Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: pink & white

Monday, 14 July 2014, was another hot day, and my computer room became unbearably uncomfortable. That meant only one thing - I would have to drive around in my car for some air-conditioning. Spent about four hours cruising the backroads SW of the city, not seeing a whole lot. Went as far as Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, with the intention of doing just a very short walk into the forest. Didn't get that far, though, as there were things to photograph around the edge of the tiny parking lot and just part way along the path that leads to the two short boardwalks. The first thing I saw and heard was a Tennessee Warbler and when I reached it, discovered that there were now several young ones, too. Talk about friendly little birds - not sure that they didn't think I was going to feed them. Interesting to see birds that acted rather like the Black-capped Chickadees - just as fast-moving, too, making it difficult to get even a half-decent photo. The next thing that welcomed me to the park was a beautiful Western Wood Lily. They always almost glow amongst all the greenery. A few other plants that I photographed included Sticky Purple Geranium and Richardson's Geranium, Purple Avens, One-flowered WIntergreen, One-sided Wintergreen, Pink Pyrola, Creamy Peavine, Round-leaved Orchid and this pretty little Twinflower (macro shot). "Linnaea borealis, commonly known as Twinflower (sometimes written twin flower) is a woodland subshrub, treated either in the family Caprifoliaceae, or sometimes in its own family Linnaeaceae." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaea On the way home from Brown-Lowery, I saw a couple of fun things. One was a Wilson's Snipe on a wooden post to which was attached a Bluebird/Tree Swallow nesting box. I've never seen one by a nesting box before. The other thing I saw was a Ruffed Grouse female walking along the side of the main road. Didn't realize what it was until I had driven past it. Did a quick U-turn and, rounding a bend, saw not just the adult standing on the road, but also a young one. I pulled over to the edge of the road and very slowly walked a little closer - then I noticed about four other youngsters in the grass. Mom walked very slowly to the middle of the road and one brave little soul took a few very hesitant steps towards her. It wasn't quite sure that it liked being that far out in the open, so started to return to its siblings. This was repeated a few times, with me becoming more anxious that a car was bound to come racing down the road at any minute. Another of the babies tried to take a few brave steps - which is when a vehicle appeared. With Mom and two of her babies on the road, where they'd been for maybe 10 minutes, I just had to signal to the driver, who slowed down, waited a moment, and then got out of her car and loudly clapped her hands. Off they all flew, into the long grass. I suspect she was a country girl - and not a photographer, lol! If only she had scared them off to the side of the road that they had been trying to get to! And so ended my fun experience ..... and I returned to my house, that felt like walking into an oven.

I'm always delighted to see a Straw Flower (Strawflower), of any colour. Just fascinated by how perfect they always are. Love their paper-like petals, sheen, and gentle mix of pink and white. Photographed (macro) at the Reader Rock Garden on 26 July 2013. The petals aren’t true petals at all, but in fact are modified leaves called bracts, that come in many colours, including yellow, orange, cream, pink, white, and purple. "Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerochrysum_bracteatum

I can never remember the name of this small flower - all I can remember is that I have such difficulty in getting a really sharp photo of it, for some strange reason. Photographed in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012.

I really like these small flowers (Mums), with their two-colour petals that are arranged layer upon layer. What an almost perfect day it is today, as far as the weather goes. Bright blue sky, endless sunshine, though very windy. I went walking in Fish Creek Park this morning and was lucky enough to see a very distant Northern Pygmy-owl perched on a bare branch high up in a deciduous tree. After a minute or two, it flew across the path ahead of us. SO good to know that at least one of these gorgeous Owls is back in the same area again. They are so tiny, about the size of a pop-can or someone's clenched fist! Oh, and we also saw a Mink - too far away to get a photo and it quickly slid into the water and disappeared anyway. I'd never seen one before : )