Campbell Creek Road - Ranchlands

An enticing bit 
of morning colour had me
up and going soon

~ carliewired

I woke up too early. At 4:45 I was out on my deck getting a shot of my mountains against a watercolor sky. I thought I should make my coffee before leaving the house. I leisurely drained the pot, then drove away at 6:30 heading up the hill to the Merritt Highway.

I wanted a drive along the Campbell Creek Road from west to east. As I turned off the highway I caught a shot of the north end of Shumway Lake. Irrigation systems are running and hay has been baled. 

A little herd of cattle had escaped and were grazing along the roadside. Usually they are contained by barbed wire and cattleguards. Somehow, this little band had found their freedom. I hope someone figures it out before they find themselves out on the highway. 

As I came to the west end of Walker Lake, I looked down to the lake to see a flock of Canada geese by the reeds. I pulled over on the gravel road, rolled down my window and aimed my camera. A woman driving towards me stopped, got out of her car and hung over the barbed wire fence to figure out what I was taking photos of. She pulled out her camera and took pictures too! 

I moved on to get a photo of Walker Lake. I've painted from this location with friends. There's lots of thistle in bloom right now all along this road. I stopped again to get a photo of this lovely paint. He was standing patiently waiting for his breakfast or some attention. There's was nobody around and he had no company at all in his corral. 

Further down the road there was more baled hay. I was surprised to see the two different kinds of bales in the same field. I wondered if that had to do with the kind of machinery that was available when the baling was done or if that had something to do with they way they store their hay. 

I came to the end of the road in Barnhartvale, then drove down to the TransCanada Highway and headed for home. 

I'm in for the day and will need a nap. It will be another quiet one.

We have a mainly sunny day with high cloud giving that brightness that makes you squint. We're going for a high of 32 C.