Almost impossible to find
Gathering food for the winter
Tree Swallow
Weathered character
A different pose
Highly invasive Caragana
A red prairie barn
Tiny, bright-eyed Northern Pygmy-owl
Is this a Snowy Owl feather?
Cowboy mural, Blackie, Alberta
Young Yellow-bellied Marmot
Going for a swim
What kind of fly am I?
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Bohemian Waxwings eating snow
There once was an owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Spruce Sawyer
Blackie grain terminal
Looks a long way down from up here
Such a cute little thing
Ravens on a cold, shingle roof
Sunshine on a mighty peak
Looking into the sun
Transformation of a preening owl
Mallard pair at Mallard Point
Snowy Owl with mountain bokeh
Slime Mold
A favourite tree
The Famous Five again
Hiding in a cavity
Our beautiful Foothills
White-tailed Deer
Off limits
Wolf Willow berries
A surprise to all
Barn on a hoarfrosty day
Cat on a barn roof
The sacrifice made by Meadow Voles
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Old Catholic Church, Dorothy
Close watch
No two are the same
Sitting in the middle of the lake
You can always count on the Chickadees
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
258 visits
A patchwork of lichens


This photo of several different species of lichen growing on a rock was taken on 19 August 2014, when friends and I were in Kananaskis. We were photographing Pikas - the small wild animal seen in one of my photos posted today. I love lichens and wish I knew a lot more about them. If I'm correct, the bright green lichen is Map Lichen.
The weather forecast was not good for that day, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while. Our 18-hour day (from 6;00 a.m. till midnight!) started off with the thrill of seeing these Pikas and ended with a brief sighting of a black Wolf crossing the road ahead of us in the dark. It disappeared into the blackness, but shortly afterwards, we heard three (possibly four) separate Wolves howling way off in the distance. We just stood there, in total awe, listening to this amazing sound. The only wild Wolf I had ever seen before was when I was in Yellowstone National Park two years ago. Friends and I saw two Wolves feeding on a Bison carcass across a huge valley - so they were just distant specks, that became slightly larger specks when my camera was in full zoom.
In between these two highlights, we saw several Deer, a small group of Mountain Sheep on the road, a tiny Chipmunk, a few Cedar Waxwings, Columbian Ground Squirrels, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk that sat on a branch out in the open for a long time, and two tiny Bats that flew very close over our heads when it was getting dark. We also saw an adult Spruce Grouse with two young ones.
Then, of course, there is the scenery! Blue sky to go with the splendour of the mountains would have been wonderful, but we had been having cold and gloomy weather for a while before this day out. Highway 40 and the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail both run through such spectacular scenery, so it was a real treat for me, especially as I won't drive to those areas myself.
The weather forecast was not good for that day, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while. Our 18-hour day (from 6;00 a.m. till midnight!) started off with the thrill of seeing these Pikas and ended with a brief sighting of a black Wolf crossing the road ahead of us in the dark. It disappeared into the blackness, but shortly afterwards, we heard three (possibly four) separate Wolves howling way off in the distance. We just stood there, in total awe, listening to this amazing sound. The only wild Wolf I had ever seen before was when I was in Yellowstone National Park two years ago. Friends and I saw two Wolves feeding on a Bison carcass across a huge valley - so they were just distant specks, that became slightly larger specks when my camera was in full zoom.
In between these two highlights, we saw several Deer, a small group of Mountain Sheep on the road, a tiny Chipmunk, a few Cedar Waxwings, Columbian Ground Squirrels, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk that sat on a branch out in the open for a long time, and two tiny Bats that flew very close over our heads when it was getting dark. We also saw an adult Spruce Grouse with two young ones.
Then, of course, there is the scenery! Blue sky to go with the splendour of the mountains would have been wonderful, but we had been having cold and gloomy weather for a while before this day out. Highway 40 and the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail both run through such spectacular scenery, so it was a real treat for me, especially as I won't drive to those areas myself.
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2025
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Sign-in to write a comment.