Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#447

We were out on a walk at Paskapoo Slopes in the city a couple of mornings ago. Barely into the walk, friend Doug handed me this wonderful little finding! Though we did see more of these teeny little fungi growing on the ground during the walk, none were as magical as this first, up-close sight. You can imagine how tiny the new little ones on the leaf were - barely visible : )

One less Meadow Vole in the world! Several of us were treated to this sight a few days ago - a Northern Hawk Owl having a snack. We were talking about it yesterday and it sounds like maybe these owls remove and discard the intestines and then eat the rest of the rodent? I also got a photo of the hind legs and tail disappearing into the owl's mouth, but unfortunately it came out blurry : ) Oh, and I removed two very ugly branches. Really, when you think about it, what's the difference between this image and what we do ourselves, when we sit down for a meal of beef, pork, chicken, turkey and so on? Yes, I feel for the little Vole, but I am also happy that this gorgeous Owl is having a good meal. The Northern Hawk Owl is a medium-sized owl, about 35 centimetres (14 inches) long. It is rare to uncommon in Alberta, year round. Apparently, it is one of Alberta's most sought-after birds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Hawk_Owl/id/ac en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl

There is something so beautiful about a Cosmos flower - just love their colours and their wrinkled petals. This beauty was growing in the gardens at the Calgary Zoo on 14th September last year.

Photographed this beautiful Orchid at the Greengate Garden Centre many months ago.

This was such a small, perfect little feather, lying on the mud flats at Langdon Reservoir, east of the city. There were thousands and thousands of shorebirds there this afternoon, so I would guess that this feather belongs to one of them.