Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: orange cap

This is the Labour Day long weekend in Canada, celebrated on the first Monday of September (in 2016, on 5 September) and it is a federal statutory holiday. It is also observed in the United States on the same day. It is a partly cloudy day today, with a temperature of just 10C (feeling like 7C), but so far the sun is still shining. Yesterday was cold and I have to admit I turned on my heating for the first time yesterday evening! Lots of yellow leaves on the trees - and I think fall has already arrived. Sorry, I've had the chance to see and photograph mushrooms on maybe three or four occasions recently, so I will be posting what some of you may consider far too many fungi shots : ) Sadly, they are usually just shots for the record, as I can't get down and move every blade of grass, etc.. The Aspen Bolete in this photo was taken two days ago, on 3 September 2016, a fungi morning, which was quite rewarding and definitely fun. Our leader and friend, Karel, is very knowledgeable about fungi and he took 14 of us (plus Karel's two beautiful Beagles) on a foray to West Bragg Creek, maybe an hour's drive west of the city. We had been here a few times over the years, either looking for fungi or on botany outings. Photographing our findings usually means that I am way at the back of the group or have fallen back with a friend or two. Consequently, the mushrooms have often already been plucked/cut by the time we catch up to the rest of the participants. I also miss a lot of what is being said about IDs and details. It would take far too long to write down the name of each find - each photo taken would have to be carefully numbered so that the right name could be attached and this would be such a hassle when out with a group. Since this outing, Karel has sent an email containing several photos along with IDs. The rest of my photos will have to be just nameless 'pretty pictures' : ) I must add here that any IDs that I give are always tentative, as I know so little about fungi. Another thing to add is that I never, ever pick and eat wild mushrooms!! Too many look similar, some edible, others poisonous. If you are not a fungi expert, never take the risk of eating any of them. I met up with friend, Sandy, at 8:15 am and she drove us out to the meeting place. My drive from home was done with my windshield wipers on my new car working non-stop - was it raining? No, it had rained the day before - hail, too, on my gleaming new vehicle that I had only had for five days! I needed to clean the windshield, but, once again, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to turn the wipers off. Amazes me how complicated the wiper options are! Our morning walk started off by going across the small bridge, then part way up the hill and then bush-whacking our way through the forest. This walk, which ended around lunch time, was the main one, but we did stop at a small, gravel parking area a few minutes along the main road, to do a second walk to check for any different mushrooms. This extra walk has yielded a few beauties in past years. Perhaps the most interesting find was a very small twig that had several tiny, turquoise coloured fungi cups on it. The colour looks so out of place in a natural area. My photos of them didn't turn out very well, but I will eventually post one of them, just for the very unusual colour. From here, a few of us stopped at the Cinnamon Spoon cafe in Bragg Creek for lunch. Always a most enjoyable way to finish any outing. Before we climbed into the car for our return drive to Calgary, Sandy and I wandered into the beautiful Art Gallery, owned and run by Bob and Candy Cook. Named Branded Visuals Inc.(Printing Services/Wildlife Gallery), this small store is overflowing with Bob's absolutely amazing photographic works of art. Thanks so much, Bob and Candy, for remembering our chance meeting a number of years ago, down in Fish Creek Park, and for your overly generous words about my own photography. www.brandedvisuals.com/index.html Thanks so much, Karel, for giving us a great morning! We really appreciate your passing on your knowledge to us. The same thanks go to Suzanne, the mushroom specialist in Calgary. Sandy, really appreciate the ride there and back!

Yesterday was the first time this year that I had managed to get out to the mountains as far as Forgetmenot Pond - really an on the spur of the moment decision. The weather called for some sun and some cloud, which sounded good. After the two heavy snowfalls on 9 and 10 September, I wasn't sure what to expect before I reached the beginning of the mountains, but every bit of snow had disappeared. Forgetmenot Pond is the only mountain drive I will do on my own and it's one of my favourite places. It only takes about an hour to get from home to the Pond, so makes a very pleasant half-day drive. The bridge over the river, just before Allen Bill Pond, has now been repaired. The high banks of the river had been totally washed away during Alberta's Flood of the Century in 2013. On the return drive, I called in at a place not far from the pond, where I have found a few mushrooms in previous years, and managed to find several, including this one, that were in good enough condition to photograph. Other than that, I didn't see a whole lot during the few hours I was out. The scenery is spectacular and there were patches of trees that have turned yellow. Some of the trees looked as though their leaves were past their fall prime, and I came away wondering if I was a bit too early or a bit too late to see the best of the fall colours. The final place I called in at was Maclean Pond, but the light was fading somewhat and so I didn't feel like going far into the forest. I had just got back into my car when I happened to look up just in time to see a family of beautiful Bluejays not far from the parking lot. Managed to get a few shots, but distant and not as sharp as they should have been. A nice way to end the day, though.

We saw a number of these Bolete fungi at West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis, on 24 August 2013, when a small group of us went on a Fungi Foray for the day. This was a rather nice, young one, surrounded by beautiful moss. I was so thankful for this outing, as I was only out looking for mushrooms on a handful of days this year. I believe the ID for this mushroom is Leccinum insigne (Aspen Bolete), but this is only a tentative species ID as many of the Leccinum species can only be differentiated microscopically.

I'm so glad that this photo appears sharper on Flickr than when I see it on my hard drive in My Pictures : ) Taken in a dark place, so the quality isn't good, but I can get away with it on the screen. No idea what this tiny bug/beetle is, climbing on a bright orange-capped Bolete mushroom. Found when I went for a walk on September 2nd at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park - when there were still mushrooms to be found, sigh ....

A gorgeous Scaber Stalk fungus seen on a walk at Paskapoo Slopes in the city a week ago. We have seen this species of mushroom in a number of different places recently. Always such a bright splash of colour. By the way, I'm posting my "daily three" early today because I am going CANOEING down the Bow River all afternoon! This will be my very first time (though I have been in a canoe once before in my life, but not on the river), and I am both excited and SCARED TO DEATH!!! I have longed to travel down the river for many years. Yesterday, a friend (an experienced canoeist) asked if I still wanted to do it, and so that's what we will be doing. I suspect that my already-painful (from too much mouse-clicking and from struggling to get into my backpack!) shoulders/arms will be excrutiatingly painful by the end of the day, so maybe I won't be able to even raise them to type on my keyboard. If I don't drown, then I will be SOOO relieved. Come and stand on one of the bridges over the river in the city or on the river bank and cheer us on - just kidding, ha!