A Gopher by Any Other Name...

...is a Richardson's ground squirrel.  This one posed for the camera near Barons, Alberta.  They've really been tearing up the prairie down here in the south the past few years.

Photographed on August 22, 2018.

A Boy and His Dog

A pink marble headstone with full colour ceramic photograph at Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery.

Everyone should have a dog.

Photographed near Drobot, Saskatchewan on December 19, 2019.

Herronton Grain Elevator

The old "Pool" grain elevator at Herronton, Alberta.

It's still in reasonably good condition.

Photographed on October 12, 2018.

Rosemount Farm

As soon as I saw this farm sign I thought of that old western film "Paint Your Wagon."

Photographed near Rokeby, Saskatchewan on January 7, 2020.

Daisy

This is Daisy.

She came to her people as a six week old puppy.  I'd never seen an Australian Shepherd puppy before...she looked pretty cute, much like a little bear with her bobbed tail.  The grandchildren were given the task of naming her..."Daisy" is a good dog name.

I take care of the trees and shrubs at Daisy's house in Medicine Hat so I'd often see her outside in the yard.  We quickly became buddies...she loved to play "fetch" and would literally jump through a hoop to retrieve a ball or other toy.  Once I learned that she needed to be taken care of for a few weeks while her people were on a cruise that winter I immediately volunteered for the job.  Soon after her second parvo shot Daisy was off to Nevada for the winter.

Move ahead a few months to late January of 2013.  We were having some harsh weather in southern Alberta at the time and I was getting a little concerned about my trip south. I don't care to travel during extreme winter conditions but then all of a sudden there was a short break and I was on my way.  There were some exciting winter driving conditions for the next few days but once I made it to Saint George, Utah I new the worst was over.

After a couple days of "reacquaintance" her people were on their way to Florida for a cruise and Daisy and I were on our own in Henderson, Nevada. We had a nice place to stay and there were a few dog parks nearby.  But...I easily get bored so I packed up the puppy and we were off on a road trip to southern California.

I'd never travelled with a puppy before but I quickly learned that it's best to stop every hour or so for a walk and a pee.  Daisy is great in the car...even though I had the air conditioner on most of the time she loved having the seat heater on.  She'd curl up and sleep on the warm seat for an hour and then she'd start to do that whistle-through-the-nose thing that dogs do.  That meant it was time for a pit stop.  We had a great time out on the road and she was just the best in hotels...no messes and no barking.

We saw a good chunk of Los Angeles (where they have the best food trucks in the world in my opinion) on the trip...Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills and Bel Air and many other places that one just hears about.  It really is a different world on the southern California coast.  Having a puppy along for the trip helped to keep me "down to earth."  Daisy saw lots of things and traveled many miles before she was a year old. She was a lucky puppy...and I was lucky to be her guardian for the time.

Zoom ahead several years to the here and now...I still take her for walks when our schedules align.  And now she has a new roommate...a border collie puppy named Jesse.  They get along fine...and they both like to play "fetch."

The above photo of Daisy was taken on November 22, 2019 while we were on a walk through Police Point Park in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Zortman Part 4 - Turkeys

On my way back into town I spotted some wildlife.

I don't get to see wild turkeys very often so this was a treat.

American Thanksgiving was still over a month away so they were safe...at least for the moment.

Then it was off to the cafe for a homemade burger and back on the road.

I hope you enjoyed the trip through Zortman.

Photographed on October 19, 2018.

Zortman Part 3 - Cemetery in the Woods

Like the church, Zortman Cemetery is up a very steep hill but on the opposite end of town.

Above is the road to the cemetery.

A wooden fence outlines the cemetery which is up this narrow ravine.

I was surprised to see a cemetery in such a heavily wooded area.

About half way up the hill (and a lot of huffin' an' puffin' on the way up) I saw the wrought iron fence enclosure.

The owners (and close relations) of a lucrative goldmine in the Little Rockies are buried here.

I love the cast iron embellishments.

The fence is contoured to the landscape.

Nice spot for a sit down.

A few of the graves inside the fenced perimeter.

On my way back down the hill.

This is one of the Cadastral Survey markers that are placed at each of the four corners of the cemetery.  These are monuments that register the cemetery as a legal entity.  Someone was thinking ahead.

Photographed on October 19, 2018.

Zortman Part 2 - Little Church on a Hill

At the western end of Zortman is a little church on a very steep hill.  It was built in 1940 and still in use.

Above is a view of the church from the trail at the base of the hill.

I didn't realize how steep the hill was until I started on my way up.

Almost to the top.

Welcome to the little church at the top of the hill.

Look at all those evergreen trees behind the sign!

At Christmas time the star on the belltower lights up.

The building is in reasonably good condition.  During the warmer months Mass is held on Saturday afternoons at 4:00 p.m.

The altar...the statues are elegant and well-crafted.

Facing back...the church seats about fifty to sixty people.  As far as I could tell it appears mostly original both inside and out (with the exception of electricity being added at a later date).

The cross on top of the belltower.  Yes, there is still a bell inside the tower and yes again, I had to ring the bell!

Photographed on October 19, 2018.

Zortman Part 1 - Bales and Jail

When my work season was over in the fall of 2018 I decided to take a long awaited trip to north-central Montana.  I had planned the trip the previous winter and was really looking forward to a few days on the road and seeing the the sights. 

Zortman, Montana is a small community in the heart of the Little Rocky Mountains.  In the 1860's it was a place for prospector's to lay a claim and is now a destination for hunters and back roads tourists.  The Little Rockies look much like the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan but are almost twice the size in area and the highest peak is over 5700 feet. 

The above photo was taken along the main road into town.

One of the buttes close-up...lots of rocky outcroppings and evergreen trees.  There have been a number of forest fires in the Little Rockies over the years.

There were hay bales all along the prairie between the hills and the road...

...lots of bales.

The Zortman Jail...I'll bet many a drunken prospector spent the night here.

There's still a hitchin' rail to tie up the horses too.

Beyond the jail is Saint Joseph's Catholic Church where I'm sure many a confession was made...but that'll have to wait until "Zortman-Part 2" in the next post.

Photographed on October 19, 2018.

Westbrook S.D. No. 1024

Late afternoon sunlight on a brick-faced one-room-school near Theodore, Saskatchewan.

Just west of the school some farmers were picking up the last of their straw bales.  That's a job they like to get done before any snowfall but sometimes the weather just doesn't cooperate.  Some of the crops in the area didn't even get harvested before winter set in.

It was clear and cold but the sun was shining...that's always a bonus on a winter's day.

Photographed on December 18, 2019.