Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2009August25

I'm not sure of the proper, full name of this plant, but I think Centaurea is one of the names. I love the colour, and the patterns below the petals (bracts?). We saw this on a walk at Paskapoo Slopes in the city a few days ago. Part of the walk was down the hillside, through some kind of forested retreat, so there were garden plants near the top of the area, too. A lovely place to walk. Thanks, Doug, for the ID, Centauria macrocephala, 'Golden Globe' - much appreciated, as always!

Oops, not in time to say that this is just a small butterfly perched on my finger, taken using macro setting on my camera. Sorry, it does look huge : ) Not completely sure of the ID, other than that it is an Anglewing, maybe a Gray or a Green Comma? If it is a Gray Comma, then the wingspan is only 40-50 mm. If it's a Green Comma, wingspan is 45-55 mm. This one landed on a friend's jeans and then climbed on to another friend's finger and then finally came on to my own finger. Seen a couple of days ago at the west end of Bragg Creek Provincial Park.

I (and my photostream) needed a break from wildflowers, mushrooms and GREEN things, LOL. This flower was maybe just over an inch across and came in a small, mixed bunch of flowers that I bought from Safeway recently. Wish I'd avoided a blur on the lower petals, but at least the rest of the petals and the centre are sharp enough : ) I am totally exhausted after hiking for about 10 hours today. I am not used to proper hiking and find climbing up and down mountain hillsides tough going. However, the three of us had a wonderful day, pretty hot but with a wonderful, cool breeze. This was very welcome, even though it made photographing wildflowers a challenge, LOL. Thanks so much, David, for introducing us to a new hiking area - and especially for finding a Parry's Townsendia. I'm thrilled about this new plant!