Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: beauty in nature

Came across a white Lily photo that I hadn't posted before, so thought I'd post it today. It's -18C (windchill -25C) this morning, so, though it has certainly warmed up a little from our recent brutally cold temperatures, it's still cold enough to make ones thoughts turn to the warmer days of spring and summer. This photo was taken on 24 July 2013 at the Reader Rock Garden.

This Laughing Kookaburra resides at the Calgary Zoo. "Kookaburras (genus Dacelo) are large to very large (total length 28–42 cm/11–17 in) terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea, the name a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, which is onomatopoeic of its call. Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter — good-natured, but rather hysterical, merriment in the case of the well-known Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). They are generally not closely associated with water, and can be found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, but also in suburban and residential areas near running water and where food can be searched for easily. Kookaburras are carnivorous. They will eat lizards, snakes, insects, mice, other small birds, and raw meat. The most social birds will accept handouts from humans and will take raw or cooked meat (even if at high temperature) from on or near open-air barbecues left unattended." From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra

Was out of the house for about seven hours on Saturday (April 14th), spending a most enjoyable time with friends, Ron and Trish and Bonnie, looking for a Great Gray Owl : ) North west of the city, it was snowing quite heavily and the rolling hills and farms almost faded from view during parts of the drive. We also hit some road areas that had several inches of snow on them, which didn't make for the best driving conditions. However, we were so lucky when a Great Gray Owl was spotted way in the distance. An absolute thrill - I have seen them in the wild before, but not for almost three years. Of course, the weather was bad, very low light and a distant bird (full zoom and heavy cropping) - but I did manage to get maybe two or three photos that I will post. The owl stayed only a moment on the top of this small tree and then flew away to a more distant tree. The snow-covered coniferous trees around the owl were just beautiful - a true winter wonderland. Delightful to drive (easy for me to say, I wasn't the one driving!) through such countryside on a beautiful, snowy day : ) Thanks so much, Ron, for driving us safely, and to you and Trish for inviting me to join you and for finding us a beautiful Great Gray Owl. Bonnie, I thoroughly enjoyed spending lots of time with you that day - and to think we even saw a distant Northern Hawk Owl from the road as well. And I loved seeing the same horses I photographed a few days ago looking so much "happier" - especially the grey one, which had looked almost "depressed" the other day. Great to see a Kestrel, a Great Blue Heron (who must have been regretting returning to Calgary already), Trumpeter Swans, various Hawks, etc.. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

A beautiful yellow Lily, photographed at the Calgary Zoo on 23rd August 2011.

This Dendrobium Orchid flower was growing on a stem that had a number of flowers growing closely together. I had been waiting for a day with sunshine, so that there was enough light to take photos in my kitchen. What often tends to happen is that as soon as I buy a bunch of flowers, we get a string of gloomy, overcast days - by the time I can take photos, the flowers are way past their prime. For some strange reason, I just couldn't get a decent shot of this flower, but decided I would post the best I could find : ) "Dendrobium is a huge genus of orchids. It was established by Olof Swartz in 1799 and today contains about 1,200 species. The genus occurs in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Borneo, Australia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Zealand. The name is from the Greek dendron ("tree") and bios ("life"); it means "one who lives on trees", or, essentially, "epiphyte"." From Wikipedia.

Poppy buds, taken in a friend's garden on June 22nd.

I am always so thankful for the beautiful flowers I see at the Calgary Zoo (and Reader Rock Garden). Saw this gorgeous Hibiscus in the Zoo Conservatory almost a week ago. Saw hardly any butterflies that visit, though, and there were no racks of chrysalisses.

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'm running late with posting today : ) Spent a couple of hours this afternoon shooting Coots. Yes, Coots - but it felt SO good to finally see any kind of bird close enough to photograph it. And I like Coots, LOL. Also saw Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds (too far away) and the usual Canada Geese, Mallards, etc.. On the way home, I called in to see the family of Great Horned Owls in Fish Creek Park - a relief to see three little fuzzy heads sticking up above the edge of the cavity. Our recent rain, snow and very strong winds had not harmed these little guys, thank goodness. Carolyn and Joe - it was nice meeting you : ) Searched on Google, but couldn't find a butterfly with exactly the same pattern on its underside as this one. I think it may be some kind of Lacewing, though. Couldn't do anything about the ugly background, unfortunately : ) Love to see a newly emerged butterfly in all its bright colours, and I think this one is so pretty.

The appearance of a female Red-winged Blackbird comes as quite a surprise to beginning birders, as the females are so very different from the males. Even though the females lack the beautiful jet black with red patches, they themselves are most attractive birds. This one was seen at the edge of the lagoon at Carburn Park yesterday.

Another of my cold House Sparrow images that I took mid-March 2008. He sure looks different from his usual sleek self, all puffed up on a bitterly cold day.