Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#462

A photo grabbed from my archives, taken on 25 October 2013, the last time I drove west of Calgary and to the end of Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 8). On 1 December, the winter gate by Elbow Falls is closed for the winter months and then reopens on 15 May each year. This is the only drive I will do into the mountains myself, but it is a beautiful drive and I always enjoy walking around this man-made lake that is at the very end of my drive. Did you all know that you can now hover your mouse over the date the image was taken and you will see the date it was posted? This was one of yesterday's changes - a good change, back to how it used to be before this last major layout change. A few hours later, another change occurred - you can no longer click on the three dots to edit tags, only the date and time. You can still do it using the organizer, but that is more complicated. This change I definitely don't like. Have fun, everyone! I wonder what changes today will bring! Guess I've just found out what the next "mess" is! I've just opened a second browser window for Flickr and found that there is nothing on this black panel - no description, tags, sets, groups, no three dots. Late last night, a friend (in England) told me that this was happening to her, and now it has reached us here. Hopefully, this is just a temporary glitch.

A very pretty peach coloured Rose bought from Safeway. LOL, having a conscience can be an expensive thing - I could never take "undercover" shots in stores : )

On Sunday 26 August 2012, there was supposed to be a day trip to one of my favourite places, Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, SW of Calgary. I guess no one else turned up at the meeting place in the city for this trip - I had decided to drive straight to the park, but hadn't told anyone my plans. After waiting an extra half hour at the park, I realized no one else had been able, or wanted, to go. The forest sure looked dark before the sun reached it and, even though there was one vehicle parked there - the place always gives me the creeps, ha - I just didn't fancy going in there. I thought the bears and cougars might still be looking for their breakfast, lol! So, I drove out to Maclean Pond, off Elbow Falls Trail, and had a look around. Funny how things work out - I was amazed and delighted to come across several small Strawberries and Cream fungi hidden in the grass under the Spruce (?) trees. All were old ones, but the one in my photo (maybe an inch and a quarter across the cap) was still at a young stage, with just one ruby coloured droplet. I think I've seen this species only two, maybe three, times before. The previous day, I had been on a mushroom foray in West Bragg Creek, and one of the fungi species we were keeping our eyes open for was Strawberries and Cream - but we were out of luck. Couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted them at Maclean Pond. On my way home from Maclean Pond, I decided to call in at the west end of Fish Creek Park, as I have found various species of fungi there before. Was happy to find several little Earth Star fungi (image posted yesterday). So, it definitely turned out to be a rewarding day. "Hydnellum peckii is an inedible fungus, and a member of the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses. The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" a bright red juice that contains a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth. Although Hydnellum peckii fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and nondescript when they age." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii