The Weekend in Black and White

I like to see trees in different areas, trees that are subject to different growing conditions and environments and see how they adapt to the areas. The trees in Alberta where I just returned from vacation are subject to very cold winters, very warm summers and dry conditions. There aren't many of them so some have to survive the elements out in the open. You see how they bend to the wind, grow to their evironments.

At their bases are scrubby bushes, so they rely on the falling leaves each year to supply the nutrients they need to continue to survive. They grow kind of scrubby and thin, reaching for the sky.

We can take a lesson or two watching trees grow and survive!

To see other entries of The Weekend in Black and White, please go and visit http://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com/

Skywatch Friday

I am back home now from holidays in Alberta, but it has been a busy couple of days since getting home.

Here is a picture from Eastern Alberta at the entrance gate to a farm. We stopped to visit the horses behind the fence and I took this picture of the farm gate and sky just before getting back into the car and continuing on our way.

To see photos of Skywatch Friday from around the globe, please go and visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

To see past photos of my trip, just see some of the previous posts!!

A Day in the Life in Medicine Hat

A few highlights from the last couple of days here in the Hat.

We are all eating very well here. Probably too well but that can be worked off after the end of the holiday.

A few pictures of our last night's dinner and a quick recipe!

A platter of Barbequed Chicken Wings.

Wings tossed in Frank's Hot Sauce and butter!

Roasted Tomato Salad.

Cut tomatoes in half and place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle each tomato with a combination of dried breadcrumbs, grated parmasan cheese, basil, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Drizzle with Olive Oil, and place in a 400 degree oven to roast for about a half hour. Make a simple green salad with baby greens, thinly sliced red onion and red peppers and dress with Balsamic Vinegar dressing. Spread salad on serving platter and arrange hot roasted tomatoes over the top of salad and sprinkle liberally with Crumbled Goat Cheese.

This is my nephew Aaron who today went out to the park with me and was my willing photo subject for the day.

I downloaded a simple version of Picasa onto their computer to do a bit of editing.

The park where we took the photos has a few pieces of heavy duty equipment parked by the side of the creek doing cleanup work after a flood, so Aaron crouched into the bucket of the front end loader.

Tomorrow I am going to practise taking some pictures of Aaron and his girlfriend.

I'll take the whole lot of pictures home and edit them in photoshop after.

My trip here seems to be going really fast. A week already has passed and I think with the passing of time that I have only a couple of days left here before its time to go home. I am really going to find it hard to leave my daughter here and get on the plane without her. We have spent a lot of time together here, I feel like I have to get in lots of time now because soon I won't see her for a long time. How do parents do this??

More photos tomorrow......



Skywatch Friday - Alberta Sky

In Medicine Hat we went to Echodale Park to walk, along the South Saskatchewan River. The fall colours were beautiful to see.

My sister Elaine and brother in law Ron were out enjoying the day with me.

The skies were lightly clouded and the temperature was warm. A bit of a wind blew.

Some knarly looking trees against a blue sky backdrop.

Across the river is the small town of Redcliff where my daughter just moved to and where my son Eric also lives.

The Red Cliffs across the river were originally mined for their red stone and clay. It was used in the making of bricks and pottery.  Hence how the town of Redcliff got its name.

The picnic area of Echodale Park was awash in crisp fallen leaves. I had to shuffle through the lot of them!

Sunset over the houses behind my daughter Lora's new place.

Looking to the left in the back of Lora's place. The sunset was gorgeous. A beautiful end to a beautiful day.

To see other photos of Skywatch Friday, please go and visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Lorna and Lora's Excellent Road Trip

After two days of driving with a stop in Golden for the night, Lora and I have made it all the way to her new home in Medicine Hat. Our first road trip and I hope not our last, was a good trip, no problems in any way throughout the entire trip. Her cat Whiskey who took the trip with us slept most of the way in her cat carrier and never had a problem with the travelling at all.

We saw a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. The colours were gorgeous, the weather was clear for the most part with only about ten minutes of rain for the entire trip.

Everywhere the fall colours were spectacular.

This is Shuswap Lake in Eastern B.C. It is a huge tourist destination in the summer.

Can't pass up lakes and reflections. This is further along the Shuswap.

The clouds over the mountains were just hanging down. Lots of early morning fog when we started out for the day.

This hotel is between Revelstoke and Golden on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Bridge before Golden, where we spent the night.

I liked the fall colours here and the Grizzly Bear on the pedestal.

Roger's Pass Summit.

Pitstop at the Tourist Center in Banff Alberta. My beauty girl Lora.

Coming into Calgary here, home of the world famous Calgary Stampede! Only three hours more of driving from this point.

Alberta, the land of big skies, cows (ladies in leather) and hay bales.

And after about 13 hours of driving and one over night stay we arrived safe and sound in Medicine Hat. Lora's U-Haul is unloaded and now comes the job of unpacking everything and getting settled.

My brother in law Ron here making coffee the next morning.

More trip photos to follow!!

There are some cool watery shots in the beginning of this very long post and I am including those in entry into Watery Wednesday.

To see more photos of Watery Wednesday, please go and visit http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/



The Weekend in Black and White

About five weeks ago, my daughter made the decision to move from here out to Eastern Alberta. It seems like only a few days ago she told me of her move, and now the move day is here.

Just like the mirror, things are really closer than they appear. This date just arrived so soon.

It's like a bridge she is crossing over to a new chapter in her life, the path leads to a new life and its hard to see on the other side where that is going to take her.

I am driving with her in her car out to Alberta and will help her move in to her new place, see where she is going to live and get a feel for the area. We have never done a road trip before, just the two of us so this should be fun. Bittersweet, because when I catch the plane back home in a week and a half and leave her at her new home, I know I am going to be sad to leave her and am going to miss her a lot. That will be the bittersweet of it all. It is a great opportunity for her out there, I could never stand in her way of that.

So the next few entries to my blog will be of our trip. Stay tuned.....

For more photos of The Weekend in Black and White, please go and visit http://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com/