Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#171

Yesterday, 16 August 2017, I had a most enjoyable day out with friends Dorothy and Stephen, and Janet. All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday. We basically covered a similar area that we had been to, back on 20 February 2017. Everywhere looked different because of the landscape colouring at different times of the year. You could tell that this whole area would be spectacular at any time of the year. Also, on 3 August 2015, three of us had been on a botany trip with a group to the Timber Ridge Conservation Site, which is also in the Porcupine Hills. What I love about a drive like this is that you just never know what you might find. I love photographing anything that catches my eye, so I never return home disappointed. The wildflowers are now pretty much finished, though we did see several patches of beautiful Fireweed. Most of the birds we saw were Hawks, and there were a lot of them, but none that we were able to phtotgraph. We also enjoyed watching three gorgeous Kestrels flying from tree to tree. The males, especially, are such beautifully-coloured birds. Time to make some breakfast (oops, brunch!) before I add a few more lines.

We saw this little beetle yesterday, south of Calgary, near Nanton, southern Alberta. It looked just like a Ladybug, but a bit larger and fatter, and no spots on the red. I looked at hundreds of Ladybug photos on Google last night, but couldn't find anything like this one. Maybe it's not a Ladybug after all?! Later: many thanks to Doug for the ID, Large Orange Ladybug (Anatis lecontei).

Some of the beautiful Orchids that are growing in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. I find that it's always too dark in there to take photos with my camera without flash. Unfortunately, flash gives a rather harsh colour and light.

This was such a magical hour, spent quietly watching and photographing this young Great Horned Owl. A few days ago, we noticed that their nesting tree stump had fallen or been blown to the ground. Hopefully, they will choose another tree in the same area for nesting next spring. (Note to self: I used a similar photo to this one for my 2008 calendar.)