Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#70

This little (actually, not so little!) ball of fluff was 45 days old when I photographed it three days ago. Thought I'd post this close-up shot first, but I do have photos showing the whole bird that I will post later. Lol, a face that perhaps only a mother could love? We don't have Barn Owls in the wild in Alberta, but this was seen at an exhibit. On 20 July 2014, I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before. I had been that route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my youngest daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre. We came across Dee (rockymtnchick) and her partner, there to see the owls. Great to see you both! This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. There was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl (photo posted two days ago), and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing this baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone. This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley (photos posted the last two days). After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake (a photo posted today), but didn't walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at different wildflowers and photograph a few butterflies. Though slow, it was still further than I should have walked. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day. Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat!

One of the two huge Tulips that are growing in a pot - recently bought from Safeway (where else, LOL?). I seem to have acquired a taste for photographing beautiful Tulips! Too bad that the little red hearts on the inside of the petals don't show up.

A handful of us hiked this area all day yesterday and, as you can see, we were blessed with glorious weather. Bow Valley Provincial Park is a wonderful wetland area along the very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and is known for it's great variety of wildflowers. The mountain peak in the centre of the photo is Mount Yamnuska, a popular ridge with rock climbers. Got my car back this afternoon and am now $836 poorer! So relieved to have it back in time to go and buy much-needed food ready for a strenuous hike tomorrow. Temperatures are supposed to hit 31C tomorrow, so I know the hike is going to be really tough going, especially as I hate the heat. However, there will be some new plants up there that I have never seen before, so I HAVE to go : )

Can't wait for these beautiful Prairie Crocus flowers to push through the ground next spring - and winter isn't even quite here yet! I just don't want to think about what is in between. The highest position for this photo was #70 on 31st October 2006.

I'm not sure whose eyes were bigger and rounder when we first found ourselves staring at each other! Magical!