Work Day

On Tuesday after the long weekend I went back to work.  I was up pretty early... around 7:30AM.  It was only +1C at around 8:00 when I was having my morning coffee, and there was a little frost on the roof tops.  It seems that summer has come to an end.  I wanted to wait until it warmed up a bit outside so I did all the dishes from the dinner that the family had together on Sunday.  By about 10:00AM it had warmed up nicely to about +12 so I went outside and went to work.  

I finished application of lacquer to another batch of aspen boards.  Then I installed paneling to one wall in the west bedroom.  Once that was done I went outside and cleaned up a bunch of construction waste left over from last year.  This included wood scraps, packaging materials and siding trimmings.  Wednesday is dump day, so I loaded all this debris into my truck so that I can haul it away.

In the afternoon I took a break from work and went and played a round of golf.  This was my second round in the past week, but only my third in the past decade.  It is starting to coming around.

After the round of golf I came back to the cottage and went back to work.  Now that the lacquer was dry from earlier in the day, I precut some paneling for installation, and finished off a couple of small areas that I had not got to earlier.  Then I starting finishing another batch of boards.  This is last ones that I have out here at the cottage.  I've got about two dozen left in storage, but will wait and see how many of those I will need, before I haul them out and finish any more.

After that I stacked a bunch of firewood that I had split the day before, and then split some more.  Finally, late in the day I loaded a little more garbage for the dump run.  Needless to say, by the time this was all done, I was exhausted.  I fired up the grill and made some chicken wings and potato skins for myself, and then settled down for the night....

Spruce Trunks

My spring walks in Blackmud Ravine yielded some pretty decent images.  I find it amazing that the ravine remains so wild, right within the city limits.  There is commerical development and residential neighborhoods above the ravine, on either side, for several miles.  There is quite a bit of wildlife down in the ravine, despite this development.

This shot was taken down near the creek in a grove of big spruce trees.  I shot this in May of 2022 with my Ebony view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens.  Once again this was part of the batch of T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.  This has become my favorite film and developer combination and this recent batch yielded quite a number of really strong images.  

Easy Chair

For many years there was a Harvey's Hamburger and Swiss Chalet Chicken location on 51 Avenue, just down the road from my old shop.  The Swiss Chalet closed a number of years ago, and relocated further south.  The old building became some sort of Asian restaurant for a while.  The Harvey's remained for quite a few years longer, and I often went there to pick up a burger for lunch, back in my working years.  Then near the end, just before I retired, it also closed.  Recently I drove by and found that both of the old restaurant buildings had been knocked down to make way for a new commercial office development.  Someone dumped an old easy chair at the edge of the demolition site and I thought it would make a great photo, perhaps for my Apparitions project.  I headed over there a couple of weeks ago, just at sunset, and took some shots with my view camera.  I also took these two snapshots on my phone.

Spitfire - Tmax 100 in 510 Pyro

I'm still getting around to posting scans of some of the T-Max 100 negatives that I processed in that recent batch with 510 Pyro.  There were a lot of good images in that batch, and I still have a few more to share.  This is the Spitfire used in the Rosie the Riveter shoot back in August.  While all the girls were getting ready, I took a couple of shots of the aircraft.  This one was taken with a Rodenstock Grandagon 90mm lens on my Ebony SV45TE view camera.  I used a #8 Yellow Filter to increase contrast a little.  

The Tribe comes to Visit

I say this because Tribe is Margarit's maiden name.  Her sister Natalia came to visit from Washington at the end of August.  We talked her into joining us out at Nordegg for the Labor Day Long weekend.  Their brother Shawn also came out... with his girlfriend Lisa.  Anna came along with us, but the other two girls decided to stay behind in the city.  This was the first time that Hank came out to Nordegg, and he really enjoyed being outdoors.

Shawn and Lisa were the first to spend a night in the guest cottage... though they had to set up in the middle of a construction zone.  I made a little space right in the middle of the living room for them to put out an air mattress.  The rest of the cottage was jammed full of materials and tools and I even worked out there a little bit while they visited.  In between visiting I puttered away at splitting some firewood and finishing yet more of the aspen paneling.

Nordegg Days were scheduled on the Labor Day Long Weekend this year, rather than on the August Long Weekend as they had done in the past.  There were a whole bunch of events going on and it was very busy in town, and in the subdivision.  The only event that I attended was a Perogie Making Workshop on the morning of Saturday September 3rd.  Other events included a Silent Auction, a Golf Tournament, some bands playing, the Pie Eating Contest, and a Perogie Supper.  We stayed away from town for all of those events, but Shawn and Lisa did join me at the Perogie workshop.

On Sunday we took a drive up to Blackstone.  Everyone really enjoyed it, including Hank.  It was quite hot all weekend, with day time highs in the 30's so it was nice to sit by the cool river and dangle our toes in and cool off.

When Margarit and I were down in Drumheller after the Rosie shoot a few weeks back we checked out the Antique Store.  There Margarit found an old pipe, and was really excited to buy it for her brother.  Shawn collects and restores old pipes, and we kind of played a joke on him by sending him a picture of it, and then telling him it sold before we could buy it.  But we actually did buy it and gave it to him as a belated birthday gift when everyone was together on the Long Weekend.

Margarit and Natalia had to leave on Labor Day Monday Morning at 1:00AM.  Natalia had to be at the airport in Edmonton to catch her flight at around 6:00AM.  But it was nice to spend a few days with her, and I'm sure she really valued the opportunity to catch up with family.  She also visited her Mom in long term care a few times.  This was the first time that all of us were able to get together since before Covid.

Shawn and Lisa left on Monday Morning at around 10:00AM and they took Anna back to Edmonton with them.  I stayed out at the cottage for a few more days, so that I could catch up on some work.

Golf... like I don't have enough to do in retirement

On Thursday September 1st my friend Eric invited me to play golf at the historic course in Nordegg.  I used to play golf a lot when I was in my late teens, but have only played once in the last 40 years.   I bought a cheap set of  "Canadian Tire" clubs last year, but other than a brief outing to the driving range, haven't used them yet.  I shot a rather embarassing 55 on the par 32 nine hole moose pasture course.  But all in all I was pretty satisfied with the way things came around at the end of the round.

Unfortunately summer is almost over, and I probably won't get much of a chance to get out and improve my game this year.  But I'm hoping to get more into it next year.

When I bought the clubs last year I also bought two bags, each of 48 used golf balls.  They were cheap, something like 20 bucks a bag.  I fully expected to loose half of them on my first round, but I only lost two.  I'm feeling foolishly encouraged by this first round, and think that I might eventually be good at this game... isn't that just the way the golf draws you in...!  Some things never change....!

Return Visit

Both Arturo and I felt that we hadn't finished photographing at the old museum a couple of weeks ago.  So we arranged with the landowner to return.  This time my friends Chris and Connie also joined us.  We spent the entire day... about eight hours... photographing at the property.  I think I've covered just about everything now, but there still are a couple more shots I would like to take, if I get a chance to return later this fall.  I don't want to leave this too long as soon some of the old buildings will be moved away, and at some point after that, the remaining ones will be demolished.

Sweet Seventeen

My middle daughter Annelise turned 17 on September 6th.  Unfortunately I was not able to wish her a happy birthday in person.  She returned to the city after the long weekend, as school has started for the girls.  I stayed out at Nordegg to work for a couple of extra days.  I will be able to wish her a belated birthday in person.

Back at It

On August 30th I headed back out to Nordegg.  I really haven't been out all the much through July and August.  Those are the busy months, and there are a lot of people around, so it is not as nice to be out then.  Plus, I had a lot of things on the go... mostly photographic... and kind of took a break from working on the guest cottage.  Now that summer is drawing to a close, and the kids will all be heading back to school, I'll start coming out more regularly, and get back to work.

I brought 36 more of the aspen boards out with me this time.  There are only a handful left in storage at my Mom's place... around 25 or so.  I'm not sure exactly how many more I'll need to finish, so I won't haul the last of them out, or finish them with lacquer, until I get a more accurate count.  There are only five walls left to do, and I already have a bunch of boards finished and ready to go.

I didn't leave the city until the early afternoon, and had to make a stop in Rocky Mountain House for fuel and groceries.  So I didn't arrive at the cottage until late afternoon, and didn't really do anything other than unpack.  On Wednesday the 31st I got up early and got to work.  It was back to the old routine of finishing aspen boards.  But I also worked outside for a while and got to work on splitting some firewood for winter.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and the temperature peaked at 32C in the mid-afternoon.  I worked in stretches on splitting wood, but when I started to get too warm, I switched and went into the guest cottage and worked in there.  It stays fairly cool indoors at this time of year as the nightime lows get down into single digits.

I also built a mold for Margarit.  She wants to try using epoxy resin to cast some small tabletops.  Her first attempt will be an experiment, to get used to the materials.  She wants to cast a bunch of small pebbles that she collected up at Blackstone about a month ago.  So I made a square mold out of some scrap lumber that measures roughly 16 x 18.  We'll give it a try when she comes out.

Margarit and Anna are going to come out for the long weekend.  Hailey and Helena have decided to stay home in the city.  Margarit's sister Natalia is visiting from Washington and will also come out.  Her brother Shawn and his girlfriend will join us.  So, we will have a larger group for a couple of days.  They all have to head home after the long weekend but I plan on staying a few extra days to get some work done.

Snag

I took this shot back in May.  I tried to let the background drop out of focus so that the dead Snag would stand out a little more.  The lighting was not ideal, but overall the shot works OK.  This was taken along the Forestry Trunk Road north of Nordegg.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon-T 400mm telephoto lens.  I used a #11 Yellow-Green filter to lighten the foliage a little.  This one was also part of the recent batch of Kodak T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.

The Gap from Shunda Viewpoint

When Margarit and I were out at the cottage in August, we decided to take a drive up to Shunda Viewpoint.  We had spent part of the day scouting around and driving a few backroads.  I had heard that this road offered one of the best views in the area of the front ranges of the Rockies, but have never been there until this day.  I shot this with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Grandagon-N 90mm Lens.  I used a #29 Deep Red filter to increase contrast, darken the sky, and cut through the haze.    This was part of the recently processed batch of T-Max 100 film that I developed in 510 Pyro.  I cropped the scan a little, to slightly panoramic proportions.  Near the center, to the right of the solitary poplar, you can see The Gap.  This is a break in the Brazeau Range that the North Saskatchewan River passes through.

Hank

I walked into the living room the other day, and this is the way I found Hank.....

The Inspiration

This is the vintage photograph that Chris and Connie were attempting to replicate at the recent Rosie shoot.  The original dates back to the 1940's, though I have no specific information about the exact date or location.

Rosie the Riverter in B&W

This is my large format film shot from the recent Rosie the Riveter shoot.  I shot this on 4" x 5" T-Max 100 film, developed in 510 Pyro.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon-W 125mm lens, with no filter.

I'm told by some of the others that this is among the best photos from that shoot.  Some of the girls have even requested prints from me.  I decided that I will charge a small fee for each print, but donate all the funds to a Cancer Charity.  It seems I have to get back to the darkroom soon as the printing jobs are beginning to pile up.

September Calendar Image

Wow... hard to believe it's September already.   Seems like just a few weeks ago the leaves were coming out...!  This is the image that I selected for the September page of my 2022 calendar.  These dead Cottonwoods are along the Red Deer River, not far from East Coulee.  I've shot here several times before, but particularly like this image.  It was taken in the fall of 2021 when the trees around the dead trunks were starting to turn color.