The day before yesterday, 30 March 2020, was a day I had been looking forward to – to finally finishing the huge task of sorting, editing and posting 1,161 photos from our amazing birding trip to South Texas in March 2019. Having spent exactly one year doing this, it feels rather strange to be digging into my archives for images to upload. How sad it is that we (hopefully all!) will be missing seeing so much beauty this year, due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19. I’m glad to see that all my neighbours are doing their very best to keep themselves, and everyone else, safe by staying home all the time. It is grim news from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that he would expect to see cases of the virus spike again in the fall.
So, for now, back to the archives. For each photo, I will use the same description that I added under a different, already posted image from the same day. Stay safe and stay well, everyone! Please be kind and appreciative to all those who still have to work, including health care workers (my daughter is one of them), first responders, food store workers, truckers and so many, many more.
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"Monday, 27 January 2020: our temperature this morning is -3C (windchill -3C), and the sun is shining so far. Sunrise is at 8:20 am, and sunset is at 5:18 pm.
Three of the photos I have posted today were taken the day before yesterday, on 25 January 2020. The last two images uploaded were taken yesterday, when I went for a morning birding walk in Fish Creek Park with a group of good friends.
The main difference in this barn (not the one in the photo above) between 2014 and 2020 is that there is now an open space at the far end of the low, sloping part of the building. The rest of the barn looks pretty much the same, at least from this angle, taken (as always) from the road. I’m always amazed to find it still standing.
Two days ago, on 25 January 2020, the weather was beautiful, so I made a last-minute decision to drive SE of the city to take a few winter photos. For about five hours, I drove along wet, muddy, gravelly roads which were atrocious to drive on. You can barely tell that I have a white car : )
Needless to say, I did keep my eyes open in case there was a Snowy Owl somewhere. No luck until much later, after I thought it was time to turn around and start heading for home. I suddenly spotted a beautiful bird perched on a distant fence line. Far away, but at least it wasn’t sitting on a utility pole insulator. Most of the time, it either sat there with its back turned towards me, or it kept looking away from me. Luckily, I did manage a few shots that are fit to post.
On this drive, I passed various old barns and houses that I always stop and photograph when I am out that way. A few new ones added to the joy of the day.
The day ended with my getting lost in exactly the same way as I did once before. To get out of it, I had to waste a lot of time having to drive back south again in order to turn around. However, the thought of seeing the Snowy Owl kept a smile on my face."
I have tried to find more information online, but with no luck. There was a sign for this farmstead by the road that said:
"Buck for Wildlife.
Abandoned Farmstead Project
The Graham Family is gratefully acknowledged in the management of habitat for Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife Resources. Permission has to be obtained to enter the area. I always take my photos of old buildings from the road, anyway.
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NOTE TO LOCAL FRIENDS: Fish Creek Provincial Park is now closed to vehicle access, in an attempt to keep people out of the park.
"We are asking all Albertans to assist us by complying with the public access restriction and to stay home during this critical time.
If you have plans to travel to a provincial park or provincial recreation area, please rethink your plans. We all need to do our part to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 among vulnerable Albertans ….” Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon. STAY HOME!
In the extremely difficult and stressful time that we are all in now, please do remember to be patient and to be kind and thankful to everyone who still has to work, especially Health Care workers – my daughter is one of them, and she said that she is overly stressed and exhausted, partly because of families and visitors who lose their temper over restrictions that have been put in place in the hospital.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 16 March 2020: 74 confirmed cases in Alberta, 342 in Canada. 4 deaths in Canada – so far, all have been in British Columbia.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 17 March 2020: 97 confirmed cases in Alberta, 447 cases in Canada. 70 confirmed cases in the Calgary Zone. 7 deaths in Canada.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 18 March 2020: 119 confirmed cases in Alberta, 83 confirmed cases in Calgary Zone, 591 in Canada. 8 deaths in Canada.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 19 March 2020: 146 confirmed cases in Alberta, 101 confirmed cases in Calgary Zone, 736 in Canada. 9 deaths in Canada, 1 death in Alberta.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 20 March 2020: 195 (up from 146!) confirmed cases in Alberta, 101 confirmed cases in Calgary Zone, 846 in Canada. 10 deaths in Canada, 1 death in Alberta.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 22 March 2020: 259 (up from 226) confirmed cases in Alberta, 1,302 (up from 1,048) in Canada. 19 deaths in Canada, 1 death in Alberta.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 23 March 2020: 301 (up from 259) confirmed cases in Alberta, 1,432 (up from 1,302) in Canada. 20 deaths in Canada, 1 death in Alberta.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, 1 April 2020: 871 (up from 690) confirmed cases in Alberta, 8,665 (up from 7,708) in Canada. 527 in the Calgary Zone (6 deaths). 98 deaths in Canada, 11 deaths in Alberta. Completed tests (as of March 30) in Alberta 46,057.
www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx
National Parks in Canada have now been shut down.
All Alberta provincial parks and public lands are now closed.
Olympics 2020 in Japan has been postponed to 2021.
