Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Yellow Lady's-slipper

What joy to get on Flickr this morning and find that there has been no new porn-spam activity overnight! Unfortunately, the hundreds of spam Likes have not (yet) been removed from the recent activity list. Thanks so much, Helen (Haden), for sending the link to Pete Rowbottom's posting about this issue. Yesterday, 5 June 2018, I finally got out on my first botany walk of the season, having missed the first few weeks. Friends and I looked at the plants that were growing on the way down into Weaselhead, including these beautiful Yellow Lady-s slippers. They grow in so few places, so it is always a treat to find some in a location that is kept secret. Two days earlier, I had been down into Weaselhead with birding friends. The next two photos were taken that day - Cliff Swallows collecting mud from the edge of the Elbow River to repair or build new nests that one can see under the large, green bridge that crosses over the river. When you walk across the bridge, you can find yourself surrounded by dozens of these birds flying in almost a mini-murmuration. Today, I am getting my snow tires off and my All-season tires put on, at long last. I had to wait 8 or 9 days for the first available appointment time. Before we know it, it will be time to get those snow tires put back on. Our summer season is sadly so very short.

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 28 June 2016, when I went with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, to Bow Valley Provincial Park They are leading a day trip out there in the near future and wanted to do a dry run and very kindly invited me to go with them. These mountains are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards from Calgary. Mt. Yamnuska, the mountain ridge on the right, is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. It is less than an hour's drive west from Calgary. The view from this particular spot is so beautiful - my favourite view in Bow Valley Provincial Park. We stood for a while and soaked it all in. This Many Springs trail is perhaps the most rewarding in the park. On the way out of the park, we stopped at Middle Lake and walked down the path as far as the lake. We were horrified at how low the water level was - we had seen the same thing at Many Springs, too. We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, and lots of Gaillardia. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. The weather forecast for yesterday mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

A couple of mornings ago, on 11 June 2015, I joined a group of friends for a walk in Weaselhead, hoping to see three species of Hummingbird - Calliope, Rufous and Ruby-throated. The Calliope (5 of them) gave us the closest (but still distant) views, while the other two were very distant. It never fails to amaze me that these three species are all found in Weaselhead. The Calliope male (not much bigger than a large Bumblebee, lol!) would occasionally flash the gorgeous feathers on its neck - the colour in the sunlight was amazing. As usual at this time of year, it was good to see the huge number of Cliff Swallows, swarming like a cloud of large insects around the metal bridge over the river. In flight, they catch insects and fly back to their mud nests, that are built under the bridge, to feed their babies. It amazes me how each bird knows which is its own nest - they all look alike. Another bird (a pair) that was good to see was the little Eastern Phoebe, back at the same location where it has been at least the last few years. So difficult to get a decent photo because of the distance - the photo I posted yesterday was the closest shot I had ever been able to get. It was taken when the bird flew to a piece of driftwood in the water. Along one of the paths, I suddenly spotted a splash of yellow some distance from the edge of the path, tucked into the shade of the bushes and shrubs. I knew that these gorgeous wild Orchids exist in this park, as some of us have been shown the "secret' place over the last few years. I don't remember seeing any growing in other spots, so this was a pleasant surprise. There are two varieties of this orchid: Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens var. pubescens) and Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) and I can never remember which is which. These flowers are bright yellow, pouch shape. Petals (behind the "slipper") are green with the Large Yellow Lady's-slipper, whereas the Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) has reddish petals, so I guess my photo shows the latter. If you do happen to find this orchid, do not disturb it. DO NOT attempt to transplant it to your own garden, as it will likely not survive.

There are two varieties of this orchid: Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens var. pubescens) and Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) and I can never remember which is which. These flowers are bright yellow, pouch shape. Petals (behind the "slipper") are green with the Large Yellow Lady's-slipper, whereas the Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) has reddish petals, so I guess my photo shows the latter. If you do happen to find this orchid, do not disturb it. DO NOT attempt to transplant it to your own garden, as it will likely not survive. Photographed in Weaselhead on 15 June 2011.

Taken along Many Springs Trail, Bow Valley Provincial Park on June 24th. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium

Photographed at The Nature Conservancy, near Rimbey, Alberta, on June 26th, when we were on a botanizing trip to Spirit Rocks Sanctuary. This is a forest north of the city, that is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut. Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking. I don't have the exact location to add to my map, so have just marked Rimbey, Alberta. There are two varieties of this orchid: Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) and Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens var. pubescens). When you find this orchid, do not disturb it. Do not transplant it - it will likely not survive. It is a wildflower and should stay where it is, also for other people to enjoy. I think I'm correct in saying that my photo shows the Small Lady's-slipper. Thanks Papa Ellis for the confirmation!

Macro shot of a gorgeous Yellow Lady's-slipper wild orchid, growing at Griffith Woods on 23 June 2011. One of the ladies pointed out this particular flower as it had a red rim, instead of being plain yellow. I had seen this before with this species, but I'm not sure if I have a photo of a previous red rim. I wonder why some of these flowers are plain yellow around the rim and others are like the one in my photo. When several of us spent a wonderful day yesterday, exploring a forest north of the city, that is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut, we saw more Yellow Lady-slippers than I have ever seen before. It was interesting for us all to see both yellow- and red-rimmed flowers. Does anyone know why this happens? Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking. Four of us went from Calgary and we met up with three delightful and very knowledgable ladies there. Thanks so much, Joanne, for letting us explore your land - we appreciated it greatly and enjoyed spending this time with you and your friends. Off with friends to Bow Valley Provincial Park (very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, west of the city) for the day today - a lovely, leisurely day, searching for beautiful things and taking photos : ) We are so lucky that within an hour, we can be in such a beautiful place.

Saw this wild Yellow Lady's-slipper in Weaselhead a few days ago. They are such beautiful wildflowers - a larger species of Yellow Lady's-slipper grows in the Reader Rock Garden, near the Stampede Grounds. The Mosquitoes were in abundance and unbearable while I was trying to take these photos, so I really didn't take the time and care that I should have done. Now I look as if I have the Chickenpox, especially on my arms!

You don't often find these Yellow lady's-slipper orchids, so it's always a delight when you do come across them.

This plant is a member of the Orchid family. Their numbers are in decline as a result of people picking them and digging them up by the roots.