Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Monarda fistulosa

Winner at the Oscars 2017 for "Best Animated Short Film", was "Piper", a short (3.20 minutes) animated film about a baby Sandpiper. So cute! youtu.be/8VS7wR7gjJE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On 9 July 2015, an extremely hot day, five of us had the chance to botanize the beautiful 320 acres belonging to philanthropist, David Bissett and his wife. This land, roughly half wooded, with several small ponds in the open area, lies SW of Calgary. For anyone not sure what "botanizing" involves, we visit someone's property for the day, listing every single species of plant and tree, bird, insect, fungus, lichen, moss, liverwort, etc. that we find. It is always a win/win situation, as we are lucky enough to have the chance to explore a new area and the landowner receives a highly detailed list of everything found on his land. "Wild bergamot or bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) is a wildflower in the mint family (Lamiaceae) widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America. This plant, with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers, is often used as a honey plant, medicinal plant, and garden ornamental. The species is quite variable, and several subspecies or varieties have been recognized within it." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda_fistulosa www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MOFI David Bissett's giving to community causes, especially education, has been a hallmark of his philanthropy. He has donated to a wide range of community cultural organizations, and he has a passion for wildlife conservation. Just one of his endless donations resulted in the creation of the Bissett Wetlands at Heritage Park here in the city, a popular educational destination. calgary.ctvnews.ca/inspired-to-give-1.676279 mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/Busine...

On 23 July 2015, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I was invited to go - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast! We were taken by surprise when we came across a nearby statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. A nice idea, I thought. Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, many places treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour. Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed over Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015). Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day.

Argh! I overslept by almost an hour - will have to finish all my descriptions, etc., later today. On 23 July 2015, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I was invited to go - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast! We were taken by surprise when we came across a nearby statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. A nice idea, I thought. Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, many places treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour. Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed through Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015). Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day.

This was an especially beautiful Wild Bergamot flower, with many petals, seen on the Marston Creek hike in Kananaskis on 3rd August. Also known as Horsemint, this native member of the Mint family grows in open woods, fields and prairie grasslands, June-August.

These wildflowers always add such a beautiful splash of colour in our natural areas. It is a member of the Mint family.

This unusual looking plant is a member of the Mint family and grows in open woods, fields and prairie grasslands. Grows June - August.

This was a particularly fine grouping of Wild Bergamot, seen in the Weaselhead natural area. A member of the Mint family.