Being spring, the 'pussy willows' are out in force. For a while I wondered what the words referred to, now I understand it is the flowers of whatever tree type it is that puts them out. They vary quite a lot between species, these red branched bushes of about 3 metres height produce these particularly nice looking ones.
This view is over the South Cooking Lake. Apparently the area under reeds was once beneath its waters. I noticed evidence of old wharfing structures 'high' up from the present water line, so would tend to believe it.
After leaving Camrose we headed back to Edmonton via Camp Van Es, a Moravian campsite. These days it's generally for youth, but in past days families and young adults also had some very memorable occasions there. Like many of these things, those who attended all seem to source many of their happiest moments in and around the camp.
This is where my parents first met. Apparently there wasn't a lot obviously between them unless one had eyes to see or ears to hear. It is the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute. Apparently there's nothing quite like it in Australia. Here in Canada it is still going strong.
This house is fairly typical of homes in the area where I had lunch. A streetscape of buildings like this is quite attractive.
Retreating from the withering gaze of my avian friend, I enjoyed a good lunch. So did these guys, in one of the bird feeders outside. I am told they are 'finches', though they appear a bit different from what we call 'finches' at home.
We got to the town of Camrose and soon had caught up with the lady we had come to see in her second floor apartment (3rd floor in Canadienese). She was a non smoker so I went out onto her balcony for a smoke prior to a late lunch.
We pulled off the road so as to admire the thousands of birds as they wheeled above and did what geese do. I managed to catch a few of them in flight. I'm not sure if we are viewing a mixed group of Canada and Snow Geese, or if the dark one's are just another colouration of the snow geese.
The day before yesterday went out to Camrose for an afternoon. As we approached a distant bend in the highway I could see a huge flock of birds wheeling in the distance. As the kilometres crawled by, they defined themselves into what I was told were snow geese. There were literally thousands of them.
This view is into the woodlands that border the town of Innisfail. This is one row of houses from where my cousin leaves in (sub)urban comfort. These woods are used by deer to lie up in, and the occasional moose (or so I have been told), especially when the weather is bad. On the evening I visited there was a mix of light snow and rain falling, so I did not venture into them. 
This was probably my last view of rural Canada not from the interior of a vehicle. I love the countryside I've seen so far, no where near as flat as the term 'prairie' would suggest. Also the fact that, at least where I've been, remnant native scrub has been left intact in patches and copses throughout the land, not entirely determined by gullies and slews but also by a sense of aesthetics and wildlife habitat responsibilities.
After a most delicious pizza at Innisfail's 'Mountain View Pizza Parlour' I went for a brief walk through the snow for the sheer pleasure of it. I soon found myself at the edge of town.
I caught a bus to Red Deer, and then a lift to Innisfail to spend the night with my cousin and his wife. They live in typical rural/suburbia, about half hour from nearest major centre at Red Deer. This is their backyard.
This was the view from the fourth floor at Dawn yesterday, the day I left Edmonton on final extended leg of my travels. The school busses and garbage trucks were out and about and the traffic hadn't yet built up to its usual intensity.
Here's another picture of the clan house in 1945. Note the colours, as opposed to the plain white that it is today.
This picutre was taken of the clan residence back in 1945. Note the different front entry way to the present arrangement, and the large chimney stack. Although the windows have been changed, all else appears much as it does today.
Here's another picture of Deep Creek School, this time the original building. It is the two pictures at the bottom of the set (Bruderheim Church is shown above). The school is shown front and back. Although a secular institution, it is interesting to note the cross. I believe the old school was replaced with the modern one in the mid forties.
My relatives were happy that I had seen a bison, so we were doubly surprised to have some elk pass in front of us on the road (no photo). I was quite content with the natural beauty of the place, the animals were a bonus. I said that about the only thing I still really wanted to see, but certainly didn't expect to, was a Moose. My uncle said, 'look up ahead,' at that point. Guess what we saw in the fading light! She was a cow, and casually strolled across the road and up the rise to graze on some bark she took a fancy to. At her size, she wasn't too concerned about us. Absolutely fantastic!
We hadn't seen any of the famed Bison by the time we had passed right through the park and the sun was about to set. So we drove up the Yellowhead Hwy a short while to see the Ukranian Village that exists there and then returned to through the park.
Apart from the angle, this is close to what it looked like when we arrived at the central lake on the upland plateau. We passed a squirrel or two on the way (no photo) and numerous small bodies of water in various states of frozenness. Almost all of these smaller meres had a resident Beaver dam in their centre, a pile of logs and sticks built up out of the water, one per mere. Methinks Beavers aren't friendly neighbors.
5km off the highway we entered the National Park. We had a park pass that allowed free entry, but there was no one collecting so not needed. Within a couple weeks the park will be blooming and start to crowd with campers and day trippers from Edmonton but we had it almost entirely to ourselves.
In the evening my Aunt and Uncle had a prior engagement cancelled on them and offered to take me to nearby Elk Island National Park. So, after a quik meal (it was already evening) we headed out.
On my farm walk with Chelsea the Dog I followed Beaver Creek for much of the way. 30 years ago it was heavily wooded. Now it appears a wasteland, primarily due the Beavers. Ironic.
This image is of part of a machine that had been put out to pasture at the back of the cow paddock. A number of wheels such as this, attached to upright arms, create a startlingly geometric sight. What they 'really' are are rotating rakes which, when powered by a tractor's drive chain, gather two swathes of cut straw into one prior to it being gathered up for later feeding to the beef (and, eventually, you (if you eat cow)).
Again, this Albertan farm conveys the dichotomy in the provincial economy through sights such as this oil pump. They dot the land on parts hereabouts, grinding away 24-7. To me, they look like steel dinosaurs grazing - or is that the greeny in me having a go at our petrol based economy with its still essentially 19th century technologies?
Just in case you think it's all hard work, check out this. Young Chelsea (a six year old cross jack russel) takes a moment out of her duties to hitch a ride on one of her equestrian mates, also taking a moment out from the more serious business of eating.
This front end loader tractor with its pick up tines is being used here to transport long and fiddly bits of fencing materials and tools to and from the fencing site out towards the back of the farm.
This red farm building, decorated in similar fashion to the granaries I've previously featured, is a barn for animal housing. It is on a property which is mixed cattle/grain production, on a smaller scale to the ranch at Armena.
As the temperature dived back below zero I stood in some awe as the sun dipped finally beneath the prairie and the land went quiet. A fantastic day filled with community and adventure found its finale in a spectacular sunset of oranges and reds.
The Canadian Goose is ubiquitous on the prairie country at this time of year. When I arrived several weeks ago, they were also arriving in their ones and twos. At the ranch, however, they were gathering in their hundreds (if not thousands) in the wetlands surrounding.
With the level of technological sophistication on the ranch it came somewhat of a surprise to me to learn that horses are still relied upon as working animals. Everything from rounding up and boundary riding to pulling heavy loads (which is what these two guys do for a living).
Next to the Hay Cart is this snow plough. You can see that the scale of things here are pretty big. As you'd expect on a ranch.
I don't know if it is still used, but this old bus has been converted to a hay cart. I'm sure their are witty ways of looking at this, but I'm too tired at the moment to think of them.
On Easter Sunday I went out to the cousin's big house on the prairie, about an hour's drive from here (Bruderheim). As you can see, we weren't the only ones that made the pilgrimage into cattle country, nor the only ones with a 'truck' (4WD / 4x4 / SUV). Everything here was on a big scale, not just the ranch. The house was beautiful and, despite its size, a lovely home for the family that lives here.
This run down place incorporates the original home built by my great grandfather, Samuel, upon his arrival in the area. The first year he and his family lived in a peat hut while he built a two room house (the bottom floor in the rearward part of the present building). My grandfather was 2 years old on arrival.
This image counterbalances the nostalgia with a bit of modern day refinery. It is but a small part of the plant that has sprung up within the last 15 years in the area nearby the farm as transnational global oil has moved in to take advantage of compulsory acquisition and the huge boom in energy extraction Alberta is presently experiencing. For miles around they have bought out and cleared farms, totally removing all trace of the previous inhabitants and their histories. In fifty years, when the machinery goes, I doubt even the memories will remain.
This rather bizarre looking piece of machinery is the counterpart to the Rumley tractor (see previous posts below). In around 1927 the Rumley company made it available to my grandfather with a no-interest loan in recognition of the good work he was doing in the area with his tractor of theirs. It was towed on site by the tractor, and was then driven through a belt system by the tractor's engine as it stripped the harvest of many of the farms in the immediate area. It is still in operating condition and can be seen occasionally at tractor pull events in Alberta. There aren't many left after 90 years.
About a mile from the old farm is this school house, which was in use as such from 1895 to 1960 (it is presently used as a private residence). An uncle taught here for five years, grades 1-7 and about 30 kids. Most of my aunts and uncles went to school here as students (some under the tutelage of their brother!) including my mother. She also worked as a school janitor for a period, walking through the harsh prairie winter in the predawn to light the furnace before the kids arrived.
This piano was purchased at a cost of great sacrifice by my grandmother and those who helped her, back in the thirties. It is without a doubt the most magnificent upright piano I have had the pleasure of playing - extremely responsive to the touch and as resonant as a grand piano (almost) without the tinnyness that often goes with that.
The sun dipped below the horizon as I was about to pass through the gap in the hedge to my Uncle and Aunt's home. This was perfect timing as I had said that I'd be back at sunset.
This beautiful view was taken in the gathering dusk as the sun dipped low and I approached the house yard after my circumnavigation of the original block of land. It is another snow melt. Clearly visible are the farm sheds and the trees which surround the houses. 
This picture was taken from the farthest corner of the original block of land. It is also the highest point, and am looking down across the fields to the farm yard and its associated buildings and houses. I am probably 750m away from them.
I walked around the original 'quarter' of land on the home farm yesterday evening. Although the fields looked level from the highway, when walking them one realises the level of undulation is reasonably high. This, of course, implies that there are depressions in the land into which the melting snow feeds its waters. These snowmelts can be in surprising places, such as here where I mounted what I thought was a crest to be greeted by a large pool of standing water. The sight of the last season's stubble implies that the area was sown, and thus is not a permanent feature.