Happy Orthodox New Year!

Almost forgot...Happy Orthodox New Year from Saint Michael's!

Even though it's late...a good bottle of champagne is in order.  Cheers!

Photographed near Rama, Saskatchewan on March 20, 2020.

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

It was late spring, the weather was beautiful and gardening duties were under control...time for a road trip.

Spent most days in North Dakota where they'd had lots of snow and spring rain.  That means all the ponds and sloughs were full of water, which in turn means a habitat for migrating birds.  Saw yellow-headed blackbirds just like this one in most every wetland I came across.  Good for them.

Photographed near Plumer, North Dakota on June 19, 2023.

Big Prairie Sky

We're currently in a deep freeze here in southern Alberta...definitely not good road trip weather.  So, in the meantime, here are a few pictures taken when it was good winter road trip weather.  

Gotta love the prairies...wide open spaces and an even bigger sky.

A five-minute drive will get me out of town and into the countryside.  Everyone should have that luxury.

Photographed near Winnifred, Alberta on January 28, 2017.

New Bruises and Broken Boards

As soon as I pulled up I knew something was distinctly different from my visit of just a few months earlier and quickly realized just what it was...the landowner had let cattle into the area to graze.  

Cattle are not particularly kind to old wooden buildings so the old church endured some new bruises and broken boards.  Sad to see.  

Glad the small cemetery nearby has a sturdy new barbed-wire fence that will keep it out of harm's way for many more years to come.

The Congregational Church near Gros Ventre-Tothill, Alberta was photographed on November 8, 2023.

Vapour Trails

I've always enjoyed watching the vapour trails of jets taking people to faraway places.  And this time the event was quite spectacular.  

The sun was just rising as two vapour trails intersected in the sky...what a beautiful way to begin the day. 

Photographed at Congregational Matthaus Cemetery near Schuler, Alberta on December 10, 2017.