Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: stones

This little White-crowned Sparrow landed on a rock at the bottom of Red Rock Canyon, on our last day in Waterton Lakes National Park, 10 July 2016. One rapid shot taken from the bridge, which didn't come out as sharp as I would have liked - it was a long way down. After this, we followed the path above the creek and continued as far as Blakiston Falls. I really enjoy this walk - just a comfortable distance for me, and we see some interesting things along it. At the Falls, we saw an American Dipper's nest with one baby Dipper visible and either one or both adults flying back to the nest with food. We could also see several patches of Yellow Monkeyflower growing on the rocky wall at the falls and then spotted a couple of Orange False Dandelion flowers as we walked away from the falls. Three great sightings. Six days ago, late afternoon, (I think around 5:15 pm), on 10 July 2015, I arrived back home from my holiday of the year - this two and a half day trip to Waterton National Park. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of great company with (22) people, some of whom I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry, but she was also there for us in July 2015) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Thank you SO much, Janet, for driving your friend and me to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that I appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly, as usual! A great time was had by all. Andrew, I am SO happy and relieved that you were finally able to find a bear (and her cub) - yes, we came across the same ones shortly after you saw them. Not sure if they were two of the three I had seen at more or less the same location the previous morning, 9 July 2016. If it was the same female, then her second cub must have been really well hidden in the tangle of bushes and trees yesterday. We didn't get a good view, though I did take a handful of photos, including when the cub looked towards us for a split second. I had never seen such a young cub before, so I was thrilled to bits. Can't forget to add my huge thanks for finding me a Lazuli Bunting yesterday, too, at some unearthly hour (well, 7:30 am). No idea how on earth you managed to spot such a small bird from so far away - just a tiny speck in the far, far distance. Also was delighted that you found two Nighthawks flying high overhead at the Nature Conservancy area by the Waterton Springs Campground. So, I guess you and I both returned to Calgary feeling really happy : ) "Waterton Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also an International Peace Park, and a Biosphere Reserve. No other park in the world has these three designations. Waterton Biosphere Reserve as it is officially called, was designated in 1979 under what is called the internationally recognized "Man and the Biosphere program" of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that sure is a mouthful. Biosphere Reserves are designed to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature." www.wediscovercanadaandbeyond.ca/2010/11/red-rock-canyon-...

"Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."" From www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk . My youngest daughter suggested that we could go E of the city to look for Snowy Owls for our Christmas get-together. So, on 20 December, we drove the back roads NE and E of the city, bumping into my friends, Cathy and Terry, part way through the day. We continued our search with them and ended up with 10 definite individuals plus two very distant ones that we weren't quite sure about. It made for a lovely day, ending with my daughter and I exchanging gifts at her place late afternoon. Along one of the roads out E, we came across this fun Santa Inukshuk. It took me by surprise, as I had seen it before on a long-ago birding trip. Hadn't realized back then just where we were. I'll post the previously posted photo that I took on 20 December 2009, in a comment box below.

A scan of another print from a colour slide, taken way back in 1967, when we were able to spend just a few days in Egypt on our way from Doha, Qatar, back to England before going to live in Holland for a few months.

This will look very familiar to a few of my friends, who have also come across this Inukshuk east of the city. "Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."" From www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk .

On Monday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! At one of the farms we stopped at, the owners had built an Inukshuk (pronounced IN-OOK-SHOOK) "art gallery" on the frozen creek that runs along the back of their home. "Inukshuk (singular), meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (the Inuit language), is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travellers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit. Inukshuk in the form of human beings, called inunnguaq, seem to have been a recent development, perhaps only appearing after the arrival of European whalers in the 19th century. One of the most important types of inuksuit are those that helped in the caribou hunt. These are usually built with 2 or 3 rocks piled up and placed in converging lines along the migration route of the herd. The Inuit placed arctic heather among the rocks to simulate human hair. The figures were intended to spook the caribou and stampede them towards the places where the hunters hid. An open leg on an inukshuk found near water or a coastline may point to an open channel for navigation. If an inukshuk is in open land, a leg or arm might suggest a direction. Inuksuit placed near a lake might show that fish can be found in the lake at the same distance the figure is placed from the shoreline. Some inuksuit were built out of respect for a beloved person and are seen as memorials." From www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com .