Photos, videos and docs of Anne Elliott, with the keywords: "pink"

Hot Wings Maple

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 16:58:19 +0000

This small tree is growing at the Saskatoon Farm, south of Calgary. Apparently, the leaves turn bright red in the fall - you can see the process just beginning.

Well, hello again, winter!! Yesterday, it looked like late fall. Today, we are having another snowfall, giving us our second world of white already this fall. Because of the forecast for today, I knew I had better get down to the Saskatoon Farm yesterday. I had wanted to buy a few of their vegetables, but they hold their special event at a weekend and I had no intention of facing masses of cars and people. Instead, I did a long drive into Kananaskis two days ago, which turned out to be a really good decision.

Yesterday, 7 October 2019, was overcast and not good for photos, which didn't really matter, as I barely used my camera at the farm. Basically, apart from sunflowers hanging their heads, everything had already died and much had been removed. There was no colour left, and the wonderful days of visits to the farm to happily snap endless photos full of colour are now over till next spring and summer. Can't wait!

After enjoying lunch there, and buying two kinds of frozen, home-made soup, I drove along one nearby road just to see if there was anything of interest. I came across an old wooden shed (outhouse?). A touch of filter in post-processing brought out the wood details.

For me, the next few days will be days to hibernate, hoping that the ground (and my car) will become bare again. The forecast reckons Calgary will be getting about 10 cm of snow today. Looks like we should have sunshine on the coming days. This year has been an absolutely crazy year as far as the weather is concerned!

The first day of fall

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 04:39:16 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This afternoon, 23 September 2019, I made a last-minute dash to the Saskatoon Farm, after seeing the very unpleasant weather forecast that is about to hit us. A couple of days of rain followed by a few days of SNOW. These colourful images should have waited till our world turns white, but just the thought of seeing snow was enough to make me long for colour - and lots of it! Also, I thought I had better post something other than fungi, though I have so many more photos of them that I need to edit and upload.

The sun was supposed to shine today, along with some cloud, but it turned out to be an overcast afternoon with poor light for photos. Better than snow, any day.

This interesting place is maybe a 20-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside green houses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food.

www.saskatoonfarm.com/

As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera, catching two of the dogs, a chicken, as well as flowers. Many of the latter are on their last legs, but there is still some colour to be enjoyed. I never return home with an empty memory card when I visit this place.

Full of light

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 15:29:01 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Yesterday afternoon, 3 September 2019, was spent surrounded by colourful garden flowers. Knowing that it is not unusual for us to get snow in September, I knew I just had to go and capture some cheery colour before fall arrived and it was too late. That included Sunflowers, which are always a favourite. Just one orange one among the many yellow, and I could only see it from the back. A little gang of American Goldfinches was making the most of the Sunflower seeds.

I'm not sure if this is some kind of small Poppy - they came in single and double flowers in a few different shades. Very pretty.

Poppy near the pond

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 16:46:12 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Four days ago, on 18 August 2019, I was fortunate enough to make a return visit to a wonderful farm, NW of the city. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and arrived back home at 8:00 pm, feeling totally tired out. This was partly because I had only had a couple of hours' sleep the night before, and because it took me two hours to get to the farm. This was the first time I had ever driven myself there, as we had carpooled on the previous two visits. To say the least, I was not at all impressed to see the Maintenance light on my car dashboard come on before I had even left Calgary! Have an appointment this afternoon, to see to the matter. After leaving the farm, I took some new back roads that had been recommended to me while I was at the farm; roads that I had never driven before. Beautiful scenery, and I discovered a rather nice old log cabin and two or three old rusty vehicles, including a beautiful big, blue bus. I am SO happy that I made myself do both drives. I had to do it, as this is an amazing farm, and I couldn't bear the thought of not visiting again.

This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre. It belongs to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a 'little' help from family and friends.

www.akesifarms.com/

Below is the link to a video about Meghan and Kwesi and the farm, by The Redneck Gourmet Show, 23 March 2017. The video was taken in winter - in summer, the farm is a mass of colour!

youtu.be/Tih5H5uMDNE

Our visit coincided with Alberta Open Farms weekend, where about 100 farms were open to the public. Our Naturalist leader had arranged to take anyone interested in nature on a nature walk, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. A very interesting, short talk on the history of Bergen and the area around the farm was given by Marilyn Halvorson, who has lived in the area for many years. Three tables had also been set up - one had attractive barn quilts painted on wood (Jenni Weeks at N50 Barn Quilts). Another had knitted items and quilts from Irene Echlin. The third had produce such as jars of home-made marmalade (from Kettle Crossing Farm), and also green tomatoes which had been grown in a massive greenhouse near Olds. I discovered when I got home that eating just one tomato was not enough, they were so good. This is something I have been very impressed by ever since I first met Meghan and Kwesi. They are very community-minded, helping other farmers, which is so good to see.

We were also shown a small display of several edible mushroom species that are being grown on the farm, Some of them are also growing in a few places around the farm - Meghan's mother very kindly pulled a little cluster of three Wine Caps that were growing in the vegetable garden, for me to take home and try. Of course, I had to take a few photos last night, before I added them to a Spanish Omelette : )

Check out their mushroom business. They are selling mushroom spawn for if you want to grow your own. They also offer talks on how to do this. The Fante word "Akuafo" means farmer.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's parents, for such a lovely day! Great to see new additions to the farm (well done, Kwesi!), as well as all the familiar things, including those beautiful dogs, Whiskey (male Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross) and Titan (male Great Pyrenees), and your chickens and geese. Too bad we missed the honey created in your beehives. I wish you all the very best - you deserve all the successes that come your way.

Indian Paintbrush / Castilleja miniata

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 20:03:43 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

For those unfamiliar with this species, the pink parts are the bracts; the very small, narrow, green parts (only one can be seen in this photo) are the actual flowers

Yesterday, 27 July 2019, was such an enjoyable day, with a few lovely surprises. We had been invited to do a bio-blitz (i.e. list every plant, tree, bird, insect, fungi, etc. species) of the property belonging to Dennis Apedaile and family. This forested area is NW of Cochrane, reached by a beautiful road that was new to us.

The early morning started off with our first sighting - one of the neighbourhood Jackrabbits, seen when we were leaving our leader's house.

The next sighting, and unfortunately only seen by me, came as a total surprise. We were driving along the highway when I spotted a black dog in a field. I was a bit surprised to see it wandering on its own. OMG, it's not a dog, it's a Black Bear!! We were going too fast and passed it before anyone else could see it. Wish I had thought about trying to get a photo - no time, anyway.

Going to have to finish my description shortly, as it is 2:15 pm and I have not yet had breakfast or lunch! Thankfully, it was not hot last night and I was able to sleep for much of this morning. The night before the trip was SO hot indoors (no air-conditioning), I didn't get even one minute of sleep all night.

Later .... Nine of us from Calgary took part in this bioblitz, along with three ladies from the Summer Village on Ghost Lake. We were also joined by about 12 members of Dennis & Charlotte’s family, their friends and neighbours. A fun, most enjoyable group of interesting people. Our group took our lunch with us, but we were encouraged to also help ourselves to the delicious food provided.

The morning and part of the afternoon were spent on a slow walk along various forest trails on the Apedaile's acreage. We came across all sorts of wildflowers, the odd insect, and yes, we even found a few mushrooms, including Aspen Boletes. Birds were almost non-existent! I spotted a Hummingbird that flew to one of the feeders, a Black-capped Chickadee flitted about in the trees near the house, and someone noticed a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Everyone was thrilled to bits to suddenly notice something fairly small flying in all directions near a fire pit, that had a tangle of dead branches and a few pieces of wood piled up. It was a Little Brown Bat! After a few seconds, it flew into this pile, hid from view, and stayed there.

When it was time to leave, we began walking towards our cars, when suddenly the wind became strong and it started to rain. It didn't last long, but unfortunately, we had to make a very hurried departure. Thank you so much, Dennis and Charlotte, for letting us come and explore your wonderful property! Having you all come along with us made the visit even more enjoyable. Thanks, too, to good friends, Dorothy and Stephen, for driving the four of us there and back. As always, so much appreciated.

Sainfoin / Onobrychis

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:16:16 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This morning, I have added 10 images taken at Carburn Park, on 2 July 2019. As keeps happening, I have fallen way behind with editing and posting my photos.

This was an evening walk with a group of friends. Though I rarely go on any evening walks, I knew this one would finally get me over to Carburn Park.

It's always a delight to see a gathering of American White Pelicans on the Bow River. They like to rest on the gravel bars and either sleep or preen. Such exotic looking birds and they almost look like they don't belong here.

Two other things I was happy to see were a scattering of beautiful, pink Sainfoin flowers. This is the only location where I have seen them.

The other thrill was when a huge American Beaver swam past us when we were walking along the trail at the edge of the river. We were able to see just how huge it really was when it climbed up on to the bank not many feet away from us, and began eating the tall grass.

Sainfoin has been grown in parts of Europe and Asia for hundreds of years. Various strains have been introduced to North America as a forage crop since about 1900. I think Carburn Park is the only location in the city where it grows. Belongs to the Pea family and blooms June-August. It is considered a weed, but, as usual, a very beautiful weed. I love the deep pink stripes on the petals.

"Like many plants with a long period of human use, it is known by many common names. In English, it is commonly called sainfoin from the French for "healthy hay". Sometimes it is called holy hay--a confusion of "saint" for "sain".

Healthy hay is a fitting moniker. It is nutritionally comparable to alfalfa and equally, if not more, palatable to livestock. In addition, research has shown that it inhibits nematode parasitism in ruminants due to its high tannin content. A good report on the use of sainfoin as a feed crop is available on Feedipedia: Onobrychis viciifolia, while images of the species growing as a field crop are available via the Alberta Native Plant Council. As a crop, the plant is considered a good environmental choice: it forms a deep tap root that helps soil stabilization, its roots house nitrogen-fixing bacteria that improve the soil, and its melliferous flowers attract bees and birds. A fine, clear honey has been produced in areas where the plant is cultivated. Lastly, it is more tolerant of drought and cold than other forage crops like alfalfa and clover.

Despite its many benefits, it has largely been replaced by alfalfa and clover in the past century. The main drawback is its poor regrowth after cutting and resultant lower production." From UBC Botany Photo of the Day website.

botanyphoto.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/2013/04/onobrychis-vic...

Sainfoin / Onobrychis

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:13:45 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Bright and beautiful

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 20 Jul 2019 17:18:09 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

"July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969 as part of NASA's Apollo 11 lunar mission." People are remembering this exciting, successful event this week. I was trying to remember where I was when this all took place, so I checked. In the week before, we flew from Seria, Brunei, Borneo, back to England for a short while. On the journey from Borneo, we spent 6th - 13th July in Hong Kong, then in Rome, Italy, from 14th - 18th July, arriving in Birmingham, England, at my parents' house on 18th July. We ended up in Holland in October 1969 and returned to Borneo about a week before Christmas 1969. So, I am guessing that we were with my parents when the Moon Landing took place. My parents never had a TV, and I can't remember watching it at any friend's house. So much packing, travelling and chaos : )

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Saturday, 20 July 2019 - our temperature is 13C (windchill 11C) around noon. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. This is summer??

A couple of days ago, after seven or so long, brutal months of winter (coldest on record?) and now endless weeks of rain and cloud, I finally decided, enough is enough. I have become a fair-weather photographer, and we don't get that much fair weather, especially this year. So, on 18 July 2019, despite the weather forecast for a thunderstorm, I decided to drive SE of the city mid-afternoon. A few more days, and I will be spending the day with my daughter, though I'm not sure yet where she will choose to go. She (me, too) loves the Saskatoon Farm, but also wants to get out to a few golden Canola fields. Thought I would scout around beforehand. My plan had been to go to the Farm first and have a meal, and then continue on to Frank Lake. Seeing the beautiful storm clouds on my drive south, I was torn as to whether to go to Frank Lake first and catch a few photos. Then it occurred to me that I could also get a few sky shots once I had turned off the main highway and on to the country road leading to the Farm.

The Farm was pretty busy. So much wonderful colour everywhere that I almost forgot about the weather. That is, until I was eating outside under the open shelter. It was so cold, I had goosebumps, and the wind increased, sending a huge picnic table umbrella flying fast through the air. Just a short bit of rain and all returned to normal.

As usual, I wandered around the grounds, shooting flowers, rabbits, landscape, clouds, and old tractors. One barn stood out to me and had me puzzled. I have visited the farm many times before, but I don't remember seeing this particular barn before. It looked so pretty, with its colourful flower border.

Eventually, I continued my drive to Frank Lake. The storm clouds stayed with me. One side road has a small wetland on either side of the road and I pulled over to check what birds might be there. I was about to turn off my car when a loud buzzer sounded and a tornado alert was announced - to take shelter and if there was no shelter nearby, to get into a ditch or ravine. Then I heard that the area covered was further SE - in fact, where I had been a week earlier.

"Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed a weak EF0 tornado touched down two kilometres northeast of Crossfield at around 2:15 p.m. Sunday, 14 July 2019, marking the 12th confirmed twister of the season." (This was roughly 50 km north of Calgary.)

According to the weather agency, Alberta typically sees an average of 15 tornadoes per year with the peak season starting mid-to-late June and ending early-to-mid August.

So far in 2019, there have been 12 confirmed tornadoes in Alberta and three probable ones. There have also been many reports of funnel clouds." From Global News.

While i was standing by this wetland a White-faced Ibis flew in. I believe this was the first one I had really seen and photographed this year. Further on, when I was at the blind, there were so many Ruddy Ducks. The Barn Swallow pair flew back and forth to their nest that is just out of sight. I had checked to see if I could spot the Red Knot (bird), but without binoculars, it was pretty much impossible to check the very distant water birds.

A very enjoyable afternoon/evening. Mid-evening, the main highway wasn't very busy, and the rain only started when I arrived home and had to get out of the car.

Colour for an overcast day

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 18:46:03 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Friday, 19 July 2019 - our temperature is 13C (windchill 11C) this afternoon. Forecast is for cloudy with light rain this afternoon and evening. This is summer??

A couple of days ago, after seven or so long, brutal months of winter (coldest on record?) and now endless weeks of rain and cloud, I finally decided, enough is enough. I have become a fair-weather photographer, and we don't get that much fair weather, especially this year. So, yesterday, 18 July 2019, despite the weather forecast for a thunderstorm, I decided to drive SE of the city mid-afternoon. A few more days, and I will be spending the day with my daughter, though I'm not sure yet where she will choose to go. She (me, too) loves the Saskatoon Farm, but also wants to get out to a few golden Canola fields. Thought I would scout around beforehand. My plan had been to go to the Farm first and have a meal, and then continue on to Frank Lake. Seeing the beautiful storm clouds on my drive south, I was torn as to whether to go to Frank Lake first and catch a few photos. Then it occurred to me that I could also get a few sky shots once I had turned off the main highway and on to the country road leading to the Farm.

The Farm was pretty busy. So much wonderful colour everywhere that I almost forgot about the weather. That is, until I was eating outside under the open shelter. It was so cold, I had goosebumps, and the wind increased, sending a huge picnic table umbrella flying fast through the air. Just a short bit of rain and all returned to normal.

As usual, I wandered around the grounds, shooting flowers, rabbits, landscape, clouds, and old tractors. One barn stood out to me and had me puzzled. I have visited the farm many times before, but I don't remember seeing this particular barn before. It looked so pretty, with its colourful flower border.

Eventually, I continued my drive to Frank Lake. The storm clouds stayed with me. One side road has a small wetland on either side of the road and I pulled over to check what birds might be there. I was about to turn off my car when a loud buzzer sounded and a tornado alert was announced - to take shelter and if there was no shelter nearby, to get into a ditch or ravine. Then I heard that the area covered was further SE - in fact, where I had been a week earlier.

"Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirmed a weak EF0 tornado touched down two kilometres northeast of Crossfield at around 2:15 p.m. Sunday, 14 July 2019, marking the 12th confirmed twister of the season." (This was roughly 50 km north of Calgary.)

According to the weather agency, Alberta typically sees an average of 15 tornadoes per year with the peak season starting mid-to-late June and ending early-to-mid August.

So far in 2019, there have been 12 confirmed tornadoes in Alberta and three probable ones. There have also been many reports of funnel clouds." From Global News.

While i was standing by this wetland a White-faced Ibis flew in. I believe this was the first one I had really seen and photographed this year. Further on, when I was at the blind, there were so many Ruddy Ducks. The Barn Swallow pair flew back and forth to their nest that is just out of sight. I had checked to see if I could spot the Red Knot (bird), but without binoculars, it was pretty much impossible to check the very distant water birds.

A very enjoyable afternoon/evening. Mid-evening, the main highway wasn't very busy, and the rain only started when I arrived home and had to get out of the car.

Pink

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 16:03:54 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

A large group of us spent yesterday morning, 7 July 2019, at the home and property of Keith and Sandy Logan. They live NW of Cochrane on a 35-acre parcel of land. The group split in half and took turns to look at Keith's stunning photography and incredible woodwork and also to bio/blitz their land, to record all flora and fauna seen. We were treated to coffee and delicious cake in Keith's enormous woodworking barn. We all agree - if you sit in one of Keith's wooden chairs, you'll see that no chair could ever be more comfortable - they are simply amazing!

www.keithlogan.com/Keith_Logan/Photography/Photography.html

www.keithlogan.com/Keith_Logan/Woodworking/Woodworking.html

Some people saw a number of birds, though they were almost all very distant sightings. I think the closest were a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, feeding young that were in a tree cavity. I did manage to get a shot of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, too.

On a visit like this, I am always torn between looking for birds, wildflowers, or fungi. Yesterday was a mix of all three - the kind of day I love. Actually, we were surprised that there were not many wildflowers to be seen. Not sure if this means we are a bit late for them. Our weather has been totally insane since New Year, so who knows what is early and what is late. I was happy to see the odd fungus here and there in the Aspen forest.

All morning, we were followed around the garden by the Logan's two enormous dogs - two beautiful, friendly Newfoundland dogs, named Sally and Blueberry (?). What gorgeous dogs these are! I think food must be on their mind all the time. Whenever someone would sit and eat their lunch, either one or both dogs would come over and stand or sit and look longingly at what was being eaten. Such sweet dogs.

I love to see their cats, too. On previous visits, there were three cats, but I don't know if they only have two now. What a beautiful place they are fortunate enough to call 'home'.

After lunch, we drove a short distance to another place, URSA, which stands for Universal Rehabilitation Service Agency. Before non-profit URSA obtained the area, it used to belong to W.O.Mitchell, who used it as a retreat. We were introduced to Ben, who lives in W.O. Mitchell's beautiful old cabin. Ben's passion is creating amazing metal sculptures and many of his works are scattered on the land around the cabin.

"William Ormond Mitchell, PC OC better known as W. O. Mitchell (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is Who Has Seen the Wind (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies and sold almost a million copies in Canada. As a broadcaster, he is known for his radio series Jake and the Kid, which aired on CBC Radio between 1950 and 1956 and was also about life on the Prairies.

In 1973, Mitchell was made an officer of the Order of Canada. The list of other honours Mitchell has received includes honorary doctorates from five Canadian universities and being sworn in as a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on November 5, 1992. In 2000, Mitchell was honoured by the government of Canada with his image on a postage stamp." From Wikipedia.

"Nestled in 18 acres of truly Albertan streams, trees and wildlife, URSA is a place that welcomes us all. The buildings and land were obtained in 2009 by Universal Rehabilitation Service Agency (URSA) with a single purpose: to create a retreat space where all individuals, regardless of ability, can experience the beauty of a relaxing and calming retreat space. We rent the URSA Retreat Centre to external groups to subsidize running it for our clients."

youtu.be/iuMFd3D6Y3k

As far as the weather was concerned, we were so lucky. Just a few minutes of light rain and that was it. Just enough to get rain spots on the camera lens.

Thanks to Keith and Sandy for such an enjoyable time! Always a real treat to spend time with them at their home and acreage. Thank you to Stephen and Dorothy for driving the four of us there and back. Greatly appreciated, as always.

Upturned Three-flowered Avens / Geum triflorum

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 22:08:09 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

For the next few days, I will be posting photos from an outing yesterday and also a few of my usual local birds taken on the way home from this event. The map feature is not working yet again, though images were showing up on it for a day or two. Now it is back to being faulty yet again, and I don't mean just the mystery name. Causes such a hassle when I post Texas photos that need to be put on the map, so Texas photos will have to wait.

These two flowers of a Three-flowered Avens plant had already turned upwards, instead of hanging down. Won't be long before the hidden hairs grow and turn into a beautiful, hairy seedhead.

Yesterday, 23 June 2019, was a fun day, despite the fact that it was raining a good part of the time. It was the annual Ghost River Alliance walk, which ends with a delicious fundraiser BBQ at noon. This botany walk, through the forest and on top of the cliff along the Ghost River, is led by our main Naturalist, Gus Yaki, and hosted by Erik Butters. I can't remember how many of these events I have been to over the years, but certainly a few.

I like to drive myself out there, as I then have the choice to drive somewhere else when all is finished, if I have any energy left. Exactly what I did yesterday, enjoying myself photographing Mountain Bluebirds, a Snipe, and a Bobolink which was unfortunately perched on a high wire. Better than nothing, though.

It was a very early start to the day yesterday, as I wanted to allow about two hours' travel time. There has been some flooding in certain areas and I wasn't sure if there might be a road or two blocked off. As it turned out, I reached the meeting place in plenty of time, so drove a bit further to see what I could find. Just an attractive, old wagon that I have seen before, and some adorable, new calves in one of the fields.

Day 7, Hong Kong Orchid tree, Estero Llano Grande SP

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 18 May 2019 23:02:41 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

PAM, A LITTLE BIT OF BEAUTY SPECIALLY FOR YOU, AFTER YOUR STRESSFUL DAY. I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERY SINGLE UPDATE THAT YOU TAKE THE TROUBLE TO WRITE!! I ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING. KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT THE TWO NEW PAIRS OF GLASSES YOU WILL BE GETTING, WILL HELP YOU A LOT. TAKE CARE. BY THE WAY, I KNOW SO MANY PEOPLE HERE WHO HAVE HAD CATARACT SURGERY AND HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH THE RESULTS.

Just a few more days and Smugmug has the mammoth task of transferring every single thing on Flickr to a new server. Hard to imagine, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the transfer all goes smoothly. There will probably be a few glitches to iron out afterwards, but these will eventually be fixed. Flickr has certainly been just about unusable the last few days! Hoping to get Day 7 of our trip finished before the transfer and maybe even make a start on Day 8. Please bear with me.

The flower of this tree was so beautiful, I decided to edit again the same photo that I have posted previously, to add to my photostream. I've posted a few photos to show what a beautiful park this was to walk in - loved the trees and cacti..

The article, "BBC - Earth: How a weird hybrid plant ended up on the flag of Hong King" makes an interesting read. The flag shows a white flower on a red background.

This tree is a native of the island of Hong Kong, but the true origin of this mysterious plant has only been revealed in recent years. The tree produces no seeds and can only reproduce with human help, by grafting.

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161209-how-a-weird-hybrid-plant...

Posted just a few odds and ends, taken on Day 7 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas. A few interesting things, but not the greatest photos of most of them. So happy to see them all and just happy to get any kind of shots.

We had an early start as usual on Day 7 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. Leaving our hotel, La Quinta Inn & Suites in Mission, we drove to the Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park / World Birding Centre.

"As part of the World Birding Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is a world-class destination for bird-watching. The Rio Grande Valley hosts one of the most spectacular convergences of birds on earth with more than 525 species documented in this unique place. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park alone has an impressive list of 358 species recorded within the park’s boundaries. Birders have a chance to see migratory birds during their yearly migrations over the valley including flocks of thousands of hawks from the park’s Hawk Tower in the spring and fall.... Over seven miles of trails offer a variety of opportunities to encounter wildlife inside the park."

tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley

In the afternoon, we drove roughly 32 miles east to the Estero Llano Grande State Park, arriving there at about 1:00 pm, and spent two and a half hours looking for birds. Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, is one of nine sites that make up the World Birding Centre in South Texas. It is a 230+ acre refuge. Not many chances to see and photograph birds, but we enjoyed seeing huge cacti in bloom and a few beautiful flowering trees, including the one in this photo. A couple of Lizards and a Skink added interesting variety to our sightings - even a cluster of mushrooms.

Day 7, Hong Kong Orchid tree, Estero Llano Grande SP

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 18 May 2019 23:01:42 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Just a few more days and Smugmug has the mammoth task of transferring every single thing on Flickr to a new server. Hard to imagine, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the transfer all goes smoothly. There will probably be a few glitches to iron out afterwards, but these will eventually be fixed. Hoping to get Day 7 of our trip finished before the transfer and maybe even make a start on Day 8. Please bear with me.

The article, "BBC - Earth: How a weird hybrid plant ended up on the flag of Hong King" makes an interesting read. The flag shows a white flower on a red background.

This tree is a native of the island of Hong Kong, but the true origin of this mysterious plant has only been revealed in recent years. The tree produces no seeds and can only reproduce with human help, by grafting.

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161209-how-a-weird-hybrid-plant...

Posted just a few odds and ends, taken on Day 7 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas. A few interesting things, but not the greatest photos of most of them. So happy to see them all and just happy to get any kind of shots.

We had an early start as usual on Day 7 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. Leaving our hotel, La Quinta Inn & Suites in Mission, we drove to the Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park / World Birding Centre.

"As part of the World Birding Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is a world-class destination for bird-watching. The Rio Grande Valley hosts one of the most spectacular convergences of birds on earth with more than 525 species documented in this unique place. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park alone has an impressive list of 358 species recorded within the park’s boundaries. Birders have a chance to see migratory birds during their yearly migrations over the valley including flocks of thousands of hawks from the park’s Hawk Tower in the spring and fall.... Over seven miles of trails offer a variety of opportunities to encounter wildlife inside the park."

tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley

In the afternoon, we drove roughly 32 miles east to the Estero Llano Grande State Park, arriving there at about 1:00 pm, and spent two and a half hours looking for birds. Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, is one of nine sites that make up the World Birding Centre in South Texas. It is a 230+ acre refuge. Not many chances to see and photograph birds, but we enjoyed seeing huge cacti in bloom and a few beautiful flowering trees, including the one in this photo. A couple of Lizards and a Skink added interesting variety to our sightings - even a cluster of mushrooms.

Day 5, wildflowers, King Ranch, Norias Division

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 01 May 2019 18:37:41 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This was a really special full day, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, on 23 March 2019, Day 5 of our 13-day birding holiday in South Texas. Before we left Calgary, we had booked a tour at the 825,000 acre King Ranch and we were greatly looking forward to it. The area we explored was way south on the ranch land, called the Norias Division. The driver of the van/mini-bus was Barb, who did a great job of finding 47 bird species for us, and also trying to find a tiny Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. We also bumped into Barb's boss a couple of times and he went off in search of an owl. Almost at the end of our great day, he managed to find a pair of them! A man, originally from Holland, but now living in Houston, had travelled all the way to the King Ranch, hoping most of all to see one of these beautiful owls. The rest of us had actually seen one of these owls on our Trinidad & Tobago trip in 2017. He joined us for the day and, needless to say, he was delighted that his sought-after species was successful. The owls were far away, so photos (to be posted later) are very distant, but what a gorgeous pair of little owls they were. Everyone was thrilled to bits. Many thanks to Tom (?) for searching and searching!

"In 1853, Captain Richard King purchased a creek-fed oasis in the Wild Horse Desert of South Texas, sparking generations of integrity, preservation, and innovation.

King Ranch now covers 825,000 acres—more land than the state of Rhode Island. Over the course of over 160 years, King Ranch led some of the first cattle drives, developed the Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz breeds of cattle, bred the finest Quarter Horses, and produced champion Thoroughbreds—all under its iconic Running W® brand.

Today’s King Ranch is a major agribusiness with interests in cattle ranching, farming (citrus, cotton, grain, sugar cane, and turfgrass), luxury retail goods, and recreational hunting."

king-ranch.com/

Some of the species we were already familiar with, but new birds included the amazing Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Bronzed Cowbird. I was really hoping that we might see a Green Jay, and I was in luck.

A variety of wildflowers, a mushroom (Ink-cap or similar), a beautiful moth, and several deer added to our enjoyment. We were also very lucky to see a Javelina/Collared Peccary travelling fast through the bushes. Another sighting that was as fleeting as could possibly be were half a dozen Nilgai Antelope.

"Texas is home to more free-range nilgai antelope than their native country of India. Originally stocked on the King Ranch in the 1930’s, these sporty game animals quickly took hold and are currently free- ranging on a handful of large private properties in lower South Texas." From link below.

www.wildlifesystems.com/nilgai-antelope.html

For me, I think the highlight of the day was when I happened to spot a tiny Texan Horned Lizard / Phrynosoma cornutum. A few years ago, I had been so disappointed to miss a trip to SE Alberta to see a Horned Lizard. At the King Ranch, we were standing still for some reason, when something caught my eye near my shoes. I thought a small piece of dead, faded plant had blown in. Then it moved again, still not far from my feet. Couldn't believe my eyes!! What an interesting creature - it actually can shoot blood from small protuberances by its eyes when it feels threatened! Will post photos later, when I get to them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_horned_lizard

We had lunch outside and were visited by a beautiful, curious White-tailed Deer. Several others were also seen while we were driving around the ranch land.

A good day, for sure, and we appreciated the effort that Barb and her boss put into searching for various species.

Day 5, Thistle, King Ranch, Norias Division, South Texas, US

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 20:40:36 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Despite the fact that most of the bird photos that I have posted this afternoon are cropped and poor quality and have been posted really just for the record, I think I have made a good start on Day 5.

This was a really special full day, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, on 23 March 2019, Day 5 of our 13-day birding holiday in South Texas. Before we left Calgary, we had booked a tour at the 825,000 acre King Ranch and we were greatly looking forward to it. The area we explored was way south on the ranchland, called the Norias Division. The driver of the van/mini-bus was Barb, who did a great job of finding 47 bird species for us, and also trying to find a tiny Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. We also bumped into Barb's boss a couple of times and he went off in search of an owl. Almost at the end of our great day, he managed to find a pair of them! A man, originally from Holland, but now living in Houston, had travelled all the way to the King Ranch, hoping most of all to see one of these beautiful owls. The rest of us had actually seen one of these owls on our Trinidad & Tobago trip in 2017. He joined us for the day and, needless to say, he was delighted that his sought-after species was successful. The owls were far away, so photos (to be posted later) are very distant, but what a gorgeous pair of little owls they were. Everyone was thrilled to bits. Many thanks to Tom (?) for searching and searching!

"In 1853, Captain Richard King purchased a creek-fed oasis in the Wild Horse Desert of South Texas, sparking generations of integrity, preservation, and innovation.

King Ranch now covers 825,000 acres—more land than the state of Rhode Island. Over the course of over 160 years, King Ranch led some of the first cattle drives, developed the Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz breeds of cattle, bred the finest Quarter Horses, and produced champion Thoroughbreds—all under its iconic Running W® brand.

Today’s King Ranch is a major agribusiness with interests in cattle ranching, farming (citrus, cotton, grain, sugar cane, and turfgrass), luxury retail goods, and recreational hunting."

king-ranch.com/

Some of the species we were already familiar with, but new birds included the amazing Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Bronzed Cowbird. I was really hoping that we might see a Green Jay, and I was in luck.

A variety of wildflowers, a mushroom (Ink-cap or similar), a beautiful moth, and several deer added to our enjoyment. We were also very lucky to see a Javelina/Collared Peccary travelling fast through the bushes. Another sighting that was as fleeting as could possibly be were half a dozen Nilgai Antelope.

"Texas is home to more free-range nilgai antelope than their native country of India. Originally stocked on the King Ranch in the 1930’s, these sporty game animals quickly took hold and are currently free- ranging on a handful of large private properties in lower South Texas." From link below.

www.wildlifesystems.com/nilgai-antelope.html

For me, I think the highlight of the day was when I happened to spot a tiny Texan Horned Lizard / Phrynosoma cornutum. A few years ago, I had been so disappointed to miss a trip to SE Alberta to see a Horned Lizard. At the King Ranch, we were standing still for some reason, when something caught my eye near my shoes. I thought a small piece of dead, faded plant had blown in. Then it moved again, still not far from my feet. Couldn't believe my eyes!! What an interesting creature - it actually can shoot blood from small protuberances by its eyes when it feels threatened! Will post photos later, when I get to them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_horned_lizard

We had lunch outside and were visited by a beautiful, curious White-tailed Deer. Several others were also seen while we were driving around the ranchland.

A good day, for sure, and we appreciated the effort that Barb and her boss put into searching for various species.

Gorgeous succulent flower

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:33:43 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This was our weather over the weekend of 27 and 28 April 2019, when Calgary was under a Winter Storm Warning. More snow tomorrow, 30 April? Whatever happened to spring?!

"Hazardous winter conditions are expected. Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow." Early evening, wow, we have such a snowstorm - almost total white-out, with blowing snow! I don't know how anyone can see to drive. I don't look forward to looking out of my window in the morning."

Still trying to catch up with various recent photos taken locally, before getting back to sorting and editing images from Day 5 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas. I think I have just one more outing from a few days ago to edit and upload, then I should be ready to get back to South Texas. The 18 photos I have just posted early this afternoon were taken on a day's drive south of the city on 18 April 2019 - same day as I saw the Mountain Bluebirds in my previous batch.

On 18 April 2019, I had to move my car out of the parking lot between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, so that the lot could be cleaned (dried mud and gravel from all the months of winter). This meant I would have to find something to do for all those hours, so a drive out of the city made the most sense.

The morning started off with looking for a Mountain Bluebird or two. I saw several and was lucky enough to get a few photos of both the male and female. Though the male is much more colourful, I always think the female has her own beauty. The only other birds I saw and photographed were a Rough-legged Hawk and a Tree Swallow. The latter was giving the Bluebird pair a rough time, often going close to the Bluebird nesting box and causing the male to come in for the attack. Much as I love Tree Swallows, too, they can easily go to a nearby empty box and build their nest there. In fact, two boxes are supposed to be placed close together for this very reason.

As it was still so early in the day, the thought of an early lunch at the Saskatoon Farm came into my mind. I thought I knew the way to get there, going eastwards. However, it took me ages to find the way, as roads have two numbers/names and this is so confusing. I then remembered that this had happened to me in this area once before, ages ago. Eventually, I did get as far as the Farm, where I enjoyed their delicious quiche. A short wander round the grounds gave me a few photo opportunities, but the gardens have not yet been planted with all their flowers.

Still too early to return home, so I drove a bit further south and made a quick visit to Frank Lake. So much water around the blind and practically no birds. A number in the far distance, but a Canada Goose and a couple of Coots were the only ones near the blind. Things will get much better as time goes by. It was also very windy.

Day 7, Hong Kong orchid tree / Bauhinia (blakeana?), southern Texas

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:33:31 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Thanks to Ben Caledonia (Flickr member), I now know the ID of the tree that produced this large, beautiful flower - the Hong Kong orchid tree / Bauhinia (blakeana?) or similar. The article, "BBC - Earth: How a weird hybrid plant ended up on the flag of Hong King" makes an interesting read. The flag shows a white flower on a red background. We did see a different tree that had the white flowers, which were just as beautiful. In a comment box below, I have added a photo from 2010, of the Hong Kong Orchid Tree flower that was (is?) growing in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo.

This tree is a native of the island of Hong Kong, but the true origin of this mysterious plant has only been revealed in recent years. The tree produces no seeds and can only reproduce with human help, by grafting.

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161209-how-a-weird-hybrid-plant...

Yesterday evening, 31 March 2019, four friends and I arrived back in Calgary after an amazing 13-day birding trip to southern Texas! This morning, I grabbed four photos to give an idea of what kinds of things we saw - four of my better photos, I should add : ) As usual, for me, it was not a trip to photograph just birds, but to capture anything else of interest, of beauty. This included flowers, insects, a few fungi, wild animals, and so on. As always, I missed quite a few of the birds that were seen by my friends. They are excellent birders and spend so much time birding and taking photos, and so are able to spot and capture the tiniest, fastest of birds. I am happy to have seen every bird that I did see! Everything from Whooping Cranes down to a small Yellow-throated Warbler. Unlike on our trip to Ontario and Quebec last year, we were thrilled to see Northern Cardinals close enough to photograph this holiday.

Right now, I can't remember names of places, and I have a huge amount of getting organized with where and when I saw most things. However, I just wanted to let you know I am home, feeling back to being motivated to take photos again, after totally losing interest the last few weeks before we left on this exciting trip.

I used both my old Canon SX60 and my less old Nikon P900 on this trip. The advantage of the P900 is that it has GPS and automatically loads on the map on Flickr. It may not always give an accurate location, but hopefully it will be close enough. Part way through the holiday, it looked like the Canon was taking somewhat better photos than the newer Nikon, so I was using the Canon as my main camera.

First things first, though - I need a mug of coffee and some breakfast before I download the rest of my images to my computer. Such a mixed bag - some reasonable shots and others just about as bad as they could possibly be, but will post them on Flickr for the record. Once again, I will post photos in very roughly the order in which they were taken, to help give me a much better idea of just where we went and what we saw and when.

Day 6, Tadoussac, Quebec

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 19:19:14 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Yesterday, 30 November 2018, I started on photos taken during the week we spent in Quebec, 12-18 May 2018. Some photos were taken in the small, coastal village of Tadoussac itself, others were taken in the wonderful garden of the home in which we stayed all week, and the rest were taken on several drives we made further north along the coast.

This photo was taken on 12 May 2018, our first full day in Tadoussac, having arrived the previous evening. We went for a drive around Tadoussac, seeing all the 'sights'. The photo above shows the bright yellow Zodiacs for whale-watching. It was a real experience to go on one of their trips, including the struggle to put on the provided waterproof jacket and pants that needed to fit over several layers of fleece jackets/winter coats! I should add that locations added to my map are often very approximate!

Link to my album (358 images) about Point Pelee and area, Ontario:

www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157667191771677

At the end of our 4-day stay at Point Pelee, we had to drive all the way back to Toronto, from where we flew to Quebec City airport. From there, we had a four-hour drive to Tadoussac on the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is such a delightful, small place and in a beautiful setting. One of our friends, Anne B, and her husband have a summer cabin further along the cliff from the few stores and port. She had invited the four of us to go with her from Pelee to spend a week at her beautiful home. What an absolute treat this was! We were able to meet some of her relatives, too, who also have built cabins out there. We were looked after so well, and we were able to see and photograph all sorts of birds and other things.

We made several trips to see different places along the coast, including the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, where we were able to see endless thousands of Snow Geese, in flight and also up close. Breathtaking!

We also had two boat trips from Tadoussac - one was a whaling trip in a Zodiac, where we saw very, very distant Beluga and Minke Whales. The Belugas looked almost like the white wave crests - but they were Belugas. The other boat trip was to the Brandy Pot Islands, inhabited by thousands of Razorbills and Common Murres, which were new birds for us, and Double-crested Cormorants that were nesting in tree tops. That long boat trip (in a tiny boat named Juno) started off in the rain and dark clouds and it was soooo cold! Thermal underwear, layers of fleece and toque and gloves were needed. This day was arranged through a contact of Anne's and it was so much enjoyed! Of course, we anchored a distance away from the island and sat there and ate our sandwiches and took endless photos - difficult when bobbing up and down on the rough water! It is forbidden to land on the island at nesting time.

Anne B, I can't thank you enough for organizing this holiday for us all and for inviting us to spend a week at your cabin. You worked so hard and it was so much appreciated by each and every one of us. Thank you for doing all the many hours of driving, too! Janet and Anne, thank you so much for compiling the lists of birds seen each day at various locations, and posted to ebird. These entries will be a huge help while I try and sort out where we were and when, and what species we saw. Miss your cookies and muffins, Janet, that you kindly made for us in Tadoussac, to go along with the wonderful meals that Anne planned and made for us : )

A much-needed change of colour

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 19:32:28 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Thinking of you Pam J : ) Hope this vibrant Peony helps to brighten your day.

This just had to be posted. My photostream had become very 'green' (my least favourite colour, I think) and a splash of vibrant colour was desperately needed! This was one of many gorgeous Peonies growing in the gardens at the Calgary Zoo, on 26 June 2018.

The last time I had visited the Calgary Zoo had been on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I had been waiting for this day for a long time. This day was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I decided to go before schools closed for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. When I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away.

My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking.

My intention had not been to visit the Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. There was no glass in front of one of the Pandas, but two other Pandas were in a glassed-in part of the enclosure. Almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people.

The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing, that they have named Gobi. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it.

A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit (no, I have been again since then), though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest.

Powderpuff flower

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 17:07:52 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

To all my American friends - today is THE day. Make sure you get out and VOTE! Good luck. The world will be watching.

I needed a splash of bright colour today! The temperature this morning, 6 November 2018, is -10C (windchill -14C) and it is snowing again. "SNOW and ICE create messy, SLICK driving conditions in Calgary." Thanks Weather Network, just what I wanted to read : ) So glad I don't have to go out today, though I will have to tomorrow, to get a cortizone injection in both of my knees (unfortunately, two in shoulders and two in hips, for very painful bursitis (inflammation), at a later date). Never had one of these shots before and I am really hoping that they will work. I'm a mess, ha.

On 5 October 2018, I made a visit to the Calgary Zoo. I find that a bright, sunny day gives more light inside the Conservatory. Not that it really mattered, as there were only three tropical butterflies left - and those three were being harassed by several young children, so I came home with just one butterfly photo. The tropical plants were in better shape and offered lots of cheery colour.

Mainly because I got to the Zoo part way through the afternoon, I got no further than the Conservatory, which is always my favourite place. This time, I did see two Red Pandas and the beautiful Giant Pandas that are on loan to the Zoo for five (?) years. Gobi, the baby Bactrian Camel was snuggled next to one of the adults. Managed to catch one of the Japanese Macaques when it was down on the ground, though the double wire fencing makes photos a challenge. A new addition to the Zoo is a Pallas's Cat. These animals look so funny/cute, but on this day it was curled up inside a dark log, with just its tail protruding.

I was so thankful that I made this one last visit to the Zoo till next spring, as I found out that 'my' parking lot closes in a couple of days' time. This always happens each winter, and the other, main lot is out of my driving comfort zone.