Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: near Cremona

All three photos posted this morning are from my archives. Our forecast is for snow today, so I thought I would post photos with colour. I couldn't believe the sights seen when looking at a carnivorous Sundew plant through a macro lens! The complete plant is only very small and each leaf is tiny. This is just the tip of one of those leaves, seen with a few of the red stalked mucilaginous glands (like little round, red glass beads) with which the plant lures and digests insects. Isn't nature amazing? I could spend hours macro photographing this tiny plant! Unfortunately, I've only seen it when we've been on private land at Elkton Bog, north west of the city, near Cremona. We've only been lucky enough to botanize the bog area three or four times. It's definitely a very wet experience, as parts of you sink partly under water, lol! This photo was taken on 30 July 2010. "The carnivorous sundew plant, botanical name Drosera, has about 130 species. All of the species of the sundew plant are beautiful and many look like fireworks, but they are deadly to the insects that fly near to them. One thing that all carnivorous sundew plants do have is the gel-like substance at the tips of the tentacles that cover the leaves. This gel is a sticky substance that the insects that fly too near the plant get stuck on. The plant can then eat it. The many species of the sundew plant can be found all around the world, on every single continent. This is unusual for a plant because most carnivorous plants are found only in one or two regions of the world because of the different climates that they must live in. The plant is called sundew because of the gel like substance on the tentacles. The gel makes the plants look as if they have morning dew on them all day long, especially when it glistens in the sun." From www.carnivorous--plants.com/sundew-plant.html

I don't think I have a photo of a Chipping Sparrow so, even though this is a poor photo, I wanted to add it to my Birds of Alberta 4 Set. I spent a 14-hour day today with three friends, doing a Bio-assessment of someone's property north-west of the city, fairly near Cremona. We had a wonderful walk, recording any plants and birds that we found on their many acres. This little Chipping Sparrow was just one of the many birds we saw in this area (and in a separate area a short drive away, where we saw Pelicans and Cormorants in the distance, as well as three Common Loons). This is my absolute favourite way to spend a full day, exploring new "territory"!

This was the first time I had ever seen this wildflower, Common Labrador Tea, so I was delighted to see a new species. We found it growing in a bog, north-west of Calgary. The leaves of this plant can be used to make tea. Grows June-July.

I spent a 14-hour day today with three friends, doing a Bio-assessment of someone's property north-west of the city, fairly near Cremona. We had a wonderful walk (actually, three), recording any plants and birds that we found on their many acres. In a separate area a short drive away, where we saw Pelicans and Cormorants in the distance, as well as three Common Loons), we also saw several plants that I had never seen before. This is my absolute favourite way to spend a full day, exploring new "territory"! This Spruce Sawyer was on the couple's deck while we were being treated to a drink and cookies in between walks. Quite a spectacular insect!

Photographed this pretty Columbine more than two years ago! It was growing in a flowerbed at the Mountainview Sports and Handicapped Centre, where we stopped and had our lunch on a day of botanizing. In case anyone doesn't know, the name Columbine comes from the Latin for "dove". Looking down on a Columbine flower, it looks like a ring of Doves with their wings spread a little. Numerous Columbine cultivars and hybrids have been developed. Can you believe it? I overslept this morning and consequently missed a mushroom hike with a few friends!!! I was SO upset, as I so rarely get a chance to go looking for fungi somewhere where I won't go on my own. I have been so stressed out over trying to sell my brother's house over in England and I knew that it was going to be auctioned on Thursday. I didn't hear anything, but did find the auction results online. The list said that the house was "Sold Prior", though I have heard nothing about a buyer. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. especially after the original buyer backed out, even after the Sold sign had been up in the front garden. Anyway, all this stress obviously caught up with me last night and made me sleep longer than I should have! Rather than stay at home and feel even more depressed, I reckoned it was better to go over to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park and see if I could find at least something! I think there were actually a few more fungi than there have been recently, though most were not in the slightest bit photogenic. Did manage to find a few little "treasures", though. Nothing new, but I'm always happy with something beautiful, new or not : ))) 4:30 p.m. WOW - thunder, lightning, torrential rain! And hail ... and now the sunshine : )

.... as Engelbert Humperdinck sang in 1985 (but not my kind of music!). We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs at Elkton/Cremona Bog on July 30th last year, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him gently so that a few photos could be taken, to add to our botanizing day records. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : ) "Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... The following link goes to a short, fascinating video on YouTube, about how Wood Frogs freeze solid in the winter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjr3A_kfspM

A rather pretty and less common mix of colours in this Paintbrush plant, found at Elkton Bog, near Cremona (NW of Calgary) on a botanizing trip, 30th July last year. Castilleja miniata is commonly known as Giant Red Indian Paintbrush. "The inflorescence is made up of bright red to pale orange or orange-tipped bracts. Between the bracts emerge the yellow-green, red-edged tubular flowers." From Wikipedia. Note: Mark Egger is a long-time expert on Castilleja (and other species!). He writes below: "I suspect these are not pure C. miniata, but perhaps a hybrid oc miniata x lutescens." Thanks so much, Mark!

This is a photo from my archives - it isn't really spring here yet, lol, though the snow of the last couple of days is melting nicely! Some people have been having problems with their photos not showing up in all their Contacts' streams - think I must have been one of them today. Funny day on Flickr : ) Totally misleading, as any macro or supermacro shot is! This tiny, beautiful Kalm's Lobelia flower (and others) was found when botanizing Elkton Bog, near Cremona, on 30th July last year. This was a new plant for us, so we were excited and happy : ) "Lobelia kalmii is a species of flowering plant with a distribution primarily across Canada and the northern United States in temperate and boreal regions. It was formerly known as Lobelia strictiflora (Rydb.) Lunell and has a variety of English names including Kalm's lobelia, Ontario lobelia and Brook lobelia. Lobelia kalmii is a small plant (10 - 40 cm) of wet environments such as bogs, wet meadows, and rocky shorelines, including wet alvars, where it grows in calcareous soil or cracks between limestone rocks. It has small (1 cm) blue flowers , with a white center and has thin upper leaves and spatulate basal leaves. It starts flowering in July, lasting into September." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_kalmii

I don't get to see Fringed Gentian very often. This macro shot shows where it got its name from : ) A small, very pretty native wildflower, this one was found at Elkton Bog, north west of the city, on a botanizing day on July 30th.

I could spend hours macro photographing the tiny Sundew plant! Unfortunately, I only get to see it when we go to the Elkton Bog, north west of the city, near Cremona. We've been lucky enough to botanize the bog area once each of the last couple of years, so I'm really hoping that we get a chance to go again this summer. It's definitely a very wet experience, as you sink partly under water, lol! "The carnivorous sundew plant, botanical name Drosera, has about 130 species. All of the species of the sundew plant are beautiful and many look like fireworks, but they are deadly to the insects that fly near to them. One thing that all carnivorous sundew plants do have is the gel-like substance at the tips of the tentacles that cover the leaves. This gel is a sticky substance that the insects that fly too near the plant get stuck on. The plant can then eat it. The many species of the sundew plant can be found all around the world, on every single continent. This is unusual for a plant because most carnivorous plants are found only in one or two regions of the world because of the different climates that they must live in. The plant is called sundew because of the gel like substance on the tentacles. The gel makes the plants look as if they have morning dew on them all day long, especially when it glistens in the sun." From www.carnivorous--plants.com/sundew-plant.html A date has now been set for my brother's funeral - February 3rd. Amazing how many things have to be decided upon for a funeral. My life-long friend Linda in Birmingham, England, is still working hard to make this the best possible (simple) farewell to my brother. She sent me a second draft of what will be said at the Service and, to read it, one would think that the person who is going to lead the Service had known John for years (he's never met him). He and Linda have done such an amazing job of this. When I read it through the very first time, I kept gasping, as the words so perfectly described my brother. Beautifully written, way beyond any possible expectation. My close friends will read out some "Memories" from myself and each of my three kids. I don't know how they will be able to do this - I know I would never be able to do it myself - far too emotional! Does anyone have any suggestions about possibly audio-taping the service? I had a look on the Internet yesterday to see what kind of little gadgets there are, preferably digital, not tape. Not a very successful search, though, so I must take another look. Linda and I had both had this idea to record, which would be wonderful if we can think how to do it.

This small wildflower (macro shot) was growing at Elkton bog, near Cremona, north west of the city, back on 30th July. We very rarely find this plant, so it's a treat when we do see it. Greater Fringed Gentian flowers open on sunny days, but usually remain closed on cloudy days. Individual plants live for only one or two years. This native plant grows in moist, open areas and calcareous bogs. Flowers are blue to white, tube-shaped, 2-4 cm long. Four fringed petals and four sepals. Blooms June-August. "Crinita" means "long-haired", referring to the fringed petal margins. I've just come across this page on the Internet - several poems about the Fringed Gentian: www.tickledorange.com/LMM/FringedGentian.html

... and I'll turn into a handsome prince : ) Isn't he cute? Of course, it could be a female, who knows? We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs in Cremona Bog yesterday, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him so that a few photos could be taken. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. I'll try to remember to post a side shot of him eventually, to show the dark colour on his back. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : ) "Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... Today was the third day in a row of all-day botanizing out of town (four all together this week). In other words, three long days of slow hiking, finding and recording every single plant, bird, insect, animal that we find. This means setting my alarms for 5:00 a.m. or 5:30 a.m., and getting home somewhere around maybe 6:00 p.m.. So much fresh air and exercise, plus constantly getting down on my knees to photograph something totally knocks me out - even more so, if it happens to be a hot day. Today was very pleasant, not too hot, thank goodness. It was spent on Plateau Mountain, south of the city and south of Highway 40, turning south when you reach Highwood House. A long drive to get there, but what a magnificent place. Tons of beautiful wildflowers on the grassy slopes. The following link goes to a short, fascinating video on YouTube, about how Wood Frogs freeze solid in the winter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjr3A_kfspM

This small mushroom was maybe an inch across, if that, from what I remember. Thank you, Susan, for pointing out this colourful find of yours : ) It was pushing through the soil at the Mountainview Handicapped and Sports Society Centre, north west of Calgary (near cremona), when we stopped to botanize the area on 30th July. We did this after spending a good part of the day botanizing a wonderful bog near Cremona. (FInding it difficult to remember where I've been and on what days - all my outings tend to blur into one, long outing in my mind, LOL!). Not a lot of fungi (yet!), but we are starting to see the occasional one on our outings. Not sure if this is Russula emetica (also called "The Sickener", as it is poisonous).

Thanks to Susan, we were able to witness this female Subarctic Darner (Aeshna subarctica) with its disgarded nymph casing, when we were botanizing the Elkton Bog, near Cremona. Susan caught the last moment of it emerging, but the rest of us were able to see it resting and drying out before eventually flying off. I have a photo of just the casing that I will upload soon - quite amazing to see - almost looks like it's made of very thin copper. "The Subarctic Darner is restricted to Sphagnum bogs and deep fens that are dominated by aquatic moss. The moss need not be Sphagnum and the water not necessarily very acidic; other aquatic mosses such as Drepanocladus and Scorpidium are more commonly associated with this dragonfly....Eggs are laid directly into floating moss." From www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca .

A hugely magnified shot of this teeny Sundew leaf. I've always been fascinated by these carnivorous plants with their gorgeous little sticky "beads". This may have been something like quarter of an inch in reality. We were so lucky to see these Sundew plants at the Elkton Bog near Cremona, north west of the city. "The carnivorous sundew plant, botanical name Drosera, has about 130 species. All of the species of the sundew plant are beautiful and many look like fireworks, but they are deadly to the insects that fly near to them. One thing that all carnivorous sundew plants do have is the gel-like substance at the tips of the tentacles that cover the leaves. This gel is a sticky substance that the insects that fly too near the plant get stuck on. The plant can then eat it. The many species of the sundew plant can be found all around the world, on every single continent. This is unusual for a plant because most carnivorous plants are found only in one or two regions of the world because of the different climates that they must live in. The plant is called sundew because of the gel like substance on the tentacles. The gel makes the plants look as if they have morning dew on them all day long, especially when it glistens in the sun." From www.carnivorous--plants.com/sundew-plant.html

Totally misleading, as any macro or supermacro shot is! This beautiful Kalm's Lobelia flower (and others) was found when botanizing Elkton Bog, near Cremona, on 30th July. This was a new plant for us, so we were excited and happy : ) Unfortunately, my camera turned the blue into a pale purple! "Lobelia kalmii is a species of flowering plant with a distribution primarily across Canada and the northern United States in temperate and boreal regions. It was formerly known as Lobelia strictiflora (Rydb.) Lunell and has a variety of English names including Kalm's lobelia, Ontario lobelia and Brook lobelia. Lobelia kalmii is a small plant (10 - 40 cm) of wet environments such as bogs, wet meadows, and rocky shorelines, including wet alvars, where it grows in calcareous soil or cracks between limestone rocks. It has small (1 cm) blue flowers , with a white center and has thin upper leaves and spatulate basal leaves. It starts flowering in July, lasting into September." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_kalmii

Saw this very tiny mushroom growing amongst the moss while we were botanizing the forest at the Mountain View Sports and Handicapped Centre, near Cremona, on 30th July.

I couldn't believe the sights seen when looking at a carnivorous Sundew plant through a macro lens! The complete plant is only very small and each leaf is tiny. This is just the tip of one of those leaves, seen with a few of the red stalked mucilaginous glands (like little round, red glass beads) with which the plant lures and digests insects. Isn't nature amazing?