Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Western Salsify

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.

(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 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