Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: eye-catching

Towards the end of 2014, I had been longing to get out to look for Snowy Owls, especially to the E and NE of the city. I finally got out, after my youngest daughter asked if I wanted to go looking for Snowies on our Christmas get-together on 20 December 2014. She had never seen a Snowy Owl, so I was really, really hoping that we'd find one! As it turned out, we saw 10 definite individuals, plus two others that we weren't quite sure about - one certainly looked like a very distant Snowy and the other was possibly a repeat of an owl we had seen earlier in more or less the same area. Part way through the day, a car came from the opposite direction - it was friends, Cathy and Terry! For the rest of our trip, we followed behind them, thoroughly enjoying every new find. Late afternoon, we went home different ways and my daughter and I saw our last two owls. She was so thrilled to see all these breathtaking birds - actually, she was quite happy and content after seeing the very first, distant one. Three of the owls gave us close or reasonably close views, the rest were very distant. Of course, whenever I/we go for a drive, barns are always photographed. Couldn't resist this very fancy barn mailbox. I had seen a couple of other, plainer designs before, but this one was quite beautiful. After all the wonderful owl sightings, we returned to Calgary and went back to my daughter's place to exchange Christmas gifts. I reckon the Snowy Owls were the "best" gifts she received that day!

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 28 December, during the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. The area that my small group of seven people covered was N of Cochrane and E of Highway 22. Though the word 'Reserve' is in the name, this count was like most others, driving all the country backroads and calling in at several farms. The weather was bad, with poor light and gently falling snow pretty well all day long. Thanks so much, Stephen, for driving the four of us safely! At our previous stop before the farm seen in this photo, I had asked the owner if it was his farm where I had photographed a beautiful large red barn a year ago. He had said it was over at his neighbour's farm. I was so happy that our next stop was at this neighbour's farmyard and I managed to get a few shots from inside the car as we drove in. I will add our leader's report for this day's count below. Not a huge number of species, with a Pileated Woodpecker being the highlight plus so many Snow Buntings. "The day was overcast, light snow most of day, calm, -09°C. 20 cm snow on ground. Most streams frozen over. Total Party kms by Car - 84; Total Party kms by foot – 2km. Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:40 min. Rough-legged Hawk-1 Rock Pigeon-4 Downy Woodpecker-10. Hairy Woodpecker-3 PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 Black-billed Magpie- 19 Common Raven- 18 Black-capped Chickadee- 41 Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 American Tree Sparrow-7 Dark-eyed Junco-1 Snow Bunting-3550 Pine Grosbeak-25 White-winged Crossbill-15 Common Redpoll-1811 House Sparrow-106 Red Squirrel-2"

When I called in at the Reader Rock Garden last Wednesday, 7 May 2014, many plants were beginning to push their leaves up through the soil. Not many were actually in flower yet, just a few scattered clusters of the early spring flowers, Hepatica and Squill. Just as I was about to leave, something brilliant red caught my eye. When I walked over to take a look, I realized which plant it was, but at the time couldn't remember the name. Ornamental Rhubarb, also called Chinese Rhubarb, is a very tall plant and quite spectacular. This macro shot shows that it starts off in an eye-catching way, too. "Chinese rhubarb is a close relative of garden rhubarb (Rheum X hybridum), which is used to make pies. While garden rhubarb is cultivated for its edible, succulent, red stems, Chinese rhubarb is grown purely as an ornamental plant. Its dark red stems and large, textured leaves make a bold statement in the garden, and a well-grown plant can be 6 feet across. Chinese rhubarb blooms in early summer, thrusting skyward a 6-foot spike of red flowers." www.finegardening.com/plants/qa/ornamental-rhubarb.aspx

Back to falling snow and colder temperatures today. I had planned to meet a couple of friends at a city park this morning, but we've just cancelled, as the roads will be really bad. On 25 January 2014, I spent an amazing day south of Calgary with friends Cathy and Terry. I had found an e-mail on my computer around 12:45 a.m., just as I was about to turn off my computer for the night. Did I want to go birding tomorrow and, if so, to meet at 8:00 a.m.? A full day of excitement and enjoyment left me tired out, but so happy. I had been missing being out and taking photos, feeling lethargic and extremely tired, so this invite was welcomed with open arms. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, but a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Along one of the roads, we came across these and other bright red granaries/sheds - I always love to see anything bright red in a snowy, wintry setting. Can you believe that we saw 16 owls (oops, when I first posted this info under a previous photo, we thought we had seen 17, but after viewing all their photos and videos, my friends reckon that we "only" saw 16, ha. SIXTEEN! 8 Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. Perhaps I should add that maybe 15 of the owls that were seen would never have been seen by less experienced birders (and I include myself in that category!). My friends have brilliant eyes when it comes to spotting owls! Just left me shaking my head each time they found one! I'm not too bad at finding owls, but not at that distance! An interesting link, with the information below, that answers the question: "WHY ARE BARNS USUALLY PAINTED RED?" home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm "If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red. Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from? In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories. One is that wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red. The other is that farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay. Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse. As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up. Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used."

The day before yesterday (25 January 2014), I spent an amazing day with friends Cathy and Terry, south of Calgary. I had found an e-mail on my computer around 12:45 a.m., just as I was about to turn off my computer for the night. Did I want to go birding tomorrow and, if so, to meet at 8:00 a.m.? A full day of excitement and enjoyment left me tired out, but so happy. I had been missing being out and taking photos, feeling lethargic and extremely tired, so this invite was welcomed with open arms. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, but a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Along one of the roads, we came across these and other bright red granaries/sheds - I always love to see anything bright red in a snowy, wintry setting. Can you believe that we saw 17 owls? SEVENTEEN! I didn't photograph quite every single one, but my friends will let me know exactly how many of each owl we found, once they've gone through their photos. It was something like 10 Snowy Owls and 7 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. Perhaps I should add that maybe 16 of the owls that were seen would never have been seen by less experienced birders (and I include myself in that category!). My friends have brilliant eyes when it comes to spotting owls! Just left me shaking my head each time they found one! I'm not too bad at finding owls, but not at that distance!

A change of season and now the harvest is in. Drove just south of the city yesterday, but the sun wasn't shining. This photo is taken from the opposite direction to the image below. I sometimes wish the area wasn't as hilly, because I can't get both the road and the row of red granaries horizontal. Think I made the mistake of not keeping the slightly uphill road level in my viewfinder and letting the sheds slope down to the right more. Or maybe I'm just sweating the small stuff, LOL?

A very hazy photo (presumably caused by forest fires) of where I drove to yesterday afternoon. Reminds me that I keep on meaning to go and buy a polarizer filter, LOL. This little man-made pond/lake is at the far end of Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66) in Kananaskis. Takes about 50-55 minutes to drive there with no stops on the way, but usually I stop at several places en route, to go for a short stroll and give my body a break. The views are so different in each direction - wasn't sure which one to post today, so just grabbed one. Had some lunch sitting at one of the picnic tables along that far shoreline. There were several other people there, enjoying themselves. My adrenalin always rises a little when I do this drive, as the mountain road is quite spectacular as you get closer and closer to this place. Often, there is no one else in sight.

Took this photo from the car when we called in at one of several farms during the annual Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count (NW of Calgary), on 28 December 2012. Needless to say, a beautiful Great Horned Owl sitting in one of the windows would have been a real bonus, lol. I think I've done five 2012 Christmas Counts now - feels like a lot more, ha! - with just another two to do. The killer for me is having to set my alarm clocks for around 4:00 a.m. and ending up getting maybe a couple of hours sleep the night before each one. However, I really enjoy taking part in these annual Audubon Counts, and we have been so lucky with the weather this year. Of course, I now have hundreds of photos to go through, edit, and get passed on to a pile of birding people. I'm also almost out of space on my computer, so I really need to start backing-up more old files so they can be deleted. By the way, this is the 113th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, so it has been going on for more than a century! Yesterday's Count was in and around Nanton, SW of Calgary. I was picked up at 6:45 a.m. and eventually got home around 8:15 p.m.. Three of us covered the SW quadrant of the huge circle that centred on the town of Nanton. The scenery is breathtaking, different around every corner. I absolutely love this area of Alberta! The day ended with a wonderfully welcoming evening, hosted by the Truch family! So much work had gone into preparing a delicious supper, that was thoroughly enjoyed - and most definitely appreciated!! - by everyone from several small groups that covered different quadrants of the Count circle. There really is nothing like getting together to chat and eat a wonderful meal at the end of a long day of birding : ) In case anyone is interested, the birds that the three of us saw are (thanks, Tony, for e-mailing the final total!): Rough-legged Hawk 5 Golden Eagle 2 Great Horned Owl 2 Sharp-tailed Grouse 77 Pigeon 80 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Shrike 1 Magpie 74 Raven 31 Black-capped Chickadee 8 American Tree Sparrow 2 Pine Grosbeak 8 Common Redpoll 175 House Sparrow 134 For information on the history, locations, numbers of counts and particpants, etc. in North America: birds.audubon.org/history-christmas-bird-count

Such a pretty Cosmos, kissed by the sun, in the gardens at the Calgary Zoo. Need to dash and have breakfast and get myself ready, as I want to drive out west just into the mountains, especially as I really want to check on a certain location where the Indian Paintbrush plants seem to be "different". For any of you who are interested in this species of plant, Mark Egger (here on Flickr) is a true, dedicated expert. He has seen a few photos of this particular Paintbrush that I uploaded to Flickr and is rather puzzled by it, so I want to go and take a few further photos of it - IF it is growing there again this summer! To quote from Mark's profile: "I started this Flickr page to share some of the 15,000+ images I've taken over the last 26 years of the vascular plant genus Castilleja or Indian Paintbrush. I've traveled over much of North, Central and South America in search of these plants and have photographed over 90% of the approximately 200 known species and varieties, as well as publishing five species new to science."

Congratulations to our Canadian Olympic hockey team, for winning the Gold this afternoon! A superb, close game, played at such a high standard on both sides. You've done us proud, all Canadian athletes, breaking an Olympic record for the number of Gold medals ever earned, in any Games and for any country. All of you, enjoy your well-earned happiness! So, I went with this big red heart instead!!! We love you, Canada! LOL, I tried and tried during the hockey game to capture a tiny Canadian flag in a water droplet, but all I succeeded in getting were about 30 blurry images. It's SOOOO difficult to do!

I'm pretty sure I wrote down the name of this beautiful Tropical plant when I was at the Enmax Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. However, it is on one of the hundreds of tiny pieces of paper that surround my computer, never to be seen again, LOL. Couldn't find an ID after a quick search on Google. Really is eye-catching, though.

It was gently snowing yesterday when we did our full-day Christmas Bird Count in the Snake's Head/Sundre area, north west of the city. I was wearing bright red, fleece mitts when we got out of the car occasionally to call in at someone's homestead. I thought this tiny snowflake was SO gorgeous, looking (to me) rather like a diamond ear-stud. If only I could have brought it home with me (LOL) so that I could try to photograph it properly with my macro lens and table-top tripod! The light snow today had no beautiful flakes, just tiny specks of white : (. Lyn (and Howard), if you happen to see this sometime, it's to say "Thank you" for the all-day ride yesterday. You, too, Dorothy (and Stephen), for getting me to and from the Count meeting place! Rebecca, you might like this one, too? : ) Oh, and by the way, I'm not interested in real diamonds (not "me" at all!) - only the kind that fall from heaven : )

Rebecca - get well soon! Here's a medicinal spoonful of RED : ) We've had another milder day today - this break in the frigid winter weather feels SO good! Hope it lasts a few more days. Photographed this small Strawflower near the end of September - and should really have kept it to post when our bitter cold and snow return : )

Just a few teeny water droplets on a pink petal : ) Loved the colour that they turned out. Can't remember if this was on a Christmas Cactus flower.

Pearl, I don't know if you loved RED like your Mom (Rebecca), but I know for sure you spent a lifetime being surrounded by this gorgeous, vibrant colour. When I looked at this photo this evening, it made me think of you and your Mom. I'm sure you are looking down from over the Rainbow Bridge, watching her - she is so lucky to have such an amazing Guardian Angel who will watch over her at all times. She deserves that, you say? Oh, Pearl, we all already know that! I know you will likewise be looking down on your Dad and your furry siblings, too : ) What a family you have, and what joy you have brought them for almost 20 years - and vice versa, I know! You will be so greatly missed ..... Our thoughts are with you all, Rebecca : ) Hugs.... Our weather was atrocious this afternoon/evening. Snow made the roads really bad and traffic was awful. Took me two hours to get home after a volunteer shift - a drive that would normally take about 20 minutes! I can't imagine having to do this day after day - I really feel for all you people out there who have to put up with that.

Another of the very fine old cars that are on display in the new Gasoline Alley building at Heritage Park. This is such a spectacular display of vehicles, old gasoline pumps and more, and definitely worth a visit. "The elegance, speed and price tag of Auburns made them a popular choice for car lovers of the 1930s. This V12 was the first 12-cylinder car to sell for under $1,000 - a very modest price at the time. The 1931 straight-eight engine was beefed up in 1932 with a new 6.4-litre V12 engine, and both cars benefited from the speed and power offered by a dual-ration rear axle. The Auburn line did not survive the economic hardship of the Depression." From the plaque that was in this exhibit.

Bye-bye sunshine - hello colour, LOL! Definitely needed this shot of colour today - where is the sun hiding? This is just another moment of playing in my kitchen yesterday. A rare, "just about sharp enough" image to post, but I love the orange and blue together! I have several other abstracts to post sometime - please bear with me until/IF I ever get a tiny, table-top tripod to use when attempting supermacros, ha, ha. This is the sharpest of them, so really the others are more for the colour : ) Oh, guess I should just add that this is a tiny petal tip with a couple of water droplets. The white tip is almost translucent and sparkly.

Knowing that I need to get my supermacros so much sharper, I weakened and bought a table-top tripod late this afternoon. I'm really hoping that it will be sturdy enough to support my Panasonic point-and-shoot - I dislike having to return things : ) Now, I've just got to make myself use it, ha, ha. And, Suzie, I bought a spray bottle while I was in the store, LOL! And I have to make myself use that, too : ) Normally, I just stick to "simple". By the way, this was just a very small Daisy kind of flower, from Safeway. Hope it brightens your day if you've been having a gloomy, grey day : ) Here, we have a couple of nice, sunny days coming up.