Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Globe Thistle

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. I always enjoy seeing Globe Thistles, though the Reader Rock Garden is where I usually see them. These tall plants are popular with bees and butterflies. This species beongs to the Sunflower family, Asteraceae. "The plants are native to Asia and Europe and the name means hedgehog in Greek, which is appropriately referencing the prickly blooms."

This is my MAIN photo of the day - I'm wondering if one of my other two shots is being seen by some people as the main one, again. Also, it's almost 12:00 noon and there are only eight new photos showing from my Contacts! Is everyone out enjoying the weather, or is Flickr acting up yet again?? For maybe a week, I have been having a problem getting my photos to be bright enough. So weird - I never had this happen before. They seem to look OK when I edit them the night before, then, when I post them on Flickr the following morning, they almost always look too dark. On 16 September 2015, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden after my volunteer shift. There seemed to be more flowers in bloom than on my previous visit. I love photographing these gorgeous Globe Thistles at any stage. In Calgary, we have seen them growing wild at one of the natural areas (can't think of the name of the place, as it's not a place we normally go to). Not sure, but I believe this is Echinops ritro. "Echinops ( /ˈɛkɨnɒps/) is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia. There were also quite a few distant small birds flitting from tree to tree at one point They were impossible to see well enough to get photos or IDs - - a little Hermit Thrush was the only bird I managed to photograph. I also noticed a Jack Rabbit in the Garden and then, when I drove through the adjoining cemetery, it or another one was running in among the gravestones. When it saw my car coming, it froze and waited till I had moved on.

Note: this photo is my "main" (i.e. very last to be uploaded) photo out of the three I've posted this morning. I uploaded the other two first and then uploaded this main image separately, to see if that makes any difference. I did try doing it a couple of times this way weeks ago and seem to remember that there was something I didn't like with the result, but can't for the life of me remember what it was, ha. Hopefully, Flickr (or something else) won't change the order of the way you see my photos displayed! I did the same yesterday and it worked OK for a friend. Still so many small things going wrong on Fickr (for me, anyway), including Bad, bad Panda often when I click on Stats. Often when I click on something, nothing happens, I'm just stuck. Just now, the most recent comment posted has reappeared as the first, not last, comment. Just so many tiny things happening, that shouldn't be happening. Here in Canada, it is a long weekend, as Monday (tomorrow) is Heritage Day in Alberta, an occasion to celebrate the heritage of the peoples of the province. The origins of the holiday on the first Monday in August each year seem to go back to a “day of recreation” first organized by Toronto City Council in 1869. The weather couldn't be better, so enjoy! This photo was taken last Wednesday, 29 July 2015, when I called in at the Reader Rock Garden after a volunteer shift. Summer is flying by and I wanted to take a whole batch of bright, colourful flower photos ready to post during the seven or eight cold "winter" months. It was so disappointing to find very little still in bloom! Many plants had already finished and had been cut down and a lot of the flowers that were left were past their prime. However, I did still manage to get some photos, including of this Globe Thistle - love these flowers. It had rained during the afternoon and some of the pathways were quite slippery. Also, the powerful sprinklers were turned on when I was still there and I was rather wet by the time I reached the exit! The things we photographers go through to get some of our photos, lol!

Oops, that's not good - not sure how blurry this photo is or if it's mainly the spikiness with the fuzzy little things in between, that makes this shot hurt my eyes this morning, lol! Hopefully, you are looking at it on a smaller screen than mine, ha. Have to take my car for a service and then go to a dental appointment, so I don't have time to do anything about it, so, just don't look too long at this image : ) Taken yesterday evening, 6 August 2014, when I was on a nice, slow botany walk with friends in North Glenmore Park. A lot of the plants we were looking at were escapees from the gardens right next to the path in this part of the park. Years ago, someone created two flower beds in the park, not far from the end of their garden, and this Globe Thistle was growing in one of them. Didn't get home till around 9:45 p.m., which is why I normally don't go on evening walks.

Thought this colourful bokeh was too pretty to delete, so here it is. Photo of this Globe Thistle was taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 26 September 2012.

Woke up this morning to find freshly fallen snow : ( I love photographing these gorgeous Globe Thistles at any stage. This one was growing at the Reader Rock Garden on 7 August 2013. In Calgary, we have seen them growing wild at one of the natural areas (can't think of the name of the place, as it's not a place we normally go to). Not sure, but I believe this is Echinops ritro. "Echinops ( /ˈɛkɨnɒps/) is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia.

I love photographing these gorgeous Globe Thistles at any stage. These were growing at the Reader Rock Garden on 7 August 2013. In Calgary, we have seen them growing wild at one of the natural areas (can't think of the name of the place, as it's not a place we normally go to). Not sure, but I believe this is Echinops ritro.

I love photographing these gorgeous Globe Thistles at any stage. This one was growing at the Reader Rock Garden on 14 August 2013. In Calgary, we have seen them growing wild at one of the natural areas (can't think of the name of the place, as it's not a place we normally go to). Not sure, but I believe this is Echinops ritro. Yesterday, 24 August 2013, four of us went west of Calgary, to the West Bragg Creek area, in Kananaskis, for a fungus foray. We managed to find a few interesting and photogenic mushrooms. With so many places either still closed or totally devastated, outings and walks since the Alberta Flood of the Century in June have had to be cancelled. Our outing yesterday was doubly delightful, after we've been so limited the last couple of months. Thanks for leading us, Karel! After this walk, I was so close to the Elbow Falls Trail (highway 66), that, on the spur of the moment, I turned right instead of left and headed off in the direction of Forgetmenot Pond. This mountainous road is the only one I will drive, so it always feels good to get out there. The other week, I had tried, but the road was closed, due to flood damage, past Maclean Pond. Yesterday, the road was open, but there was a long wait at a temporary traffic light just past Maclean Pond, where the bridge was still standing, but the embankments had been totally washed away. What destruction! Also called in at Allen Bill Pond - now just a heap of gravel with a few water channels through it. Totally destroyed. I think half of Calgary must have had the same idea as I had, as everywhere was packed. So many cars at Elbow Falls that I decided not to bother. Forgetmenot Pond was extremely busy, too, so it was impossible to get photos without people in them. Some of the path around the lake had been washed out and a lot of the area of trees and plants near the pond were now covered in a layer of silt. The area was still looking beautiful, though, and safe to visit. I only get out there maybe twice a year, and normally I would never go on a Saturday or Sunday. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9592076266

I suspect you can find a lot of photos of Globe Thistles on Flickr, LOL. They really are very attractive. I kind of liked the bokeh in this image. Not sure what the temperature was today, but it was way too hot for my liking. Was walking for something like three and a half hours this morning, in Weaselhead. Most of the flowers still in bloom tend to be yellow, though there were also lots of purple Asters of one kind or another. An afternoon of volunteering was followed by a desperate dash into Safeway, and now I need to start thinking about getting all my stuff ready for a full day of botanizing tomorrow.

I always enjoy seeing the seedheads of the Globe Thistle. This one was growing at the Reader Rock Garden and I liked the fall/autumn bokeh on that day. Interestingness#283 explore2008October21.

Taken at Carburn Park on 24 September 2012, at the end of a three-hour walk looking for birds (and anything else!). Usually, I find Globe Thistles after all their petals have died and fallen off, so it was a welcome change to see the blueness/purple of this one. I don't know what species of Globe Thistle this is. "Echinops ( /ˈɛkɨnɒps/) is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia. Yikes - SNOW is in our forecast for 3rd October - NEXT WEEK! I am so not ready for this!

I always think these Globe Thistles are fun to photograph - amazing that the detail is as sharp as it is, as it always seems to be very windy when I call in at the Reader Rock Garden. I suspect there has been a huge amount of hail and rain damage to the plants recently, unfortunately. Taken on 8 August 2012. "Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia. 2:30 p.m.: Flickr's Hold your clicks a moment .....

Just like yesterday, I'm posting a flower "burst" or floral "explosion", as it would take me just too long to search my old external hard drives to find an old photo of fireworks. The sentiment is the same, though - Happy New Year! I'm off to another Bird Count in about an hour's time, this time within the city. Every New Year's Day, we record everything seen in Fish Creek Park, with different groups of people covering different areas - this wonderful park extends right across the width of the city. It's -14C right now but should soar to a comparatively balmy -2C this afternoon. My words from yesterday's post were - I hope 2012 will be a better year than last year - wishing you good health, much happiness and contentment, and of course, endless photo opportunities. Thank you all for sharing your amazing photos - I learn about and see new things each and every day, thanks to you. I appreciate so much all your visits and the wonderful comments that you take precious time to write! Happy New Year to my kids, my relatives in various places around the world, my long-time friends over in England and other countries (including old college friends), all my local friends (including those with whom I share a love of birding and botanizing) and last, but definitely not least!) to all my Flickr friends! Happy New Year!

I love these Globe Thistles at all stages. Found this one at the Reader Rock Garden on 11th August. "Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia.

I took this shot just over a year ago and could never make up my mind as to whether it was too blurry to post. There was still something I liked about it, though, so here it is. Hope it doesn't make your eyes go too funny, like it does mine, LOL! I actually spotted these Globe Thistles growing wild near the irrigation canal in the city.

I always enjoy seeing Globe Thistles and this time I found one, in the garden at the Calgary Zoo, with a few remaining purple flowers. I'm always happy (and rather surprised) when my background is nicely blurred! Wish this happened a little more often : ).