Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: fragile

As you can see by the colour of the sky, this was not the kind of sky I had hoped for on 29 September 2014. The light really was not good, but I had to take photos anyway : ) This particular area is the official protected area of hoodoos in the Drumheller area, with steps around the various unique formations. Hoodoos can be seen almost anywhere in the Badlands, but these ones are especially spectacular. That day, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw this particular Hoodoo area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we have been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and a day where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for yesterday was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going! This drive was the longest drive I had ever done. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have no sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol! I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round two main areas - Dorothy and Rowley, each in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake on going on this trip yesterday. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun. Our three main destinations were the Hoodoo Trail (seen in this photo), the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy (calling in at Wayne as well), and the hamlet of Rowley. "Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed). This protected Hoodoos site is a guaranteed spot to see Hoodoos but smaller versions of these sandstone giants can be found all over the Badlands. The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders." From traveldrumheller.com www.traveldrumheller.com/index.php/directory/7-Drumheller... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_ (geology) After that, we went to Rowley to see the old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with two being right next to each other and the other being a bit further away. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept. From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I really don't like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!

We are all waiting with baited breath for the first Prairie Crocus (also called Pasque-flower) to bloom!!! Such gorgeous, hairy plants! Legend says that the Great Spirit gave this delicate plant a fur coat to keep it warm until spring nights turn warmer. This is a photo taken on 5 May 2006 at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park. Last spring, I photographed my first one on 26 March, but everything will be delayed this year because of our long, hard winter.

These teeny wildflowers are absolutely exquisite! They grow in moist woodlands and are so small that normally a person would never notice them. Each flower stem has 3-10 tiny, greenish white flowers on it. The flower is 5-6 mm (0.197 to 0.236 inches!)across, has 4 or 5 sepals, and 5 petals that are finely divided and branched. I think they look like little snowflakes : ). They are extremely difficult to photograph because they are always found in low light, very low to the ground, and they are so SMALL!

I was going to put "Spring is finally here" as the title, but the sky has clouded over and it no longer looks like spring, LOL. Either way, I was happy to see tiny bunches of Daffodils in Safeway yesterday - so cheap, but so beautiful!

The sun has finally come out, late afternoon, but it has been a cold day today, with an unpleasant cold wind (which has just started to pick up). Had a routine dental appointment this afternoon and when I got back home, I noticed that the first flower on my little Christmas Cactus had fully opened. Thought I'd make the most of it - after all, a day without using my camera is not my favourite kind of day, LOL! Hope it sends out lots of cheer : ) Rebecca (Red-Star) - this is to celebrate your successful, but bittersweet, house sale.

This is one of my favourite kinds of mushroom to try and photograph - it was only about half an inch across, growing on a rotting log in Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 4 August 2012. The cap is very thin and delicate and had a beautiful pattern and sparkle. I didn't see all that many fungi growing in the park and quite a few of them were not photogenic at all - I never go very far into the area, as I find it a very creepy place to be. However, I knew that at least one or two of my birder friends were going to be there that morning, so I knew that I wouldn't be there in bear and cougar territory completely on my own, ha.

I always enjoy coming across one of these tiny Marasmius (?) fungi in the forest. Haven't found all that many this fungi season, but hopefully next fall will be so much better. Macro photo taken at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on August 20th.

A few of us had a lovely day yesterday, botanizing the property that belongs to Rod Handfield, near Millarville (south of Calgary). We had been there several times before over the last two or three years, and we have always been lucky with the fungi we have found. Not sure if fungi season is just late in arriving this year or maybe it just isn't going to be a good fungi season (August is supposed to be the peak of the season), but we were happy to find that there was a reasonable number of species of fungi yesterday. This is just a tiny mushroom - one of my favourite kinds to photograph : ) Answering Jim's (Meremail) query - what is "botanizing"? Well, a very small group (anything from say three to six of us) goes out to various locations and we search for all species of plants, but also birds, fungi, insects, wildlife, lichens, etc.. The leader (naturalist) of the group records everything on a long list. We each receive a copy and also, if we do this on private land such as a ranch or a Nature Conservancy of Canada location, a copy of this very detailed list is sent to the owner of the land that we have botanized. It's always a win-win situation, as the owner gets a much better idea of just what is growing on his land - and we, of course, have wonderful opportunities to explore new or familiar places, that we would otherwise never get to see. We do the same within the city, too. We have been doing this for several years now. Done on a volunteer basis, including the leader. Sometimes, it is important that landowners know such things as what rare plants are growing, in case a new road or bridge is planned through part of the land. Thanks for the good question, Jim : ) And remember - never, ever eat any kind of mushroom unless you are an expert in mushrooms, or the following - or even worse! - could happen to you! This short Klaymen (animation) video from YouTube was posted by Raptorman2 just now on the Hornby Eagles webchat, lol. youtu.be/y13Ffjqwamk

This was one of the many wonderful species of fungus that we discovered while botanizing the 152-acre property of Rod Handfield, south of Calgary, west of Millarville. Just loved the grooves and the light : )

My tiny back "garden" is a total disaster, with giant ferns pushing their way up through other plants and the lawn. My short length of hedge is growing through and over the fence. Tiny blue/purple geraniums were looking pretty, but soon will be an untidy mass of straggling stems and seedpods. BUT, I have two Peonies and they produce gigantic blossoms out of those tiny buds - and the smell is out of this world! I always find it fascinating to see the occasional splash of pink on the white petals, like raspberry sauce drizzled on vanilla ice-cream : )

I can't remember when I took this photo, but I used my old Olympus C750UZ and at that time I was having to hold the battery door closed with a huge elastic band. Each time this slipped, all my settings were messed up and no date was recorded. I know it was quite a long time ago, and I wasn't sure whether to post it as there is so little of the photo that is even moderately sharp, ha, ha. However, there is just something I like about the colouring and bokeh, and the small, delicate, hanging flowerhead. Purple Avens is a native plant in the Rose family and grows in marshes and wet meadows in July. Unusual pinkish purple, nodding heads. Sorry, everyone, I am falling further and further behind with any commenting (which is usually very random, anyway). This time of the year, after our long, cold winter months, I find myself out of the house most of the time, often seven days a week! Throw in severe sleep deprivation, and I tend to be feeling dead tired most of the time, too! Very enjoyable outings for me, (but absolutely necessary also, to keep my joints and muscles mobile, otherwise I won't be able to walk AT ALL), but I feel bad that I'm just not getting time to comment! I appreciate all YOUR comments so much - thank you so much for still taking the time to visit my photostream! So much appreciated!

Well, the poor Prairie Crocuses looked rather battered and droopy this morning, after the awful snow storm we had two days ago! They were all closed up, with their little fur coats - solar heating, Crocus style! "This furry little perennial is actually not a crocus, which is in the Lily family; it's really an anemone, in the Buttercup family."

Possibly my favourite seedpods! These are from the Black Henbane plant and remind one of peanut shells : ) I love the spiky points and the intricate vein pattern. This plant was introduced from Eurasia and has become a problem. All parts of the plant are poisonous, too.

Have just spent three hours at the Zoo this afternoon, as we have more snow in the forecast over the next few days. Wanted to make the most of today's sunshine and now am in a rush to upload "my daily three" so that I can have some supper : ) This is what became of a brightly coloured rose I posted recently - I thought it turned into something quite beautiful. Apologies to my Flickr friends for not commenting much/at all - I have several projects that are keeping me running round in circles, not to mention all sorts of urgent personal things that just aren't getting done!!

Yes, this was this morning, LOL! Actually, it has been a beautiful, sunny day, around 0C or a degree or two above. Was out on a walk all morning at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, which is where I noticed this leaf lying on the path. I can never see a leaf edged with ice-crystals and not photograph it. Straight after this walk, I called in at the Zoo, which was nearby. SO many people everywhere, enjoying the sunshine!! I couldn't get all that many photos - think I prefer a weekday, not a weekend. The most-photographed creature there for me was a Canada Goose, who was standing on the path, on guard, while his mate was up on a low roof, building her nest : ) One very happy animal was the new, male Snow Leopard. He and the female have just been introduced - and today he must have been feeling VERY happy (to the embarassment of many parents with young children, LOL). Hopefully, there will be babies this year.

OK, so it's a little bit weird, but I thought I'd still post it, LOL! Just a small piece of melting ice that I picked up and held up to the beautiful blue sky that we had a couple of days ago. Made me think of a mask when I saw it at home. The snow and ice are melting here, leaving many of the park paths slushy and muddy. Dare I say it? It was too warm for my liking today, LOL!

Finally, the snow is melting, so I thought I'd better post this shot taken earlier in the winter, before spring arrives. LOL, actually, I've probably got plenty of time yet : ). I wonder if every spot of snow will get a chance to melt this time before more snow falls. This winter, we have had snow covering the ground for months on end - what happened to all our usual (and, oh, so welcome) Chinooks this winter?? Can never resist stopping for a moment, though, to capture Nature's little gifts.

Well, not such a happy ending for the Mallard that this feather (and nearby others) used to belong to, but there was a gorgeous covering of ice crystals this morning. Walking along the edge of the Bow River at Beaverdam Flats this morning was very enjoyable. A coolish -7C (windchill -13C), but sunny. It seemed a shame to walk on the trail, as there were fine ice crystals on all the tiny plants covering the ground - quite spectacular! Nature is so clever : )