Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 12 Mile Coulee

We had a very enjoyable walk all over these rolling hills in the NW part of the city, scouting the area for wildflowers. Saw so many gorgeous Prairie Crocuses and a fair number of rare Townsendia hookeri flowers. In the far distance, you can see Canada Olympic Park, where ski-jump and luge events were held during the 1988 WInter Olympics. I love walking in this kind of scenery, though it is quite hard on the knees and ankles when walking on a slope : ).

We came across this young, male Wandering Garter Snake yesterday afternoon, when several of us went to 12 Mile Coulee. It's quite a tough walk, being steeply uphill and downhill for the most part. The weather was cold and overcast, apart from a short bit of sun, and it started snowing part way throughour walk. This snake was tightly coiled to keep warm and was tucked under a small bush. I had NO intention of getting any closer, to remove the slightly annoying dry blades of grass! I saw the tail end of a second snake slithering through the grass right next to this snake.

Just a small part of 12 Mile Coulee, up in the north west part of the city, where a handful of us walked yesterday afternoon. On the return walk, the snow began to fall : ) We had wanted to see some rare Townsendia hookeri plants and we were lucky! There were also lots of Prairie Crocus in bloom.

A beautiful display of Lichen colours on a small rock at 12 Mile Coulee, in north west Calgary. The colours are beautifully vibrant at the moment. Of course, I can't identify a single one of these Lichens. If you have time, you might want to check it out in large size.

I took lots of shots of this bright yellow Rust Fungus that was growing on a tiny Rockcress plant at 12 Mile Coulee. Unfortunately, all it meant was that I now have a lot of photos to delete, as they didn't come out sharp. This one is usable and I can probably find one more, but that's it : ) However, thanks for finding this, Doug! I do hope you don't mind, but I'm using your description to go with my image, to make sure I get the right fungus and the right information! "Puccinia monoica 'Rust Fungus' infecting a Boechera sp. 'Rockcress'. When you first see this plant it looks like a pretty yellow flower especially at this time of year when there are very few flowers blooming yet. This plant has a rust fungus in the genus Puccinia. "Crucifers (Brassicaceae) in 11 genera are often infected by rust fungi in the Puccinia monoica complex. Infection causes a `pseudoflower' to form that is important for attracting insect visitors that sexually outcross the fungus. `Pollinator' attraction is accomplished through visual floral mimicry, the presence of a nectar reward and floral fragrances."

Early Cinquefoil is one of the first wildflowers to grow here in the city each spring. It is a native plant that grows in dry, open areas (prairie). Some plants have pinnately compound leaves, while other Early Cinquefoil plants have palmately compound leaves. This plant is a member of the Rose family. Low-growing with very small, brightly yellow flowers.

Another clump of very deep purple Prairie Crocuses sen at 12 Mile Coulee. Normally, these wildflowers are pale purple/bluish/whitish, but we have now seen a couple of clusters in this much darker shade. They were so pretty. They have no petals - the purple sepals just look like petals.

LOL, I think I surprised even myself when this photo loaded - pretty sharp, unlike some of my photos : ) We saw several of these wildflowers at 12 Mile Coulee a few days ago. We don't see many of these plants in the city, so it's always a pleasure when they are found. Flowers are 10-15 mm across, growing April-early June.

Thanks again, David, for finding something interesting for me to see and photograph! He picked up this piece of soil covered in tiny, orange Lichen. Quite attractive.

This rare wildlflower,Townsendia hookeri, was growing at 12 Mile Coulee, in the NW part of the city. Flower heads are 12-18 mm wide.