Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: bamboo

This morning, after viewing the photos I posted last night, from our second day at Pt Pelee, I needed to remind myself that I CAN take much better photos, given the opportunity : ) So, I decided to find, edit and post three "better", more colourful images. These three were all taken at the Calgary Zoo on 26 June 2018. The last time I had visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but has now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I have been waiting for this day for a long time. This day was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I decided to go before schools closed for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. When I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking. My intention had not been to visit the Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. There was no glass in front of one of the Pandas, but two other Pandas, including the one in this photo, were in a glassed-in part of the enclosure. Almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. I will add some information later about these very special guests of our Zoo. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby - such a cute little thing, that they have named Gobi. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest.

This photo was taken on 11 November 2016, when my daughter and I had a day out together. We started off at 9:00 am and drove straight to the Saskatoon Farm for breakfast - I had a delicious meal of quiche and sweet potato fries. On a quick wander round the grounds, several Ornamental Cabbage or Flowering Kale were the only plants with colour. The rest had all gone to seed. Photographed this large, metal star in the gift store. The Saskatoon Farm is an interesting place that is maybe a 25-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside greenhouses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They also have a restaurant that offers great food. www.saskatoonfarm.com/ We then drove west into Okotoks, to go to the antique store, All Around the House and to the Christmas Market being held in the town. From here, for some insane reason, we drove as far as Millarville to go to their annual Christmas Market. I don't think I have ever seen as many cars anywhere, for anything! It was totally crazy, with endless vehicles lined up along various nearby roads, waiting to be able to park in the fields, as the market parking lot was full most of the time. Thankfully, they had arranged for two or three small school buses to transport people from the field to the Market. Some people chose to get a wagon ride instead, or walk. Later, when we were ready to leave, we had to wait for a bus again. More time (hours?) was spent waiting for buses than was spent actually walking around the huge Market. Once inside, it was absolutely packed, so you couldn't really get to any of the booths to look at things, anyway. I think we've both decided that this would be our last annual trip to this Market! We know that it would be much more relaxing and fun to be driving the back roads, looking for birds and other things to photograph : ) However, for me, the main reason for this day was to spend precious time with my daughter, so it was a good day. Thanks, Rachel!

This photo was taken at the Calgary Zoo yesterday, 21 September 2015. ILLUMINASIA runs Thursday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. September 17, 2015 - November 1, 2015. My night driving is really bad so I avoid driving once it gets dark, which of course means that I will have to miss seeing the lanterns when they are turned on. www.illuminasiacalgaryzoo.com/#header Will have to add a bit more information later today.