Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: velvety

The velvety berries of the Rough-fruited Fairybells plant are dotting the forest with bright red at the moment. These were growing on Erik Butters' ranchland, north west of Calgary, three days ago. "Fairybells produce velvety red berries 8-10 mm in diameter usually in groups of two or three. As the berries ripen, their colour varies from green, to yellow, orange and finally a bright red colour. They may also display a slightly warted appearance on the surface. They are edible, but mealy and tasteless - better to leave them for the grouse and rodents that find them tasty." From www.mountainnature.com .

The autumn leaves and the velvety fruit of the Fairybells wildflower are so bright and colourful in the forest. The fruit can be green, turning yellow, to orange or red, and they are pretty in all these colours, each one being about 1 cm across. Fairybells is a native plant, belonging to the Lily family, and grows in moist deciduous and mixedwood forests.

Taken at the end of July at the Reader Rock Garden. Poppies are one of my favourite garden flowers, and I love them in all their stages. A change from mushrooms, LOL. However, I did spend a bit of time in a local park today, looking for mushrooms. I saw a lot, but many were the same. In one little spot in the forest, I just had to stop and watch the birds. I couldn't believe it when I saw not only a family of Blue Jays, but also a Sharp-shinned Hawk (or a Cooper's) and at least two Pileated Woodpeckers and they all seemed to be chasing each other from tree to tree. Actually, the Pileated Woodpeckers kind of kept me company for a while, when I searched for mushrooms, but gave me no chance to get even one shot - same with the other birds. Oh, and I also heard a Great Horned Owl "hooting" nearby. The only thing to "spoil" it all was that I knew that I had to keep an eye on the time as I had to get my hair cut.