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this image I am posting tonight image I call 'ghosts of tokyo' after all the millions of people who have lived & died in this amazing city.
5 long infrared exposures of the closed off street outside shinjuku station which was full of pedestrians at the time; north exit.. About 20 meters from here is an awesome used camera store where I was united with a mamiya 6.
After posting a couple of "Hot" pics this week..
.. today it's time to cool off, chill out and soak up some mellow vibes in the garden...
It's Glastonbury weekend, I don't have a ticket but I can listen to it and pretend to soak up the hippy vibes in this lovely Boho style dress by "Joe Browns"..
Plus I don't need wellies at home..!! Although wellies and this dress might look rather chic..!!
Have a fab, chilled weekend everybody.. Peace, Love and Hugs to all.. 🌈😘
This posting is from a photo-postcard that I bought in South African in the early 1980’s. It is just one of a series of cards of South African locos issued by the Railway Society of Southern Africa, Johannesburg. This society is still going strong! I will post more as time goes on. This photo was taken at De Aar Station, the second most important junction on the rail network. It is on the Cape Town to Johannesburg line with important lines from De Aar to Port Elizabeth, Durban and East London.
This 3’6” gauge, 4.8.4 Class 25NC locomotive, no 3414 of the South African Railway was built in West Germany in 1953 by Henschel and Son, a company well know for the planes and other material that they built in WW2. Numbers 3401 to 3411 were built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, Scotland and then those from 3412 onwards by Henschel in Germany.
The NC stands for a Non-Condensing engine and meant that it would use more water to operate as it vented the steam, not so good in a country with vast, arid areas to operate in. Later locos in the series were produced to be condensing engines which recirculated and reused the condensed steam when cooled. This increased their range so much that they were able to undertake 800 mile journeys before they needed to refill their water tanks.
The locos were withdrawn from service over the years as diesels took over the majority of services. Some were sold to the Zimbabwe Railway, some were scrapped but thankfully a good few were saved and passed into private hands. Unbelievably one found its way to the U.K.! No 3405 is on static display at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Aylesbury whilst two have found their way to New Zealand! Nos 3432 and 3508 are at the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust in Auckland. This trust has quite a few South African Locos evidently.
None have found their way to Australia or the States yet.
My last posting for 2016 I hope you all have a Happy New Year in 2017
It was back in November 2013 when Hull was chosen from a short list of six cities to be the UK City of Culture 2017. It seems a long time ago now the opening events begin on January 1st . There were people particularly in the south of England who were sceptical about this decision, (they tend to think that culture stops north of Watford) but I think Hull year in the limelight will surprise them. Apart from all the events of the coming year in music theatre literature art and dance Hull has a lot to offer. The city has a great deal of history, some very fine museums a wonderful and vibrant old town still based on the medieval street pattern. The people are friendly the pubs are many and various. Hull is above all a river city and the views across the mile wide River Humber are amazing. I do not expect any of my contacts from overseas will make it but the city would welcome you. I do hope that my contacts in Britain will visit Hull at some point next year if they have never visited the city I think you have a great time. If you are coming let me know and I will try and be your personal guide.
The image is the city’s railway station with its colourful bunting.
So “ its everyone back to ours” and remember that its never dull in Hull
I will catch up with you when I recover from the party the city is throwing on January 1st Happy New Year
THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE A COMMENT IT’S MUCH APPRECIATED.
IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY STREAM I SUGGEST YOU OUGHT TO READ MY PROFILE FIRST
Posting up an oldie from last years annual tour of the Outer Hebrides which I never got round to processing.
Unfortunately we won't be able to get away this year so sorely disappointed.
Have a good weekend folks.
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so, there i was, walking at the edge of the parking lot, by the hatch school in
half moon bay, when i spotted a row of blast-furnace-red parking posts for fire trucks only..... this post was split and clearly home to an arachnid or two......"come into my parlor said the spider to the fly, it's the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy..."
Thank you for posting your photos and tagging us! We love to see all the cool new creations you're making, and the photos you're taking!
Equipment:
OTA: William Optics GT81 w/0.8x reducer (382mm fl at f/4.7)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G (HEQ-5)
Guidescope: Orion 50mm guidescope
Guiding camera: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Software:
SGP
PHD2
CdC
PixInsight
Acquisition:
Location: Flower Mound, TX for Ha(Bortle 7), Atoka, OK for RGB(Bortle 3)
Dates: 10/23/17, 11/24/17, 12/8/17, 12/12/17
Gain: 200 Offset: 50 for Ha
Gain: 76 Offset: 15 for RGB
Camera temp: -20C
Ha: 164x300" Astrodon 5nm
R: 25x180"
G: 22x180"
B: 26x180"
Total integration time: 17hrs 19min
64x darks per calibration (master from library)
30x flats per calibration
200x bias per calibration (master from library)
Preprocessing:
Batch PreProcessing script to generate calibrated images
StarAlignment to register all frames to the reference
LocalNormalization of all registered frames (per channel)
ImageIntegration of each channel
DrizzleIntegration of each channel
DynamicCrop each master
DBE each master
Ha Processing:
Deconvolution
HistogramTransformation x2
Duplicated the image to create a starless version, using a starmask and several iterations of MMT and MT. Then pushed the faint nebulosity in the starless version using PixelMath expression: "1-(1-$T)*(1-$T)"
Combined the starless version with the image using PixelMath expression "F=0.2; (1-(1-$T)*(1-s)*F)+($T*~F)" (s=starless photo).
LocalHistogramEqualization with inverted starmask
MLT for sharpening
HistogramTransformation to move black point in
RGB Processing:
Using PixelMath, blended linear Ha with linear masters (50% into R, 10% into B, 5% into G)
ChannelCombination to create RGB
PhotometricColorCalibration
SCNR green
TGV and MMT noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
HistogramTransformation x3
Combined Ha to RGB using LRGBCombination with Ha applied as a mask
HistogramTransformation to stretch image brighter
PixelMath with a StarMask to add the original RGB stars back into the image (they looked weird beforehand)
CurvesTransformation for a small stretch
SCNR green
CurvesTransformation for slight saturation
ACDNR
Resampled to 50% for web posting
It has been a long time since my last posting on Flickr, and I have found myself missing all you skilled, fun and (some of you) weird people out there!
This is from our hunt yesterday, Storms first day hunting with me. Well, he enjoyed the day out, I am not so sure he had much thoughts about what to do with all those interesting smells.
We got a nice stag, the last adult stag we have permission for. But still we can shoot some calves and yearlings. And the hunting season last till Dec. 23.
This is from Tverrdalen. We had an easy route as he should not be taken for too exhausting walks yet.
As I have been off Flickr for a long time will it take some time to reach all of you. I will have to start in one end of my contact list, and work my way through it. As a man I have to have strict rules in such matters, otherwise I will soon loose control. Sorry.
Sorry, everyone, I must be driving you all crazy! I am posting SO many images, but the end is in sight - yes, thank goodness. Less than a week and I should be done. I honestly don't know how some people go on lots of holidays like this and take thousands of photos and still seem to manage to take a lot shorter time to post them than I have (i.e. nine months). Actually I thought it was even longer than that. I have a deadline for getting all these finished, and it looks like I might meet my deadline after all. Thank you all for your patience!
Tonight, I posted 12 more photos taken on 18 May 2018, Day 12 of our holiday in Ontario and Quebec, This was our final day in Quebec, before flying back to Calgary early morning the next day, 19 May 2018.
Day 12 will have photos of some of the 50,000 Snow Geese seen at an amazing Wildlife Area closer to Quebec City. We also got the chance to photograph a handful of barns, which was much enjoyed.
We stopped at a few places on the long drive between Tadoussac and Quebec City, including Baie-des-Rochers, and Port-au-Persil briefly so that we could take a photos or two of the beautiful old church, Chapelle McLaren, with the St. Lawrence River in the distance. I managed to grab several rapid, drive-by shots of a few barns, which was great. How i would love a holiday just for old barns : )
A really special place we visited closer to Quebec City was the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area. Here, we saw an estimated 50,000 Snow Geese, on land, on water, and flying, turning the sky white. This was the first time I have ever been so close to Snow Geese. Some of them waddled within just a few feet of us while we were having a picnic lunch. We went on a walk there and saw some interesting bird species, incluing one tiny Hummingbird.
Posting this is way risque for me, but enjoy!
After a rendezvous with a gentleman caller, I decided that I needed to take some pictures. White lingerie makes me feel so sweet and submissive...
Random postings of photos I have taken over the last few years. Explore the photo set to find other work by the artist or of the same theme or event.
All photos © Ian Cox. If you would like to use this image please ask first. Best viewed as a set here
Follow Wallkandy on Instagram to see photos as they are posted. These images are also being posted on the Wallkandy facebook page and Tumblr.
Posting a some pics from a few years ago. This is a nice dress to wear to feel like a little girl on Christmas.
After posting quite a few cold, snowy images recently, I feel desperately in need of seeing bright colour for a change. These five photos were taken at the Calgary Zoo on 6 October 2015.
Our brutal cold weather continues. Tomorrow, the forecast is for much 'warmer' temperatures, thank goodness. This morning, the temperature at 7:15 am is -29°C (FEELS LIKE -41°C). The good news is that two days ago, the days finally start getting longer. Daylight gets 2 minutes 7 seconds longer each day from now on.
I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same outing.
"All the photos posted this morning were taken at the Calgary Zoo on 6 October 2015. The west entrance to the Zoo will be closed from 13 October till April 2016, so I did want to get in another visit before then. I don't like the drive home on Deerfoot Trail from the north entrance, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter. "Calgary's infamous freeway has taken the dubious top spot when it comes to this city's most dangerous place to drive." From the Calgary Sun.
The forecast was for sun with some cloud, but it turned out to be overcast the whole afternoon and most of my photos, especially those taken indoors, came out blurry : ( I was amazed that this and several others taken of this amazing Mandrill came out OK, including because of the dirty glass and everyone's reflection making it a challenge. This guy was walking around his enclosure the whole time, except when he paused on a log for a few seconds a couple of times, to give a nice pose. A black squirrel adds a a bit of interest for him, too, and he likes to give chase. Last time I was at the Zoo, I saw this black squirrel in there. The glass of the enclosure is extremely high and I wonder if it has a way of getting out.
"The world’s largest monkey, mandrills in the wild are found in the rainforests of equatorial Africa in countries such as Guinea, Nigeria and Cameroon. Known for the vivid red, blue and yellow markings on the muzzle and rump, mandrills also have long canine teeth that make a memorable impression. The monkeys are largely ground-dwelling omnivores that forage on grubs, eggs, fruit, leaves and reptiles, but they will climb trees for fun or for a safe place to sleep. Mature males can weigh up to 50 kg. and live up to about 25 years of age. Their colours also get brighter as they mature.
Males can appear aggressive when they flash their canines at one another, but that is really a sign of friendly communication common in their complex social hierarchies, said Celli. In fact, despite their striking looks, mandrills tend to be quite shy. Because the group at the zoo is all male, you won’t see any displays of bravado that signal mating behaviour, but you will see the younger males following the lead of their dominant oldest brother, Yusufu. Zoo curator, Dr. Malu Celli, said the adolescent younger brothers will copy his mannerisms and even his walk.
The trio were born in captivity in the Granby Zoo in Granby, Q.C. (Quebec) and were part of a family group there that had too many males. Celli said it is not unusual to find bachelor groups of mandrills in the wild, or males that hang out on the peripheries of a “super group.” From an article in the Calgary Herald on 16 May 2014.
www.calgaryherald.com/technology/things+know+about+colour...
Posting more old stuff until new adventures arise.
Mazda Classic Automobile Museum Frey in May 2017.
The old Augsburg tram depot was resurrected as Mazda car museum. I believe it is the biggest classic Mazda collection outside Japan.
Right a 626, center a 929 coupe and left a 323 hatchback. I love the designs of these 80s Mazda's. My dad used to drive 323 GLX sedans in that era.
Look at the amount of glass on the 323 and 929. In modern cars the bodywork is much higher, so less glass. Dark claustrofobic cabins. Modern fossil fuel cars are heavy AF. Shitty small displacement turbocharged engines. Oh lets put in a panoramic roof to have some light in the cabin. Yeah, that'll make the car lighter, Looooooong freaking gears. Electric cars are even heavier. Fly-by-wire everything so everything is numb. Cheap money saving suspension. Big ass porno rims for an even shittier ride. Where is the progress? Automatic gearboxes, self parking- and self driving cars? Take the bus already, you loser! You bunch of stupid SUV/ crossover driving hippies! :)
Man, I miss this. When this COVID mess is all behind us, I'm going to visit all these European car museums again.
Mazda Classic – Automobil Museum Frey - Augsburg
Project 914 Archives (S.Donacik collection)
Hope you folks in the Buffalo group don't mind my posting this...
Walter Grabowski was one of our 'local heroes' here in Western New York and is among those who have left us in the last few years.
He was a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot in Europe during WWII and was assigned to the 511th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group. This group was part of the Ninth Air Force and flew mostly ground attack missions, often in direct support of our troops on the ground.
This photo, like the other one, has appeared in print several times and also came to me via historian Jim Crow. It shows Walter's 'bubble-top' Jug with an impressive display of mission markings.
Now, before you get all rowdy and stuff, this was undoubtedly not Walter's personal scoreboard. (He flew 28 missions.) 'Tis more likely the ship tally. Still, looks way-cool, don't it?
Anyhoo, the umbrellas denote 'top cover' sorties, probably covering Ninth AF bombers. The aircraft silhouettes probably indicate aircraft destroyed on the ground. The bombs, of course, are for bombing missions. The brooms are for fighter sweeps.
The fighter groups of the Eighth AF often draw the most attention from enthusiasts, as their job was mainly to escort the heavies on bombing missions and engage the Luftwaffe in the air. They did see a considerable bit of air to ground action as well, but the fighter groups of the Ninth AF were the true ground attack pros. Their primary function from the get-go was to shoot up anything and everything on the ground.
Not as 'glamorous' as air to air combat, perhaps. (Which they also did a bit of.) But it was a damned dangerous business... a helluvalot moreso than dogfighting. Up at 15 thousand feet you might have a couple of enemy aircraft shooting at you at any given time, usually only one. But down on the deck, especially if you were hitting an airfield, you had all sortsa sh*t coming your way... from actual flak guns to rifles, pistols and who knows what the hell else. If they had something that could hurt you and were in a position to use it, they probably tried their damnedest to knock you down. There've even been stories of guys throwing rocks...
Another hazard was the very fact that they were flying low... trees, telephone poles, high tension wires, buildings and the ground don't mix too well with airplanes that are screaming along at a few hundred miles an hour fifty feet off the deck. Many a pilot was lost to collisions with objects on the ground... or the ground itself.
So, although it's not my intention to take anything away from the Eighth AF fighter jocks, or any others, I must say that if I had to pick one group of USAAF airmen who truly earned their paychecks, it would have to be the likes of Walter and his comrades among the ranks of the Ninth AF fighter pilots...
Fade to Black...
I should have checked the postings last night!! i think i have it all sorted out although on the ANSH charts it may be wrong-- sigh- that will teach me to put off something til after the deadline!!
1. Vacant storage spaces, 2. the pink dot, 3. A favorite Christmas song, 4. Reusable gift bags, 5. Reusable gift bags, 6. red, white, and blue, times two,
7. the answers to “guess the colors”, 8. puzzled, 9. socks for a reader, 10. Keep calm, 11. There’s no coal in my stocking!!, 12. All gone,
13. Sadly abandoned, 14. A historic home’s facade, 15. Community center facade, 16. not in as much use in the winter, 17. Ooops,
18. duck (life) saver,
19. Just bokeh, 20. A tradition for the season, 21. Intriguing Christmas book I’ll have to research, 22. Pere Noel on the bayou, 23. A scarf as a blanket2, 24. just because,
25. Teddy telling time, 26. Mom’s measuring tape, 27. might come in handy
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
not happy with the processing results... will probably edit in the future... not sure...
an hour after first posting: I have decided to change the title and idea a bit from what I was first going for. At first, I called it "in HIS hands" but I couldn't get past the fact that, technically, in this picture, I was actually sitting in my OWN hand.. and so that just didn't work together. so now, it's more of a self-offering......
letting go of my plans and priorities and own formed ideas, even though i like to think i'm right about everything and know the best.... it's been proven to me that i DON'T! ....
God, here i am. take me and my life.
Random postings of photos I have taken over the last few years. Explore the photo set to find other work by the artist or of the same theme or event.
All photos © Ian Cox. If you would like to use this image please ask first. Best viewed as a set here
Follow Wallkandy on Instagram to see photos as they are posted. These images are also being posted on the Wallkandy facebook page and Tumblr.
Posting this iconic sea stack taken long time ago while slowly processing the pictures from Norway.
Have a nice weekend!
...or look what I found in the split-pea soup.
Good morning everyone and Happy Turtle Tuesday. I know...pretty bad. I just made it up for today's postings so don't freak out thinking I'll be posting turtle pics every Tuesday. Just two today of Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata).
The above turtle being one that I almost didn't notice for obvious reasons as it was covered almost entirely in Duckweed. I posted another pic of a Midland Painted Turtle in the comment section minus the camo so you can get a better idea what this species actually looks like. Both turtles were photographed in the same general area of Lacey Pond while in search of dragonflies.
As a side note, the Duckweed (Lemnaoideae) is a very simple plant, lacking obvious stems or leaves. It consists of a small "thalloid" or plate-like structure that floats on or just under the water surface, with or without simple rootlets. It is the smallest known flowering plant. Duckweed is an important high-protein food source for waterfowl and birds as I've often seen American Goldfinch feeding on it. It's also eaten by humans in some parts of Southeast Asia, as it contains more protein than soybeans. Duckweed also plays a role in water conservation because a cover of Duckweed will reduce evaporation of water when compared to the rate of a similar size body of water with a clear surface.
I hope you enjoy this short series and as always, don't forget to click on "view previous comments" if you don't see the second pic in the comment section. Even better, scroll to it by clicking on the arrow thingy to the right of the above pic. And if you want to view the picture in the comment section large all you have to do is click on it where you'll also find some information on the Midland Painted Turtle.
Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a truly nice week.
Lacey
ISO400, aperture f/10, exposure .003 seconds (1/400) focal length 300mm
Posting one of my male wood duck photos to brighten our day! They certainly are colorful and absolutely divine on an autumn day!
I fell in love with this church so I am posting another photo and neat stories.
While my wife and I were here a young man came up and took several pictures.He told us he grew up nearby and went to Church here when he was young.
We all went in and he was telling us all about the Church. Then he told us about the stories of Ghost in the Church.
Below are a couple of stories.
The old church was first thought to be haunted when a group of photographers went there to snap pictures of the building for a historical film.
While they were there, one of them decided to sit down at the piano & play a few bars.
Voices began to become audible behind him. He couldn't hear the voices as he played, but his fellow photographers heard them, & thought it sounded as though they were singing.
They searched for the origin, only to find nothing. Years later, the group returned to the church, this time with a reporter from the Fort Worth Star Telegram joining them.
6 people heard the mysterious voices on that visit. The songs are said to be sung in Norwegian language.This was a true Scandinavian community where Norwegian was the primary language although there were Danes and Swedes here as well.
St. Olaf's Lutheran Church. It's on FM 182 in Norse, between Clifton and Cranfills Gap
Read comment in yesterdays post from Sam Alex
Silly me... going through old photos and realized I missed out on posting photos from an entire day at Malhuer...
We found a Black Necked Stilt nest on the side of the road on the way to the refuge, we passed it every day there and back and stopped every time to see them. I have never been close to those birds and wow they are fun to photograph. We even got to see the difference one morning when there were no eggs at the beginning of the day and two eggs by the end of the day.
Random postings of photos I have taken over the last few years. Explore the photo set to find other work by the artist or of the same theme or event.
All photos © Ian Cox. If you would like to use this image please ask first. Best viewed as a set here
Follow Wallkandy on Instagram to see photos as they are posted. These images are also being posted on the Wallkandy facebook page and Tumblr.
Posting three photos (no energy to post more). taken earlier today, 28 April 2021. It is shortly before midnight, but tomorrow morning, I have to be up really early, as I have to move my car from the parking lot early. Time for the annual spring cleaning of the area. I don't have street parking, so I need to be ready to go off 'somewhere' earlier than usual. Haven't decided where, yet.
I desperately needed to get out somewhere for just a short time this afternoon. The workmen did less loud banging on my walls today, but three weeks of this already and many weeks more, is pretty draining. I had a message from a neighbour today telling me to check for water leaking into my place. She was getting leakage from her neighbour and it could have spread along the main support beam. After checking my home, I couldn't see any sign of water or water marks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Too many things going wrong at the moment!
It was reasonably sunny this afternoon, but it was quite windy. I had to hang on to my hat while trying to take my photos, but it felt so good to actually see some birds! Happy to see Hooded Mergansers, Redheads, Mallards, a Robin, and of course, a Canada Goose. It was a treat to see a Horned Grebe (more than one), as I rarely see this species. Best of all, it was quiet where I went - just me and an occasional person who walked by. I only stayed for maybe half an hour, but it was a break I needed. Felt good, Wow, it is supposed to get up to 21C tomorrow! The next day's forecast looks good, but then we are supposed to get rain on three of the four following days.
Still in Poland ,so just posting a old shot from home,got tons of stuff on the camera to edit once home ,fab zoo here in Wroclaw one of the best I have been to
Posting on the run. This is Loch Ard a couple of weeks ago in the sunshine. I promise to catch up tonight/tomorrow morning folks. Its been a busy time :-)
Once again, I am back to posting photos from my archives until I manage to get out again. Our weather has been beautiful recently, though some days have been very windy. The snow has been melting nicely and most places seem to be free of snow on the ground.
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.
"My spirits were lifted on 24 January 2017, with this sighting of a beautiful Barred Owl. I've barely been out looking for Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls this winter and have only seen a few, very distant birds - at least until the 25 January 2017, when I was lucky enough to see 11 Snowy Owls outside the city, with a friend who is brilliant at spotting things. I've also missed a recent Long-eared Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl.
This was only the second 100% wild Barred Owl I’d ever seen. I had seen a family of them near Edmonton, when we went to see ones that had been banded. They were wild birds, but I still hoped to one day see a completely wild one (no nesting box). The owl in this photo was beautiful – crummy light, but I was so happy to see this owl. We very rarely see this species within the city, so it was a real treat. Took a long walk before seeing it, and it took me a few days to recover from it - but it was so worth it."
"The Barred Owl’s hooting call, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?” is a classic sound of old forests and treed swamps. But this attractive owl, with soulful brown eyes and brown-and-white-striped plumage, can also pass completely unnoticed as it flies noiselessly through the dense canopy or snoozes on a tree limb. Originally a bird of the east, during the twentieth century it spread through the Pacific Northwest and southward into California." From AllAboutBirds.
From a Facebook posting by John Barry Graham on 8 August 2023:
"A tornado in 2015 took the roof off. The community that saved and restored the two old churches has $16,000 saved up thus far to put a new roof on and save the elevator. It is the most photographed elevator in Western Canada."
Drone footage of Dorothy elevator and old bridge East Coulee, by DanOCan
Happy September, everyone!
At one time, there were three grain elevators in Dorothy, but now only one still stands (barely).
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?!
I have just set a target to finish posting my Europe 2020 photos by November 1st. I've been working on this album for three years now, and that's ridiculous, considering the trip only took two weeks. Unposted photos from other trips are adding up, and at the rate I'm going, I'll never get to the end of them until I retire. And let's be realistic; I'm not going to be able to retire.
Having said all that, I do like this photo, and there are quite a few more Europe 2020 pics that I'm looking forward to posting. In this scene, we see what appears to be the Adam Mickiewicz Monument looking at Saint Mary's Basilica.
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