Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Tragopogon dubius

Back to a day out in Kananaskis with friend, Pam, on 5 September 2019. On 5 September 2019, friend Pam and I had a great day out in Kananaskis. It had been just over two months since I drove myself out there, but Pam had been only two days before. There were a few different places that she wanted to stop, and she was hoping to see a bear - preferably a Grizzly, but we were out of luck for that. However, we were lucky enough to see two Black Bears, which was such a treat. Our day started off really well, leaving the city at 7:00 am. Driving along a backroad SW of the city, a small, rather cute, old barn was our first find. It was set back from the road a little and easily missed, so I'm glad I spotted it. Further on, we came across a White-tailed Deer feeding in a field, and it looked so beautiful in the early morning sun. Normally, I don't get out this early and I know I miss that special light. After quite a bit of driving, we were taken by surprise by our first Black Bear sighting of the day. Definitely not in a place that we would have expected. The animal was a long way off, part way up a big hill, and would have been very easy to miss. Luckily, a vehicle had stopped at the side of the road and we saw someone with a tripod - always a hopeful sign. Scouring the hillside, I spotted a black shape amongst the grass and small bushes. Bear! After taking our photos, I made sure I walked over to the other people and thanked them for spotting and stopping. Once we got into the mountains, we found ourselves facing dense fog, which seemed to go on forever. It felt like our outing might just have to end soon after it had begun. Fortunately, though, it did eventually clear when we reached the Ptarmigan Cirque area, and we found ourselves in sunshine. Looking back in the direction from which we had just come, the low cloud made for a beautiful scene. One little White-crowned Sparrow sat in a tree at the edge of the parking lot and gave us a chance to take photos. It seemed unusually tolerant of us. Further north, we stopped at the Pika location and were able to get a few somewhat distant shots. We didn't stay here for very long, as we had other places to visit. A further half-hour drive brought us to a beautiful lake with an incredibly beautiful setting - Wedge Pond. For quite a few years, I have never been sure where this pond was and whether I had ever been there before. It certainly didn't feel familiar. As well as the spectacular scenery, I also photographed a rather beautiful Moth that had landed on a thistle. The bright yellow splash of colour from three or four Goat's-beard wildflowers gave another photo opportunity - they are attractive flowers, but it's too bad they are a highly invasive weed. Leaving Wedge Pond, we continued northwards and were so delighted to see our second Black Bear of the day. This was a very challenging bear to photograph, as it walked off into the trees and soon disappeared completely. Photos tended to be missing either a head, or a rear end, or capturing barely anything at all. Coming back south, about an hour later, we stopped at Buller Pond, where we saw a few mushrooms, including a small scattering of beautiful Shaggy Mane/Inky Cap mushrooms. I love the scenery at Buller Pond and at Peninsular, giving a fine view of the Opal Range with its incredible erosion patterns. A small group of Bighorn Sheep made a nice ending to our day in Kananaskis. No matter how many I see, they are always welcome. Very recently, I seem to have seen them almost everywhere I have been. A most enjoyable day - thanks so much, Pam, for the invite and exciting day. Sorry we didn't manage to find a Grizzly Bear for you, but two Black Bears were still a real treat..

My daughter and I had a such a great day on 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. "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 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 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 : ) Came across this Goat's-beard wildflower on the grounds, too. Though it is an invasive weed, it really does have an attractive flower and seed head. 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 metal 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. 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, watered with well water, 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 straightforward 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 off 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.

Some of you will be familiar with this rather beautiful, larger than a Dandelion, seedhead. Unfortunately, despite its beauty, it is a highly invasive species and widespread. This one, along with many others, was growing at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area in Calgary, on 27 July 2011. The background is of another invasive weed, Baby's Breath. It is quite likely that someone threw an old pot of these tiny, white flowers over the fence from the cemetery next door, and they have spread and keep spreading. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius The Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area is located on the east side of the Elbow River above the southwest community of Roxborough. It was completed in 1996. This is one of the richest areas in Calgary for wildlowers, but unfortunately, many non-native plants and shrubs have taken over much of the area - such as Caragana, Goat's-beard, Baby's Breath and Yellow Clematis.

This is the dreaded Goat's-beard, a highly invasive, non-native plant that has spread (and keeps spreading, despite attempts to control it) in our natural areas in the city and beyond. Too bad, because both the beautiful flower and huge Dandelion-like seedhead are most attractive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius On 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk led by Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This land consists of rolling, open hills and areas of woodland, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. This event was the 8th Annual Flora & Fauna Fundraising for Ghost River Watershed Outing. Fortunately, I knew how to drive to this distant location, so I was able to pick up friend Dorothy and off we went together. We allowed plenty of time to get there, just in case of heavy traffic or else we saw something interesting en route. This meant that there was time for me to stop and take a few photos of a Llama in someone's field, a couple of beautiful Longhorn cattle lying down and a small herd of maybe half a dozen Elk that we saw way off in the distance. I think everyone was more than ready for lunch by the time our hike was over! Going to our destination was all uphill, which I normally avoid at all cost. Coming down used less energy, but painful knees felt every step on the way down : ) Around 1:00 pm, Erik and his partner provided a great BBQ for those of us from Calgary and for the people who had joined us from elsewhere. As always, the food was delicious! Thank you so much, both of you! Amazingly, the sun shone and there was no rain, despite the weather forecast.

This is the dreaded Goat's-beard, a highly invasive, non-native plant that has spread (and keeps spreading, despite attempts to control it) in our natural areas in the city and beyond. Too bad, because both the beautiful flower and huge Dandelion-like seedhead are most attractive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius On 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk led by Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This land consists of rolling, open hills and areas of woodland, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. This event was the 8th Annual Flora & Fauna Fundraising for Ghost River Watershed Outing. Fortunately, I knew how to drive to this distant location, so I was able to pick up friend Dorothy and off we went together. We allowed plenty of time to get there, just in case of heavy traffic or else we saw something interesting en route. This meant that there was time for me to stop and take a few photos of a Llama in someone's field, a couple of beautiful Longhorn cattle lying down and a small herd of maybe half a dozen Elk that we saw way off in the distance. I think everyone was more than ready for lunch by the time our hike was over! Going to our destination was all uphill, which I normally avoid at all cost. Coming down used less energy, but painful knees felt every step on the way down : ) Around 1:00 pm, Erik and his partner provided a great BBQ for those of us from Calgary and for the people who had joined us from elsewhere. As always, the food was delicious! Thank you so much, both of you! Amazingly, the sun shone and there was no rain, despite the weather forecast.

This morning, I overslept by an hour, so barely have time to even upload my photos. I suspect this was the result of the stress of being out on a volunteer shift yesterday, knowing that the community I live in was in the path of a tornado that passed over our city and wondering if my home was still standing, plus having to deal with an error with my Internet security system the evening before! Will have to add descriptions, etc. later today. Took this photo when friends and I stopped at a picnic spot along the Akamina Parkway in Waterton Lakes National Park on 18 July 2015. Unlike here in Calgary, where Goat's-beard has taken over large parts of our natural areas, I only noticed maybe four or five plants of this noxious weed.

(Note to self: this is my main photo posted today, i.e. the very last photo uploaded. Let me know if you see my photos posted in a different order - thanks). The dreaded Goat's-beard, a highly invasive, non-native plant that has spread (and keeps spreading, despite attempts to control it) in our natural areas in the city. Too bad, because both the beautiful flower and huge Dandelion-like seedhead are most attractive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius This photo was taken the day before yesterday, 15 June 2015, when I went on a morning birding walk with friends at Griffith Woods. All the birds we saw were so far away, so I mainly came home with a few photos of flowers. Just for my own memory, I'll add the leaders' list of the 39 bird species below. Gadwall-2 Am. Wigeon-1 f. Mallard-6 ad./10 juv. Common Goldeneye-2 Bald Eagle-1 ad. Red-tailed Hawk-1 Sora-1+ Killdeer-1+ Spotted Sandpiper-5 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-2 Belted Kingfisher-1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-2 Downy Woodpecker-1+ Northern Flicker-1 Least Flycatcher-2 Blue Jay-1 American Crow-4 Common Raven-3+ Tree Swallow-4 Violet-green Swallow-2+ Northern Rough-winged Swallow-4 Bank Swallow-20 Black-capped Chickadee-3 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1 American Robin-15 Gray Catbird-2 Cedar Waxwing-10 Yellow Warbler-6 Chipping Sparrow-1+ Clay-colored Sparrow-6 Song Sparrow-1 White-throated Sparrow-4 White-throated Sparrow-1 Red-winged Blackbird-6 Brown-headed Cowbird-8 Pine Siskin-6 American Goldfinch-4

Just a brightly coloured macro of a Goat's-beard flower that I grabbed from my archives last night. Taken at Nose Hill on 20 June 2012. I noticed something I'd never noticed before - the very tiny, flower-shaped tips of the inner petals (?). I really should know the names of the various parts of a flower after all these years, ha. This is one of our most invasive, destructive plants and it has taken over a lot of our parks and natural areas. Introduced from Eurasia. The bright yellow flower is beautiful, as is the dandelion-like seedhead, but what a huge problem it is. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius It's a really crummy day out there, yet again. STILL snowing and as dreary as can be. Got up early as I was supposed to go on a birding walk this morning, but can't face the thought of having to clear the snow off my car and then walk for three hours in -13C (windchill -20C) temperatrures. Been doing it for six months now, and enough is enough, ha. The rest of the week looks like it's expected to be much better, thank goodness. Stay warm, everyone!

This tiny spider was making its web on the partially opened flowerhead of a Goat's-beard plant. Seen at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park, on June 23rd. This is one of our most invasive, destructive plants and it has taken over a lot of our parks and natural areas. Introduced from Eurasia. The bright yellow flower is beautiful, as is the dandelion-like seedhead, but what a huge problem it is.

This is one of our most invasive, destructive plants and it has taken over a lot of our parks and natural areas. Introduced from Eurasia. The bright yellow flower is beautiful, as is the dandelion-like seedhead, but what a huge problem it is. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius

Saw this little non-native, Seven-spotted Ladybug yesterday afternoon at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area. Called in for a very short walk on my way home from a volunteer shift. This is perhaps the richest area in the city for wildflower species. Unfortunately, it is being seriously overtaken by invasive weeds, like the Goat's-beard (seedhead) in my image. It has a beautiful yellow flower, but .... Another weed doing a lot of damage there is Baby's-breath (Gypsophila paniculata), which probably started when someone tossed an old vaseful of flowers over the fence from the cemetery that backs on to the natural area. Apologies for replacing my photos from today - the other two only had one comment each, in 7 hours, which seemed strange and unusual. I wondered if maybe my photos weren't showing, which sometimes happens. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius

Couldn't resist photographing this spectacular seedhead of a Goat's-beard plant that was growing at Confluence Park a week ago. This is one of our most invasive, destructive plants and it has taken over a lot of our parks and natural areas. Introduced from Eurasia. The bright yellow flower is beautiful, as is the dandelion-like seedhead, but what a huge problem it is.

This is a highly invasive plant that occurs in all our natural areas in the city. It takes over and prevents any native wildflowers from growing. It does have an attractive flower and a huge seedhead similar but larger to that of a Dandelion. Yesterday afternoon, I went along on a walk at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area with a Naturalist and a couple of others, accompanied by a reporter/journalist from the Calgary Herald newspaper. He is writing an article on how invasive plants are destroying our natural areas and that more needs to be done immediately to try and save our native plants/birds/etc. from destruction and eventual extinction. He asked me to send him a photo of a native plant and of an invasive one in case he uses them in his article. This is the invasive plant photo I sent him. The native plant was a Wild Bergamot.

This is the gorgeous flower of the dreaded Goat's-beard, which is a highly invasive weed that overtakes natural areas. Though people do Goat's-beard "pulls", there seems to be no end to this battle. Too bad it has such a beautiful flower and an enormous seedhead similar to that of a Dandelion.

These huge seedheads of the Goat's-beard plant are so spectacular and beautiful, especially when the sun shines on them. The depressing thing, though, is that Goat's-beard is a highly invasive plant and has taken over in all our natural areas, choking out our native plants. Sadly, pulling these weeds doesn't seem to make much, if any, difference.

This plant, introduced from Eurasia, is a noxious weed, preventing native wildlflowers from growing. Despite being so unpopular, it does have a beautiful yellow flower and a fascinating, detailed seedhead.