The deer pasture

In the block across the street from us, the Colquitz River and the high density power lines create a Park area that is rather wild but belongs to B.C. Hydro and Sannich parks.    When I was returning from my walk yesterday this doe was in the area I call the deer pasture.  This is directly across the street from my house.  Finally, the deer are back. I have not seen a deer here for a long time. The black berries are almost ready and are being picked over by people.  One of the neighbors has been taking his dog here and not cleaning up after it.  He has since stopped this ill conceived practice.   We did not talk to him or mention it to Saanich Parks people.  Another neighbor may have done this, as I don't see the dog stinking up the place any longer.  Maybe that is why the deer are back!  The deer do not eat my plants, at all, so I love to see them.  My apple tree is loaded with apples and I think the deer may be getting some of them later this winter.  I take them across the street and drop them off... a few dozen a day and they disappear. 
A couple of days ago, when returning from my walk, I noticed a couple of people on bicycles with backpacks.  They were not riding, but standing still when I came out of the trees along the trail.  Next to them was a feral rabbit, the kind that are over-running the University grounds and are being 'taken to a good home on the farm' .  There are protests, of all silly things, about the rabbit population being controlled.  They are totally destroying the grounds at the University!  Now, its seems these bunny huggers have dropped off a breeder in our area.  We have the indigenous little brown bunnies.  I do NOT want to see these feral rabbits take over the habitat of the brown bunnies.  We also have Eagles in our park, so hopefully the feral rabbits will be controlled by the eagles.  They should be easy pickin'.

Alberta bound

Alkaline deposits in an S curve. Wouldn't this be a terrific sunset spot? Too bad we had no time to stop.
The Saamis Teepee is a roadside attraction located in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It is the largest teepee in the world standing giant 215 Feet (65.5 Metres) and was originally built for the 1988 Winter Olympics that were held in Calgary Alberta as a symbol of Canada's native heritage.
These deer were along the roadside, as we turned into the Medicine Hat, Alberta, information center, where we stopped for lunch.
This structure was across the road from the Maple Creek Junction where we stopped for gas.
Golden fields at the end of July. I am not sure what the crop is.

The cows in the sage. I like the slant of the railroad track. I believe the coes are perpendicular.

Rolling hills of Southwestern Sask and southeastern Alta. is primarily ranching country and oil industry.

more alkalai. I liked the bales in the distant field.
An abstract with the colors saturated somewhat. The curves of the hills and the straight line of the railroad tracks for more contrasts.
An oil well.

August 1st - Swift Current to Pincher Creek, Alberta. This was another good travel day. The showers at the campsite last night were coin-op but very good showers. We stopped at Maple Creek Junction to get fuel. Next stop was Medicine Hat information center for lunch. Eggs, ham and cheese in a bun.

Filters and Photo Editors

This is another photo that has benefited from the use of a filter that Ken has sent to me to add to my Paintshop Pro photo editor. This one is 'clouds'. It takes a bit of playing to figure out what it does, and it needs to be used on the right photo. This is not actually a forest fire, but a shot of the smoke coming out of a chimney from a house across the street. I cropped out the rooftop. The smoke has been enhanced by using the filter and a few other photo editor adjustments.
This is the deer that was eating apples in my back garden a month or so ago. I had been feeding the apples to the deer in the field across the street from our house. This is the area I call the deer pasture. The deer left my back garden and I managed to get a couple of photos of it in the deer pasture. I converted this one to black and white with a 'filter' that Ken Anderson (a Flickr buddy) sent to me to be added to my Paintshop Pro photo editor. Thanks Ken... this filter is fantastic! My conversions to black and white will be vastly improved.

A deer! At last!

Yesterday this deer was spotted in my back yard, by the countertop installers. I have never seen a deer in my back garden! I tried to get photos of it, but was shooting through trees and so not the best. The deer left my garden going across my vegetable garden and across next doors veggie garden which is right beside mine. I dashed out the front door to find the deer across the road in the deer pasture, where I managed to get quite close to it. The noise of the recycle truck up the street scared it away, and it left, quite calmly. There were a few apples left lying around the vegetable garden. I think the deer must have smelled them and came to get them. Sure hope it doesn't smell anything in the veggie garden this summer! The deer's coat looks quite shaggy. Perhaps it is shedding its winter coat, now that Spring is here.

Yesterday they installed my countertops and sink. It is sooooooo nice to have the use of my kitchen back again!! The kitchen is getting to look really nice! We get the lino in the kitchen and bathrooms on 2 and 3 of March, with the carpet for my room ordered and might arrive end of March. When installation of carpet might be is hard to say. David cannot finish the cabinetry until the carpet is down. Then, we get the John in to paint. This whole effort will have taken a year to complete! oh man! The draperies were a real nightmare at the beginning! ah welllllll...

On Sunday, the electrician comes to finish up the few things left to do. I want the heater moved and the plug in moved, so I can turn my desk without leaving space in the corner to get at the plug in and without having the heat pouring on to the computer tower.

The deer

A few days ago there was a deer across the street from our house. I was shooting through the tree with the 12x zoom maxed out. This property is now Saanich Park and they are letting the grass grow, just as in the rest of the Panama Hill Park. Its kinda nice to have this across the street.

We are almost finished our second strawberry and rhubard pie and I have no pictures. I did a couple of shots of bike parts for Pat today and he was happy enough with them; and Dave says thanks too. :) That bike has some good red and blue colors. There is potential there for an artsy macro.