Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2009April4

I almost felt sorry for this little Black-tailed Prairie Dog - he just seemed to be staring out over the great expanse of sunlit snow, as if wondering what the dickens he was doing out of hibernation THIS early : )

This photo was taken a year ago. I guess it must have been cold, snowy weather that forced me to give in to temptation and buy a bunch of three sunflowers from Safeway : ) The snow that was in our forecast for a few days seems to have passed us by so far, thank goodness. It has been a beautiful, sunny day today, somewhere around 0C, I think. We went for a walk in Fish Creek Park and it was very pleasant weather for walking. I saw two male Ring-necked Pheasants as I drove into the east end of the park. They were pecking at something on the small road and then decided to attack each other : ) Nothing serious, though. Checked on the two sets of Great Horned Owls. One female is tucked down inside a tree, but one eye and an ear tuft can be seen through a very small, high-up hole. She looks so cozy in there : ) At the other nest site, the female was sitting up higher at the top of her tree stump. Up till now, she has been out of sight, lower in the cavity. We also saw an Eurasian Wigeon on the Bow River, rare during migration - these ducks do not nest in Alberta. "Honey bees are essential for production of over 90 food crops. In 2006, for unknown reasons, honey bee colonies suddenly began to die across the U.S. from a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). These losses severely threaten the honey, pollination and major food growing industries, which is why researchers are looking for causes and remedies. By planting, watching and recording the bees at sunflowers in your garden, you can help us understand the challenges that bees are facing. Please go to Plant and be counted with Great Sunflower Project and find out how you can help." From the Super Eco group and website.