Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: teeth

Our temperature just after noon today, 4 October 20i8, is -1C (windchill -6C), with an overcast sky. There is no snow in the forecast, at least not until the weekend. The massive snowfall on 2 October is slowly melting, thank goodness. Total chaos, with so many accidents. I had been hoping to get over to Granary Road all summer, but it just didn't happen. This is a fairly new market garden, SW of the city, with an Active Learning Park, too. Before this, the area was simply a huge, empty field, except for the row of five old, red granaries/sheds. I was very disappointed some time ago, when I first saw what was being planned for that particular area. Most of all, I and many other photographers, were horrified when we discovered that the row of old granaries had been removed from the landscape. Some of you may remember my photos of these granaries, which I called "The Famous Five". They have been replaced by five new, red sheds which, I have to say, look better than I had originally thought. Link for my album, "The Famous Five" - 25 images of the original, old row of five, red granaries. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157648910659879 My daughter finally had a day free for us to get together on 23 September 2018. She suggested we could go to the Saskatoon Farm, a place we both love, for breakfast and a wander round the grounds with our cameras. After that, we drove west to Granary Road. Though the Active Learning Park had closed for the fall and winter, it was open for the day on the day we went, It covers a large area and has all sorts of learning areas, including a mushroom area and a farm animal area. We had fun trying to photograph a group of funny Alpacas there. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca granaryroad.com/active-learning/ granaryroad.com/ There was thick fog in places on this day, but it didn't seem to affect photographing objects that were close. My favourite kind of day, spending time with my daughter.

Some years, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton is held late in December. Other years, it ends up being held early January, sometimes delayed because of really bad weather. The Count for 2016 was held on 30 December. We drove through such beautiful scenery when we were covering the SW quadrant of the Christmas Bird Count circle that centered on the town of Nanton. A landscape over which the occasional Golden Eagle soars and in which, some years, numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse wander on the ground or perch in trees. Actually, there are not many chances to take photos of birds on many of these Counts, but those of you who know me well know that I love taking scenic shots, old barns, and anything else beautiful and/or interesting. Including farm cats! Last year, the highlight for me was seeing Pine Grosbeaks nice and close. This Count, I think the highlights were the stunning winter scenery, and a Great Horned Owl. I absolutely love this area SW of Nanton! Some of these backroads are extremely steep and almost look vertical when seen from a distance. Some years, the whole area is white, covered in deep snow, so that you can't tell where the roadside ends and the ditch begins. This Count, it wasn't too bad, thank goodness, though I might have felt differently if I had been one of the two drivers for our group! After driving (being driven, for me, which is always pure luxury) the backroads from about 8:00 a.m. till around 3:30 p.m., we returned to the wonderful home of the Truch family. Not only do Bill and Leah Truch and their son, Mike, always welcome everyone with open arms, they also provide a much-appreciated breakfast snack for us and then, at the end of the day, a delicious supper. Have to say that I love travelling these scenic backroads (though I've never driven them myself), but I also really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards. This is one of my favourite Bird Counts, and perhaps the most favourite. Thanks so much for doing all the driving, Tony and Andrew, and thanks, Leah, Bill and Mike for all the effort and time you put into your wonderfully warm welcome! It was another well-organized Count, Mike, as usual - thank you! I will add Andrew Hart's eBird report for this trip, in a comment box below.

For some strange reason, the descriptions for the last four photos completely disappeared!! Annoying. Anyway, this is the innerside of the lower jaw of a Deer (that I had incorrectly ID'd as a Coyote jaw), seen at the Highwood Ranch on Saturday. The owners of the Ranch leave everything on their property where it's found. That way, too, anyone who is lucky enough to visit gets to see these interesting finds. Also, a jaw bone like this one is a valuable source of calcium to other creatures that might take a few nibbles : ). We had such an enjoyable time walking on this land, and they even have their own two Great Horned Owlets, LOL. Lots of interesting plants, too.

A really close encounter with a Grey Wolf - but, of course, it's obvious why, LOL!

Taken on 4 January 2013, when four of us travelled a long way east of Calgary to take part in the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Christmas Bird Count. This is part of the Badlands area of Alberta, land of the dinosaurs. Our territory was N of the Red Deer River, on the NE part of the count circle, and included the Tyrrell Museum. At noon, we stopped at the Museum to eat our lunch and I was able to catch this huge dinosaur. We had driven past a short while before, when the icicles were quite a bit longer, but I couldn't take any photos because my lens had a thin layer of ice on it. If you ever get the chance to visit this Museum, you will find it to be superb. www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=&tbm=...

The three Red Pandas at the Calgary Zoo are constantly on the run, and getting a decent photo is usually just a matter of luck, LOL! Hard to believe this was taken outdoors. I know I've cut off the ear to get it into a square crop : ) Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, everyone! "The Red Panda, also called the Firefox, Fire Cat, Lesser Panda, or Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat"), is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat (40 - 60 cm long, 3 - 6 kg weight). The Red Panda is endemic to the Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, Pakistan, India, Laos, Nepal, and Burma. There is an estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Their population continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation... Red Pandas are classified as Vulnerable. .... In southwest China the Red Panda is hunted for its fur and especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In the areas of China where the Red Panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies and in weddings the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. The 'good-luck charm' hats are used by Chinese newlyweds." From Wikipedia.

I've told that joke before, but no one's ever laughed THIS hard, LOL! Of course, in reality, this gorgeous Red Panda at the Calgary Zoo was just in the middle of a great big yawn. Hope they aren't being bothered by the brutal winter snow storm we've been having the last two days - they do have wonderfully thick fur coats. It's so hard to get a photo of these three guys, they move fast and constantly : ) S/he seems to have a beautifully healthy set of sparkling teeth : )

Came across this Coyote upper jawbone when I went for a walk in the woods in Fish Creek Park. I kept trying to convince myself that maybe it died from sickness or old age and NOT because it was killed by a BIGGER animal (i.e. that I might come across), LOL.

When I drove out yesterday afternoon, on the spur of the moment, to Maclean Pond, (off Elbow Fall's Trail, Kananaskis), I came across this beaver skull at the edge of the forest. My first reaction was: "I wonder what LARGE animal maybe ate the Beaver" - I never like to think of LARGE animals when I am walking in forests on my own, LOL! However, maybe this rodent just died from sickness or old age. I took a few photos of it and left it in place - wildlife can get calcium from bones left on the ground, so it is important to leave them where they are found. "Beavers' front teeth are very special - they never stop growing! They must chew to trim their teeth to keep them from getting too long. The more they use their teeth, the sharper they become. Furry lips close behind their front teeth to keep water out when they go underwater. They have 20 teeth in total with chisel-shaped ends. Beavers' favorite food is tree bark! In spring, they like to eat juicy shrubs and tree buds. During the fall, they eat more bark than usual to put on more fat for the winter. In fall, they cut down many trees and gnaw them into smaller pieces. These are stored in big underwater piles near their homes. It's like having a pantry! When the ice freezes over the top of their pond, beavers dive down to their food stored underwater. If they run out of food, they just start eating bits of their house!" From ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/beaver/beaver.html .

Saw this jaw bone with huge teeth when I was on a walk with a friend in Griffith Woods a couple of afternoons ago. No idea what animal it belongs to, but it was obviously a large animal. Thanks, D, for giving me this chance to take such an inspiring, photogenic photo, LOL! No idea why I find jaw bones and teeth so interesting to photograph!

My friend showed me yesterday where there was this half of a beaver skull in our favourite natural area. I had no idea that a beaver's teeth were orange - and just like ivory. And just like small chisels! Both upper and lower jaws have a set of front teeth like these.

Aaargh! Just accidentally caught a key and lost all my descriptions before I could upload them! Here we go again. Took this photo when visiting my six-year-old Grandson the other evening. He had just been allowed to have a tiny candycane - remaining evidence would have given it away, anyway! Think it must have coloured his teeth, as he has beautiful little white teeth. What I was after was a photo of his very first two missing teeth. Lower bottom front, but I didn't do a very good job. Instead, you can see his inherited (from ME? No way:)) top front gap but barely can you see the two lower gaps. I believe the Tooth Fairy left $2 for each tooth? I don't post photos of children on the Internet for safety reasons - hope all of you read the info posted in at least a couple of Group Pools, saying that some people have been discovering that some photos of children that they posted were found to have been uploaded to porn sites. PLEASE, please think carefully about whether you really want to take this unnecessary risk. I must admit I cringe every single time I see yet another beautiful photo of a child or grandchild in someone's photostream.