Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#339

Such amazing formations can be seen at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. I thought it would be so easy to remember, or at least place on a map, each of the different formations we saw and photographed. However, I'm finding it more difficult than I thought, especially as many of the formations change over the years and so other photos on the Internet often look different. I think this was Minerva Terrace, but would really appreciate it if anyone out there can either confirm or correct my ID - thanks! I visited Mammoth Hot Springs and the rest of Yellowstone National Park 30+ years ago, when my kids were very young. Loved Mammoth Hot Springs, so was thrilled to get the chance to see this fascinating area again. "Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park ... It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas... A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Hot_Springs For a diagram of the Hot Springs layout: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MammothHotSprings.JPG Map of Yellowstone National Park: hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/YELLmap2.pdf

Gorgeous Scarlet Swallowtail / Papilio rumanzovia on a beautiful Water Lily at the Calgary Zoo. Yes, it was just one of those rare, lucky moments : ) It was interesting to see that the Water Lily closed up like this when the butterfly perched there. The light wasn't the best, as I had to bend and peer through Sacred Lotus leaves and other plants to get my photos. To me, it has a slight watercolour painting look, especially the Lily petals. Taken on 6 October 2012, in the ENMAX Conservatory. Added later in the afternoon - I was just trying to find someone's e-mail address and came across this link that I had saved ages ago. I don't know if you have seen this video spoof of the Royal Wedding before, but English folks especially will find this amusing. I think Princess Anne, Harry and Camilla are amazing, lol! I think I posted this link ages ago, but it made me laugh again just now. youtu.be/Kav0FEhtLug

I was so thrilled yesterday to get any photo at all of a Grey Partridge. These birds are uncommon year-round in Alberta. Having seen other people's images, I knew that these birds are beautifully coloured and longed to be able to photograph one - finally! Saw these on the Nanton Bird Count, south of Calgary. It is about a 45-minute drive from the city limits of Calgary on primary Highway #2 and just 2 1/2 hours from the American border. We noticed these birds in a field and I took a few shots sitting in the vehicle on the far side of the road, in the back passenger side seat. Wasn't expecting to get any photos fit to use, especially as the light was low (it was snowing) - LOL, the story of my life! However, with a heavy crop and some brightening, this is what I saw : ). The diameter of the "circle" around Nanton which is covered by the Count is (if I remember correctly) 25 kilometers. The four of us covered the NW quadrant of this circle, between 08:25am and 4:40pm. Distance travelled was 109 km by car and 2 km on foot.. Hours by car-6:15 and hours on foot-2. Just in case anyone is interested, species seen are as follows: Rough-legged Hawk-2 GOLDEN EAGLE-1ad. PRAIRIE FALCON-2 Gray Partridge-41 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE-53 + 17 off our territory. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE-6, in two different locations. Rock Pigeon-71 GREAT HORNED OWL-9, this number must be some kind of a record. Snowy Owl-1,juv. f. Downy Woodpecker-1 Horned Lark-123 Black-billed Magpie-185 Common Raven-30 Bohemian Waxwing-9 European Starling-16 American Tree Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-90 Common Redpoll-16 House Sparrow-635 MAMMALS- Coyote-1, Mule Deer-20, Moose-2