Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Strathcona Park Ravine

I would never have even noticed this tiny plant and flower, Bicknell's Geranium, if I had been walking by myself! I seem to have been seeing a lot of teeny plants recently, giving me plenty of challenges to get any kind of photo of them. So, this is another tiny flower photo that has been cropped and enlarged in order to see the beauty of its tiny centre.

Occasionally, we will come across one of these leaves, patterned by larvae tunnels. This one was seen at Strathcona Park Ravine yesterday morning. "Black, continuous string within long, silvery tunnel right under epidermis of leaf:....Phyllocnistis populiella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae". From www.helsinki.fi/science . Not sure if this explanation fits my specimen - it sounded right : ) "The larva of an aspen leaf-miner moth, Phyllocnistis populiella, feeds between the two epidermal layers of a leaf. This larva his eaten his way over much of the leaf and has left a well defined trail which ends where he exits as a moth. Damage is caused when eggs that have been deposited between the leaf layers hatch and larvae begin to feed on the nutritive tissue between the dermal leaf layers creating a small pocket as they meander back and forth. The bugs attacking the aspens are tiny whitish moths as thin as pencil lead, so small that four of them could ride on the back of a mosquito. These moths overwinter on the forest floor, emerge after the snow melts, and lay eggs on aspen buds when they pop from stems. When the aspen leaves develop, so do the little yellow caterpillars that scar them. The caterpillars feed on leaves until they emerge as an adult moth in about three weeks. Typically, the damage does not affect the health of the tree."

I finally took a new photo of the delicately curling petals of a Showy (?) Aster last week. I'm not sure you would even notice what was happening with the petals if you didn't know what to look for, as the curls on these wildflowers are only very small. I wonder if there is a purpose for this happening.

These are some of my favourite seedpods, belonging to the Black Henbane plant. This member of the Nightshade family (also called the Potato family) is an introduced species from Eurasia. All parts of Black Henbane are POISONOUS! Unfortunately, this plant has become an invasive species.

Another favourite wildflower of mine - Prickly Lettuce. I like the shade of yellow of these small flowers. A member of the Aster family, it is, unfortunately, an introduced plant from Europe.

Fireweed is a native plant, growing in open forests, riverbanks and areas that have been subjected to forest fires. Especially when there is a patch of these tall plants, it makes a beautiful splash of colour. Belongs to the Evening-primrose family. Fireweed is the floral emblem of the Yukon.

This plant was not at its best, but I did want a photographic record of seeing it at Strathcona Park Ravine yesterday morning. A member of the Mustard family, it is another introduced species as a garden flower, from Europe.

I find this an attractive flower, but also a rather strange one. The purple veining is quite striking. The next photo in my photostream shows the seedpods of this plant - like a row of tiny urns. This particular plant was growing at Strathcona Park Ravine when we were there for a walk yesterday morning.

We think this Cooper's Hawk was a young one - and it was certainly vocalizing continuously. Seen at Strathcone Park Ravine yesterday morning. This Hawk is similar to a Sharp-shinned Hawk - one of the identifying factors is that the tail of a Cooper's Hawk is rounded at the tip. Easy to remember: C(ooper's) is for "curved". Such a beautiful bird of prey!