Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#399

Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the beautiful, deep turquoise colour that the lake is so well known for. Too many grey clouds were to blame, I guess, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. Taken on 29 August 2013, when friend Sandy and I went off for a day in the Rocky Mountains, driving as far as Mistaya Canyon along the Icefields Parkway. This day trip included Peyto Lake, Mistaya Canyon, Bow Lake and Lake Louise. What more could one want? This photo was taken from the Lookout, at the end of a walk/hike through the forest - an uphill walk back to the car! I've seen this glacier-fed lake described as dog-shaped, fox-shaped, bear-shaped and wolf-shaped. The last time I saw this lake was 30+ years ago, so our recent visit was a real treat. "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River." wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake

Macro shot of these attractive little Spreading Dogbane flowers, taken on the hillside at the Leighton Art Centre, on 6 July 2013. Three of us spent the morning there, SW of Calgary, recording all the flora and fauna that we came across. "A 2-5 ft. widely branching, bushy, perennial with opposite, oval leaves and small groups of tiny, pink, bell-shaped flowers near the branch tips. The flowers’ fragrance is reminiscent of lilac. Numerous small pink, nodding, bell-like flowers, fragrant and striped inside with deeper pink. Milky juice exudes from broken stems and leaves. These plants are relatives of the milkweeds." www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=APAN2 www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9260200177

I'm usually home in the evenings, but a few days ago, I stayed out longer than usual. I bumped into Flickr friend, Ron, just as I was on my way home after driving some of the side roads south of the city. I followed him back to an area where we had both seen a Great Gray Owl recently and, to our delight, we got the chance to see and photograph him/her again. When I was on my way headed home a second time, I passed two of these beautiful Wilson's Snipes, posing perfectly on fence posts : ) I saw how amazing the evening light can be - this photo is much nicer than any of my previous Snipe photos, taken in ordinary daylight. Taken from my car window : )

Still photographing Tulips, LOL! I seem to see purple ones less frequently than the red, yellow and orange ones. Thought my fridge would make a change of background from all the black backgrounds I use.

This bright, golden flower was growing recently in the garden at the Calgary Zoo. I liked the intricate texture of the centre.

This little guy was perched on top of a glass fence inside the Calgary Zoo's Conservatory. The position was great, but the light was awful, as it was already early evening.

Very few leaves left on the trees here now. I would imagine that this little Silver Maple tree, in Bowness Park, is completely bare, from people removing the gorgeous red leaves to take home, or by Mother Nature herself.