Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: annual

Three more photos from our High River Christmas Bird Count - I need a change of things to photograph! This is the same owl that I posted two days ago, just taken from a different angle. We had five other Great Horned Owls on our Count, which was great. Four days ago, on 19 December 2017, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, a town to the south of Calgary. I am adding the report by Gus Yaki, the leader of our small group of 7, travelling in two cars. What Gus did not add, because he did not stay for the delicious Potluck supper after the Count, is that the forecast snow (Snowfall Warning in effect) arrived in full force in the evening and the drive back to Calgary was most unpleasant, with low visibility. Looked like there were about 10" of the white stuff on top of my fence by the next morning. Thanks so much, Lorrie and John, for being so kind and picking me up in the early morning and driving me all day long, and then dropping me off for the Potluck and returning later to collect me ready for the three of us to return to Calgary. Appreciated more than I can say! Thanks, also, to Greg Wagner for organizing the Count - as usual, great job! Last, but not least, many thanks to those who organized and prepared such a wonderful feast for us all to thoroughly enjoy at the end of the day! I left home around 7:00 am and arrived home about 8:15 pm, finally getting to bed at 2:00 am and eventually waking up at noon the next day! Was I tired after a full day out, especially after only two hours sleep the previous night! I should also add my thanks to the various property owners who very kindly gave us permission to wander round their farmyards in search of any birds. Being allowed to do this adds so much more interest to our Count day, and we really appreciate it. One exciting sighting was a beautiful female Moose, maybe two years old! This was the very first sighting ever of a Moose in our SE quadrant of the High River Count circle. From a distance, she was barely noticeable through the falling snow. Common Redpolls were enjoyed at some feeders. They gave me the first opportunity to take photos this season. Much as I prefer photos without feeders, I am very glad for this chance. They are such dainty little birds, and fast-moving. It always looks like a feeding frenzy when they are at the feeders. "High River CBC, SE Quadrant, including Frank Lake. 0800-1545, Tue, 19 Dec2017. Light overcast, light snow beginning at 1100. N Wind 10kph, -07 to -06°C. Ground bare initially, 3 cm at end. Little Bow River, mostly open. Mallard-500 Northern Shoveler-1 f. Northern Pintail-2 Common Goldeneye-3 Gray Partridge-8 Bald Eagle-1 ad, on Frank Lake Prairie Falcon-1 Rock Pigeon-56 Great Horned Owl-6 Snowy Owl-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-17 Common Raven-4 Song Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-150 Common Redpoll-790 House Sparrow-202 Ring-necked Pheasant tracks by observation blind. Gord Fraser, on W side of Little Bow, just N of 594 Av, had 40 Gray Partridges this a.m. Coyote-4 Skunk track by observation blind Meadow Vole-1 Mule Deer-6 Moose-1 f. Km by Car- 58 Km on foot -5 Total km - 63 Time by car – 2 hrs Time on foot-5 hrs Total party hours-7 hrs"

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.

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia (below) says Longhorns are gentle, but last night I read that they are aggressive. Standing there on the road, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! I stood in the road to take this shot, as two of these cattle were lying down and I didn't want to force them to stand up and move away, they looked so comfortable. "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn On 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk with Erik Butters, out past Cochrane and near Waiporous, NW of Calgary. This land is 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.

JELLYFIELDS - warning! A few days ago, I did a Google search to see what blogs have used my photos. Many of them asked permission before hand, but, needless to say, others did not. If you post photos anywhere on the Internet, that is unfortunately just a fact of life. I just scrolled down, clicking on each one in turn. When I clicked on one website in the search result list, I discovered that not only were a lot of my photos being displayed, but they were also mixed in with a pile of pornographic videos and photos. According to someone on the Flickr Help Forum, these photos were probably taken from the Jellyfields website before they disabled right-click. Not impressed one bit, I contacted Jellyfields and asked for all my photos to be removed from their site. James was in touch with me immediately and, after getting me to confirm that the displayed photos were mine, said they will remove my photos as requested. He was surprised that nature/wildlife photos would be stolen and added to a porn site, but that is exactly what has happened. Haven't yet found a way to contact the porn site, Tumview.com to demand my photos be removed. I should add that Jellyfields does refer photos back to Flickr, saying to check what the copyright is for each photo. Who needs all this hassle?!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This morning, 17 November 2016, the temperature is -3C (windchill -8C) with light snow. Sounded like a good day on which to post a bright, colourful flower image. 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. While we were sitting outside, I couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this beautiful flower growing near their house. 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.

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia says Longhorns are gentle, but I have also read that they are aggressive. Standing there, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn Just over a month ago, on 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk with Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This land is 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.

Two days ago, on 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people (those in this photo and others who were exploring the hillside) spent the morning walking on the property belonging to Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This photo shows what Erik's land is like - 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.

Two days ago, on 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people (those in this photo and others who were exploring the hillside) spent the morning walking on the property belonging to Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This previous photo shows what Erik's land is like - 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.

Thanks to the grim weather on this day, this photo looks like a black-and-white shot, not colour. Just looking at this image makes me shiver, though in reality, it was not a bitterly cold day. On 22 January 2016, I was fortunate enough to get a place on a bus trip to Lake Louise and the annual Ice Sculpture display, Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountains. It is a two-hour drive west of Calgary. Of course, any time a bus trip is organized way ahead of the day, you have no idea what the weather is going to be like. The weather was grim all day, with snow all day long, turning to really heavy, wet snow when we stood in the parking lot at the end of the day. No sign of the sun, which made photography a real challenge. There were so many people visiting the area that it was almost impossible to get photos without at least a few people included. As you can see, even the mountains had mostly disappeared. Our bus driver, Tim, did a wonderful job of getting us to the lake and all the way back to Calgary. I was just so thankful that I wasn't driving! Some of the group chose to snowshoe, others to walk/hike, and others to join Anne Belton's group for birding. I was expecting a stroll along the lake shore and around the Chateau grounds, lol, but instead we did a hike along the creek all the way to Lake Louise Village, roughly 4.2 km! The trail though the forest was very narrow - wide enough for heavy winter boots and icers plus maybe a couple of inches on either side. If you were unlucky enough to walk an inch further, you would have one leg plunge into snow up to your knee or higher. I was so thankful that this didn't happen to me, but it did mean that my eyes were looking downwards all the time instead of soaking up the glorious, snow-covered forest. The snow was so thick on the trees and when it became just too heavy for a branch to support, you stood the risk of being snow-bombed from high above. A lot of the trail was downhill - never fun in such conditions, but we all took it very slowly, though there were several tumbles or someone would end up travelling on their rear end. Not the easiset hike, but the surroundings couldn't have been more beautiful. Thankfully, the bus driver had arranged to drive down to the Village ready to pick us up and take us back uphill to the Lake. As for the birds, well, they obviously didn't particularly like the grey, snowy day and stayed in hiding, other than several Common Ravens, a couple of Magpies, one or two Clark's Nutcrackers and two House Sparrows. Back at the Chateau, two of the birders did see a very distant Stellar's Jay - always a lovely bird to see, but it was too far for them to get photos. We had time to wander round the Ice Scuptures area, in front of the Chateau. Some amazing work created by sculptors from various parts of the world. The one in this photo was titled "Canoe with three warriors", by Team Sakha from Russia. It won "Third Place" and "People's Choice Award". I think it was my favourite sculpture. "Winter comes alive in iconic Lake Louise, Alberta. Ice Magic Festival, January 15 - 24, 2016 is a world class event with over 20 years under its belt. Talented ice artists from around the world delicately balance grueling physical labour with precision artistry in a 34 hour International Ice Carving Competition. Jaw-dropping scenery sets the stage as ice carving teams of 2 create sculptures illustrating their interpretations of our chosen theme for 2016: Earth, Wind, Fire & Water - Elements of Life." Taken from link below. I love that the prize money for this competition is only a comparativey small amount, which I think shows that the carvers do what they do for love of the art, not for the money : ) Team Ice Carving Competition 1st Place: $2,500 2nd Place: $1,500 3rd Place: $750 Carver's Choice: $750 People's Choice: $500 One Carver, One Hour, One Block 1st Place: $1,000 2nd Place: $300 3rd Place: $200 People's Choice: $250 www.banfflakelouise.com/Area-Events/Festivals/Winter/Snow... So, a wonderful day trip for us all in breathtaking surroundings. I am especially appreciative, as I don't drive to the mountains, so rarely get to see them. Many thanks to FLC for doing such a great job of organizing this most enjoyable day for us. Thanks to Anne Belton for taking some of us on a beautiful, though not easy, hike through the forest. Definitely a day to remember.

It was so disappointing that the weather on the day of a bus trip to Lake Louise and the Ice Sculptures was so grim. Atrocious light and falling snow were just too much for my camera and most of my photos are beyond rescue. This shot required a lot of brightening and sharpening and, though still far from being any good, it gives an idea of how beautiful the various ice sculptures were. This particular carving titled 'Canoe with three warriors', by Team Sakha from Russia, won "People's Choice Award" as well as winning third place. This photo was taken on 22 January 2016, when I was fortunate enough to get a place on a bus trip to Lake Louise and the annual Ice Sculpture display, in Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountains. It is a two-hour drive west of Calgary. Of course, any time a bus trip is organized way ahead of the day, you have no idea what the weather is going to be like. Unfortunately, the weather was grim all day, with snow all day long, turning to really heavy, wet snow when we stood in the parking lot at the end of the day. No sign of the sun, which made photography a real challenge. There were so many people visiting the area that it was more or less impossible to get photos without at least a few people included. Even the mountains had mostly disappeared. Our bus driver, Tim, did a wonderful job of getting us to the lake and all the way back to Calgary. I was just so thankful that I wasn't driving! Some of the group chose to snowshoe, others to walk, and others to join Anne Belton's group for birding. I was expecting a stroll with Anne along the lake shore and around the Chateau grounds, lol, but instead we did a hike along the creek all the way to Lake Louise Village, roughly 4.2 km! The trail was very narrow - wide enough for heavy winter boots and icers plus maybe a couple of inches on either side. If you were unlucky enough to walk an inch further, you would have one leg plunge into snow up to your knee or hips and you would go flying into the snow. This happened two or three times and I was so thankful that it didn't happen to me, but it did mean that my eyes were looking downwards all the time instead of soaking up most of the glorious, snow-covered forest. The snow was so thick on the trees and when it became just too heavy for a branch to support, you stood the risk of being snow-bombed by a great ball of heavy snow from high above. A lot of the trail was downhill - never fun in such conditions, but we took it very slowly. There were several tumbles or someone would end up travelling downhill on their rear end. Not the easiset hike, but the surroundings couldn't have been more beautiful. Thankfully, the bus driver had arranged to drive down to the Village ready to pick us up and take us back uphill to the Lake. As for the birds that day, well, they obviously didn't particularly like the grey, snowy day and stayed in hiding, other than several Common Ravens, a couple of Magpies, one or two Clark's Nutcrackers and two House Sparrows. Back at the Chateau, two of the birders did see a very distant Stellar's Jay - always a lovely bird to see, but it was too far away for them to get photos. After this hike, we had time to wander round the Ice Scuptures area, in front of the Chateau. Some amazing work created by sculptors from various parts of the world. "Winter comes alive in iconic Lake Louise, Alberta. Ice Magic Festival, January 15 - 24, 2016 is a world class event with over 20 years under its belt. Talented ice artists from around the world delicately balance grueling physical labour with precision artistry in a 34 hour International Ice Carving Competition. Jaw-dropping scenery sets the stage as ice carving teams of 2 create sculptures illustrating their interpretations of our chosen theme for 2016: Earth, Wind, Fire & Water - Elements of Life." Taken from link below. I love that the prize money for this competition is only a comparativey small amount, which I think shows that the carvers do what they do for love of the art, not for the money : ) Team Ice Carving Competition 1st Place: $2,500 2nd Place: $1,500 3rd Place: $750 Carver's Choice: $750 People's Choice: $500 One Carver, One Hour, One Block 1st Place: $1,000 2nd Place: $300 3rd Place: $200 People's Choice: $250 www.banfflakelouise.com/Area-Events/Festivals/Winter/Snow... So, a wonderful day trip for us all in breathtaking surroundings. I am especially appreciative, as I don't drive to the mountains, so rarely get to see them. Many thanks to FLC for doing such a great job of organizing this most enjoyable day for us. Thanks to Anne Belton for taking some of us on the beautiful hike through the forest. Definitely a day to remember.

Good morning, everyone! Happy Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful day. In Calgary, the temperature is -22C (-8F), with a windchilll of -32C (-26F), so I really hope you are warmer than we are here! What would Christmas be, without a bauble (even though my reflection had to be in it, showing me bending my knees to try and avoid one branch, but unable to avoid the one in my photo, lol? Taken on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Canmore, near Banff. Each year, someone hangs a handful of Christmas ornaments on a spindly little tree down near the Bow River. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them, including all the people in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, who have suffered such a huge tragic loss in their community the last couple of weeks. I think most people, far and wide around the world, have been affected by this and have these folks in their thoughts and prayers. As always, those who, for one reason or another, will spend Christmas alone, will also be in my thoughts. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope today will be a happy one for you. If you will be on the road, please don't drink and drive! HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the best in the New Year!

Hope those of you who do celebrate Halloween (in one form or another) have a really fun and SAFE weekend. Here in Calgary, we couldn't ask for more perfect weather for all the tiny witches and goblins (and Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber look-alikes, ha) to invade the neighbourhoods : ) Keep an eye open if you are driving tomorrow evening - some of these little guys can't see too well through their masks and costumes. Stay safe! New neighbours moved in today - their dog hasn't stopped barking through the adjoining wall and it's driving me nuts!!! There is only so long that I can stand having my music or TV blaring to drown the sound .... : )

This was a new plant for me, seen on a long day trip to south eastern Alberta, to botanize the Purple Spring Sand Dunes on 27th June. This native wildflower, Cleome serrulata, goes by various common names including Beeplant, Spiderflower, Pink Cleome, Rocky Mountain Beeweed, Rocky Mountain Beeplant, Bee Spiderflower, stinking clover, and Navajo spinach. It grows on disturbed prairie and sandy roadsides, and blooms June-July. "It is an annual plant growing to 10-150 cm tall, with spirally arranged leaves. The leaves are trifoliate, with three slender leaflets each 1-7 cm long. The flowers are reddish-purple, pink, or white, with four petals and six long stamens." From Wikipedia. www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CLSE

We came across this native wildflower at Paskapoo Slopes in the city on 19th August. I have just discovered, when I read Wikipedia, that the red parts are the FLOWERS! I always thought they were the fruit! "Strawberry Blite (Chenopodium capitatum, Blitum capitatum) is an edible annual plant, also known as Blite Goosefoot, Strawberry Goosefoot, Strawberry Spinach, Indian Paint, and Indian Ink. It is native to most of North America throughout the United States and Canada, including northern areas. It is considered to be endangered in Ohio. It is also found in parts of Europe and New Zealand. Flowers are small, pulpy, bright red and edible, resembling strawberries. The juice from the flowers was also used as a red dye by natives. The fruits contain small, black, lens-shaped seeds that are 0.7-1.2 mm long. The greens are edible raw or as a potherb, but should be eaten in moderation." From Wikipedia.