Reader Rock Garden 3

I posted this photo immediately after posting the other two this morning, hoping that people would see my photos in the order I wanted. However, this image was still obviously barely being seen at all, so I decided to delete and repost. Apologies to the two people who had made this photo a fave! Flickr has made such a mess of view stats for some members, myself included, the last maybe month and a half to two months. Flickr has done nothing to fix this, despite many people complaining. Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including this beautiful European Pasque Flower with its tiny visitor. "Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasque flower, pasqueflower, common pasque flower, Dane's blood) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It used to be considered part of the Anemone genus, to which it is closely related." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsatilla_vulgaris

Lol, I'm staying up all night, tonight - will explain later tomorrow or the following morning when I post my next shots. Thought I'd post my daily three now, otherwise I might end up missing a day : ) Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though. So good to see colour! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

Six days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully. We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry.

Ten days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. Also a few clusters of these vibrant Elephant Ears / Bergenia cordifolia. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully. Bergenia, also called elephant-eared saxifrage or elephant's ears, is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region. “Bergenia are incredibly hardy, and reliably evergreen throughout nearly the entire continent. Plants form a low clump of bold, leathery green leaves, which often turn bronze during winter. Short stems of magenta-pink flowers rise above the shiny foliage in mid spring. The winter leaves are a valuable addition to cut flower bouquets. Most effective when mass planted or used as an edging along a walkway.” From perennials.com. www.perennials.com/plants/bergenia-cordifolia.html We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed from a natural area to the Reader Rock Garden, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is a bad one for wildfires. Already, the massive fire in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas has been devastating to many thousands (80,000?) of people. They need rain so badly.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 27 April 2016, when I called in after a volunteer shift. These Hellebore flowers are so beautiful and I was happy to see that a couple of the flowers were growing so that I could just see the inside of the flower. Usually, the flower heads are hanging down more. I didn't realize, or had forgotten, that this plant bloomed so early in the year. "Commonly known as hellebores /ˈhɛlᵻbɔərz/, the Eurasian genus Helleborus comprises approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek name for H. orientalis, ἑλλέβορος helléboros, from elein "to injure" and βορά borá "food". Many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "winter rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellebore

It is raining here in Calgary this morning, 12 May 2016. It also snowed in some parts of the city earlier - I didn't set my alarm clock, so it may have snowed a little in my area while I was still asleep. Nothing settled, anyway. Our temperature is 2C, expected to soar to 5C this afternoon : ) Unfortunately, there is no rain up north in the Fort McMurray area and none expected till next week. They desperately need it to help with the massive wildfire. I always love to see these amazing Fritillary flowers in the spring. They make me think of little stained-glass, hanging lampshades : ) Taken at the Reader Rock Garden, when I called in after a volunteer shift on 27 April 2016. This plant has some interesting common names - see tags! "Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in northern Europe, simply fritillary." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritillaria_meleagris

Wow, I have to just add the following late this afternoon, as I am so impressed. Just a few hours ago, I posted a new thread in the Help Forum. I really prefer not to post there, but just had to after I happened to come across a website today that was displaying a lot of my photos for FREE downloading and in all sizes. My images are ALL copyright protected. Apparently, they were ALSO displaying download links for all available display sizes for people's photos that on Flickr are NOT set to be downloadable by visitors. Later today, Flickr staff member bhautik joshi PRO answered, saying: "What they are doing is not even remotely OK. We're looking into it." Almost immediately, all we could see on their website were blank, white pages. Amazingly fast action by a staff member, which is hugely appreciated! www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157668259472146/ flip.life/search/annkelliott/?p=6 flip.life/photo/15482189596/united-church-dorothy-alberta itunes.apple.com/cn/app/fliplife/id1112300459?mt=8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun is shining through the clouds this morning, 13 May 2016 - a great improvement from early yesterday, when parts of the city had a bt of snow! Thirteen tends to be my lucky number, so I should be out somewhere with my camera, but there are a few things that I have to see to instead. On 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of brightly coloured Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though, and a lot of it. Alberta is tinder dry, ready to go up in flames, as seen by the massive wildfire in and around Fort McMurray at the moment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

I added the following to my photos yesterday but had an email from a Flickr member today, letting me know that my (everyone's?) photos are back again on a website that allows photos to be downloaded at all sizes for FREE, after briefly showing as blank, white pages. "Wow, I have to just add the following late this afternoon, as I am so impressed. Just a few hours ago, I posted a new thread in the Help Forum. I really prefer not to post there, but just had to after I happened to come across a website today that was displaying a lot of my photos for FREE downloading and in all sizes. My images are ALL copyright protected. Apparently, they were ALSO displaying download links for all available display sizes for people's photos that on Flickr are NOT set to be downloadable by visitors. Later today, Flickr staff member bhautik joshi PRO answered, saying: "What they are doing is not even remotely OK. We're looking into it." Almost immediately, all we could see on their website were blank, white pages. Amazingly fast action by a staff member, which is hugely appreciated!" www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157668259472146/ flip.life/search/annkelliott/?p=6 flip.life/photo/15482189596/united-church-dorothy-alberta itunes.apple.com/cn/app/fliplife/id1112300459?mt=8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's always such a delight to see these early spring flowers blooming after seven long winter months of snow and ice on the ground. This winter (2015/2016), though, has been so wonderfully mild, with little snow, but it was still great to see the clusters of these Hepatica flowers growing at the Reader Rock garden on 6 April 2016, when I called in after a volunteer shift. I wanted to see what flowers had started to grow already, as plants in general are blooming early this year, thanks to the mild weather. The main flowers were all the Hepatica, varying slightly in colour with some paler, as in this photo. There were also scattered tiny Squill flowers and a single Snowdrop plant growing in its usual spot. Funny how this plant hasn't spread anywhere else. "Hepatica is named from its leaves, which, like the human liver (Greek hepar), have three lobes. It was once used as a medicinal herb. Owing to the doctrine of signatures, the plant was once thought to be an effective treatment for liver disorders. Although poisonous in large doses, the leaves and flowers may be used as an astringent, as a demulcent for slow-healing injuries, and as a diuretic" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatica

Such sad news from the Calgary Zoo just now (16 May 2016): "We are deeply saddened to share that silverback gorilla, Kakinga, passed away Saturday night at the age of 37. Often called the zoo’s gentle giant, Kakinga was an exceptional silverback; a kind, loving, protective and diligent leader. Our Veterinary team has determined he died as a result of developing a large tear in his aorta which caused the sac around his heart to become filled with blood and ultimately stopped his heart. This is one of the well-recognized causes of mortality in gorillas, especially males. Kakinga was born December 1, 1978 at the Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom and arrived at the Calgary Zoo in 1984. After nine years, he transitioned into the role of silverback, or leader of the troop in 1993, a role he held for the past 23 years. During his time as silverback, he fathered 13 offspring, eight of which are surviving with the most recent being born just this past March at our zoo. Of those eight, five are males and three are females. But Kakinga is known for more than just his impressive genetics. His calm and gentle natured endeared him to all zoo staff who cared for him. He was very involved in his role as leader of the troop, acting as a peacekeeper, a protector and in some very tender moments, a father." From the Calgary Zoo. "Western Lowland Gorillas are part of a Species Survival Program authorized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Their last chance for survival may be a few gorilla sanctuaries in Africa, zoos, and other captive environments and breeding programs throughout the world." From the Calgary Zoo. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I always love to see these amazing Fritillary flowers in the spring. They make me think of little stained-glass, hanging lampshades : ) There are various common names for this flower, some of which I have included in my tags. Taken at the Reader Rock Garden, when I called in after a volunteer shift on 27 April 2016. The sun was peeping through the clouds, so I decided to call in at the garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of brightly coloured Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though, and a lot of it. Alberta is tinder dry, ready to go up in flames, as seen by the massive wildfire in and around Fort McMurray at the moment. "Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in northern Europe, simply fritillary." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritillaria_meleagris