Running out of Work

On Saturday January 21st I went back to work in the guest cottage.  Once again I thought about going out for an afternoon drive, but it remained overcast for most of the day.  The temperature was very mild, and got up to +7C late in the afternoon.  For the last hour or two before sunset the skies cleared in the west and it became sunny.

I spent the day assembling the second section of the kitchen cabinets.  The first one was fairly easy as it was only 33" long.  The second was a little more challenging as it is 48" and getting a little awkward to set together by myself.  But, this section didn't have any interior dividers, so that helped to make assembly for one a little easier.  The third section will be bigger yet, at around 70".

This second cabinet goes in the corner of the L-shaped section.  That's why there is a large blank panel on side of it.  The third section, which includes the sink, will butt up to this panel.

With this section essentially done, I was kind of running out of things to do.  I didn't have enough hardwood with me to finish the face of the exposed part.  I did have more plywood for the next section, but don't have any plans drawn up yet.  So, I decided to brush paint the face of the first cabinet.

Then I spent some time taking dimensions for the next cabinet.  It will be a little more complicated in that it is not only larger, but also needs an opening in the bottom and the back to allow the plumbing to enter.  I also have to take into account proper spacing for the installation of the kitchen sink.  I confirmed all these measurements and made some rough sketches.  I will take these back to the city with me and prepare some proper plans for the third section.  I should probably also do some for the bathroom vanity at the same time.

I spent the late afternoon preparing a batch of my beef stroganoff.  I left that ready for a later supper and went over to the rink to play hockey.  The ice was in surprisingly good shape considering the mild temperatures during the day.  Once again we had two goalies and about a dozen skaters, and played for a couple of hours.  After the game I went back home, warmed up my dinner, and then caught the end of the Oilers game on TV.

Broken Glass

I found this old workshop, with this pile of broken glass.  This was during a day trip when I was out exploring last September.  Arturo was along with me on that occasion, and we were looking for subject matter that was suitable for the Apparitions project.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 125mm lens, with no filter.  It was taken on Kodak T-Max 100 film, processed in 510 Pyro.

Parts Ready for Number Two

I thought about going out for a drive with my camera on Friday January 20th.... but the sun only busted out for a little while in the morning, and then it clouded over.  The temperatue wasn't bad, and it got up to about +2 in the afternoon.  There was almost no wind, so it was quite pleasant, the light just wasn't great.  Rather than waste time and fuel driving around and not accomplishing much I decided to spend the day working in the guest cottage.

I flush trimmed the plastic laminate that I had glued on the floor and shelf panels the day prior.  Then I put a coat of the pastel blue paint on all of the surfaces that will be exposed to the interior, on all of the parts that I previously cut.  Once that paint had dried, I dug out my router, and cut all the rabbets and dados.  It is a little challenging to visualize how all the pieces go together in three dimensions.  The AutoCad drawing that I prepared back home, before I came out, was very helpful.

Once I had all the routing finished, I gave all the panels a second coat of paint.  It is much easier to paint them when they are laying out flat on a work surface, as opposed to trying to do it inside an assembled cabinet.  Not to mention that it prevents getting spills and brush marks on the plastic laminate.  I'm hoping I have a chance to put this second cabinet together before I have to head back to the city.  If the weather is nice and the sun pops out, it will be a toss up between millwork and photography...!

Whiskeyjacks

We have always had Whiskeyjacks around our place at Nordegg.  They are also know as Gray Jays, Canada Jays, and Camp Robbers.  They don't hang around, but are transient, and regularly pass through.  The past couple of years we've had a group of three that came and went.  On Janauary 19th, as I quit work for the day in the guest cottage, I noticed a group of four.  I promptly got some nuts out of the garage and tried to get them to come and eat out of my hand.  In the past if I let out a few whistles, and held the nuts in my outstretched hand, some of them would come and perch on my hand and feed.  Even then, some were skittish and would only come to my feet and pick up anything that was dropped.

This time they came very close... and swooped by me... and would feed right at my feet.  But none would land on me and eat from my hand.  I put the nuts out on a log by our bird feeder... and then added another big handful.  Within 20 minutes or so they were all gone.  They pack them away and hide them up in trees.  I'm not sure how many they actually eat, and how many get stolen by the squirrels.

I understand that these birds mate for life.  Groups of three are the most common and it is usually a mated pair, plus last year's offspring.  I'm not sure if this group of four is the same couple... perhaps with twins from last summer... or if it is a different group.  In any event, I sure like to see them come around.  I haven't fed them much in recent months so if I stick to it the next little while, I'm sure I'll have them eating out of my hand again, sooner rather than later....

Sunshine Gospel Mission

I shot this old abandoned church in July of 2022.  It is in central Alberta, and I was passing nearby on my way home from Nordegg.  This one may be worthy of consideration for the Apparitions project.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide 110mm lens.  I used a #25 Red filter to deepen the value of the sky, and make the clouds stand out.  This also dropped the shadow values a little, thereby increasing the overall contrast.  This is part of the recently processed batch of Kodak T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.

Second Cabinet

On Wednesday January 18th, after working for the day in the guest cottage, I went over to the rink in town.  There is regularly scheduled drop in hockey every Wednesday and Saturday evening at 7:00PM.  It was really mild all day, and got up to about +4C.  The skies were mostly overcast, and there was a light breeze, so the snow didn't melt much at all.  The rink in town is very shaded by trees, so the ice stands up pretty well.  By game time the temperature had dropped off a little, to right around zero.  The turnout was good and we had two goalies and about a dozen skaters.  A bunch of the younger players were from Frontier Lodge, and students of Prairie College in Three Hills who come out here to do their outdoor training.  One of them was Isaac... the son of our next door neighbors back in Edmonton.  Hockey was fantastic, and by the time we quit two hours later, the temperature was still hovering a degree or two below freezing.

On Thursday I was up at the crack of dawn... which is not very early at this time of year.  Official sunrise in Nordegg is at about 8:45AM... but by the time the sun breaks over Eagle Peak, it is usually 30 minutes or so later than that.  I had a shower, morning coffee, something to eat, and then got busy.  I had my neighbor Dan give me a hand to lift the first cabinet down off of my sawhorses and make room for the days work.  After that, I put it on a furniture dolly so that I could move it around as needed.  I set and filled all the nail holes, and left the filler to dry.  Then I used my skilsaw to cut the last piece of plywood for cabinet number two from a full sheet of birch plywood.  I then set about applying a coat of primer to all of the pieces that I had cut for the next cabinet.  Once the filler had dried on cabinet one, I sanded it out and then applied some primer to the hardwood face that I had installed the day prior.  Eventually the exterior of this cabinet will be painted pastel blue, just like the interior.

By mid afternoon I was winding things down.  I glued plastic laminate onto the floor and the intermediate shelf of the second cabinet.  Then I kind of shut things down for the day and organized the workspace for the next day.  When I return to work I will have to flush trim the plastic laminate, and then use my router to cut the dados and rabbets into these pieces that all got primed today.  Once that is done, then I can paint all the interior exposed surfaces in pastel blue.  And once that paint is dry, I can assemble the body of the second cabinet.

There will be one more cabinet section to build after that, and then later the bathroom vanity.  The main cabinet in the kitchen will be an L-shaped section comprised of cabinet 2 and cabinet 3.  The sink will be installed into the middle of this, beneath the kitchen window.  The fridge and the range butt up to either end of this L-shaped section.  Beyond the range is another short section of cabinet, which is number one.  The microwave oven will be placed on this one.

Later still I have to build a tall, narrow pantry which will be in the corner, beyond the fridge.  It will only be about 16 inches wide or thereabouts... but will be about 6-1/2 feet high.  This will be built to cover up the exposed main vent stack from the plumbing system.  Once all this cabinet work, and the related painting is complete, I will be able to clean up and start on installation of the floor tiles.

First Shot of 2023

This is the first sheet of 4x5 film that I exposed in 2023.  I took this shot up at Abraham Lake, on the 2nd of January.  The wind was a lot lighter this day, than it had been when I attempted to visit a couple of days prior.  I managed to get down to the shoreline and took a number of shots with my view camera. It was very busy along the lake with lots of cars parked along the highway, and people all over the ice.  I managed to find a spot where there was no one around, and I had the place to myself for a while.

I shot this with a very wide 75mm lens fitted with a #25 Red Filter.  The film was Kodak T-Max 100 and this was also part of the recently processed batch done in 510 Pyro Developer.

Sweeper

I saw this old street sweeper in a roadside junkyard and just had to stop and shoot it.  I really should get permission to go in and explore the place, as there is lots of other interesting stuff further back off the road.  I'm sure some of it would work for the Apparitions project.  

I shot this in July of 2022 with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a long Nikkor 300mm lens, with no filter.  The film was Kodak T-Max 100 and this was part of the recent batch processed in 510 Pyro.

Work Continues

I returned to Nordegg on Monday January 16th.  I actually left the house at about 10:30AM, but didn't make it out to the cottage until around 6:30PM.  That's because I gave my friend Scott a ride out to Nordegg.  Scott is the contractor that built both my cottage and guest cottage.  I only hired him to do the site clearing, put in the foundations, frame the buildings, and finish the exterior to lockup.  Then I took over and am doing everything else myself.  Scott had to bring a dump truck up to Edmonton and needed a ride back home.  While he was in the city, we also ran a bunch of errands and picked up some supplies.  This included some hardwood and a water pump that I picked up for myself, plus some stuff for Scott.

On Tuesday I was kind of lazy and slept in a bit.  Then I lounged around not doing much of anything until late morning.  I went over to the guest cottage and assembled the first section of cabinet.  I had cut and finished all the pieces the last time I was out.  There will be three sections of cabinet required in the kitchen, plus a vanity for the bathroom.  In sticking with our 1950's diner theme, the cabinets are all painted pastel blue.  I pre-painted all the interior surfaces of the wood pieces that I fabricated last time.  So on Tuesday all I did was put them all together.  Surprisingly everything fit perfectly.  I missed one rabbet in the floor panel, but it was easy to add that, and once I did the bottom dropped right into place.

The horizontal interior surfaces are finished with a light grey plastic laminate.  All the rest of the surfaces are painted.  I got everything all glued and nailed together, and then left it to dry over night.

On Wednesday I got up a lot earlier.  I moved around a few things in the garage and put away the water pump that I brought out.  This will be needed later, when my plumber comes out in the spring to finish up all the mechanical stuff in the guest cottage.  I also hooked up cables onto the batteries of the ATV and Snowmobile so that I can keep them on maintainers over the winter months, or when not in regular use.  It was a beautiful winter day and it started out sunny, then clouded over later in the afternoon.  The sun came out again late in the day, while the temperature made it up to +4C.

I dug out my table saw and cut a bunch of hardwood to width for use on the face of the cabinets.  I also cut up most of the plywood pieces for the second cabinet.  I was short one piece, and didn't have any small leftovers to work with.  So that piece will have to be cut out of a full sheet.  But I couldn't handle a large 4x8 sheet of 3/4 playwood by myself on the tablesaw.  So I will have to cut that last one with the circular saw.  But I need to get the first cabinet out of the way in order to make room for that sheet, and for fabrication of the panels for the next one.  I spent the rest of the afternoon fitting and installing all of the hardwood strips to the face of the first cabinet.  I wanted hardwood as it is a lot more resistant to bumps and dings than plywood or particle board.  I used some maple, but it won't actually be seen, and will get painted blue.

I won't bother to paint the exterior surfaces of the first cabinet until I have the other two sections ready.  That way, when I dirty a paint roller, I can just finish everything all at once.  I had some rough 3/4" plywood left over from construction, and I'm using that up on the backs of the cabinets where it won't be visible.  For all the exposed surfaces I am used cabinet grade birch plywood.  I brought more sheets out with me this time, but won't unload them and take them in until I get the first cabinet out of the way and clear some space to continue working.

Apparitions Project - Tenth End

I quite like this shot, and think it is an ideal image for the "Apparitions" project.  The official definition of our project is, "A Photography exhibition of black and white silver gelatin prints depicting scenes from Edmonton and Alberta that conjure human presence from the past."  I think this image does exactly that.  I found this old broken curling stone in an abandoned building.  The broom was nearby, so I just set it down beside the stone and took this photograph.

I shot this last summer, in August.  This is from one of the recently processed batches of Kodak T-Max 100, developed in 510 Pyro.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a somewhat long 200mm lens, with no filter.

Print Changeover at Mimi's

On January 12th I spent the day in the darkroom.  I worked on printing four negatives, to changeover most of the prints at Mimi's pub.  The owner, Shanaz, selected these four from a number of scans that I previously sent to her.  I'm pretty satisfied with the way that three of the four turned out, but the fourth one is not up to my standards.  It looks really flat and blah and does not have enough contrast.  It is a shot of Crowfoot Mountain in spring, with a covering of snow.  I have two negatives taken at the same location, at the same time and I tried printing both and they are both the same.  Unfortunately the mountain was in afternoon shadow, and the snow does not print white enough.  I'm going to dig back into my archive and see if I can find some other images to use instead.  I know I have another shot of the same mountain, taken a few years prior, that is much better.  I also have a similar shot of the Colin Range in Jasper, that is also much better.

In the meantime I will continue with the three that turned out.  These prints now need a second fix, a clearing bath, and toning in Selenium.  Then they will hit the washer for an extended wash.  I will finish all this up before I take off to Nordegg next week.  When I return from a few days working at the cottage, the prints will be dry and I can cut mats and mount them.  Then at that point I will deal with coming up with something for the fourth print.

In early February I will take down some of the prints that are currently on display.  The five that are presently at the restaurant have been there since before Covid, so a change is long overdue.  One at a time I will take the old ones down, take the frames apart, and put in the new prints.  Then I will return them to the restaurant and hang them up again, shuffling around the order.

I really appreciate that Shanaz allows me to display my work in her restaurant.  This exposure recently led to a print sale.  Hopefully with some new work on display, further interest will be forthcoming.

Abandoned Hotel

This old hotel was in a ghost town in Saskatchewan.  We found it when we were on our road trip last July.  The floor had rotted out badly and collapsed so it was not safe to enter the building.  We had to be satisfied just shooting it from the exterior.

I shot this one on Kodak T-Max 100 film with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a slightly wide 135mm lens.  A dark red filter deepened the sky value a little, and pumped up the contrast.  Development was in 510 Pyro.  Originally the intent was to consider this one for Apparitions... not sure if it quite fits though.

Apparitions Project - Drill Press

This old drill press was in the same blacksmith shop that the workbench was in.  I posted a shot of that workbench a few days ago.  The large drive belt visible in the background would have been looped onto the flywheel on the face of the drill.  The other end of the belt was on an overhead drive shaft, that was powered by a gas engine.  A most fascinating place, and it looks as though the owner just took his gloves and safety goggles off and left for the day... but I'll bet they've been laying there a lot longer than that...!  

I shot this in June of last year with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  Light levels were pretty low inside the old shop, and no filter was necessary.  The film was Kodak T-Max 100, developed in 510 Pyro.  I shot this with the intention of including it for consideration in the Apparitions project.

Hangers and Tanks

I get the impression that most people do not understand the logistics of processing sheet film.  I thought I would offer a brief explanation.

I made seven tanks out of plastic sheet back when I owned my skylight company.  I also made a couple of film washers... one for 4" x 5" negatives and a second for 8" x 10" negatives.  In fact shortly before I retired I also made a batch of larger tanks for developing 8" x 10" negatives.

I used standard stainless steel hangers.  Each one of these holds one 4" x 5" negative for processing.  My tanks are wide enough to accept up to seven of these hangers.  The tanks each hold 2L of solution.  The seven tanks are for a water presoak, developer, stop bath, fixer, rinse, Hypo clearing agent and a final water bath.

It is quite the operation to develop a batch of 20 sheets of film...!  I start by turning off the lights, and inserting seven sheets of film into the first batch of holders.  These hit the water pre-soak to soften the emulsion and get the film up to process temperature.  I set my glow-in-the-dark timer to the appropriate development time and then move the hangers over to the second tank, which contains the developer.  Agitation is typically once per minute, so while this is going on, I load the next seven sheets into seven more film holders and start them in the pre-soak.  Once development of the first seven is complete, I move these over to the stop bath, where they go through a wash with agitation, for about a minute.  As soon as this is completed, this first batch of seven moves on to the fixer.  While the fixer is ongoing, I move the second batch to the developer, and reset the timer.  As development of the second batch and fixing of the first batch proceed, I load a third batch of film into the last six holders.  This all progresses in total darkness.  As fixing is completed, those holders move over to a brief water rinse and on into a hypo clearing bath.  Once the third batch has completed fixing, I can turn the room lights back on.  Then the rinsing and hypo clear are completed for all three batches, and the film moves on to the washer.  My custom made film washer is able to wash 20 sheets of film.  I wash by soaking the film for at least 24 hours, during which I change the water at least ten times.  At the end of the wash I add some Photo Flo, which is a wash agent that helps to remove water spots and mineral deposits.  Once the wash is complete, the negatives are individually rinsed with a mist of distilled water, and hung up to dry in my drying cabinet.

I generally save up batches of exposed film until I have at least 20 sheets that require the same development.  As I shoot so many different kinds of film, and different developers and times are required, I usually have a significant backlog of film that requires processing.

This all seems a little confusing and overwhelming, but over time I have become fairly competent at keeping track of this and processing accurately, in total darkness.  Its all rather surprising considering I am very disorganized in life, and walking and chewing gum at the same time proves challenging...!

Abandoned Workshop

This is a shot that I took last summer... back in June... when Arturo and I were out on a daytrip.  The intention was to shoot something that could be considered for the "Apparitions" project.  I think this one fits the bill.  This old workshop has stuff strewn all over the place.  There are a million and one stories that can be conjured up from the stuff left lying about.

I shot this one with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 110mm lens.  It was taken on Ilford FP4 film, developed in Perceptol developer.  This is a softer developer that yields an image with subdued contrast and a smooth tonal range.  I think it works well with this subject matter.

Case Dealership

I shot this one when Margarit and I were on our road trip in Saskatchewan with Arturo and Sharon.  This was in mid July of last summer.  We spent three days exploring the back roads of Saskatchewan in the hopes of finding some images that would work for the Apparitions project.  I think we succeeded, and this one is a contender.

I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  The film was T-Max 100 and I developed it in 510 Pyro.  A #25 Red Filter was used to deepen the shadows and increase contrast.

Arturo shot a similar image, but as is often the case (no pun intended) he was in much tighter on the subject.  I always have a tendency not to crop anything out, and thought it was important to include all of the mast from the old sign.

Hank

On January 15th Hank will be seven months old.  I weighed him the other day, and he is now up to 14-1/2 pounds.  His growth has slowed down a little, but he still has a little ways to go.  I think he's getting stockier and a little more muscular.

You would think, based on some of the photos that I have posted, that he sleeps all the time.  That is far from the case.  He has way more energy than his owners... including the girls.  He just looks so darn cute when he's asleep... which for my liking isn't enough...!

He destroys any toy that we give him within hours.  Fortunately he's pretty good about sticking to chewing up his toys and leaving most of the other stuff alone.  Although he has ruined the area rug in the living room, as well as the corners of the baseboards in the hall.  He likes to chew a hole into a rubber ball or a toy and then stick his snout into it.  He looks like Bozo the Clown when he runs around with one of those balls on his nose.

The Pub

Shortly after I returned to the city from Nordegg, Margarit and I went out to the Pub with her brother Shawn and his girlfriend Lisa.  It was the first time that we had managed to get together since before Christmas.  So we passed on belated holiday greetings to each other, and had a good visit.  It was a lot of fun and I look forward to getting together with them again.  Of course I managed to forget to bring along one of my calendars for them, so I suppose now we have an excuse to get together sooner rather than later.  The pub that we visited, up on the north side, near their house, had these really cool urinals in the men's room...!!

Merry Go Round

I took this shot last summer down at the old "vintage" playground at the Dorothy Community Park.  The girls and I used to camp here all the time when they were little.  We would pull our trailer into the field behind the playground and camp for the weekend.  Almost every May long weekend and at least once more every summer, this was our destination.  

It was a great place to be when the kids were little as the playground was there to keep them occupied.  I would wander around and photograph the old churches, and the nearby badlands.  It was also a good base for exploring in the valley.  Since those days the girls have got older, and we don't camp that much any more.  We now own the shop in East Coulee and keep our trailer there, so that has become our new base.  The girls like it because there is WiFi.  Plus, they no longer permit overnight camping at Dorothy.

I shot this on a very hot day in July.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 135mm lens for the shot, which was on Kodak T-Max 100 film.  A dark #25 red filter increased contrast, and also permitted a longer shutter speed.  I stopped the lens down to F45.0 resulting in a shutter speed of 4 seconds.  I gave the Merry Go Round a good hard spin, and the long shutter speed made for a neat looking effect.  Development was in 510 Pyro.

I might consider this one for the Apparitions project....?

Forgotten Sweaters

These old sweaters were found hanging in an old house.  This central wall on which they were hung is only of the only sections of the house remaining intact.  Much of the rest of the house had collapsed around it, and I was only able to shoot this from within a nearby doorway.  I took this shot with the intention of considering it for the Apparitions project, and that will be the case.

This was taken in early June of 2022 on a day trip when Arturo and I were out exploring.  We found this old house up in Two Hills County, northeast of Edmonton.  The shot was taken with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon-W 250mm lens on Kodak T-Max 100 film.  No filter was used and development was in 510 Pyro.  I needed that long focal length to get in fairly tight on the old sweaters, as I was unable to safely enter the room in which they were hanging.

January Image - David Thompson Country Calendar

The second 2023 calendar that I printed is called David Thompson County.  It is larger than the Fine Art Monochromes calendar that I also printed.  This one I don't give away.  I printed 20 copies of this one, and kept a couple for myself.  The rest are available for purchase at $25 each in the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  I hope they sell soon, as I have to sell them all to break even on the printing cost...!

By about March of a given year, calendars become landfill and have to be significantly discounted to sell.  

As I was attempting to put together this calendar, and the other one, I realized that I don't have all that many good winter images.  To that end I have made a point of getting out more often this winter with my camera.  I'm hopeful that I can print two calendars again next year, and will need more winter images.  This shot dates back to 2017.  This is a shot of the Ice Bubbles on Abraham Lake, at Preacher's Point.  I shot this in January of 2017 with my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide 135mm lens.  I used an Orange filter to increase contrast a little, and deepen the value of the sky.  The emulsion was the now discontinued Fuji Neopan Acros 4" x 5" sheet film, and it was developed in Rodinal 1:50.

January Calendar Image

I actually printed two 2023 calendars back in December.  One is the typical one that I give away to friends and family over the holidays, and I call that one Fine Art Monochromes.  This year, like last, I printed 35 copies.  We keep two or three to hang around the house and the cottage, and the rest I give away.  I think I still have three or four left to distribute, to people that I have not yet seen over the holidays.

This is the image I used on the January page of my Fine Art Monochrome Calendar.  I shot this in December of 2021 and it was one of my last shots of that calendar year.  These trees are on our property out at Nordegg and I shot them with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a long 400mm telephoto lens.  This was shot in indoor comfort, out of my second floor bedroom window, looking down onto the winter scene below.

Old Wreck

I shot this one back in September of 2022.  This is an old wreck from a rollover accident that happened on a now abandoned stretch of mountain highway.  I don't know the exact year of the accident, but it was in the late 1950's.  The old car is amazingly intact, considering that it has been sitting there for over 60 years.  This shot might get some consideration for the Apparitions project.  I shot this on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film with my Ebony view camera and a 90mm lens.  Development was in PMK, one of the staining pyro developers that I regularly use.  That developer helped to restrain the highlights in the background.

Back to Abraham Lake

On January 2nd I was up fairly early.  It was a cool morning, so I hung around the cottage for a while in the morning, having coffee and breakfast.  I decided that I would take a drive up to Abraham Lake again, and see if there would be an opportunity for any photography.

This time around the clouds were heavier, the temperature was cooler [around -5C] and there was a light breeze.  But I set out anyway, hoping for the best.

Once I got up to the lake the breeze was a little stronger, as is typically the case.  But this time around, it was not nearly as strong as it was on the previous visit that Margarit and I attempted.  I headed further up the lake, around the elbow.  There were a lot of cars parked at most of the turnouts... even more than the last time.  I stopped along the highway at the spot where I had photographed the flooded aspen trees in the fall.  The water level was much lower now... and there was no one around.

As I wandered down onto the shore I found a pair of traction cleats that someone had left behind.  I strapped them onto my boots and made my way down to the edge of the ice.  The wind was a little more than a breeze, but not nearly as strong as it was last time.  I managed to set up my view camera four times and took some shots of the ice crusted shoreline, and some ice slabs.

It was about 2:00 when I packed things in and headed back to the cottage.  Being the last day of the Christmas Holiday season it seemed there were a lot of people out for the day.  The parking areas along the lake were all full, and lots of people were down on the ice, checking out the bubbles, and skating.

I saw a couple of small herds of Bighorn Sheep along the highway, but no wild horses this time.  I made a stop part way back to Nordegg at Snow Creek where there was a little open water.  I set up the view camera one last time and took my last shots of the day.

When I got back home I spent a couple of hours in the guest cottage working on the cabinets.  I got the new panel that I made for the floor of the first cabinet finished, and also got a second coat of paint on the interior surfaces of all the other panels.  I also cut a couple of strips of plywood and primed them.  These pieces will be used at the top of the cabinet to secure the counter top.

After that I continued on some chores around the cottage.  I put the battery maintainer on my snowmobile, brought in some firewood and tidied up around the cottage a little.  I had a dinner of leftovers and started packing up for the drive home to the city in the morning.  No matter how long I stay out at the cottage I always seem to have a bit of a down mood when it is time to pack up and get ready to leave the mountains...