Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: dry

An interesting article from AlbertaFarmer, published on 13 February 2017, about the MULTISAR (Multiple Species At Risk) program. Fifteen years ago, no one wanted to sign up for the conservation initiative. Now, ranchers in Alberta are so eager to make their grazing land better for native species, there’s a waiting list to sign up for the conservation program that makes it happen. Very good news! www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2017/02/13/multisar-conservatio... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friends, Dorothy and Stephen, made a decision to drive down south on 20 February 2017 and asked if I would like to go with them. As always, my answer was a delighted "Yes, please!" Our mutual friend, Janet, also came along. The weather forecast looked good, especially compared to the forecast snow for the next few days - actually, it's snowing very lightly as I type this. After meeting at their house, the four of us left at 8:30 am and drove to Nanton. If one travels on Highway 2, Nanton is a 46-minute drive from the southern edge of Calgary, about 72 kms. From Nanton, we basically drove in a huge circle between Highway 2 and Highway 22, covering such beautiful scenery. Some of these roads were new roads for us, certainly for me. Each year, I take part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton, and my small group covers the area to the SW of Nanton, but much closer to the town than the area we explored two days ago. This photo of a beautiful old, wooden wagon was taken fairly early on the loop, before we got into the more rugged, hilly area, south into the Porcupine Hills. As you can see, there was very little snow to be seen - the lack of moisture must be a concern to some of the local farmers. Most of the fields were completely bare. My friends' target bird was the Golden Eagle, but all of us were happy as can be to see anything else that we might come across. As it turned out, not only did we not see a single Golden Eagle, there were not many birds of any kind to see all day. A flock of 50+ Starlings, and 25 Common Ravens, various Magpies, a few Pigeons, Canada Geese and a couple of heard Red-breasted Nuthatches were all that we saw. For animals, we saw one Coyote, 5 Mule Deer and a couple of White-tailed Deer. However, perhaps our biggest excitement came when we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive. We could see the huge herd in the distance, with one lone cowboy on his horse, coming towards us. The whole procession was following another farmer, driving very slowly with a huge hay bale in the back of his truck. After taking a quick few distant shots, we climbed back into our vehicle and waited, and waited, and waited till the very last cow had walked past us. The cowboy said he appreciated the fact that we had stopped, not wanting to spook any of the animals. As soon as they were past us, we climbed out of the car to take a quick photo or two. I think I've only ever seen a cattle drive maybe twice before. So good to see a genuine cowboy at work, doing what he does so well. Another interesting stop was when we were driving along part of the Sky View Road. We came across a logging sight, with a couple of large piles of cut logs waiting to be trucked out of the area. Fortunately, it was Family Day, so there were no huge logging trucks on the rough, gravel road leading up the hillside. We were hoping to reach the Lookout in case there were amazing views from up there, but we decided that it might be risky to drive the last part of the road that would have led to the Lookout. We had climbed high enough to already find a lot more snow and the rough road was not in the best condition. This was where we saw the two White-tailed Deer. We had seen beautiful views already, lower down the road, so we were happy. "Between the Rockies' vigorous upthrusts and the recumbent lines of the grassland plains, the Porcupine Hills provide a softly rounded interface, gentle contours that stir the heart, They are always so beautiful, from the wildflowers of spring to the hazy shimmer of summer and the sharp gold of fall aspens, and even in the austerity of a landscape under the sharp shadows of snow. The hills bring magic to all the seasons." These are the first few lines from the book, "Exploring the Routes Less Travelled - Country Roads of Alberta", by Liz Bryan. This is a book that my daughter gave me a year or two ago and I had forgotten just which journeys it covered. Last night, while I was Googling the area that I had just spent the day exploring with friends, Dorothy & Stephen, and Janet, I came across this book. The short chapter on this area made interesting reading. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a great day, exploring a new area. It was so much fun to see some new things and, of course, the scenery was spectacular. How lucky we are to live within reach of such beauty! Having been out so few times in the last few weeks and having taken barely any photos at all, this kind of day was exactly what I needed.

This is another landscape photo from Red Rock Coulee, in SE Alberta, taken on 23 September 2013. Two friends and I left Calgary on Monday morning, 20 September 2013, and had to reach Elkwater in the Cypress Hills (not that far from the Saskatchewan border), several hours' drive away, where we were going to stay in a little rustic cabin for three nights. On the way there, we stopped at Red Rock Coulee, which is just 56 kms (35 mi) southwest of Medicine Hat. Actually, this particular photo was taken on Monday, 23 September 2013, when we called in again, this time walking down the hillside and into one of the coulees. While my friends searched for Lichens, I wandered around, taking photos of the scenery and anything else I came across, including the dry, cracked ground. We didn't know what the plant in this photo was. Most of the flowers on this plant were dead, but there were still just a few that were bright yellow. The extremely high winds were not pleasant at all, to say the least! In fact, strong winds were everywhere in many parts of SE Alberta. I was expecting a lot of my photos to be blurry, as I could barely keep my balance or hold my camera. This is Rattlesnake territory, too, but fortunately we didn't come across any, thank goodness! At least, not here, but one was seen (not by me!) at the Pinhorn Grazing Lease, when we were monitoring the Yucca plants. "The main feature of this natural landscape is the huge red boulders; some measuring 2.5 m across. They are scattered over a relatively small distance. Bedrock is close to the surface in this area, covered by only a thin layer of soil. Water erosion has carved the landscape over time and a badlands topography has formed in places. The bands of colour visible in the exposed bedrock are made of dark gray shales, greenish and gray sandstones, bentonitic clays and thin bands of ironstone. The most striking features of this landscape are the round reddish boulders. These are sandstone concretions and at up to 2.5 m in diameter, they are among the largest in the world. The boulders were formed in prehistoric seas as layers of sand, calcite and iron oxide collected around a nucleus formed by shells, leaves or bones. The concretions grew larger as the circulating waters deposited more layers. The reddish colour comes from iron oxide." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Coulee

I keep coming across yet another photo of a Sacred Lotus seedpod - sorry to bore you with these : ) I just find them so fascinating and beautiful. Sometimes, I have caught them when they were bright green, but this one is older and has turned brown. Photographed at the Calgary Zoo on 23rd August 2011.