RHH's photos with the keyword: edmonton

Posting has been a bit sporadic and this is why. We are in Edmonton to see the two new additions to our family, Grant and Logan. Our youngest daughter had twins in July and we have finally been able to see and hold them. We do not know for sure if they are identical, though they look very much alike, but we think they are very cute.

I identified this as the Least Sandpiper on the basis of its yellow legs (visible in other pictures), but have since been correct by James Page. It is not the Least but the Spotted Sandpiper. It was photographed at the Devonian Botanic Gardens of the University of Alberta in Devon.

One of the reasons we go to Edmonton every summer if possible. This is our granddaughter Kailyn and below another granddaughter Ashlynn. We have a grandson there also, Owen, but he is hard to photograph since he is always in motion.

I am not sure I have the identification correct on this Sundew. If it is the Oblong-leaved Sundew, Drosera anglica, it is a species found in northern areas around the world. Sundews are carnivorous plants that catch and digest insects with leaves covered with sticky hairs. When an insect is captured the leaf folds around it and digests it. These Sundews were photographed in a fen in the area of Edmonton, Alberta. They are only a few inches tall and were very difficult to photograph in such a wet area.

While in Edmonton visiting family last summer I went on an orchid-hunting excursion with a friend to several locations in that part of the country. At one of them we saw thousands of these Lady's Slippers blooming, most of them very richly colored. This is the Large Yellow Lady's Slipper which is often paler than the Northern Small Yellow Lady's Slipper. An added note: we are back from our fossil-hunting trip and found hundreds of beautiful fossils including whole Palm fronds and parts of Palm trunks, other leaves, ferns and conifer twigs. The area we were in was opened up by a massive landslide some years ago uncovering fossils in the Cretaceous shale and the Chuckanut Sandstone formations.

The Elephant's Head Lousewort, Pedicularis groenlandica, is one of our more unusual wildflowers. This was photographed near Edmonton and if you look closely, you can see a white Crab Spider among the flowers waiting for prey. The reason for the common name is obvious and I've posted it not only to show it off, but to show that I do photograph flowers other than orchids.

Malaxis brachypoda, the White Adder's-mouth, is one of our smallest native orchids. It is not found in Washington State but is found further north and further east. This plant is only a few inches tall and the flowers minuscule. Most people would step on it without even noticing it. It is sometimes considered to be the same species as the European Malaxis monophyllos, but there are significant differences. This example was photographed near Edmonton on our visit there last summer and was shown me by a friend who took me orchid-hunting for a day and was the first time I had seen this species.

While in Edmonton last summer a friend too me out orchid hunting for a day and this was one of the native orchids we saw and photographed. This is Cypripedium passerinum, the Sparrow's Egg Lady's Slipper, or Franklin's Lady's Slipper. It has small flowers, around two inches across and is quite common in northern regions, though not found at all in the state of Washington. These were starting to fade, but the flower below, photographed on another occasion in Mount Robson Provincial Park, is fresh and new.

I believe I have this identified correctly as the Sedge Darner, Aeshna juncea. It was photographed near Edmonton on an orchid-hunting excursion with a friend in a bog near the city.

Photographed last summer in the Japanese gardens at the Devonian Botanic Gardens of the University of Alberta in Devon, Alberta. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/07/devonian-bo... ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/07/around-devo...

This orchid species from Peru has been given its native name, rima-rima, which refers to its medicinal properties. It was photographed at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, which we visited recently, not so much to see the conservatory, but to see the work of the Orchid Species Preservation Foundation. They are a volunteer group which will soon be celebrating its 20th anniversary, and which is dedicated to preserving many orchid species in cultivation. They have a huge collection of donated orchids grown in three different areas dedicated to cool, intermediate and warm growing species. They use some of the facilities at Muttart, but pay their own way there. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/08/muttart-con...

Sobralia is a genus of Central and South American orchids that tend to be large plants with very short-lived flowers, the flowers often lasting only a day - short-lived but very delicate and beautiful. They are far too large for me to grow, and the plant shown here was photographed at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton. The plant is part of the collection of the Orchid Species Preservation Foundation, a volunteer group that does all it can to preserve the orchid species that have been in the collections of people who are no longer able to take care of their collections and want to donate them. The group uses the premises of Muttart and has a huge collection of species in three growing areas, cool, intermediate and warm. We visited there the last time we were in Edmonton at the invitation of a friend. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/08/muttart-con...

Photographed in the butterfly house at the Devonian Botanic Gardens near Edmonton, this Common Blue Morpho was resting on the glass with his wings opened and so I was able to get a decent picture. The colors of these insects are incredible and no picture can do just to their shimmering and changing beauty.