Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Tansy

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 27 July 2017. I decided to get up early and do a repeat botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, not far from downtown. One of the reasons I did this, was that I really dislike doing this drive, especially knowing that I could so easily end up in the downtown area - which I avoid at all cost. So, a bit like getting back on a horse if one is thrown off, I hoped a second drive might make me feel more comfortable. Also, I really wanted to hopefully see a Wild European Rabbit or two, and sure enough, they didn't disappoint. Black and white, plain black, light brown, mid-brown. A few more photos of the Nodding/Musk Thistles were also on my mind. The Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, not far from downtown Calgary, 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 area. It is such a shame to see how the area is being devastated by plants that include Baby's Breath, Creeping Thistle, Nodding Thistle, Yellow Clematis and other invasive species. Common Tansy, seen in this photo, is one of the weeds growing at this location. In Alberta, its rating is Noxious. A shame, really, as its bright yellow, button-like flowers are quite attractive. "Common tansy is a perennial forb that reproduces by both seed and short rhizomes (underground horizontal roots). Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals." www.abinvasives.ca/factsheets/140513-fs-commontansy.pdf We are still under a Heat Warning. This morning, I happened to check the forecast for the coming week and, so far, the temperatures for next Thursday and Friday are 35C and 34C. The average high for the month of July is 22.9C. There are fire bans in many places in Alberta, as everywhere is bone dry.

This is the first photo I've posted from 31 August 2016, when I paid a quick visit to a couple of places in Fish Creek Park. I don't remember too much about it, except that I had picked up my new car just two days earlier and I was concentrating really hard on driving it : ) My first stop was at Burnsmead, as I wanted to check yet again to see if there were any mushrooms - a few years ago, I had photographed several amazing ones, including Stinkhorns and Bird's nest fungi. Since then, I haven't really seen any mushrooms there. A quick walk around the storm-water ponds found me this Katydid (?) on a Common Tansy plant. I think I have only ever once seen a Katydid and, now that I think about it, that, too, had been found at Burnsmead. Though Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a noxious weed that grows in our natural areas, I still like coming across it, with its beautiful bright yellow, button-like flowers. "Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals. Because of its long medicinal and horticultural use, Common tansy is still available in plant nurseries and from herbal remedy suppliers. Gardeners should not purchase Common tansy." "The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonoidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are more closely related to crickets than to grasshoppers. Tettigoniids may be distinguished from grasshoppers by the length of their antennae, which may exceed their own body length, while in grasshoppers are always relatively short. The name "katydid" comes from the sound produced by species of the North American genus Pterophylla (literally "winged leaf"). The males of katydids have sound-producing organs (via stridulation) located on the hind angles of their front wings, which in some species produce a sound thought to resemble the words "Katy did, Katy didn't", hence the name. In some species females are also capable of stridulation. There are about 255 species in North America, but the majority of species live in the tropical regions of the world. The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth." From Wikipedia. Birds seen included a Double-crested Cormorant, Coots, Mallrds, a Clay-coloured Sparrow, and a Pied-billed Grebe. A short while later, I called in at Sikome for a few minutes, just long enough to photograph a row of about eight Mallards resting on a log in the creek. Felt kind of sorry for the males who were in eclipse mode, so had brown heads instead of their gorgeous, iridescent green/purple.

Taken yesterday, 11 September 2015, when I called in at Bankside, Fish Creek Park. I had to run an errand at the east end of the park, so I thought I would call in at Bankside to see if I could see any Pelicans or Cormorants on the Bow River. One Pelican flew over and a Cormorant flew along the river. One of the Ospreys was looking for fish, but I wasn't able to get any photos.

On 16 August 2015, I went with a group of friends to Carburn Park to look for Warblers and several species were seen by at least some of the group. Group size was much too large even after splitting in half, but I think everyone was so thankful that it wasn't raining, unlike the previous day of heavy rain, that they came out to enjoy the sunshine. I enjoyed seeing a Merlin, a number of Double-crested Cormorants, and several Pelicans that flew overhead. Without binoculars, I didn't really see any of the Warblers, except for a quick glimpse of one Yellow-rumped Warbler. As you can see from this photo, my eyes were not always looking upwards : ) On any birding walk, I'm always looking around me to see what else there is to photograph. We tend to walk on such uneven ground, that my eyes are mostly downwards anyway, making sure I don't catch my foot in a hole or go flying over a fallen branch or log. This Common Tansy plant was growing along the edge of the path. Though Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a noxious weed that grows in our natural areas, I still like coming across it, with its beautiful bright yellow, button-like flowers. "Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals. Because of its long medicinal and horticultural use, Common tansy is still available in plant nurseries and from herbal remedy suppliers. Gardeners should not purchase Common tansy."

Though Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a weed that grows in our parks and natural areas, I still like coming across it, with its beautiful bright yellow, button-like flowers. This particular plant was photographed at Lafarge Meadows, Fish Creek Provincial Park, on 14 September 2014. In Alberta, this plant is listed as Noxious. It was a beautiful, sunny day - hard to believe that we had had two heavy, late-summer snowfalls on 9 and 10 September. "Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals. Because of its long medicinal and horticultural use, Common tansy is still available in plant nurseries and from herbal remedy suppliers. Gardeners should not purchase Common tansy."

Taken in hoar frost on 7 January 2013.

Though Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a weed that grows in our natural areas, I still like coming across it, with its beautiful bright yellow, button-like flowers. This particular plant was photographed on the Marston Creek Trail in Kananaskis, but I could just have easily photographed it in the city, such as in Fish Creek Park. In Alberta, this plant is listed as Noxious. "Introduced from Europe in the 1600’s, its pungently aromatic foliage has been used medicinally, as an insect repellant, and for embalming. Common tansy forms dense stands and the plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to both humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. Cases of livestock poisoning are rare, though, because tansy is unpalatable to grazing animals. Because of its long medicinal and horticultural use, Common tansy is still available in plant nurseries and from herbal remedy suppliers. Gardeners should not purchase Common tansy." www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-CommonTansy.pdf

Came across this red Long-horned Beetle yesterday afternoon when I was walking along near the Bow River at Hull's Wood, Fish Creek Park. They are only small beetles, but quite beautiful when seen enlarged. This one was busy on Common Tansy flowers, which are an invasive species.