Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: rmware Version 1.00

I was deleting a few very old photos recently and came across this one, taken on 13 October 2006. I posted a vertical shot back then, but thought I'd post a view that shows more of the body position. I always say that 13 is my lucky number and that day was Friday 13th! That evening, I decided I would drive over to the east end of Fish Creek Park and see if I could see a familiar pair of Great Horned Owls. I wanted some new owl photos to post here! Instead, I decided I would stop off en route at Burnsmead and take a few pictures of a really beautiful sky. Thought I'd do a short walk while I was there and when I heard rather a lot of noisy Chickadees coming from one particular bush, I stopped to have a look. I found myself staring into the eyes of this rare to uncommon, wonderful little owl!! This photo was taken after it had flown a couple of feet to a different branch in the same bush. It almost reminded me of a cat lying down. Then I accidentally snapped a dead branch that was lying on the ground and the owl flew a few bushes away, where it was immediately surrounded by Magpies that harassed it. This was the first time I had ever seen a Long-eared Owl and I was SO excited! I must admit that I wasn't even sure what kind of owl it was until I got home and checked. Since that day, I've seen another five or six Long-eared Owls, so I have been extremely lucky.

A very old photo from my archives, taken on 30 June 2006, and not a very good one, but this is a plant I don't have in my Flickr photostream and I wanted to add it to two of my Sets. Can't remember if this was the only time I've ever seen this wildflower, or possibly I've seen it twice. Taken at Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area, SW of Calgary.

Actually, this is a winter scene from way back on 7th February 2007! I never had the heart to delete it from my files, as it really was such a beautiful day down by the Bow River, I believe at Hull's Wood. We are in for either rain or snow - and how do I know that? Because I finally washed my filthy car late this afternoon. So, you'll know who to blame, LOL.

There seem to be three stages in the growth of these Puffballs shown here. I think that those are empty, shrivelled ones up in the top left corner. These were seen on a hike along the Jumpingpound Loop, Kananaskis, more than two years ago.

A little blown out, but still fit to post : ) I love Sunflowers - and seen from every kind of angle and at every stage of growth and death. This one was in a friend's garden, mid-October 2007.

I was SOOOO thrilled to see this Silver Maple tree in Bowness Park yesterday afternoon! I had longed to be able to take photos of glorious red Maple leaves and finally got the chance. People were arriving to look at this tree and some had obviously heard about it already. I felt SO guilty leaving the park with several leaves in my hand.

Yesterday, I was very lucky to have been invited to go on a day bus trip out to Kananaskis, to hike the Jumpingpound Loop trail. Apart from a few drops of rain towards the end of the hike, we had great weather for this walk. I still can't believe how many different kinds of mushrooms we saw! These Puffballs were among the many species.

I have barely seen any birds for months - wildflowers have been my main focus. I thought this was a Yellowlegs, but now I can't decide if it might be a Solitary Sandpiper. How embarrasing - I feel as if I am back to square one with birds, needing to learn everything all over again, LOL! Help! Note on 12th September 2007: thanks for the ID confirmation, Danny (DJS Photo) and David Trently!

Black Terns are common in Alberta from May to September. There were up to 14 of these Black Terns landing on these rocks at MacKenzie Lake the other day. The Black Tern "dips, dives and swoops, picking insects neatly off the water's surface or catching them in mid-air." ("Birds of Alberta" by Fisher and Acorn).

One of the impressive Caribou on the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch. This place belongs to a cousin of a friend of mine and we called in to say Hello on our way out to hike the Fullerton Trail, out past Bragg Creek along the Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66).

Isn't this baby Mountain Bluebird just the cutest little thing? It's only one or two days old and has these most amazing hair-like feathers. The sun was gleaming through these fine hairs - not sure why the background is black but it does show off all the silver down. Yesterday evening, I went with a gentleman who has had a Bluebird nesting box route for something like 25 years, recording and banding the various birds he finds. These include Tree Swallows, too. Apparently, in all these years, this gentleman has never known a mother to abandon her babies after they have been picked up and banded. The Mountain Bluebird population was dropping drastically but, thanks to this nesting box program, their numbers are increasing again. By the way, this is not MY hand! This is the third year in a row that I have gone on this short drive south of the city and I enjoy it every time. Actually, this time, there was an added bonus - we were shown a flying squirrel that has taken over a nesting box.

A friend very kindly invited me to go south of the city today to a place called Frank Lake. The weather was overcast for a good part of the morning but the sun did finally come through just before we returned home. We saw a great variety of birds, which was a real treat. Most were far away in the distance, but I have been able to bring them a little closer with cropping. It was a thrill to see several White-faced Ibis at Frank Lake. Unfortunately, thanks to the dull weather, my birds came out more like black silhouettes, so the beautiful, irridescent colours aren't seen in my photo. In Alberta, these birds are very rare from May to September.

Another composition of the beautiful Red-sided Garter Snake that we saw on Monday during our Snake Monitoring.

Another Chickadee (or could it be the same one??) from my short walk today, seen against the sunset. This photo got to #115 on 5th January 2007.

This is what I came across on one of my local walks. Once my knees lost some of their weakness, I plucked up the courage to lean forward and just kept clicking. The weather wasn't particularly warm, so fortunately the snake was too cold to move.

Watched as this baby Great Horned Owl practiced its flying down in the Weaselhead natural area. Both adults were perched in nearby trees. Just the cutest thing!