2000th Post

This is the 2000th post to my blog.  I started back in the summer of 2010.  For the first decade or so, I posted something every two or three days.  Since I retired, I've been posting almost every day.  Over the entire time, I have had over 173.000 page views.  Its probably just the same twenty or thirty people coming back and looking every couple of days.... but it's not really about the statistics.

Thanks to everyone that takes the time to come and look at all the mindless shit that I write.  It helps me to stay organized, and serves as a reference for me to look things up.  If others appreciate it too... that's just a bonus.  Unless I get death threats, or a court order, I'll carry on.....

It's kind of fitting that this milestone is reached on the last day of 2021.  Here's hoping that this crazy pandemic comes to an end, and that 2022 turns out to be a lot better than the past couple of years....!!

Happy New Year...!!

Table and Broom

Although this is a nice image, I sort of messed it up.  I did some kind of wonky movements on the camera, which threw the newspapers and the upper part of the image out of focus.  I was trying to hold the focus throughout, because the headlines on that old newspaper spoke of the FLQ crisis in Quebec and the kidnapping of Pierre Laporte.  This dates back to the very early 1970's.

Arturo and I were out on a day trip in East Central Alberta and discovered this old place.  It was empty, except for what you see in this image.  This one was also from the recent mixed batch and was Ilford FP4 given plus development in Kodak HC-110 developer.

Extreme Cold

Overnight on Boxing Day the temperature dropped down to -40C.  This tied the record set last January for the coldest temperature ever recorded on my weather station.  The propane fired room furnaces all froze up over night, leaving us only the wood stove for heat.  In the morning I tried to light the oven to bake some fresh buns.  But the propane seems to have gelled in the line.  An hour or two later, as the sun came up and the temperature rose to a balmy -30C, the propane started flowing again.

Later in the day the temperature actually made it up to -20C, but only very briefly.  I went outside for a while and offloaded all of the aspen paneling that I had brought out with me on the 23rd.  There were about 100 boards, enough to do the second half of the high ceiling.  Its been so cold that they just stayed in the back of the truck the past few days.

Its hard to imagine that the temperature could rise 20 degrees in less than 12 hours, and it is still frigid.  The poor deer and little birds are all struggling to survive.  I put some feed out for all of them, to help them through this deep freeze.  I also checked a couple of neighbors cottages for them.  They are not out right now and I want to make sure that their furnaces haven't quit.  So far, so good....

Christmas Day

The girls actually slept in later on Christmas Day than I think they ever have.  Back when they were little, they used to get up at 5:00AM to open the gifts under the tree.  This year they slept until after 9:00... when I finally woke them up...!!

We spent the morning opening gifts and had a great time together.  Everyone will remember the spindly Charlie Brown Christmas tree that I cut, and the way the star drooped over on top.  They wouldn't remember if I had bought a manicured Christmas tree from the lot...!!  

The girls put this ridiculous Santa's hat on me, and then pulled it back to exaggerate my baldness.  Made me look like a cue ball with a sock on my head.  But they all got a good laugh out of it.

It dawned cold on Christmas Day and just before sunrise it was -30C.  By the "warmest" part of the afternoon it had only struggled up to about -25C.

We plugged in Hailey's car for a few hours and by early afternoon she hit the road back to the city and took my Mom along with her.  I think Oma enjoyed her couple of days out in the mountains, though if it would have been warmer, and we could have gotten outside, it would have been a lot better.  I guess I have to bring her back in the spring.

I asked Margarit and the girls to NOT get me anything for Christmas.  Of course they didn't listen.  Helena got me an insulated work shirt... to replace the one that she bought me last year.  I have been wearing that one all year, and recently ripped a big hole in it.  She also bought me a book about Dinosaurs.  Anna bought me a nice sweatshirt.  Hailey gave me some money... and Margarit got me a couple of books.

Margarit and I would always pledge not get each other anything.  In past years I often broke that pledge and bought her something anyway.  This year I only got her a small box of her favorite chocolates.  This time around she broke the pledge with her gifts to me.

Those of us that are left out here are kind of hunkered down and waiting for the cold snap to break.  Boxing Day is also supposed to be quite cold but after that the forecast is calling for things to improve.

Merry Christmas

The whole family headed out to the cottage for Christmas.  We brought my Mom along for a visit for a couple of days.  Road conditions were not great on the drive out.  There were several accidents on the highway outside of Edmonton, and lots of cars in the ditch.  We were delayed for over an hour as traffic got detoured around one of the accidents.  We finally arrived at the cottage, after dark, on December 23rd.   The highways were snow covered in places, icy in others, and it was foggy and snowing along the way.  But we eventually made it.

After we arrived we had a quick dinner of pasta, and then set up the Christmas Tree.  I had cut a rather scruffy looking ditch spruce last time I was out at the cottage.  We brought it in, put it in the tree stand, and the three girls had fun decorating it.  It was kind of a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and the girls scoffed at me for my selection.  It was Anna's turn to put the star on top, and when she did, it promptly flopped over. 

This will be the only Christmas that all three of the girls will be teenagers.  Helena is 13, Annelise is 16, and Hailey is 19. 

Dead and Alive

I posted a wider view of this subject a few weeks ago.  These are some Cottonwoods down along the Red Deer River near Drumheller.  I like the way the foreground dead one sort of mirrors the live one in the background.  This was shot in early September of 2021 with my Ebony 4" x 5" view camera and a 500mm lens.  I used a #8 Yellow filter to brighten some of the background fall foliage.  It was shot on Kodak Tri-X Pan film processed in HC-110 developer for plus development.

Bubble Trails

Yet another scan from the mixed batch done in HC-110.  This one was taken in September of 2021 on one of my walks down into Blackmud Creek Ravine.  It was shot on Kodak Tri-X Pan film with a 125mm lens.  I used a #25 Red Filter to increase contrast, and to slow the shutter speed.  There was a trail of bubbles emerging from the rocks and I wasn't sure what result a long exposure would yield.  This was one second, at F20.0.

Play Ball

Here's another one from that mixed batch of film processed on December 6th.  This was Kodak Tri-X Pan developed in Kodak HC-110 Developer.  I used Dilution B, and developed for 6:30 minutes.  This shot was taken in November of 2020.  This was a day trip out with some friends from the Monochrome Guild.  We were not able to take our usual Fall Photo Weekend trip and had to settle for a couple of day trips instead.  This abandoned baseball diamond that we found had not been used for quite some time.  If I had to guess I would say at least a decade... and maybe two.  I used a #25 Red Filter to deepen the sky and increase contrast.  Contrast was further increased with plus development.

Aspen Trunks

Just before I took off to Nordegg in mid-December I processed a mixed batch of film in Kodak HC-110 Developer.  This was all 4" x 5" sheet film and included some Ilford FP4 and some Kodak Tri-X Pan.  This particular images was taken out my bedroom window in Nordegg.  I liked the way the low winter light was falling on the aspen trunks.  I tried to let the background go soft and fall out of focus.  This was shot on Ilford FP4 in mid-November with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon-T 400mm lens.  I used a #25 Red Filter to pump up the contrast a little.  Contrast was further increased by giving plus development in the HC-110.  I used dilution B and developed for 14:30 minutes.

2022 Calendar

While I was away in Nordegg, my 2022 Calendars arrived from the printer.  I've been printing these for several years now, and every year the quantity increases a little.  I seem to recall that this year I ordered 35 of them.  I have my usual distribution list of friends, family and neighbors that I pass them out to.  In recent years I've also been getting a few requests.  It's nice to know that my photography is appreciated, even if the print quality isn't the greatest.  They are digitally printed by a small company in Calgary, and I've learned how to set up the contrast and brightness of the file so that it prints reasonably well.  It still cost me a little over 500 bucks with taxes and shipping to print this year's batch.  This is the cover image, a shot of Tangle Falls in Jasper.  I'll share the monthly images as we go through the year.

Today is also the Winter Solstice.  So despite the fact that it is only the first day of winter, it is the shortest day of the year and from now on the days will get slightly longer.  Here in Edmonton the sun came up at 8:49AM and set at 4:16PM.  In Nordegg, being a couple of hundred kilometers further west and further south, the times were a little different.  Sunrise at 8:53AM and sunset at 4:32PM.  That is a little deceiving because it does get light around 9:00AM, but the sun doesn't actually break over Eagle Peak until a little after 10:00AM.  It makes for a pretty short day.  As much as I enjoy winter, I do look forward to the days getting a little longer.

A Rather Blustery Day....

After Jon left the cottage on Friday, I thought it best to make sure my truck would start.  So, I plugged it in for two or three hours, and then gave it a go.  By early afternoon the temperature had come up from the overnight low of -32, to around -15C.  It would eventually top out at around -10, before the sun began to set.  The truck started without any issues.....

I took a drive west on Highway 11 up to Abraham Lake.  I suspected that the lake had probably frozen over, given the recent cold temperatures.  Some years it does not freeze until mid-January.  My suspicions were correct and the lake was in fact frozen over.  It was sunny and calm but cold most of the way up the highway.  But as is the case most of the time, the wind really picked up when I got close to Abraham Lake.  The wind was rushing through the gap in the mountains and sweeping across the lake.  I could see snow sifting over the high ridges on either side of the lake.  At Windy Point the ice on the lake was swept bare, and snow was swirling in the air.  I didn't think a still photograph would do it any justice, and getting outside with a big camera was not an option, so I shot a couple of video clips on my phone.....

Mission Accomplished

It got REALLY cold overnight on Thursday December 16th.  When Jon and I got up in the morning, we needed to light a fire to get the chill out of the cottage.  Normally, when it is not too cold, I can let the fire burn out overnight, and just let the room heaters kick in.  But this time, it was a clear night and the temperature dropped to -32C.  It gradually warmed up during the day and topped out at about -10C on Friday afternoon.

With the supply of aspen paneling used up, and the west side of the ceiling done, Jon decided to head back home to the city.  He left before noon, and got back to Edmonton well before dark.

I didn't do much on Friday....  Mostly I just brought in more firewood, and did a few chores around the house.  I plugged my truck in for while, and thought I'd better start it.  I haven't left the property for eight days, and need to make sure it will start when its time to go home.  I plugged it in for two or three hours and then fired it up.  It started just fine, so I took a spin into town to pick up some beer, and then drove around for a bit.  Despite the cold, it was a beautiful, sunny winter day.  I went over to the guest cottage to get a few photos of the work that we accomplished.  Of course the battery in my digital camera was dead, but I managed to get a few phone snapshots.

Cold Couple of Days

I woke up at about 5:30 in the morning on Wednesday December 15th.  The furnace was running and all the room heaters were going.  It was a little chilly in the main cottage as the fire in the wood stove had gone out over night.  But plenty comfortable for sleeping.  I checked the outside thermometer and it was clear and cold and -29C.  Not sure if we hit thirty at any point, but definitely the coldest day so far this fall.

Eventually I went over to the guest cottage and got a fire going and after an hour or two, once the place warmed up, Jon and I went to work.  We got 11 rows of panelling installed on the ceiling through the course of the day, which got us just beyond the 2/3 point.  This also took us around the pot light fixture in the mezzanine, and we installed that while we were at it.  We made a point of checking the continuity of all the wiring that I had installed to these pot lights.  That way if there was a problem with anything, we could fix it before we closed the ceiling.  But everything was good..  

We have to quit working fairly early in the day as it gets dark at around 4:30 in the afternoon at this time of year.  While we working on the ceiling, I didn't bother to continue with any lacquering, as it would have got in the way of the scaffold.  But at the end and beginning of each day I would finish a handful of boards, so that we had enough to continue.  It was still just late afternoon when we got back to the main cottage, which left us lots of time to prepare a hearty meal and relax through the evening.  On Wednesday I made a roast chicken with all the fixings.

We got a little snow on Thursday but it was very fine, and didn't amount to much.  The accumulation was only a quarter inch or so.  It started out at about -15 in the morning and got progressively colder through the day.  By the time we packed things in late in the afternoon it had dropped to about -21.  We managed to finish the west side of the high ceiling on Thursday.  The work progresses a little slower as we had to work from the very top of the scaffold.  We also had to cut around a couple of electrical boxes for light fixtures and smoke detectors.

We had leftovers for dinner on Thursday, and turned in relatively early.  There was a great sense of accomplishment at finishing half the ceiling.  I was very appreciative of the help that Jon gave me as it would have been impossible to do this work by myself.  The lower walls and bedroom ceilings can be a solo project, but the high ceiling can not.  There were only a handful of boards left when we finished up so I will have to bring out another load when the time comes to finish the other side.  It got really clear and cold on Thursday night and the temperature dropped down to -32.  Jon was planning to head back to the city on Friday so we plugged his truck in to make sure it would start.

Plugging Along

On Sunday December 12th I continued with more of the same.  I lit the fire in the cottage in the morning to warm the place and then spent the entire day working on applying yet more lacquer.  By the time it got dark in the evening I had about 2/3 of the boards finished.  

All of the neighbors that were out for the weekend headed for home on Sunday afternoon.  By evening it was gloriously quiet and no one was around.

On Monday morning I hit repeat and started the same process all over again.  My friend Jon drove out from Edmonton on Monday, and he arrived around lunch time.  I continued with some finishing in the afternoon, and Jon puttered around on wiring in a couple of shut off switches for me.  In the evening we retreated to the main cottage and I made us a dinner of prime rib, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed beans.  It was really good and we stayed up until the wee hours, visiting, listening to music and having a few drinks.  The snow started up in again in the evening.  It was fairly fine, but came down steadily all night.  But we had additional accumulation of another 3/4 inch of so.  It got quite cold overnight and was around -21C in the morning just before the sun came up.

With Jon's help I planned on installing aspen paneling to the high ceiling.  Once we got a fire going to get the chill out of the cottage we got started.   We managed to get around 30 boards installed on the west side of the high ceiling on Tuesday.  That is about 1/3 of the west side.  So, it seems it will take three days to do half of the ceiling.  Maybe we will get a little faster once we get into more.

Headstones

During a day trip back in October, we were out exploring with our friends Chris and Connie.  Boy were we surprised when we poked our heads into this old barn, and came across these two headstones.  It was a pretty eerie feeling.  We surmised that some grave markers must have been replaced at a nearby cemetery, and the old ones ended up here... somewhat forgotten.

I shot this on Adox CHS-50 film with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 75mm wide angle lens.  The film was processed in Rodinal developer, 1:50.