Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: southern ALberta

On 6th June, a few of us did a day's hike to see the northernmost limit recorded for Balsamroot , Balsamorhiza sagittata. Then, on 11th June, we went down south towards the US border to just west of the Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump area and were delighted to see hillsides covered in these bright yellow flowers. We could see them from the car - we didn't have to take one single step to find them - so much easier than our long day of hiking to see them, LOL. When we pulled into one ranch driveway to see if we had the right address, we saw these two Mule Deer amongst the Balsamroot. Just looked so pretty. "Balsamroots are native to western North America. There are about twelve species plus many common hybrids.... Native Americans used the sticky sap of this plant as a topical antiseptic for minor wounds. The large taproots produced by Balsamorhiza sagittata are edible and were harvested, dried, and ground into a starchy flour by Native Americans when other food plants were scarce. The entire plant is edible and nutritious, but not necessarily enjoyable because it contains a bitter, strongly pine-scented sap. The plants large taproots are reported to be very palatable and far less bitter than the above ground parts of the plant. The plant grows on dry hillsides and dry open meadows throughout the Mountain West of North America." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsamorhiza

I have only ever seen a Turkey Vulture in the city on two occasions, both times flying very, very high. The Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge in southern Alberta, gives people the chance to see one of these amazing birds fairly close. The head of a Turkey Vulture is naked, so that there are no feathers to get dirty when they are feeding on rotting carcasses. Over the last few years, we have seen three or four of these birds flying very high overhead within the city of Calgary, too, which was a thrill.