring and totally awe-inspiring Jane Goodall.

“Let us use this Earth Day 2015 to make one simple resolution – to do something to lighten our ecological footprints every day. Let us make EVERY day an Earth Day. Let us consider the consequences for the environment of the choices we make each day. Little things like turning of electrical equipment, turning off lights and taps, walking, biking, carpooling, using public transport. And let us think of what we buy each day. Our food – was the environment harmed by the way it was produced? Was the food and the soil sprayed with agricultural chemicals, was it grown on land freed by cutting down forests? Does it contain palm oil from sustainable plantations that have supplanted tropical old growth forests? Does it contain GMOs? And if the label does not provide this information, let us make a stink, let us maintain that we have a right to know!

One very important step we can take is to become vegetarian or vegan. Or at least try to eat less meat. Because of the terrible harm inflicted on the environment – forests destroyed to grow grain to feed, or to graze, livestock. Huge amounts of water used for irrigation of the animal feed, and huge amounts of water used to transform vegetable to animal protein. Extraordinary amount of CO2 generated by the vast animal agriculture machines. And methane gas produced in large quantities during the digestive process of the livestock, especially cows. (Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.)

Those are just some of the things we can do each day. There are many other ways in which each of us can help to make every day Earth Day.

Every single one of us makes a difference every single day we live on this planet, and we have the choice as to what sort of difference we are going to make.”

Can we get a slow clap people!???

Poor photo, but first sighting for 2021.

Friday, 23 April 2021: winter is back - again. The night before last, we had a bit more snow and very strong wind. The latter played havoc on the repairs to the building, tugging at several loose pieces of whatever the material is, that is used to cover the outside walls before the new siding is installed. Also, a long piece of probably guttering was dangling from the roof, being blown like crazy against the building. I was concerned about my windows! Nothing I could do, but I did let someone know, who then contacted the repair company.

Two days ago, on 21 April 2021, I really wanted to get out for a few hours, knowing that snow was forecast for the next day and the coming weekend. I finally made myself drive somewhere that I hadn't been to for a few years, nervous though I was. The last time I went, we were carpooling. I drove various new roads in the whole area. Later, I decided to drive SE of the city to see if Frank Lake was as crowded as it was when I called in for a few minutes days ago. Luckily, there were far fewer people and I got a chance to actually see birds and take a few photos.

I was happy to see my first Yellow-headed Blackbird of this year. It moved in such a funny way, taking a couple of steps and then running a couple of steps, repeated over and over again. I wonder if they always do this. Maybe it was just the joy of being back, but it didn't seem to know which direction to dash to next.

I looked for American White Pelicans in the usual place, but none were to be seen. Then one suddenly flew from somewhere and landed almost out of sight across the lake. A short while later, it flew back, almost over my head and disappeared.

As usual, there were more than enough gulls of various species, noisy as ever. A few of them were flying and then either landing or swooping down to catch a Carp. Sometimes, a few people have been catching as many of these fish as possible, to remove them from the lake, as they are not a native species. I guess the gulls aren't fussy.

Needless to say, a few barns made my day complete. I was also thankful that no side effects from my second COVID jab showed up, other than a painful arm for two or three days.

So, is everyone sick and tired of seeing photos of mushrooms and other fungi? If so, I have bad news for you - I still have SO many to eventually edit and post. Photos of other things that I have been seeing seem to have been temporarily put on hold : )

As usual, any fungi IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat! You could end up very sick, or worse.

Another overcast morning today, 16 September 2019, with a temperature of only 13C. It definitely feels and looks like fall, with more and more trees turning yellow. It will soon be time to get all-season tires off and winter tires put on. First, however, I wanted to add a few more photos tonight, taken at Rod Handfield's acreage, visited on 8 September.

Eight days ago, on 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I believe this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. This last visit was so overwhelming! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking and fresh air, but also because of all the excitement. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then whenever I have checked. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient for many of them.

Another 7 photos, taken at Akesi Farms on 18 August 2019, have been added this morning.

Five days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

Thought I would add a few photos this morning that were taken yesterday, 25 May 2018. Exactly why did I position the Tree Swallow right in the centre of the shot, with no room to crop to a much better composition? No idea, other than that the little focus rectangle was in the centre of my viewfinder, lol! Annoyed with myself when I do this. Anyway, this male Tree Swallow was looking so beautiful in the sunshine yesterday, when I was out for the day with my daughter, to celebrate yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. It was the first time she had been out in a car since her surgery in something like five weeks, so she wasn't too sure how well she would do. Apart from a meeting I went to the evening before, it was the first time I had been out anywhere since getting back from my Pt Pelee trip a week ago, so I wasn't too sure how well I would do, too. Fortunately, the severe pain I have had the last few weeks due to inflamed shoulder rotator cuffs (again) and painful kneecaps being pulled out of place, that flared up just in time for my two-weeks away, is gradually improving, and all went just fine yesterday. Just glad that we saw Mountain Bluebirds, too.

Our day started with breakfast at the Saskatoon Farm followed by wandering the grounds, taking photos, which we both love to do. Then we called in at the garden nursery, "Spruce it up" I think it's called. From there, we drove westwards till we reached a favourite area, finding Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows, but no sign of any kind of owl. Not too surprising, as it was afternoon by then. Not even a Wilson's Snipe perched on a fence post.

Up early this morning, as I made a last-minute decision to at least try a bit of the annual May Species Count walk in the city today. Very overcast and windy - where is the sun? Tomorrow's Count is driving (carpooling) out of the city in one of my favourite areas.

Most unusual for me, I was so desperately tired two evenings ago, that I couldn't even stay awake to find and edit three photos to post to Flickr yesterday morning! It was a long day of birding on 28 May 2017, for the May Species Count, and it completely knocked me out for the following day. Tiredness seems to be my constant companion, but not so tired that I can't fight it. So, no photos from me yesterday!

I always love to see the hairy bud of a Poppy revealing the beauty within. This one was blooming in a greenhouse at the Saskatoon Farm.

Yesterday, 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby, then making our way north to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm, where we were just in time to have a meal. A hot day, but nice and sunny.

It takes about 45 minutes to drive south to the town of Nanton. Though I had been quite a few times over the years when carpooling with various friends, I had never driven quite that far south and through the town. My daughter wanted to walk round two or three of the antique shops there and we both wanted to take a few photos of the grain elevators.

Once that was all done, we drove westwards from the town. Though the scenery is beautiful, we did not enjoy being on a main road with no shoulder to pull over to. We did stop once in a small pull-off, to get a few scenic shots. This was where we saw the metal cut-out of a cowboy riding his horse, with a bird perched on top of his hat (third photo I posted today). I can't decide if the distant bird is a Common Grackle or a Brewer's Blackbird, or something else?

We decided to turn around and cross over to the other side of the main highway (#2) and drive north to Frank Lake, hoping to find a few things to photograph along the backroads. A handful of barns and a very few distant birds were enough to make the drive worthwhile.

Frank Lake was deserted when we arrived there, though a couple of other people turned up shortly. Not many bird species, either. The water was quite choppy thanks to the wind, and there was just one Coot, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a Barn Swallow and one Eared Grebe. I managed to get just the one shot (posted this morning) of the latter. Saw two American Avocets, a Killdeer and a pair of Phalaropes. Franklin's Gulls were their usual noisy selves. Not a single White-faced Ibis to be seen, and only one or two Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. When we had been on the road south of the lake, we had seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on a distant fence, being harassed by several smaller birds - Brown-headed Cowbirds? I was so happy to see the Heron, as I so rarely see them. We had also seen a shorebird in a field of stubble and I need to check if this was a Long-billed Curlew.

On our way home, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm and were just in time to order a meal before they closed. A quick wander round gave me the chance to grab a shot or two of a very loud Rooster and the male Wild Turkey. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!

Another 7 photos, taken at Akesi Farms on 18 August 2019, have been added this morning.

Five days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

"Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed). This protected Hoodoos site is a guaranteed spot to see Hoodoos but smaller versions of these sandstone giants can be found all over the Badlands.

The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders." From traveldrumheller.com

www.traveldrumheller.com/index.php/directory/7-Drumheller...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)

Wow, what a day I had the day before yesterday, 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost.

This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself.

Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands?

When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home.

There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me.

Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago.

Back to posting a few more old photos from my archives - again. Just not getting out enough and to the right places to take any decent shots. I am adding a description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same trip.

"As you can see by the colour of the sky, this was not the kind of sky I had hoped for two days ago (29 September 2014). The light really was not good, but I had to take photos anyway. This particular area is the official protected area of hoodoos in the Drumheller area, with steps around the various unique formations. Hoodoos can be seen almost anywhere in the Badlands, but these ones are especially spectacular.

On 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and a day where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!

This drive was the longest drive I had ever done. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!

I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake on going on this trip yesterday. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.

Our two main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail (seen in this photo) and the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy, calling in at Wayne as well.

"Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed). This protected Hoodoos site is a guaranteed spot to see Hoodoos but smaller versions of these sandstone giants can be found all over the Badlands.

The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders." From traveldrumheller.com

www.traveldrumheller.com/index.php/directory/7-Drumheller...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)

After that, we went to Rowley to see the old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with two being right next to each other and the other being a bit further away. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.

From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I really don't like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!"

Wow, what a day I had the day on 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost.

This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself.

Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands?

When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home.

There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me.

Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago.

Yesterday, 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and a day where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!

The drive yesterday was the longest drive I had ever done, by a long way. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!

I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake on going on this trip yesterday. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.

Our two main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail and the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy, calling in at Wayne as well. After that, we went to Rowley to see the three old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.

From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I really don't like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, following this beautiful, vivid sunset, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!

Today, it is heavily overcast and dreary, and it's raining. Quite the contrast to yesterday.

I am adding 5 more photos from my archives, all taken on 30 May 2017, during a day's drive with my daughter.

"On 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby, then making our way north to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm.

It takes about 45 minutes to drive south to the town of Nanton. Though I had been quite a few times over the years when carpooling with various friends, I had never driven quite that far south and through the town myself. My daughter wanted to walk round two or three of the antique shops there and we both wanted to take a few photos of the grain elevators.

Once that was all done, we drove westwards from the town. Though the scenery is beautiful, we did not enjoy being on a main road with no shoulder to pull over to. We did stop once in a small pull-off, to get a few scenic shots. This was where we saw the metal cut-out of a cowboy riding his horse, with a real, live bird perched on top of his hat.

We decided to turn around and cross over to the other side of the main highway (#2) and drive north to Frank Lake, hoping to find a few things to photograph along the backroads. A barn or two and a few distant birds were enough to make the drive worthwhile.

Frank Lake was deserted when we arrived there, though a couple of other people turned up shortly. Not that many bird species, either. The water was quite choppy thanks to the wind, and there was just one Coot, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a Barn Swallow, one Eared Grebe, two American Avocets, a Killdeer and a pair of Phalaropes. Franklin's Gulls were their usual noisy selves. Not a single White-faced Ibis to be seen, and only one or two Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. When we had been on a road near the lake, we had seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on a distant fence, being harassed by several smaller birds - Brown-headed Cowbirds? I was so happy to see the Heron, as I so rarely see them. We had also seen a shorebird in a field of stubble, but I'm not sure what it was.

On our way home, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm and were just in time to order a meal before they closed at 4:00 pm.. A quick wander round gave me the chance to grab a shot or two of a very loud Rooster and the male Wild Turkey. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!"

It's back to a few photos from my archives until the next time I go for a drive. I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken the same day. Since this photo was taken, the little church has been repainted. Glad I saw it when it was looking a little more weathered.

Wow, it's just after 2:00 am, 19 November 2023, and I heard a Coyote howl at the back of my place. Of course, pitch black, so I wasn't able to see it. Just heard it again.

""On 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip. All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!

I think this was the longest day of driving I had ever done, especially to, and in, an area that I'd never driven to before. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!

I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake going on this trip on that particular day. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.

Our main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail, and the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy, calling in at Wayne as well. I had longed, for such a long time, to see the two small, old churches that are to be found in Dorothy, as well as the grain elevator. Both churches have been restored, which is good in some ways but not photographically. This photo is of the little Catholic Church.

After that, we went to Rowley to see the old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with these two being right next to each other and the other further from them. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.

From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I no longer like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!"

On 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta - the Hoodoo Trail. A few times since then, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip. All summer, we had been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for this day was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!

I think this was the longest day of driving I had ever done, especially to, and in, an area that I'd never driven to before. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have no sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!

I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round three main areas - The Hoodoo Trail, Dorothy and Rowley, in different directions from Drumheller (which is known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake going on this trip on that particular day. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.

So, the first of our destinations was The Hoodoo Trail, a small area of protected, spectacular hoodoos (rock formations), and then we went further, to the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy. I had longed, for such a long time, to see the two small, old churches that are to be found in Dorothy, as well as the old grain elevator.

After that, we drove over 11 bridges and called in at the tiny hamlet of Wayne. We passed the old Atlas Coal Mine near the main highway, but, much as we would have liked to visit the mine, we knew that we just didn't have time. From Wayne, we continued to Rowley to see the three old grain elevators, two of which are seen in this photo, and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with these two being right next to each other and the other one a little further from them. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.

From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I no longer like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!

"There were 1,651 elevators in Alberta in 1951, but by 1982 a total of 979 elevators remained. The 1990s spelled the death of the wooden “country” or “primary” elevator. At the end of the 1990s, as the full impact of both of the ending of the Crow Rate in 1995 and further impending rail abandonment was felt, the pace of demolition accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At the end of the 1996-1997 crop year, there were only 327 elevators left. Alberta’s largest cooperative grain companies, the Alberta Wheat Pool (which amalgamated with Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1998 as Agricore) and United Grain Growers, ultimately formed a new corporate entity known as Agricore United in 2001, issuing issued public shares. Demolition of country elevators has continued, and in 2005 there were only 156 wooden elevators of any kind still standing, only a handful of which are used by the grain trade.

The Government of Alberta has recognised the significance of the traditional wood grain elevators, and has designated 12 as Provincial Historic Resources. They are located in the following communities: Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley (3 elevators), Scandia and St. Albert (2 elevators)."

www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca/articles/HRM-history.pdf

www.bigdoer.com/8049/exploring-history/prairie-sentinels-...

Almost three years ago, on 12 November 2017, I went with a group of seven birding friends on a very enjoyable day trip S and SE of Calgary. A beautiful old barn on one of the roads was an unexpected treat (for me) and, as I only managed to take a few rapid shots of it through the windscreen from the back seat, I was determined to one day do this drive myself and take a better look at this fine old barn (from the road, as usual).

Three days ago, 21 September 2020, was THE day! It started around 9:00 am with a drive south to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast. It was very quiet at that early hour and on a weekday, though I knew it would get busier as the day wore on. There are always all sorts of things to photograph there, including colourful flowers, a chicken or two, and various odds and ends. There is sadness at the Farm at the moment, as someone stole one of their much-loved cats, named Alfie, a matter of days ago. He is a pure grey cat and he has a sister at the Farm who looks just like him. She now wanders around the farm grounds, looking for him, in vain. Despite pleas to return Alfie, there has been no response.

From the Farm, the next destination was to go and find the old barn again. When I was there in 2017, I'm not sure if I saw the old rocking horses on each fence post. We were carpooling and I suspect they were out of my view. The barn is certainly weathered, but it is still standing straight and tall.

Driving further S and SE, more barns were to be seen. Part of the drive was in an area that I had explored recently. A few old grain elevators were thrown in for good measure.

As for birds, where were they? Several Mourning Doves, but not a single Hawk of any kind and really no small birds, either. A handful of Grey Partridge taking off were pretty much the only birds we saw. However, this was not planned as a birding day, but as an old barn day, and it turned out to be satisfyingly rewarding!

Four days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

The red and white barn quilt above the open door has a special meaning. The symbol means ASASE YE DURU - The Earth has weight. Divinity of Mother Earth, the importance of Mother Earth in sustaining life. This logo is an Adinkra Symbol from the Asante culture in Ghana. The word "Akesi" is from the Fante language - Fante is one of the languages that Kwesi speaks.

Four days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

There are two tiny churches in Dorothy; the one in the foreground is the Catholic church, and in the distance is the old United Church. Both were restored in 2006, which is good in some ways but not so much photographically.

"At one time the village had three elevators, the Alberta Wheat Pool, the Alberta Pacific and the United Grain Growers, three stores, a butcher shop, pool room, telephone office, restaurant and a machine agency. A school was opened in 1937 and lasted in the hamlet until 1960. It was later joined to a dance hall. The combined building stills stands today and is used for birthday and graduation parties.

There are several empty boarded up houses in and around Dorothy, which once boasted as many as 70 residents but now only has four permanent citizens.

The village also supported two churches — a United Church from 1932 to 1961 and a Roman Catholic church from 1944 to 1967. The two churches were considered the focal point for the entire region’s important social events. They still stand today, but are gradually being withered away by time and the elements."

www.ghosttownpix.com/alberta/dorothy.html

Wow, what a day I had the day before yesterday, 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost.

This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself.

Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands?

When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home.

There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me.

Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago.

A few more odds and ends from my archives, I am adding the description that I wrote under a different image taken on the same outing. Will be without my car for another several weeks minimum (sigh!), so will be posting images from my archives for quite a while.

"Three days ago, on 30 August 2021, I decided, after seeing possible rain in the forecast for a few coming days, to do a long drive NE of Calgary, to the Badlands. Knowing that it was getting dark earlier and earlier in the evenings, I knew that I was running out of days on which I would be able to do these long drives. My main destinations to call in at were in the Drumheller area.

I had longed to go out there for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, on 29 September 2014, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip. Since then, I believe I have only driven that way once more, on 5 August 2019, until this most recent trip three days ago. I was out for nine hours and much of that time was actual driving. The further east I went, the more I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere.

Amazingly, the weather was good, with blue sky most of the time. It still seems strange to see blue sky and not overcast and smoky from the British Columbia wildfires. I think the temperature got up to about 28C, so not unbearably hot.

The first thing I photographed was a rather attractive moth, resting next to my front door outside. It may have been the moth that I had photographed earlier, on my bathroom ceiling.

About half way on the drive, I drove several back roads to take another look at an old barn I fell in love with last winter, while searching for a Snowy Owl. I was shocked and saddened to find no sign of the old barn except for a pile of wood that had collapsed or been pulled down. Maybe it was becoming dangerously unsafe in the farmyard.

Feeling somewhat 'down', I continued on my way and eventually stopped to take a handful of photos of a fine church. It seems so out of place on the prairies. The church building, inspired by a typical Danish church, was finished in 1936, though there has been a church on this site since the first settlers arrived in Dalum in 1918.

Two new-to-me grain elevators were enjoyed and quickly photographed. It's not very often that I find one that I have never seen before.

A couple of times, I stopped to take a few photos of wild Sunflowers that were growing at the edge of two or three gravel roads. An attractive moth was at rest on one of the flowers. Insects seem to really like these bright and cheery wildflowers.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that there were not a lot of people at the Hoodoos. I have been there when there were endless crowds of visitors all over the place, making it difficult to take photos, and to find a parking spot. These natural "works of art" are so beautiful and interesting.

Driving further south, I stopped at one of my favourite places - an old almost-ghost town. Dorothy is named after the daughter of Jack Wilson, an early rancher who first arrived in the area in 1900. Here, there are two lovely old country churches, old barns, old cars and tractors/farm equipment. Also, a very old, extremely weathered grain elevator that lost its roof in a storm a few years ago. Such a shame that it has never been replaced. I love the Badlands setting for this prairie sentinel.

A final place to call in at was The Last Saloon, where I bought some Sweet Potato Fries 'to go'. This is a very popular place, including with motorcyclists.

Having left home in the morning a few minutes after 9:00 am, I finally reached home about 6:00 pm, happy and tired out. A great day, full of lots of things to see. Though they were all familiar, they are always fun to see and photograph again. Hope to get in a few more drives in the next three or four weeks, before the snow arrives and stays on the ground for seven months! Where did the summer go?!"

Still not able to get out for new photos, so I am adding another five photos from my archives, yet again. If I wrote a description under a previously posted photo taken on the same outing, I will add it to this afternoon's uploads.

"What a day I had on 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost.

This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself.

Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands?

When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home.

There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me.

Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago."

The day before yesterday, 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey and Titan, and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

Added a touch of filter in post-processing, as the original image was a bit blurry.

SNOW, SNOW, GO AWAY. DON'T COME BACK ANOTHER DAY! Sigh, it snowed again overnight and this morning. There are about 10" of the white stuff along the top of my fence. After today, the forecast says we are in for some sunny, cold days. Sure hope the snow melts as fast as possible.

All sorts of problems with Flickr this morning!

Today, I have added 8 more photos from 8 September 2019, taken at Rod Handfield's acreage.

On that day, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I think this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. It was so overwhelming yesterday! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking, but also because of all the excitement. That night, I slept well. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient for many. As usual, any IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat!

SNOW, SNOW, GO AWAY. DON'T COME BACK ANOTHER DAY! Sigh, it snowed overnight and all this morning and the snowflakes keep falling. There are about 6" of the white stuff along the top of my fence.

This morning, I have added 8 more photos from 8 September 2019, taken at Rod Handfield's acreage.

On that day, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I think this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. It was so overwhelming yesterday! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking, but also because of all the excitement. That night, I slept well. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient for many. As usual, any IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat!

As usual, any fungi IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat! You could end up very sick, or worse.

Another gloomy day today, 13 September 2019, with a temperature of 14C just after noon. Yesterday, however, it was actually sunny, so I had to get out and make the most of it. It definitely feels and looks like fall. Snow is already being forecast for parts of Alberta. It will soon be time to get all-season tires off and winter tires put on.

Five days ago, on 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I believe this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. This last visit was so overwhelming! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking and fresh air, but also because of all the excitement. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then whenever I have checked. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient.

SNOW, SNOW, GO AWAY. DON'T COME BACK ANOTHER DAY! Sigh, it snowed overnight and all this morning and the snowflakes keep falling. There are about 6" of the white stuff along the top of my fence.

This morning, I have added 8 more photos from 8 September 2019, taken at Rod Handfield's acreage.

On that day, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I think this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. It was so overwhelming yesterday! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry.

A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking, but also because of all the excitement. That night, I slept well. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year.

As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient for many. As usual, any IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat!

I had put these five photos aside when I last deleted a few more photos from my computer. Gradually, I will add the description that I had written under a different posted photo taken on the same day.

Recently, I haven't been posting as many photos as I usually do. With snow in the forecast, I needed to get out and stock up with food, especially, and see to other important errands. Clearing the snow off my car is going to be painful and almost impossible with my damaged shoulder rotator cuff, plus I now have two painful arms, ha, as I was finally able to go and get the most recent COVID-19 booster shot (Pfizer) two days ago. Yesterday, 2 November 2022, it snowed all morning, but today has been nice and sunny.

"Almost three years ago, on 12 November 2017, I went with a group of seven birding friends on a very enjoyable day trip S and SE of Calgary. An old barn on one of the roads was an unexpected treat (for me) and, as I only managed to take a few rapid shots of it through the windscreen from the back seat, I was determined to one day do this drive myself and take a better look at this fine old barn (from the road, as usual).

Yesterday, 21 September 2020, was THE day! It started around 9:00 am with a drive south to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast. It was very quiet at that early hour and on a weekday, though I knew it would get busier as the day wore on. There are always all sorts of things to photograph there, including colourful flowers, a chicken or two, and various odds and ends. There is sadness at the Farm at the moment, as someone stole one of their much-loved cats, named Alfie, a matter of days ago. He is a pure grey cat and he has a sister at the Farm who looks just like him. She now wanders around the farm grounds, looking for him, in vain. Despite pleas to return Alfie, there has been no response.

From the Farm, the next destination was to go and find this old barn again. When I was there in 2017, I'm not sure if I saw the old rocking horses on each fence post. We were carpooling and I suspect they were out of my view. The barn is certainly weathered, but it is still standing straight and tall.

Driving further S and SE, more barns were to be seen. Part of the drive was in an area that I had explored recently. A few old grain elevators were thrown in for good measure.

As for birds, where were they? Not a single Hawk of any kind and really no small birds, either. A handful of Grey Partridge taking off were pretty much the only birds we saw. However, this was not planned as a birding day, but as an old barn day, and it turned out to be satisfyingly rewarding!"

Citroën : Origins since 1919

Unveiled at the 2000 Paris Motor Show, Osmose receives suitable equipment for urban traffic : on-board camera and radar, sliding side doors and pedestrian airbag. An assistance system for carpooling allows the meeting between car drivers and pedestrians. Osmose hybrid drive train reduces the polluting emissions and its solar air purification regenerate the air in the carrier and around the car.

Salon Rétromobile 2019

Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles

Paris - France

February 2019

Sunday, 3 March 2024: our temperature around 10:30 pm is -18°C (FEELS LIKE -23°C). Sunrise was at 7:15 am and sunset will be at 6:20 p m. The last three days, we have been back to winter, with several inches of new snow. This coming week looks like it will slowly get less frigid.

I am continuing to add photos from my archives, with these five images all taken on 30 May 2017, during a day's drive with my daughter.

"On 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby, then making our way north to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm.

It takes about 45 minutes to drive south to the town of Nanton. Though I had been quite a few times over the years when carpooling with various friends, I had never driven quite that far south and through the town myself. My daughter wanted to walk round two or three of the antique shops there and we both wanted to take a few photos of the grain elevators.

Once that was all done, we drove westwards from the town. Though the scenery is beautiful, we did not enjoy being on a main road with no shoulder to pull over to. We did stop once in a small pull-off, to get a few scenic shots. This was where we saw the metal cut-out of a cowboy riding his horse, with a real, live bird perched on top of his hat.

We decided to turn around and cross over to the other side of the main highway (#2) and drive north to Frank Lake, hoping to find a few things to photograph along the backroads. A barn or two and a few distant birds were enough to make the drive worthwhile.

Frank Lake was deserted when we arrived there, though a couple of other people turned up shortly. Not that many bird species, either. The water was quite choppy thanks to the wind, and there was just one Coot, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a Barn Swallow, one Eared Grebe, two American Avocets, a Killdeer and a pair of Phalaropes. Franklin's Gulls were their usual noisy selves. Not a single White-faced Ibis to be seen, and only one or two Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. When we had been on a road near the lake, we had seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on a distant fence, being harassed by several smaller birds - Brown-headed Cowbirds? I was so happy to see the Heron, as I so rarely see them. We had also seen a shorebird in a field of stubble, but I'm not sure what it was.

On our way home, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm and were just in time to order a meal before they closed at 4:00 pm.. A quick wander round gave me the chance to grab a shot or two of a very loud Rooster and the male Wild Turkey. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!"

Notice the legs… Painting/collage called ”Samåkning” ("Carpooling”), made by Carina Winther. From an exhibition at Ateljé Hörnan.

Driving solo was viewed as a display of pure un-Americana behavior. If you had a war job, and there were people who lived near you, who were going to the same place, carpooling was strongly encouraged. Also, it made getting tires and fuel easier than it would have been, if you weren't signed up for a carpool.

At one point of my drive yesterday, 8 October 2021, SW of Calgary and as far as Sheep River Falls, I ended up at this spot, looking over one of the filming locations for the very popular TV series, "Heartland". This is a family drama on CBC TV about a family dealing with the highs and lows of life on a horse ranch in the stunning the foothills of Alberta. I don't watch it often, but when I do, I love it, seeing the countryside so close to home. They use this old, red barn for some of the scenes, plus a replica of the barn's inside in a studio.

A short Blog article by one of the sons raised in real life on this farm that is used in Heartland:

www.cbc.ca/heartland/blog/a-bit-of-real-history-of-the-he...

youtu.be/7LEvpS4zd2E

Over the years, I used to take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in this whole area. The Ranch itself was not part of our area, but we stopped the car so that I cold take a photo or two looking down over the ranch. Yesterday, I ended up in the very same spot, having no idea where I was or how I got there, ha. Always a good feeling, though, to see this special barn.

My intention yesterday was to drive west of the city and then south, to an area that I am slightly familiar with, though usually when carpooling with others over the years and not driving myself. I thought I knew where to drive, but once I was out there, all the roads had different names to what Google maps gives. This is always confusing! As well as finding myself looking at the 'Heartland' barn, I also found myself on a road that led to the Sheep River trail and falls. On the spur of the moment, I decided that I might as well drive as far as the falls. The scenery is pleasant and the road is much better to drive in the fall than when the road is covered in ice and snow. Having experience the latter, I vowed that I would never repeat it.

This road is known for the Bighorn Sheep that live in the area. I was fortunate enough to come across a small herd of them, either scattered over a hillside or gathering under the shade of a small cluster of trees. I know people get stopped by Parks staff and told to move on, so I was not comfortable stopping for more than a minute or two, to grab quick, poor quality shots, just for the record.

There were quite a few people enjoying a walk or a picnic when I reached the falls. I have only ever driven here either once or maybe twice before. Much as I like to see the falls, the rough, uphill, rocky terrain is not my favourite. Trip, and you have a long, hard fall.

Yet again, I was lucky with the weather. I had noticed snow mentioned in our forecast for one of the coming days, Thankfully, the forecast seems to have changed that, so far, but we all know it is coming, and any time soon.

Models: Ashlea and Brandon.

Last night was truly one of the most spectacular, memorable, beautiful nights I've had in months... Maybe even in years.

I saw Iron&Wine live; saw The Head and the Heart live, then met every band member and took pictures with them; carpooled with one of my most favorite girls in the world(Miss Ashlea); met up with some of the most incredible friends anyone could ever ask for; and fell into a deep, deep adoration with Someone I would've never guessed I'd ever have a chance to have.

I am utterly speechless.