Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Penstemon

The weather forecast was not good for that day, 19 August 2014, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while. Our 18-hour day (from 6;00 a.m. till midnight!) started off with the thrill of seeing two or three little American Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits) and ended with a brief sighting of a black Wolf (could it be Skoki?) crossing the road ahead of us in the dark. It disappeared into the blackness, but shortly afterwards, we heard three separate Wolves howling (possibly four). We just stood there, in total awe, listening to this amazing sound. The only wild Wolf I had ever seen before was when I was in Yellowstone National Park two years ago. Friends and I saw two Wolves feeding on a Bison carcass across a huge valley - so they were just distant specks, that became larger specks when my camera was in full zoom, ha. In between these two highlights, we saw several Deer, a small group of Mountain Sheep on the road, a tiny Chipmunk, a few Cedar Waxwings, Columbian Ground Squirrels, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk that sat on a branch out in the open for a long time, and two tiny Bats that flew very close over our heads when it was getting dark. We also saw a female Spruce Grouse and two young ones. Didn't see too many wildflowers, but was happy to find this Yellow Penstemon (is it Penstemon confertus?) at one of our stopping places. Hadn't seen this plant since a brutal hike a handful of years ago, along the Picklejar Lakes Trail - that nearly killed me! Then, of course, there is the scenery! Blue sky to go with the splendour of the mountains would have been wonderful, but we've been having cold and gloomy weather recently. Highway 40 and the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail both run through such spectacular scenery, so it was a real treat for me, especially as I won't drive those areas myself. Thanks so much, Cathy & Terry! Thanks, too, Terry, for spending at least an hour (?) removing one of the car wheels and fixing whatever was wrong with it!

On 31 May 2013, I went with a small group of friends to the Whaleback for the May Species Count. This location is 171 km south of Calgary, down towards Pincher Creek. I'm adding photos taken that day to a Set of photos that, up till then, contained images taken on the Small Whaleback on 10 July 2011. It rained/drizzled all day, so the light was really bad and of course there was a constant battle with raindrops on the camera lens : ) This is a macro shot of one of the native wildflower species that was growing there. They grow in clusters at the top of each stem. This attractive, native plant grows on dry, rocky embankments and shale slopes and blooms in May and June. Today, we were going to the Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, way north of Calgary, to botanize the area. However, there was a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect yesterday and, sure enough, the heavy rain apparently did arrive. The trip had to be cancelled because the Bentonite clay in the area becomes extremely slippery and treacherous. The gravel road down into the area is always closed when it's raining or has been raining. Last year, we did go, but had to walk down (and then back up) the endless road, feeling the ground slide beneath our feet. Spent the whole day soaked to the skin!

White Beardtongue (Penstemon albidus) was one of the new plants we saw yesterday on a full day's trip to Purple Spring Sand Dunes near Taber, in south eastern Alberta. The white or light violet, tube-shaped flowers of this native wildflower are about three-quarters of an inch long and arranged as clusters on the upper four inches of the plant. Grows on dry, open grasslands and hillsides and blooms May-June.

Not sure if this is Slender Blue Beardtongue or Smooth Blue Beardtongue. Not sure of the butterfly, either, but I think it is a Gossamer-wing, a Blue.