Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: design

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight. This painted cow, now residing in someone's front garden in Calgary, dates back to the year 2000. The story behind this and many other cows is given in the Avenue magazine article below. "If you’ve ever noticed large, strangely decorated cows that seem to dot the city and wondered, “what’s up with that?” wonder no more. The story goes back to the year 2000. A group of charity-minded individuals, led by artist and businesswoman Bonnie Laycock, thought Cowtown was lacking in cows, and so the Udderly Art: Colourful Cows for Calgary project was born. Taking inspiration from similar CowParade projects staged in Chicago and Zurich, the volunteer driven, not-for-profit project began creating large cow statue canvasses to be decorated by local artists and strewn about the city for a six month period, with its stated goals being to: - Generate artistic creativity and showcases for Alberta artists, - Bring smiles and chuckles to the faces of children and adults, Calgarians and visitors alike, and - Raise funds for many charities. The molded fiberglass cows were originally white, clocking in at 54 inches tall from head to hoof; 84 inches long from nose to tail; and weighing 90 pounds. (Though that number shot up to 900 once the concrete bases were added). Individuals and companies who initially purchased the cows for $5,000 each chose which artist would work on their bovines and, starting May 15, 1999 the cows were on display everywhere in the city from the airport to the zoo." www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/The-Story-of-Calgarys-Cow...

Another of the beautiful butterflies that I have been lucky enough to see at the Enmax Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. What this species lacks in brilliant colour, it certainly makes up for in intricate design! Wing span is 2 3/4 - 3 3/8 inches (7 - 8.6 cm). "Adults rest on tree trunks head downward with their wings spread open. Males perch on trees and make a cracking sound when they dart out at passing insects (and people) .... Range: Argentina north through tropical America to Mexico. A rare stray to the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas." www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1809 The last but one time that I visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I had been waiting for this day for a long time. June 26th 2018 was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I had decided to go before schools close for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. Also, when I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking for a while. They vary from day to day, as new butterflies emerge from their chrysalises.. My intention had not been to visit the newly arrived Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I could see that there was no line-up at all and I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. Part of the enclosure has glass, which made it almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest.

Approximately 53 KM northeast of Calgary, Irricana is surrounded by numerous irrigation canals, which is where the town gets its name. "The name dates the town back to the irrigation projects in the area. By 1909, the town had a post office, hotel and store operated by the Irricana Trading Company. Originally incorporated as a village on June 9, 1911, Irricana changed its status to a town 94 years later on June 9, 2005. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Irricana recorded a population of 1,216 living in 473 of its 479 total private dwellings." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irricana www.calgaryregionfocus.com/experience-beautiful-community... "The Sunflower mural is painted on the east side of 233 2nd street (Main street) and is one of the few early murals painted directly on the building’s exterior wall. Utilizing her background as a graduate of the Alberta College of art and Design in Calgary, Brenda Campbell campaigned for an on going mural program in Irricana to help brighten up Irricana and enhance the local economy. As well as the large bright yellow sunflowers there is a hint of a white picket fence, as well as a hidden mouse in this mural. This large painting is the end result of many local community volunteers and many volunteer hours." lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Irricana-CPB-2016.pdf My daughter and I had a such a great day yesterday, 5 September 2017. She had a free day, so we decided to drive east of the city and visit the Pioneer Acres Museum. The day started off with seeing three perched Swainson's Hawks, which were a bonus. We had passed the colourful old truck and tractor displayed on tall posts, to indicate Pioneer Acres, on various occasions and this time, we actually went to the museum. What an amazing collection of old farming equipment, some standing outdoors and many others in large sheds. Have to say that I am always attracted to older, rusty things, and there was no shortage of these, either. Loved this old tractor that was standing alone - liked the rather photogenic tree nearby, too. While we were walking round the grounds, visiting each massive shed in turn, my daughter spotted a Plains Garter Snake, and waved me over to see it. She also saw several birds running round behind one of the sheds, and when I went to check, I found there were about four Gray Partridge running off in the distance. A distant Jackrabbit completed our wildlife sightings, first noticed when it was standing tall and upright on its back legs. My mind wandered to Alice in Wonderland : ) Though we did not do a tour of the inside of the "Long" House, we found it an impressive building, complete with a few Sunflowers, Hollyhock and other flowers in the garden, and a windmill. "The "Long" House was built in 1914 by John Thomas on a farm just northwest of Irricana, Alberta. It has been lived in by three generations of the Long Family since 1914. The house was donated to Pioneer Acres, moved to our location, and restored to 1929 status." From the Pioneer Acres website. There is also an old schoolhouse on the Museum site. "The Crown School, built in 1905, was located west of Three Hills on Highway 583. It closed in 1953 and was bought by the district of Allingham for use as a community league. In 1996, the building was relocated to Pioneer Aces of Alberta Museum." From the Alberta Teachers' Association website. "Pioneer Acres is operated by a team of volunteer members who, in many cases, have extended their golden years of retirement, performing the duties necessary to meet the club's objectives. These include work to collect, restore, maintain and demonstrate the artifacts which were used by the pioneers of early Alberta. The end result is that present and future generations have the opportunity to glimpse into our pioneering past through the artifacts on display and demonstrated. Younger members of the club also learn the care, maintenance and operation of these living artifacts." From link below. www.pioneeracres.ab.ca/member.aspx After spending a long time walking round the grounds, we decided to drive through Irricana itself in order to get back to the highway. I had seen photos on the Internet of three murals there - sunflowers, crayons, and a view of the old grain elevators that had once stood nearby - and I wanted to go and see them. All near each other, as this town only has a few streets. I had never been to Irricana before and I was impressed with what a delightful place it is, full of brightly coloured murals, and well kept. One of the outer roads had many flower beds along the edge, looking most attractive. I had asked my daughter if she was interested in calling in at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens in NW Calgary, if there was time after our drive east. I had planned the drive ahead of time, partly because I had also seen a photo somewhere on the Internet of a rather nice old barn that I really wanted to see. We were not disappointed, though it was a shame to see that the cupola had fallen from the roof since that photo was taken. I had never driven through the town of Airdrie before, but did the "drive" on Google Earth the night before and it looked simple enough. Returning to the city via Cochrane, my daughter told me how to get to Silver Springs. I had never driven there before, but I had been there with a friend last year, I think on 1 October, and thoroughly enjoyed these meticulously kept gardens. We were just too hot and tired to see every inch of the garden, but finished of with photographing sunflowers and enjoying the American Goldfinches that were feeding on them, before we continued on our way. A great day, despite the heat and smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires (distant low visibility, too). Thanks so much, Rachel - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We drove 256 km (used about half a tank of gas, or less). I was absolutely tired out from the heat and driving unfamiliar roads. I knew it would take me ages to get any description added to the three photos I posted this morning!

"Between the Rockies' vigorous upthrusts and the recumbent lines of the grassland plains, the Porcupine Hills provide a softly rounded interface, gentle contours that stir the heart, They are always so beautiful, from the wildflowers of spring to the hazy shimmer of summer and the sharp gold of fall aspens, and even in the austerity of a landscape under the sharp shadows of snow. The hills bring magic to all the seasons." These are the first few lines from the book, "Exploring the Routes Less Travelled - Country Roads of Alberta", by Liz Bryan. This is a book that my daughter gave me a year or two ago and I had forgotten just which journeys it covered. Last night, while I was Googling the area that I had just spent the day exploring with friends, Dorothy & Stephen, and Janet, I came across this book. The short chapter on this area made interesting reading. Dorothy and Stephen had made a decision to drive down south and asked if I would like to go with them. As always, my answer was a delighted "Yes, please!" The weather forecast looked good, especially compared to the forecast snow for tonight and the next few days. After meeting at their house, the four of us left at 8:30 am and drove to Nanton. From there, we basically drove in a huge circle between Highway 2 and Highway 22, covering such beautiful scenery. Some of these roads were new roads for us, certainly for me. Each year, I take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton, and my small group covers the area to the SW of Nanton, but much closer to the town than the area we explored yesterday. My friends' target bird was the Golden Eagle, but all of us were happy as can be to see anything else that we might come across. As it turned out, not only did we not see a single Golden Eagle, there were not many birds of any kind to see all day. A flock of 50+ Starlings, and 25 Common Ravens, various Magpies, a few Pigeons, Canada Geese and a couple of heard Red-breasted Nuthatches were all that we saw. For animals, we saw one Coyote, 5 Mule Deer and a couple of White-tailed Deer. However, perhaps our biggest excitement came when we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive. We could see the huge herd in the distance, with one lone cowboy on his horse, coming towards us. The whole procession was following another farmer, driving very slowly with a huge hay bale in the back of his truck. After taking a quick few distant shots, we climbed back into our vehicle and waited, and waited, and waited till the very last cow had walked past us. The cowboy said he appreciated the fact that we had stopped, not wanting to spook any of the animals. As soon as they were past us, we climbed out of the car to take a quick photo or two. I think I've only ever seen a cattle drive maybe twice before. So good to see a genuine cowboy at work, doing what he does so well. Another interesting stop was when we were driving along part of the Sky View Road. We came across a logging sight, with a couple of large piles of cut logs waiting to be trucked out of the area. Fortunately, yesterday was Family Day, so there were no huge logging trucks on the rough, gravel road leading up the hillside. We were hoping to reach the Lookout in case there were amazing views from there, but we decided that it might be risky to drive the last part of the road that would have led to the Lookout. We had climbed high enough to already find a lot more snow and the rough road was not in the best condition. This was where we saw the two White-tailed Deer. We had seen beautiful views already, lower down the road, so we were happy. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a great day, exploring a new area. It was so much fun to see some new things and, of course, the scenery was spectacular. How lucky we are to live within reach of such beauty! Having been out so few times in the last few weeks and having taken barely any photos at all, this kind of day was exactly what I needed.

I think this must be showing as my MAIN photo, instead of what it's supposed to be - the third/last one posted this morning. Yesterday, 16 January 2017, I decided to make myself drive east of the city again. This is not a drive I enjoy at all and not one that I do very often. Two days earlier, I had gone out there to hopefully find a Snowy Owl or a Short-eared Owl but without success. In fact, I saw very few birds of any kind. On the day in between, 14 January, I had been out for the day with a group of birders, covering some of the same area. That day, we did see two Snowy Owls and two Short-eared Owls, but all of them were far, far away, basically no use for photos. Yesterday's trip was a repeat of my first drive - nothing, absolutely nothing. Any birders I came across were saying the same thing - no owls. I came home with a photo or two of this modern barn, a row of artistic silos, and a Chinook arch.

A very sad day today, as I learned that local photographer, Brad Russell, passed away a few days ago. He had a close group of great friends (including John Andersen and Brett Abernethy) and they used to go out together with their cameras, day or night. Stunning photography by all. I only met Brad on one occasion, on a photo shoot with my daughter and her group at Heritage Park. Brad left a lasting impression on me - something great about his personality. My condolences to his family and to each of his friends. This photo was taken at the Calgary Zoo on 21 September 2015. I always have a problem with my lens fogging up in this hot, humid room. The ENMAX Conservatory butterfly house display is coming to an end. The beautiful tropical plants are beginning to fade and the number of butterfly species seems to be down. I noticed this beautiful Owl butterfly resting on a tree trunk. "Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called owl butterflies, after their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. Owl butterflies are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central, and South America. Owl butterflies are very large, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly in dusk, when few avian predators are around. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_butterfly The staff and volunteers do such a superb job of putting on a great display of tropical plants and butterflies for us over the summer. I know that I, for one, appreciate this so much - a wonderful chance to see and photograph things I would otherwise never see. Unfortunately, I missed the whole spring and summer, but luckily was able to get over to the Zoo two or three times very recently.

These are large, rather fancy butterflies, and I like its striped eyes - but not so much its furry body. Taken on 2 May 2011 in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. The tropical butterfly season at the Zoo must be just about over by now. The staff and volunteers do such a superb job of putting on a great display of tropical plants and butterflies for us over the summer. I know that I, for one, appreciate this so much - a wonderful chance to see and photograph things I would otherwise never see. Unfortunately, I haven't made it over there this year! "Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called owl butterflies, after their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. Owl butterflies are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central, and South America. Owl butterflies are very large, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly in dusk, when few avian predators are around. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_butterfly

I can't remember exactly where this was seen, but it was during an amazing, two-day trip to the Rocky Mountains. This rather nice design was on the outside wall of an outhouse or washroom at one of the many places we stopped. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary very early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight on Thursday (15 May 2014), that my friends dropped me off at home. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : ) I'm never really disappointed if we don't see a particular something, as there are just endless other things to photograph! However, over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen.

On 10 August 2013, I went with friend Sandy to Bow Lake, in Banff National Park. It is located along Highway 93, the Icefields Parkway, said to be the most beautiful, scenic road in the world. When we returned to the parking lot at the end of our hike, we noticed this brightly coloured van. I was taking a shot or two when I heard a voice say "Take your time ..." A couple was just getting back to this vehicle. This campervan company has the wildest designs on their for-rent vehicles - bright and so much fun.

On a day trip south of the city in August, a truck passed us with this unique design on it. Quite attractively done, despite the subject matter : ). Thought I'd post it today, seeing as Halloween is almost here.

No idea what happened to my descriptions for the last four photos I uploaded. They were there and then later, they had disappeared! Anyway, I loved the colouring and patterns on this fallen log, seen in the owl grove while I was waiting (in vain) for the two Great Horned Owlets to "do something".

Just for a total change in photo subject : ) Taken on 12 July 2011 at the Indian Village at Stampede Grounds, where a number of tepees are set up each year during Stampede week. Each tepee is decorated in a different colourful design.

I've had this old, crude incense holder for around 35 years, took a photo of it about two years ago and am now finally posting it : ) I tried burning a piece of Frankincense several times, but discovered that my kitchen walls were covered in tiny flecks of black afterwards, which was not good! Better to be done outdoors. This is an interesting article from the BBC, from 9 February 2010, about Oman's Frankincense and also about the research into Frankincense and a possible cure for cancer. Also a link to the short video on YouTube, connected to the article. ""The records show that frankincense was produced here as far back as 7,000 BC." news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8505251.stm youtu.be/42Qr6X-RhBA

A good thing I didn't eat any more of these before "playing" with them for a photo - I only just had enough left to do it, ha. Loading my three images at just before 12:45 a.m.. My three alarm clocks are set to go off at 4:10 a.m., as I have to be up and ready for a Bird Count in the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve, north west of Calgary, all day tomorrow. Next week is going to be a really busy week, with the last two Bird Counts, my new furnace, etc. being installed over two days, doctor's appointment and hopefully a birding trip to the mountains on the Saturday (if I have any energy left).

Macro photo of this beautiful, small leaf in the butterfly room at the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. My knowledge of garden plants is almost nil, so I'm not sure what this plant is called. Makes great ground cover, though. Taken on September 10th. Could it be some kind of Coleus?

The Calgary Zoo has these metal "plates" attached to a few flower boxes and I thought they looked very attractive. I love metal things : )

I liked the colours and design of the opening of this teepee (tipi, tepee). Seen on one of the brightly coloured teepees in the Indian Village down at the Stampede Grounds, when I went with my youngest daughter on July 12th. The annual Calgary Stampede came to an end yesterday, so the city can now return to normal, lol. What a crazy 10 days, though my visit to the Grounds with my daughter was the only thing I went to. For visitors to the city, this 10-day event is amazing!

No idea what tropical plant this is, but I thought the pattern on this part was so beautiful and unusual. Is this the part that flowers? (I have SO much to learn, lol!) Photographed in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on May 2nd. Thank you, scott.zona, for the ID and following information - much appreciated! "It is the inflorescence bearing dozens of tiny four-petaled flower buds. It is something in the family Cyclanthaceae, but hard to say what without seeing the leaves. One of the most commonly cultivated cyclanths is the Panama Hat Plant, Carludovica palmata."