Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: thistle

Back to a day out in Kananaskis with friend, Pam, on 5 September 2019. On 5 September 2019, friend Pam and I had a great day out in Kananaskis. It had been just over two months since I drove myself out there, but Pam had been only two days before. There were a few different places that she wanted to stop, and she was hoping to see a bear - preferably a Grizzly, but we were out of luck for that. However, we were lucky enough to see two Black Bears, which was such a treat. Our day started off really well, leaving the city at 7:00 am. Driving along a backroad SW of the city, a small, rather cute, old barn was our first find. It was set back from the road a little and easily missed, so I'm glad I spotted it. Further on, we came across a White-tailed Deer feeding in a field, and it looked so beautiful in the early morning sun. Normally, I don't get out this early and I know I miss that special light. After quite a bit of driving, we were taken by surprise by our first Black Bear sighting of the day. Definitely not in a place that we would have expected. The animal was a long way off, part way up a big hill, and would have been very easy to miss. Luckily, a vehicle had stopped at the side of the road and we saw someone with a tripod - always a hopeful sign. Scouring the hillside, I spotted a black shape amongst the grass and small bushes. Bear! After taking our photos, I made sure I walked over to the other people and thanked them for spotting and stopping. Once we got into the mountains, we found ourselves facing dense fog, which seemed to go on forever. It felt like our outing might just have to end soon after it had begun. Fortunately, though, it did eventually clear when we reached the Ptarmigan Cirque area, and we found ourselves in sunshine. Looking back in the direction from which we had just come, the low cloud made for a beautiful scene. One little White-crowned Sparrow sat in a tree at the edge of the parking lot and gave us a chance to take photos. It seemed unusually tolerant of us. Further north, we stopped at the Pika location and were able to get a few somewhat distant shots. We didn't stay here for very long, as we had other places to visit. A further half-hour drive brought us to a beautiful lake with an incredibly beautiful setting - Wedge Pond. For quite a few years, I have never been sure where this pond was and whether I had ever been there before. It certainly didn't feel familiar. As well as the spectacular scenery, I also photographed a rather beautiful Moth that had landed on a thistle. The bright yellow splash of colour from three or four Goat's-beard wildflowers gave another photo opportunity - they are attractive flowers, but it's too bad they are a highly invasive weed. Leaving Wedge Pond, we continued northwards and were so delighted to see our second Black Bear of the day. This was a very challenging bear to photograph, as it walked off into the trees and soon disappeared completely. Photos tended to be missing either a head, or a rear end, or capturing barely anything at all. Coming back south, about an hour later, we stopped at Buller Pond, where we saw a few mushrooms, including a small scattering of beautiful Shaggy Mane/Inky Cap mushrooms. I love the scenery at Buller Pond and at Peninsular, giving a fine view of the Opal Range with its incredible erosion patterns. A small group of Bighorn Sheep made a nice ending to our day in Kananaskis. No matter how many I see, they are always welcome. Very recently, I seem to have seen them almost everywhere I have been. A most enjoyable day - thanks so much, Pam, for the invite and exciting day. Sorry we didn't manage to find a Grizzly Bear for you, but two Black Bears were still a real treat..

Definitely past its prime, but I love these Nodding Thistles at any stage, but especially when the pinky purple flower has died and the beautiful pattern of the spiny bracts can be seen more clearly. Flower head is 4-6 cm in diameter. The large Nodding or Musk Thistle is my favourite species of Thistle. Unfortunately, this quite spectacular and beautiful species is on the list of Restricted, Noxious, and Nuisance Weeds In Alberta. Its name, Nodding Thistle, comes from the fact that the flower heads commonly droop to a 90° to 120° angle from the stem when mature. It is a biennial that spreads rapidly by seed forming extremely dense stands, though when I have seen this species growing in several places within the city, there are usually only a few of them. It looks like i may have captured two insects as well - a teeny red mite on the left of the stem, and something else in the centre of the stem. I don't know if the latter is a moth or a beetle. www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2011/08/carduus-nutans.php en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduus_nutans This photo was taken at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, not far from downtown Calgary, yesterday afternoon, 24 July 2018. It is the richest botanical area, for its size, within the city. Over 385 species have been recorded in an area of about three hectares. (All of Fish Creek Provincial Park has only about 460 species). Eighty species, however, are aliens, now occupying 90+% of the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. It is such a shame to see how the area is being devastated by plants that include Baby's Breath, Creeping Thistle, Yellow Clematis and other invasive species. The weather forecast for yesterday afternoon called for a risk of a thunderstorm. The sky was dark and gloomy, but we were very lucky that the rain stayed away. Our temperature at 9:00 this morning, 25 July 2018, is only 12C, which feels really good. This afternoon, it is supposed to get up to 23C.

The Nodding/Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans) is my favourite kind of thistle, especially at the stage before the stage shown in my photo, when the pinky purple flower has died and the beautiful pattern of the spiny bracts can be seen more clearly. Flower head is 4-6 cm in diameter. Photographed at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area on July 27th, when I called in for a short walk after my afternoon volunteer shift. There were a lot more of these plants this year, so I guess this invasive weed really does spread! The Government is offering very good rebates to people who replace their central heating furnace for an energy efficient one, but the offer is only for a limited time. My furnace is extremely old and I think it was maybe five years ago that the furnaces in several neighbours' units developed cracks and had to be replaced. We all had to have our furnaces checked for obvious safety reasons. I was told that mine might last another couple of years - and it has been five, so I feel I'm pushing my luck. The question is - do I really want to add more stress and mess to the upcoming stress and mess of having to have my front and patio doors, all my windows, and the roof replaced??? It would be so much more expensive to replace it next year. Also, it will be a nightmare getting to the furnace and working around it, as my basement is now worse than ever, now that I have the contents of the 12 boxes from England (containing so many wonderful sentimental belongings of my parents and my brother) strewn all over the basement floor. I think I might just have to swallow my pride and ask a furnace guy to please close his eyes and not notice the mess, ha. Impossible! Couldn't fall sleep last night, thinking about this, and ended up in my basement in the early hours of the morning, moving a handful of things. Anyone got one of those magic wands I could borrow, lol??? Or maybe even Mary Poppins might be available? Sigh ....

The Nodding/Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans) is my favourite kind of thistle, especially at this stage, when the pinky purple flower has died and the beautiful pattern of the spiny bracts can be seen more clearly. Flower head is 4-6 cm in diameter. Photographed at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area on July 27th, when I called in for a short walk after my afternoon volunteer shift. There were a lot more of these plants this year, so I guess this invasive weed really does spread, lol. In Alberta, this plant is listed as Prohibited Noxious. www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2011/08/carduus-nutans.php en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carduus_nutans Came across this beautiful video of Bald Eagles flying, on YouTube. Superb footage from BBC and KPBS of American and European Eagles. Music by Abba. I did post it a couple of days ago, but after everyone had commented, so thought I'd post it again today. youtu.be/qdoSy4ROZpg Have been watching and waiting for the youngest of the two Hornby Island Eagles to fledge, but it looks like young "David" (as he has been named) is going to be waiting just a little longer - today, tomorrow? What a character this young branchling is, lol. It has been eight days since his older sibling fledged.

Not the greatest photo when it comes to an ID, but I rather liked the backlit view of this Fritillary butterfly. Seen on 29th August, when we hiked and botanized the Fullerton Loop trail, starting from Allan Bill Pond on Highway 66, Kananaskis.

This small Green Stink Bug was wandering all over a Canada Thistle this afternoon. I love seeing these. Actually, I saw all sorts of things on my walk today, starting off with a family of Ring-necked Pheasants running through the long grass. Also saw what must have been bear droppings - filled with berries!

Saw this Bull Thistle down at Frank Lake in August 2006.

A rare find in this city. Photographed 12th September 2005. This plant was well over 6' tall!

This hanging thistle head is just another "victim" of winter - though so many "victims" are beautiful in their frozen state (at least in my eyes!).

This is an attractive weed!

These Flodman's Thistles are everywhere and it's all too easy to end up with an overdose of thistle photos in one's files! The colour is pretty, though.

This plant originated in Eurasia but unfortunately was introduced all across Canada. It should not really be called Canada Thistle seeing as it is an introduced species, but rather, Creeping Thistle. It has become a problem noxious weed in Alberta.

This thistle is also sometimes called Nodding Thistle. The red-purple flower of Musk Thistle is about two inches in diameter, which is larger than other biennial thistles (i.e., Bull and Tall) and perennial thistles, such as Canada Thistle. The drooping or nodding flower head is surrounded by broad, spiny-tipped bracts which are quite attractive. The tall plant in my photo was already past its prime, which is why I took it from behind.

This plant was well over 6 feet tall. Both leaves and flowers are quite attractive.