Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: southern alberta

I just couldn't get to sleep last night and ended up getting up around 4:00 a.m. and turning on my computer. I was feeling very worried about my brother in Birmingham, England, as no one had received a Christmas card from him or an e-mail for about a month. My oldest daughter hadn't been able to contact him by phone over Christmas, either. So, I decided to e-mail two wonderful, long-time girlfriends who live in Birmingham, to see if they had heard from John, which they hadn't. I went back to bed, sure I wouldn't fall asleep, which I didn't. About 7:30 a.m., I had a dreaded phone call, from a very kind Policewoman in Birmingham, letting me know that my brother (aged 61) had died, at home. He lived alone. She had not been given any details yet, so I have to wait to hear more. I don't know who called the Police, but I am thankful that they did. The Policewoman didn't know when John had died (from Angina, I suspect), but I think it may have been just after his last e-mail to me, on November 26th. John led such a healthy life-style, eating very healthily and enjoying his walks, but genes sometimes just win! I have no idea how I will deal with all this - that is one problem when family members live across the world from each other. I haven't flown anywhere since 1978 and haven't been anywhere in all that time, so, at the moment, this feels like one unbearable nightmare to me. John was my only sibling and neither of my parents is alive. Also, my own health is at its lowest in many years, so the awful possibility of having to travel is not good. As with everything, though, one seems to eventually get through these very tough times. I will probably keep posting on Flickr, as this always feels a comforting place to be, and it will perhaps take my mind off everything else for a little bit of the time. Please forgive me if I don't do as much commenting as I would like. A few of us saw this amazing mushroom while botanizing the ranchland of Angela Cumberland and Patrick Brennan, north west of the city, way back on July 25th. I did post a different photo of it back then, but came across this one that I thought I'd post.. After exploring their beautiful forested area, we were crossing the grassy hillside heading back towards the house, when this little fungus was spotted, growing from dung. I have no idea if this is the way this particular species always looks or whether it is just this particular specimen that has developed this very unusual pattern. Very abstract and artistic - well done, Mother Nature, yet again! It may be Coprinus picaceus, Magpie Inky Cap.

Totally unoriginal and uninspiring, LOL, but Halloween just wouldn't seem right without a real pumpkin and that gorgeous splash of brilliant orange. Actually, I took this photo two years ago, I see!

Kicking myself because I didn't get a better photo than this of this small fungus that we saw yesterday, while botanizing the ranchland of Angela Cumberland and Patrick Brennan, north west of the city. After exploring their beautiful forested area, we were crossing the grassy hillside heading back towards the house, when this little (fun)gi was spotted, growing from dung. I have no idea if this is the way this particular species always looks or whether it is just this particular specimen that has developed this very unusual pattern. Very abstract and artisitic - well done, Mother Nature, yet again! Thanks again, Angela and Patrick for welcoming us so warmly and allowing us to explore your beautiful land! We appreciated it so much, and it made a most enjoyable day. And, of course, the chili and salad lunch was so yummy - thank you both from us all! Flickr is driving my nuts at the moment!!! Is anyone else having problems? In fact, I have just changed back to the old layout to see if it helps. Nope - it seems to happen in both versions, so I've returned to the new layout. I keep getting empty squares with those nasty little X's - in My Contacts' photos, my own photostream, and everywhere else. I've also been wondering if my photos are showing up or not. I am beginning to have little red X "floaters" in my eyes... Holy smokes! An almighty rain and hail storm has suddenly hit my part of the city - I'll be amazed if some parts of the city aren't seriously flooded - again! Just noticed that the far half of my street has turned into a river! Don't remember ever seeing that before. And now I hear the sirens (Police?) starting on the main road.

When we were exploring and botanizing the beautiful acreage (south west of Calgary and west of Millarville) belonging to Janel Butler and her family four days ago, this teeny shell was noticed on the ground. It was temporarily placed on our botany list, and then returned to its original place. (Not my handwriting, by the way, ha). I am absolutely dead beat - and my feet are killing me and my hips are complaining that they were forced to climb a very steep hillside covered in very slippery grass, as part of our hike today, LOL! I left home at 7:30 a.m. and got home this evening around 9:00 p.m. Apart from three of us stopping to have some supper on the way home, we have been out walking the rolling prairie grasslands south west of the city, west of Nanton, hour after hour after hour ; ) We record every plant we come across, every bird, animal, insect, etc.. Every time we go out to botanize someone's acreage or do a botanizing hike in the foothills or mountains, it's a wonderful win/win situation. We get the amazing chance to see new places and new things, and the ranch/acreage owners are given a complete list of our findings. Not too warm today but dreadfully windy. I almost dread taking a look at my photos in case none of them are sharp enough. Photographing wildflowers in strong winds really doesn't work, LOL.

Yesterday, a few of us were so lucky because a friend took us to an area west of Longview (south of Calgary), on the Kananaskis border - maybe an hour's drive from the city? He had found a plant that he thought was Balsamroot and wanted us to see it. I thought he meant that he had found just one small plant, but when we had climbed high, we discovered that part of the hillside was just brilliant yellow from all the clumps of this pretty plant. I hadn't expected the actual flower head to be as large as it was, which was a nice surprise (heads are 5-12 cm across). I should also add that the bracts are lance-shaped and covered with white, woolly hairs, borne in 2-4 rows. Not only did we all get to see this sight (and this was a new plant for me), but we also saw plants like Scorpionweed (another new plant for me), Jacob's ladder, Red-stemmed Saxifrage and other beautiful plants. The scenery was gorgeous with quite a few Limber Pines, the weather was sunny and warm, and the company of a few friends was as precious as always : ) And today, my knees and thighs KILL!!! Thanks, David, for yesterday's treat! Apparently, this is the most northerly location recorded for this species.