Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: deep pink

Update on the massive wildfire in the Fort McMurray area: "On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. As of May 17, it continues to spread across northern Alberta, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. It may become the costliest disaster in Canadian history. .... While the fire had moved away from Fort McMurray, explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. The wildfire is still burning and is expected to take months to contain and extinguish." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/the-fort-mcmurray-di... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, 18 May 2016, I went to what was most likely my last volunteer shift. I have been volunteering there for about 18 years and it has been a wonderful experience. However, as the number of clients constantly rises, even more so with the poor state of the economy, the problem of parking has become a real issue. Though we have to park on the nearby street, usually at the very far end of it, I now find that each time I go, I have to park further and further away. There is no sidewalk on which to walk and there are many huge trucks coming and going all the time. Makes for a dangerous walk. In winter, it will be even worse. I always walk in pain and yesterday was, I think, the final straw, when I had to park even further away. I have been volunteering at several places for the last 36 or so years, so I know I will miss it, but I was just not enjoying the long walk and always wondering if I was even going to be able to find a parking spot. I know I will miss good friends there, terribly. Anyway, after my shift, I thought I had better call in at the Reader Rock Garden, in case I don't get over there for a long time. I wasn't sure about the weather and I did feel the odd raindrop, plus it was rather windy. However, the scent around the garden was wonderful - I could have stayed there for hours, just breathing it in. Plenty of flowers to enjoy. The few workers do such a great job of keeping this place looking beautiful. If you visit and you happen to see one of the staff or volunteers, do let them know how much you appreciate all their hard work and care. I know they would appreciate it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

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

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden in Calgary on 24 June 2015, after a volunteer shift. Each year, I think what a beautiful colour these Peonies are. Today, 10 November 2015, the sun is shining, which feels so good after a dreary, snowy day yesterday. The temperature as I type is -3C (windchill -6C), so it's definitely feeling like winter.

After a volunteer shift on 23 July 2014, I wasn't too far away from the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, where I was finally going to go on a botany walk. Having been to this location several times before, I knew it was a short, easy, flat trail, and that I could go as far as I wanted and then turn back early, which is what I did. I've missed pretty well all the botany and birding walks the last few months, which is quite depressing. The main thing I wanted to see were the Nodding / Musk Thistles, as these are my favourite species of Thistle. They are called a "weed", but I love to see them. The sun was unfortunately in the wrong direction, so I was only able to get a handful of shots, but better than nothing. With a couple of hours to "kill", I spent them at the Reader Rock Garden, which was just a few minutes' drive away from the evening botany walk location. This beautiful, vibrant pink Peony was the only one still in reasonable condition that day. It's a gloomy, overcast day today, so it feels good to see a bright splash of colour. It's only 15°C this morning, which feels good after some recent hot weather. There are only six new photos from My Contacts and it's already 10:30 a.m... Hmm, I wonder if there is problem with Flickr, or if people are just too busy to post photos at the moment.

Can never remember what these small flowers are called, but they always grow in the butterfly room in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. Macro shot taken on 6 October 2012. ID seems to be Jatropha integerrima - thanks, Art (LeapFrog!) - much appreciated!

Love to see this beautiful, deep pink Water Lily in a tiny pond at the Calgary Zoo. It's quite different from the narrow-petalled blue-purple ones in the butterfly room.

Another gorgeous Water Lily that was growing at the Calgary Zoo on September 1st.

Windflowers tend to be white, but sometimes you come across a beautiful deep pink one, like this one photographed at Bow Valley Provincial Park on June 27th on a windy day!

A macro shot of a small, unopened Windflower that was growing near Forget-me-not Pond, Elbow Falls Trail, Kananaskis, on July 1st. These flowers can vary from white to quite a deep pink.

This was such a gorgeous Peony, seen growing at Reader Rock Garden on 28th July last year. It was snowing when I first got up this morning, but has now turned into sunshine and blue skies. So I didn't need this bright splash of colour after all : )