Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: snowman

A quick posting before my computer freezes! This is one of my absolute favourite Christmas ornaments, given to me by my daughter for Christmas in 2014. It stands maybe 2" tall and is just so cute. She knows so well how crazy I am about mushrooms : ) The only little snowman I have ever seen holding a mushroom of any kind. This bright red one is the poisonous/hallucinogenetic Fly Agaric/Amanita muscaria. Happy Christmas Day, everyone! Ha, this is funny - yesterday evening, I Googled NORAD to check where in the world Santa had reached. Immediately, I got the Blue Screen of Death - thank you Santa for my early Christmas present. Strangely, though, my computer didn't freeze for the next few hours, unlike this morning, Christmas Day. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them and, as always, with those who for one reason or another will spend Christmas alone. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a happy day, anyway. Merry Christmas, happy day!

Pam, wishing you, your hubby and your three furry companions a wonderful, relaxed, peaceful Christmas Day! Absolutely loved your Christmas card that you posted - very clever and beautiful. I'm sure everyone loved it and was impressed at your skill. I can only begin to imagine how much effort went into creating it. Will be thinking of you. Adding this very quickly this evening (Christmas Eve), as I am holding my breath that my computer won't freeze any moment. Pretty well impossible to use - it lasted just 10 minutes this morning. Technician was unable to replicate the problem I'm having, and could find nothing wrong to fix. So annoying! Anyway, I send my Christmas wishes to each of you and hope that tomorrow will be a happy day for you, whether you spend it with family/friends or quietly by yourself. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope your day will be good, anyway. To my daughter - sorry, I just had to use this little snowman before giving it to you : )

HELP is needed to find the two amazing men who stopped (in brutal, -30C weather) to help save the life of one of our birder/photographer friends, who was in a very serious vehicle accident east of the city. Mike (Mike Kelly on Flickr), who is in hospital with a broken jaw, broken wrist, and two broken legs, really, really wants to meet his two rescuers so that he can thank them in person for saving his life. Everyone is using the social media on Facebook in an attempt to find these two good Samaritans, and I thought I would add it here, too, in the hope that someone out there might just know the hoped-for information. It would mean so much to Mike! His many friends would be so happy, too. I will add the link to today's Global TV News article. Of course, it is possible that the two rescuers might have seen the News and hopefully come forward. Mike thinks that one of them might live in British Columbia, the province to the west of us. globalnews.ca/news/3949198/calgarian-who-barely-survived-... ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* I happened to come across this photo last night while searching for certain other shots. Kind of late for Christmas, but I thought it was such a cute scene. On 2 February 2014, a group of us went on an annual birding trip west of the city, that is normally to the Sibbald Creek area, Exshaw and Harvie Heights. This year, though, we drove around the Water Valley area (NW of Calgary) first and then went straight on to Harvie Heights. Very few birds to be seen in either area, but of course it was wonderful to get out to these places, in good company. At Harvie Heights, near Canmore (near Banff), there were no Grosbeaks, no Clark's Nutcrackers, etc.. The same has been true for so many walks and outings these days - where are all the birds? The day before this trip, a group of people went to a local city park and, in just under three hours of walking, saw only five species of bird. The following is the report complied by trip leader, Andrew Hart. Thanks for a great day, as always, Andrew! "Twelve of us set out on a sunny but chilly day with temperatures ranging from -14 deg C to -8 deg C. We started off by driving around in the area to the south of Water Valley as far as the Bates Ranch. We were hoping to find owls, but despite visiting several known previous sighting locations, came up short. We did see several Ravens and Magpies, some Blue Jays (at the Winchell Lake Estates), Black Capped Chickadees, a Rough Legged Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, and Hairy Woodpecker. We also saw a Coyote. After lunch we went further south and encountered a family of 6-8 Gray Jays near the Bates Ranch. We then headed to Harvie Heights. En route we passed a road-killed deer swarming with 20 Ravens, and a Coyote angling to see them off. We also saw two Bald Eagles. At Harvie Heights we saw several Mountain and Black Capped Chickadees, a Brown Creeper, Pine Siskins, Dark Eyed Juncos, and Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers (the Woodpeckers seen by Phil Quin at a feeder by the hamlet entrance that the rest of us drove past). No Pine Grosbeaks (not that much of a surprise this year) and no Clark's Nutcrackers (more of a surprise). The incredible sunlit snow blanketed scenery made up for the relative shortcomings in bird species."

Lol, those of you who know me know that I love photographing mushrooms. The one mushroom that is on my Wish List is the bright red Fly Agaric, which we don't get here. Ours are either yellow or orange-yellow with the white flecks - still beautiful to see. Needless to say, my youngest daughter, with her brilliant ability to choose gifts that are exactly right for each person, succeeded in finding this perfect one for me two Christmases ago. It stands maybe 2" tall and is just so cute. This is just a very quick shot I took. I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas has had a lovely few days. Here, we had roughly 7" of new snow, so we definitely had a white Christmas. It was also very cold. This morning, 27 December 2016, it is only -1C (windchill -7C), which is good, because there is another Christmas Bird Count today, SW of the city. According to the weather forecast, we should have a few days of these milder temperatures and then we plunge back to very cold again.

Happy Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful day today. Here in Calgary, it's 11:00 am as I type. The temperature is -15C (windchill -23C).. The last two days, I think we've had more snow than we've had in total so far this 'winter'. It looks pretty out there, but no local roads or sidewalks have been cleared yet, so I will be staying home like yesterday. No sign of the sun, to add that extra sparkle. I don't think I've ever been so disorganized about taking Christmas photos. This snowman has been with me for a few years and thankfully provided me with a photo to post today. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them and, as always, with those who for one reason or another will spend Christmas alone. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a happy weekend, anyway. Wishing you all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the very best in the New Year! If you will be on the road, please don't drink and drive! Three days ago, on 22 December 2016, my daughter and I had Christmas together, as she has to work over Christmas. We went SE of the city, to the Saskatoon Farm, and had a delicious breakfast. She is in so much pain that we can't go for a drive to look for Snowy Owls or old barns. She has an appointment next month and is more than ready to take the absolute earliest date for her major surgery. Happy Christmas, everyone!

Happy Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful day today (Christmas Eve) and tomorrow (Christmas Day). Here in Calgary, it's 11:00 am as I type. The temperature is -12C (windchill -17C), and there is a Snowfall Warning in effect. Yesterday and today, I think we've had more snow than we've had all 'winter', and it's still snowing. A quick look through my window and I think I've decided that I can survive my Christmas dinner without roast parsnips - in all these years, I have never forgotten to buy them before! Blame it on the dizziness that I've had for at least 10 days now, lol, though it's not as bad as it was before. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them and, as always, with those who for one reason or another will spend Christmas alone. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a happy weekend, anyway. Wishing you all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the very best in the New Year! If you will be on the road, please don't drink and drive! Two days ago, on 22 December 2016, my daughter and I had our Christmas together, as she has to work on Christmas Day. We went to the Saskatoon Farm and had a delicious breakfast. She is in so much pain that we can't go for a drive to look for Snowy Owls or old barns. She has an appointment next month and is more than ready to take the absolute earliest date for her major surgery. The Saskatoon Farm is an interesting place that is maybe a 25-minute drive SE from the southern edge of Calgary. You can collect your own Saskatoon berries in season, look around their outside greenhouses, and their inside gift shop full of unusual things, and buy special baking, jams, teas and so on. They have a restaurant that offers great food. This little snowman was in the gift shop and gave me the chance to finally take a photo that I could use for Christmas. www.saskatoonfarm.com/ On the way to drop my daughter off at home, we called in at the Glamorgan Bakery - a well-known bakery that we have used for the last few decades. It always feels good to see their traditional cookies, Cheese Buns, cakes and pies. Thanks, Rachel, for a lovely few hours spent together - the best Christmas gift possible.

All three photos posted today were taken yesterday morning, 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast - though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the forecast is for PLUS 11C! This morning, as I type, it is +6C (windchill +2C). Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like! theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel... I always love coming across a snowman that someone has built : ) Ths one was just off the path, and I couldn't resist taking its portrait. The following is a list of the species seen yesterday: FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups. 1. Bald Eagle-1ad 2. Downy Woodpecker-5 3. Hairy Woodpecker-2 4. Northern Flicker-1 5. Blue Jay-3+ 6. Black-billed Magpie-3 7. Common Raven-5 8. Black-capped Chickadee-20 9. Boreal Chickadee-3 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard 11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2 12. Bohemian Waxwing-1 13. Pine Grosbeak-40+ 14. House Finch-8+ 15. White-winged Crossbill-1 16. Common Redpoll-150 17. Pine Siskin-50 18. American Goldfinch-1 Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-8 White-tailed Deer-4+

Lol, those of you who know me know that I love photographing mushrooms. The one mushroom that is on my Wish List is the bright red Fly Agaric, which we don't get here. Needless to say, my youngest daughter, with her brilliant ability to choose gifts that are exactly right for each person, succeeded in finding this perfect one for me (along with various "owl" things!). It stands maybe 2" tall and is just so cute. I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas is having, or has had, a lovely day. Here, the forecast snow didn't arrive yesterday, so we are having a "brown" Christmas. Makes things so much easier, especially for those who have to be out on the roads today. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them and, as always, with those who for one reason or another will spend Christmas alone. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a happy day, anyway. Wishing you all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the very best in the New Year! If you will be on the road, please don't drink and drive!

Almost embarrassing to say that I think this snowman was the highlight (for me) on yesterday's Bird Count, lol! The sun was shining exactly on it, while the surrounding area was in shade. Yesterday, 1 January 2014, was the 21st annual Fish Creek Park New Year's Day Bird Count and, as you can see from the blue sky, it was a gorgeous day out there. Sunny, calm, -8 to -5C, with 5cm new snow that had fallen overnight. We walked from 9:00 a.m. till noon, and my small group covered the area from Bebo Grove to bridge 6 and back. Twenty people turned up for the Count in this part of the park, so we split into two groups. Other small groups covered other parts of the park and just after noon, some participants met at Tim Horton's for coffee and lunch. Always tastes so good after being outdoors for a few hours : ) Always feels so good to meet up with friends and spend a few hours in this way! Results for my small group (the other half of the group had very similar results, also with a total of 11 species) are listed below. As you can see, nothing spectacular or rare, though we did look in vain for the Three-toed Woodpecker and kept our eyes open for one of the tiny Northern Pygmy Owls that had given us so much pleasure two or three winters ago. Downy Woodpecker-8 Hairy Woodpecker-3 Northern Flicker-1 Black-billed Magpie-4 Common Raven-20 Black-capped Chickadee-37 Boreal Chickadee-1 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-5 Townsend's Solitaire-2 Bohemian Waxwing-300 Talking of snow, CBC News reported on 21 December 2013: "December SNOWFALL in Calgary has broken a 112-year record according to the city. The City made the announcement in a tweet Saturday morning after weeks of on-and-off heavy snowfall left many residents complaining about the lack of snow removal in parts of Calgary. "A total of 43.8 cm of snow has fallen in Calgary this month. We haven’t seen this much snow in 112 years!" tweeted the City."

Good morning, everyone! Happy Christmas (Eve day)! Hope you all have a wonderful day today and tomorrow. In Calgary, the temperature is -5C, with a windchilll of -11C, supposedly getting up to 0C (windchill -5C) this afternoon, so we are lucky. What would Christmas be without a snowman? This one was made from a hollowed-out gourd and I just couldn't resist it when I saw it at my local garden centre : ) Stands about 10" high. For many people, Christmas is a very difficult time, for various reasons. My thoughts are with them and, as always, with those who for one reason or another will spend Christmas alone. To those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope today and tomorrow will be happy ones for you. If you will be on the road, please don't drink and drive! Today, I am lucky enough to be going looking for owls again, with friends Cathy and Terry. I've never, ever been out this many times so close together, looking for these magnificent birds - three times this week : ) Wishing you all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the very best in the New Year!

Just haven't had time to create a bird Christmas card, so decided to use this cute little snowman instead. Photographed him yesterday evening, just in the nick of time. I want to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and all the very best in the New Year. Thank you all for another great year of friendship - and especially for your support in difficult times after my brother died. That is something I will never forget. Thank you for taking the time to look at my photos and for all those much appreciated comments, and thank you for posting so many amazing images on your own photostreams. There are so many of them that I just haven't been able to comment on - but I always look and enjoy and admire : ) Health and happiness to each and every one of you, and, of course, the same wishes go to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas. A special thought to those who spend Christmas alone.

Dragged myself out for a short, cold walk in a local park this afternoon (windchill -21C). The sun had twice burst through the overcast sky, but it was back to grey and dull while I was in the park. Took this little guy with me, just for fun. He was smiling - but I was just relieved to get back to my car and head for the warmth of home : )

You just never know who you might come across in the woods, LOL! This handsome guy was hanging out at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park, this morning. It doesn't look like it from my photo, but it was in amongst the trees - never good news for my little camera! As well as this snowman with the big grin, we also saw: Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 Northern Goshawk-2, simultaneously: 1 sitting, 1 flying. Gyrfalcon-1, gray morph, flying east. Northern Pygmy-Owl-1, near Raven Rocks. Downy Woodpecker-4 Blue Jay-1 Black-billed Magpie-6 Common Raven-5+ Black-capped Chickadee-10 White-breasted Nuthatch-3 Bohemian Waxwings-50+ Pine Grosbeak-3 White-winged? Crossbill-5

Photo slump - need help, LOL! I've only had a chance to quickly go out and use my camera once this week. Desperation set in late tonight and I just HAD to turn it on and click, LOL! Hoping that I might get a photo or two tomorrow, when I go east of the city on a Christmas Bird Count.

These are two of the gifts my youngest daughter gave me last Christmas when she came from Vancouver. For SOME reason (LOL), she seems to think I'm a birder! (Actually, I'm not a birder - I'm just someone who loves nature and taking photos of anything beautiful). I love the little Smores snowman with Field Guide, binoculars and bird on his hat.

A few of my familiar snowmen who make a ring around the base of my little tree.