Fungi by the front door, Jude Cartwright's

When we first arrived at the property belonging to the Cartwright family, west of Waiporous, Alberta, I noticed this fungus growing along the front doorstep of their cabin. What a great way to be welcomed : ) I won't attempt to give an ID. There are 6000 known species in Alberta, with probably another 6000 species unidentified.

Friends and I had such a great day the day before yesterday, 30 June 2018, travelling westward towards the mountains for a bio-blitz on the 40-acre land (south of Ghost River) belonging to such a delightful family. I hardly know where to begin - and I won't do so until I have had (late) breakfast and a mug of coffee.

Each of the adult brothers and sisters live elsewhere, but share this precious land and return whenever they want some good old nature therapy and family time. After spending a few hours strolling through their forest and exploring their wetland, I can completely understand why they love returning to this precious spot. Not only are all these siblings such friendly, welcoming people, the family has also generously placed this huge area into a trust, to make sure that it is forever left the way it is. "Property acquired by parents 50 years ago (1968?). An easement was placed on the land preventing any family member from disposing of their 'share', thus disallowing the fragmentation of this biologically rich area." Information from Gus Yaki.

It is always puzzling to me how our Naturalist leader meets so many people who live on ranches or acreages. It was a very different story two days ago, when we learned that he had offered a free bio-blitz (mind you, our bio-blitzes are always free!) at a Silent Auction : ) This family had won this "prize", and we couldn't have asked for a more appreciative group of family members to offer our help to. As always, the landowners 'win' by being given a very detailed list of every plant, etc. that is growing on their land. We also 'win' because we get to meet so many great people and see so many places that we would otherwise never get the chance to see.