Insect galls on Rose leaves
Doing their best
Yellow Scabious with bee and bokeh
Strawberry Blite / Chenopodium capitatum
Decorating a tree
Look what I can do!
Willowherb / Epilobium sp.
Canyon Church Camp, Waterton Lakes National Park
In a field of bokeh
Busy little Muskrat
Common Tansy / Tanacetum vulgare
Emerald waters
Gathering at the feeder
Wood Nymph sp.
Mystery flower
The beauty of Pinedrops
An attractive little cluster
Young Brown-headed Cowbirds
Thimbleberry / Rubus parviflorus
Small and cute
Milk chocolate curls
Smoke + sun = orange
Red-tailed Hawk / Buteo jamaicensis
Bear claw marks on a tree trunk
Peony seedpods
Wing-flapping practice
Sainfoin / Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.
Common Hemp-nettle / Galeopsis tetrahit
Tiny visitor
Yellow Clematis / Clematis tangutica
On a day of heavy rain
Weeping in the forest
Mating Damselflies with bokeh
A breathtaking Lily
Skipper on Goldenrod
Main street, Heritage Park
Spotted Knapweed - PROHIBITED NOXIOUS
Heritage Peony gone to seed
View looking west towards the Rockies
Time to relax
Three-toed Woodpecker
Prairie Gentian / Gentiana affinis
One of my forest finds
Osprey family
Common (Annual) Sowthistle / Sonchus oleraceus
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270 visits
Keeping each other company


Ten days ago, on 8 August 2015, I decided to drive SW of the city for a while. It was a Saturday, so I thought I would go and check if there were other people parked at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. I had more or less stopped going into the forest there by myself, especially the last couple of years, knowing that Cougar and Bears can be seen there. All I have seen - so far! - is a Moose on a couple of occasions. The place gives me the creeps, so I usually just walk through the trees closest to the parking lot.
Just a minute or two after entering the forest near the trail, I flushed a Grouse, which scared the life out of me. They tend to wait, hidden, and then when you are almost by them, they suddenly "explode" out of the bushes, making ones heart beat fast.
The opposite side of the trail, where I usually find a few mushrooms, had pools of water after the two devastating rain and hail storms that we had recently. With several cars in the small parking lot, I decided to go just a short way into the park, trying to forget that animals can "smell fear". I did come across a few quite nice mushrooms, but with such a dry, hot summer, this will most likely not be a good year for fungi.
The second time my heart started beating really fast was when I was trying to focus on a mushroom and I was aware of a deep, huffing kind of sound coming from right behind me. Turning around, dreading what I might see, I discovered it was just a small Red Squirrel, low down on his/her tree, just a couple of feet away from me. I've never ever heard a Squirrel make this kind of sound before! Sounded rather like what I imagine a bear might sound like.
Almost back at the edge of the forest, I was happy as can be to hear quite a commotion that I recognized as being American Three-toed Woodpeckers. There were three of them high up a tree, with at least one of them being a noisy, hungry juvenile that was feeding itself but every now and then would want the adult to feed it. Not sure if this was an adult or a young one in this photo. The light in the forest is not good for photos, but fortunately I got enough light on this bird's face. This species is uncommon in Alberta, year round, so it's always a treat to see one - and especially three.
"The American Three-toed Woodpecker is found in boreal forests and montane coniferous forests across North America. Because of its choice of habitat, it is infrequently seen by most people." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_three-toed_woodpecker
Just a minute or two after entering the forest near the trail, I flushed a Grouse, which scared the life out of me. They tend to wait, hidden, and then when you are almost by them, they suddenly "explode" out of the bushes, making ones heart beat fast.
The opposite side of the trail, where I usually find a few mushrooms, had pools of water after the two devastating rain and hail storms that we had recently. With several cars in the small parking lot, I decided to go just a short way into the park, trying to forget that animals can "smell fear". I did come across a few quite nice mushrooms, but with such a dry, hot summer, this will most likely not be a good year for fungi.
The second time my heart started beating really fast was when I was trying to focus on a mushroom and I was aware of a deep, huffing kind of sound coming from right behind me. Turning around, dreading what I might see, I discovered it was just a small Red Squirrel, low down on his/her tree, just a couple of feet away from me. I've never ever heard a Squirrel make this kind of sound before! Sounded rather like what I imagine a bear might sound like.
Almost back at the edge of the forest, I was happy as can be to hear quite a commotion that I recognized as being American Three-toed Woodpeckers. There were three of them high up a tree, with at least one of them being a noisy, hungry juvenile that was feeding itself but every now and then would want the adult to feed it. Not sure if this was an adult or a young one in this photo. The light in the forest is not good for photos, but fortunately I got enough light on this bird's face. This species is uncommon in Alberta, year round, so it's always a treat to see one - and especially three.
"The American Three-toed Woodpecker is found in boreal forests and montane coniferous forests across North America. Because of its choice of habitat, it is infrequently seen by most people." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_three-toed_woodpecker
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