Whaleback and Small Whaleback

Photographed (macro) on July 10th on our hike on the Small Whaleback, about two and a half hours' drive south of Calgary. The whole flower cluster was maybe three-quarters of an inch across, at most.

A tiny Crab Spider hanging out on a Gaillardia flower. Photographed (macro) on a botany hike on the Small Whaleback on July 10th. This is just one small, wonderful area of rolling hills and wildflower meadows, off Highway 22, just north of the Oldman River, southern Alberta, about a two and a quarter hour drive south of Calgary.

An individual flower on a hanging cluster of three on a Three-flowered Avens plant, photographed (macro) on a botany hike on the Small Whaleback, July 10th. This is a wonderful area of rolling hills amd wildflower meadows just off Highway 22, just north of the Oldman River, southern Alberta.

This was such a beautiful Puffball that we saw during a botanizing trip to the Small Whaleback on July 10th. It was growing on a hillside of wildflowers. There wasn't anything I could do to turn it into either an artistic or even photogenic shot, so here's the best I could do, ha. Isn't it a beauty, though? Must have been about 4" across.

A friend walking in the wonderful wildflower meadows of the Small Whaleback on July 10th. The purple flowers here are Lupins - adding this after several people mentioned them. This was a long drive south of Calgary, towards the Crowsnest Pass, and just before you get to the Oldman River. This was a botanizing trip, to record all plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc. that we could find. Even a couple of Puffballs, one of which was quite spectacular : ) Later: ha ha, I did about 8,000 steps on the above hike and today I did around 10,000 steps - walking around the Stampede Grounds with my youngest daughter!! Couldn't believe my pedometer when I got home this afternoon after spending about four hours breathing in the greasy smell from the food vendors, getting neck cramps from watching people get flung on a bungee-type ride or the high swings, watching Mom pig feed her 11 little piglets, seeing the most beautiful horses from Clydesdales to Miniatures. It is quite an experience to "do" the Grounds - but I wouldn't want to do it more than one day a year! Thanks, Rachel, for a fun time! Holy smokes - just after 10:30 p.m. and we are having a torrrential rainstorm with thunder and lightning!!

Posting mid-evening today, so really late. Been on a botanizing trip today, way south of the city, but the posted photo was taken a week ago on July 10th, on a different trip, to the Small Whaleback - also, way south of the city. The Small Whaleback is an area of beautiful, rolling hills, just off Highway 22 and just north of the Oldman River. As you might guess, we had plenty of plant species to record : ) Each time I'm out in a place like this, I'm in awe - this is just one tiny area and when you think of all the thousands of hillside slopes and alpine meadows and valleys in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills, each offering such amazing beauty, it's overwhelming. It doesn't matter where you go and spend time - there is so much beauty to see. Today's trip was a revisit to Plateau Mountain, one of my favourite places. We only hiked as far as the meadows, and then followed the ridge in the direction of the cars, and eventually climbed down to the gravel road. Temperature was a delightful 18C up there, with quite a strong breeze, but it's hotter back here in Calgary. It's 32C in my computer room and it can only get worse as it is supposed to reach a high of 32C in Calgary tomorrow. Not my kind of heat, for sure, and I feel totally exhausted after today's hike : )

Posting mid-evening today, so really late. Been on a botanizing trip today, way south of the city, but the posted photo was taken a week ago on July 10th, on a different trip, to the Small Whaleback - also, way south of the city. The Small Whaleback is an area of beautiful, rolling hills, just off Highway 22 and just north of the Oldman River. Two of us happened to see this beautiful Fritillary fluttering around some small rocks just before getting back to the parking lot at the end of the hike. I posted this image on Bug Guide to see if an ID suggestion could be given and the reply was: "It is very difficult to tell Speyeria species without seeing the under side; however, this is definitely not S. callippe, that species looks rather different. It looks to me like a male Speyeria atlantis." … David J. Ferguson. Thank you, David, for your help and such a quick reply! Today's trip was a revisit to Plateau Mountain, one of my favourite places. We only hiked up the gravel road as far as the meadows, and then followed the top of the ridge in the direction of the cars, and eventually climbed down to the gravel road. Temperature was a delightful 18C up there, with quite a strong breeze, but it's hotter back here in Calgary. It's 32C in my computer room and it can only get worse as it is supposed to reach a high of 32C in Calgary tomorrow. Not my kind of heat, for sure, and I feel totally exhausted after today's hike : ) Thanks so much for driving Sandy and myself, Doug! Each time I'm out in a place like this, I'm in awe - this is just one tiny area and when you think of all the thousands of hillside slopes and alpine meadows and valleys in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills, each offering such amazing beauty, it's overwhelming. It doesn't matter where you go and spend time - there is so much beauty to see.

I don't remember ever seeing this wildflower before - anyway, it's the first photo of it on my photostream. The tiny flowers were such a pretty colour. This was found on a hike on the Small Whaleback, an area of wonderful, rolling hills way south of the city, on July 10th. The Small Whaleback (and yes, there is a larger Whaleback nearby, lol) is just off Highway 22, immediately north of the Oldman River. "Verbena bracteata is a species of verbena known by the common names bigbract verbena, prostrate vervain, and carpet vervain. It is native to North America where it is widespread, occurring throughout the continent except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It occurs in many types of habitat, especially disturbed areas, where it grows as a common weed. This annual or biennial herb produces several hairy, spreading stems up to 30 centimeters long forming a low mat on the ground. The hairy leaves are toothed or lobed. The inflorescence is a spike of flowers which is dense with long, pointed, leaflike bracts each up to 8 millimeters long. Each small tubular flower is about half a centimeter wide and white to pale purple in color." From Wikipedia.

Lol, I happened to notice this insect on a friend's back when a few of us spent the day botanizing the Small Whaleback on July 10th. He must have imagined something this huge after my deliberately exaggerated exclamations (knowing that he couldn't see it himself, ha). A good job, though, that no one did that to me, as I know I would never have stood still! I think I have identified it correctly, but please let me know if I'm wrong - thanks! This species is 17-19 mm (0.67 - 0.75 inches) long, is found in Montaine, hardwood and boreal forests from May to July, feeds on Aspen and Balsam Poplar, and is a widespread species found thoughout Canada.