Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: formation

I added a touch of filter to this photo in post-processing, though the original was OK. Not sure if I prefer the effect or not. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather the day of this trip, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day on 17 October 2017, and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I would have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagna for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. Though I have been on this road at various times, I have never driven it myself. If I want to get to the Spray Lakes area, I go from the south and all the way along Highway 40. This rough, narrow road from Canmore is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. "One of the most important features of the bighorn sheep is the unique structure of its hooves. Rather than being hard like those of a horse or cow, the sheep have rubber-like hooves that allow excellent mobility on steep rock faces." www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai... Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces, as the storm moved in. For the first time ever, I believe, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had originally hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove back to the edge of the city and along one of the gravel back roads just within the city limits. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera, before the next snowfall arrived and stays on the ground for the next few months.

Another photo from the powerful storm we had on 17 October 2017, seen from near the city of Calgary's western limits. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. This photo was taken at sunset, at the end of a day out in the mountains. I was almost home, but, when I saw the sky, I suddenly changed my mind and headed west instead, to see what I could photograph. "Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening (17 October 2017), fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I might have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagne for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. This rough, narrow road is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with very strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces. For the first time ever, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more - since then, winter arrived two days ago, on 2 November 2017, and it is most likely that it will stay on the ground for the next few months.

25 October 2017: yet another wildfire burning to the south of us. I had been thinking of going for a drive this week down in that area, but obviously won't do so now. This summer and fall have been horrendous for wildfires, north, south, east and west of us. The strong winds continue, which is the absolute worst when it comes to wildfires spreading. When will this end??? "Grass fire prompts evacuation alert near Alberta's Chain Lakes Provincial Park. Another wildfire fanned by high winds has broken out in southern Alberta, prompting an evacuation alert and the closure of a 70-kilometre stretch of Highway 22. There is a serious fire which is affecting the Chimney Rock Road area of the MD of Ranchland," reads a warning issued Wednesday by the Alberta Emergency Alert system. "Prepare for possible evacuation. Take all necessary precautions. Avoid the area if possible." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This photo was taken further along the road than the previously posted photo in a comment box below. I prefer the drama in the lower photo. This was part of the powerful fall storm on 17 October 2017, seen near the city of Calgary's western limits. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. This photo was taken at sunset, at the end of a day out in the mountains. I was almost home, but, when I saw the sky, I suddenly changed my mind and headed west instead, to see what I could photograph. "Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening (17 October 2017), fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I might have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagne for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. This rough, narrow road is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces. For the first time ever, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more, before snow arrives again and stays on the ground for the next few months.

"Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening, fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Part of yesterday' powerful fall storm, seen near the city of Calgary's western limits. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather yesterday, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. This photo was taken at sunset, at the end of a day out in the mountains. I was almost home, but, when I saw the sky, I suddenly changed my mind and headed west instead to see what I could photograph. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I would have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagne for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. This rough, narrow road is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces. For the first time ever, I believe, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more, before snow arrives again and stays on the ground for the next few months.

On 16 December 2014, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings that I, myself, did not see. I ended up with poor photos of the things I did see - the day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. If your computer monitor is smaller than mine, my images might look a little better : ) The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - breathtaking. For our drive down to High River as well as at Frank Lake, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, and so on. This beautiful cloud formation lasted only for a short time - I was told they are called Mackerel clouds. As you can see in this photo, the light was definitely not good for taking photos (at least with a point-and-shoot camera!), resulting in a rather grainy image. We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5" Gus Yaki

Yesterday, 16 December 2014, was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings that I, myself, did not see. I ended up with poor photos of the things I did see - the day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. If your computer monitor is smaller than mine, my images might look a little better : ) The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - breathtaking. For our drive down to High River, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, and so on. This beautiful cloud formation lasted only for a short time - I was told they are called Mackerel clouds. As you can see in this photo, the light was definitely not good for taking photos, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5" Gus Yaki

I love seeing these ice formations in the creek in Fish Creek Park. Noticed this one on 24 November 2012. Most of these small formations have melted now - there are still areas of "lacy"edges along the ice at the edge of the water, but our weather has been milder the last few days and Mother Nature's ice sculptures have vanished.

So many beautiful patterns and textures are created around the various springs at Mammoth Hot Springs and other hot spring/geyser locations within Yellowstone National Park. This shot was taken from the boardwalk, looking over the railing, near the Main Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, on 12 September 2012. "Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park ... It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas... A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Hot_Springs For a diagram of the Hot Springs layout: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MammothHotSprings.JPG Map of Yellowstone National Park: hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/YELLmap2.pdf

One of the many patterns that have been formed around the hot springs at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US. These were such beautiful, thin, delicate layers. "Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park ... It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas... A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Hot_Springs For a diagram of the Hot Springs layout: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MammothHotSprings.JPG Map of Yellowstone National Park: hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/YELLmap2.pdf

Just a small part of a beautiful sky that accompanied us on a bird walk a few days ago, from Bankside to Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park. Taken on the same day as the tiny fungi in my previous image. Can you tell that there were no birds close enough to photograph, ha?

Not a very inspiring image, lol, but I wanted a record of some rather unusual looking clouds that we saw when a few of us went botanizing the Connop Estates area of The Nature Conservancy, near Bragg Creek on September 23rd. You really need a panorama of a wider expanse of the sky, which I never think about doing when I'm out somewhere. Luckily, this didn't turn into rain.

LOL, looking at this just now, it occurred to me that I could have taken eight shots of the same bird a couple of seconds apart and then cut and pasted (or whatever one does) to create one image. If I'd told you that's what I had done, you may have been more impressed : ) Not a very inspiring photo, but I love hearing and watching Canada Geese fly overhead. Their calls and the sound of their powerful wings beating always give me a good feeling. Only rarely do I try and take flight shots with my little point-and-shoot, for obvious reasons : )

These beautiful ice crystals were growing along the edges of a small pool of open water in a tiny creek. We walked over the ice nearby, but I never really like crossing ice when I can see a nearby patch of open water, however small : ) Thought about going back there again today, partly to see if I could find one of my ice-grabbers that had fallen off one of my winter boots during the New Year's Day Bird Count, LOL. However, the definite appeal of indoor warmth and hot coffee kept me home all day again.

This is just a section of the ice formations that adorn a small, artificial waterfall at the Calgary Zoo. The sun was quite pretty on it this afternoon.