Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Middle Lake

Two days ago, on 24 July, I went with a couple of friends to Bow Valley Provincial Park to see what birds were to be seen. Only three of us turned up at the meeting place. A fourth person met us out at the park. Fortunately, the other three are very good birders : ) The weather forecast was for a sunny day with a temperature of 28C in the afternoon. We followed the Flowing Waters trail after walking to the trailhead from the Willow Rock Campground. One of the first sightings we had was a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird being fed its foster parent, a much smaller bird, an American Redstart. Later, on the return walk, we saw another Redstart, a male - way ahead of us along the path in the dark forest. I've been on quite a few city walks where people have spotted a Redstart, but this was the first time I could actually see the bird I don't use binoculars, so I know I miss a lot of sightings! I got one rapid shot, but suspect it will be just too blurry to post. "Brown-headed Cowbird females forgo building nests and instead put all their energy into producing eggs, sometimes more than three dozen a summer. These they lay in the nests of other birds, abandoning their young to foster parents, usually at the expense of at least some of the host’s own chicks." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown-headed_Cowbird/id From the Flowing Waters trail, we drove further into the park, to Many Springs trail, where we walked the loop. The wildflowers were not as colourful or abundant as they were on my last visit there. Lunch was eaten at our next stop - a relaxing spot down by the Bow River. Then, we called in at the final location, Middle Lake. It was hot and we had already done a lot of walking, so we just walked down to the edge of the lake. I will add our leader's list of bird species - many thanks for another enjoyable walk at Bow Valley Provincial Park, Andrew! I was happy to see a Northern Waterthrush and to get a tiny glimpse of the American Redstart, both in the forest along the Flowing Waters trail. Got a blurry shot of each bird, that I may still post on Flickr, just for the record. Andrew Hart eBird Checklist Summary for: Jul 24, 2016 Number of Checklists: 3 Number of Taxa: 26 Checklists included in this summary: (1): Bow Valley PP - Flowing Waters Trails Date: Jul 24, 2016, 8:35 AM (2): Bow Valley PP--Many Springs Trail Date: Jul 24, 2016, 11:15 AM (3): Whitefish Date: Jul 24, 2016, 12:45 PM 1 Common Merganser -- (3) 1 Bald Eagle -- (2) 7 Spotted Sandpiper -- (2),(3) 1 Ring-billed Gull -- (3) 106 California Gull -- (2),(3) 2 Willow Flycatcher -- (2) 1 Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher) -- (1) 2 American Crow -- (3) 5 Tree Swallow -- (2),(3) 4 Mountain Chickadee -- (1) 1 Boreal Chickadee -- (1) 4 Red-breasted Nuthatch -- (1) 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- (1),(2) 1 Swainson's Thrush -- (2) 4 American Robin -- (1),(2) 4 Cedar Waxwing -- (1),(2),(3) 2 Northern Waterthrush -- (1) 1 Orange-crowned Warbler -- (1) 1 Common Yellowthroat -- (1) 2 American Redstart -- (1) 1 Yellow Warbler -- (1) 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler -- (1) 2 Dark-eyed Junco -- (2) 1 White-throated Sparrow -- (2) 1 Red-winged Blackbird -- (2) 1 Brown-headed Cowbird -- (1) Plus Mallard, Goldeneye, Buffleheads, Ring-necked Duck.

There were quite a few of these small, old snail shells lying along the edge of Middle Lake in Bow Valley Provincial Park, not far from the foot of Mt. Yamnuska. Two days ago, on 3 July 2016, a group of 12 of us went west of the city to the very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains for a day of birding and botanizing. This is less than an hour's drive from the city. Our main walk was along the Many Springs Trail, but this photo was taken when we stopped for a short while at Middle Lake at the end of the day. This was my second visit to this park in the past week, as the leaders, Dorothy and Stephen, had invited me to go with them for a dry run on 28 June 2916, before they led the trip two days ago. The mountains in this park are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards on Highway 1 or 1A from Calgary. They form the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Mt. Yamnuska is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. Our main walk was following the Many Springs Trail, which is always a most rewarding trail. A great variety of plants can be found there (and elsewhere). We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, the last (?) 3 Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, Harebells, Fleabane, and lots of Gaillardia. I was also thrilled to bits to find the tiny flowers of Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii) along the edge of Middle Lake. I only remember ever seeing this plant once before, at Elkton Bog. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but we were not able to ID them all. On 28th June, our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher (Willow or Alder Flycatcher) near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. On the way out of the park, we stopped at Middle Lake (seen in this photo) and walked down the path as far as the lake. We were horrified at how low the water level was - there was no sign of the beautiful reeds that used to really add something special to this view. We had seen the same thing at Many Springs, too, with low water levels. On the trip two days ago, we saw 20 bird species and I will add the list compiled by Janet Gill. I never find this park a good place for taking bird photos - wildflowers are easier, though it was windy this day, which made it more difficult. 1. Great Blue Heron - 1 seen flying overhead 2. Green-winged Teal - 2 females, 6 ducklings 3. Scaup sp. (likely Lesser) 1 male, 1 female 4. Bufflehead - l female 5. Spotted Sandpiper - 6 including 1 at nest sight 6. Willow Flycatcher - 2 (1 seen, 1 heard) 7. American Crow - 1 8. Common Raven - 1 9. Tree Swallow - 1 10. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1 11. Black-capped Chickadee - 2 12. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 13. American Robin - 5 14. Swainson's Thrush - 1 15. Yellow Warbler - 6 16. Yellow-rumped Warbler - 6 Myrtles 17. Song Sparrow - 1 18. White-throated Sparrow - 2 19. Dark-eyed Junco - 1 20. Brown-headed Cowbird -2 Dorothy's list of some of the wildflowers we saw in bloom: Western Wood Lily Yellow Lady's Slipper Indian Paintbrush Western Canada Violet Blue Clematis Cut-leaved Anemone Camas Lily Showy Locoweed Honeysucke Gailardia Northern Bedstraw Common Yarrow Harebell Goldenrod Common Pink Wintergreen Elephanthead Fleabane The weather forecast for this day mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

The very first time I ever saw Kalm's Lobelia was on 30 July 2010, at Elkton Bog (Cremona Bog, near Cremona). Having never seen it since then, I was thrilled to bits to find it growing near the edge of Middle Lake in Bow Vallley Provincial Park two days ago, on 3 July 2016. I have added a previously posted macro of a single flower in a comment box below. "Lobelia kalmii is a species of flowering plant with a distribution primarily across Canada and the northern United States in temperate and boreal regions. It was formerly known as Lobelia strictiflora (Rydb.) Lunell and has a variety of English names including Kalm's lobelia, Ontario lobelia and Brook lobelia. Lobelia kalmii is a small plant (10 - 40 cm) of wet environments such as bogs, wet meadows, and rocky shorelines, including wet alvars, where it grows in calcareous soil or cracks between limestone rocks. It has small (1 cm) blue flowers , with a white center and has thin upper leaves and spatulate basal leaves. It starts flowering in July, lasting into September." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_kalmii Two days ago, on 3 July 2016, a group of 12 of us went west of the city to the very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains for a day of birding and botanizing. This is less than an hour's drive from the city. Our main walk was along the Many Springs Trail, but this photo was taken when we stopped for a short while at Middle Lake at the end of the day. This was my second visit to this park in the past week, as the leaders, Dorothy and Stephen, had invited me to go with them for a dry run on 28 June 2916, before they led the trip two days ago. The mountains in this park are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards on Highway 1 or 1A from Calgary. They form the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Mt. Yamnuska is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. Our main walk was following the Many Springs Trail, which is always a most rewarding trail. A great variety of plants can be found there (and elsewhere). We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, Harebells, Fleabane, and lots of Gaillardia. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but we were not able to ID them all. On 28th June, our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher (Willow or Alder Flycatcher) near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. On the way out of the park, we stopped at Middle Lake and walked down the path as far as the lake. We were horrified at how low the water level was - there was no sign of the beautiful reeds that used to really add something special to this view. We had seen the same thing at Many Springs, too, with low water levels. On the trip two days ago, we saw 20 bird species and I will add the list compiled by Janet Gill. I never find this park a good place for taking bird photos - wildflowers are easier, though it was windy this day, which made it more difficult. 1. Great Blue Heron - 1 seen flying overhead 2. Green-winged Teal - 2 females, 6 ducklings 3. Scaup sp. (likely Lesser) 1 male, 1 female 4. Bufflehead - l female 5. Spotted Sandpiper - 6 including 1 at nest sight 6. Willow Flycatcher - 2 (1 seen, 1 heard) 7. American Crow - 1 8. Common Raven - 1 9. Tree Swallow - 1 10. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1 11. Black-capped Chickadee - 2 12. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 13. American Robin - 5 14. Swainson's Thrush - 1 15. Yellow Warbler - 6 16. Yellow-rumped Warbler - 6 Myrtles 17. Song Sparrow - 1 18. White-throated Sparrow - 2 19. Dark-eyed Junco - 1 20. Brown-headed Cowbird -2 Dorothy's list of some of the wildflowers we saw in bloom: Western Wood Lily Yellow Lady's Slipper Indian Paintbrush Western Canada Violet Blue Clematis Cut-leaved Anemone Camas Lily Showy Locoweed Honeysucke Gailardia Northern Bedstraw Common Yarrow Harebell Goldenrod Common Pink Wintergreen Elephanthead Fleabane The weather forecast for this day mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

This photo was taken four days ago, on 28 June 2016, when I went with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, to Bow Valley Provincial Park They are leading a day trip out there soon and wanted to do a dry run and very kindly invited me to go with them. These mountains are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards on Highway 1A from Calgary. They form the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Mt. Yamnuska (not seen in this photo) is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. It is less than an hour's drive west from Calgary. Our main walk was following the Many Springs Trail, which is perhaps the most rewarding in the park. A great variety of plants can be found there. We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, Harebells, Fleabane, and lots of Gaillardia. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher (Willow or Alder Flycatcher) near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. I took three or four rapid shots of a Spotted Sandpiper and then we left the area, as she was making it clear that she had a nest or young ones somewhere. On the way out of the park, we stopped at Middle Lake (seen in this photo) and walked down the path as far as the lake. We were horrified at how low the water level was - there was no sign of the beautiful reeds that used to really add something special to this view. We had seen the same thing at Many Springs, too. The weather forecast for this day mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

I was about to turn off my computer a short while ago, when I suddenly decided to post my "daily three" photos instead (12:45 am). My alarm clocks will be set for about 4:45 am, as I have a very early, half-day trip outside the city tomorrow. This is to someone's private property, where we have been several times over the last few years. This telemacro photo was taken the day before yesterday, 21 May 2015, on a very last-minute, totally unexpected trip out to Bow Valley Provincial Park. By 11:00 pm the previous evening, I still wasn't sure if I was going to be ready in time and also because I had only had about an hour and a half the sleep the night before that, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to manage it. The thought of going out there on a beautiful, sunny day was just too tempting and, after less than three hours sleep that night, I was up and ready to go the next morning. If I hadn't gone, I would have missed this find (not by me) and I know I would have been so disappointed. I haven't seen a Morel mushroom for several years and this absolutely made my day. The five friends I went with are all specialists in their fields of fungi, lichens, mosses and liverworts, so not only did they enjoy our day, but I did, too. They have special permits to collect specimens for their work, so I made the most of it by taking a telemacro shot. It was growing in such a "cluttered" place, that photos were difficult to get, though of course I did take several of it growing in place before it was "pulled", including this one. This year probably isn't going to be much good for fungi, as everywhere is bone dry, with a hot, dry summer in the forecast. The temperature this day got up to 22C. "Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them. The ascocarps are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt. Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include dryland fish, because when sliced lengthwise then breaded and fried, their outline resembles the shape of a fish; hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels. In parts of West Virginia, they are known as molly moochers. Due to the partial structural and textural similarity to some species of the Porifera sponges, a common name for any true morel is sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latin maurus meaning brown." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella

This telemacro photo was taken yesterday on a very last-minute, totally unexpected trip out to Bow Valley Provincial Park. By 11:00 pm the previous evening, I still wasn't sure if I was going to be ready in time and also because I had only had about an hour and a half the sleep the night before that. The thought of going out there on a beautiful, sunny day was just too tempting and, after less than three hours sleep that night, I was up and ready to go the next morning. Today had to be a time for catching up on a little of the lost sleep this week, which is why I am posting so late today. If I hadn't gone yesterday, I would have missed this find (not by me) and I know I would have been so disappointed. I haven't seen a Morel mushroom for several years and this absolutely made my day. The five friends I went with are all specialists in their fields of fungi, lichens, mosses and liverworts, so not only did they enjoy our day, but I did, too. They have special permits to collect specimens for their work, so I made the most of it by taking a telemacro shot. It was growing in such a "cluttered" place, that photos were difficult to get, though of course I did take several of it growing in place before it was "pulled". This year probably isn't going to be much good for fungi, as everywhere is bone dry, with a hot, dry summer in the forecast. The temperature this day got up to 22C. "Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them. The ascocarps are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt. Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include dryland fish, because when sliced lengthwise then breaded and fried, their outline resembles the shape of a fish; hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels. In parts of West Virginia, they are known as molly moochers. Due to the partial structural and textural similarity to some species of the Porifera sponges, a common name for any true morel is sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latin maurus meaning brown." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella

I never tire of seeing this view looking over Middle Lake, in Bow Valley Provincial Park. When I drove out there three days ago, I knew this was one of the places I wanted to stop at. On 20 July 2014, I plucked up courage to do this drive that I’d never done before. I had been that route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others and I have visited the park quite a few times over the last few years, always carpooling with others, but going along the main HIghway 1, not 1A. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my youngest daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre. We came across Dee (rockymtnchick) and her partner, there to see the owls. Great to see you both! This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. There was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl (photo posted two days ago), and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing a baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone. This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley (one of the photos posted two days ago). After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake, but didn't walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at and photograph different wildflowers and a few butterflies. Though slow, it was still further than I should have walked. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day. Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat!

This is where seven of us spent the day yesterday, recording all flora and fauna that we saw. Bow Valley Provincial Park lies at the foot of the very first mountains when one drives westwards from Calgary for roughly 45 minutes. In other words, the Park lies at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. It's a very popular place with botanists, birders and photographers of any kind. We weren't sure just what we would find when we arrived, especially how much or little the Park had been affected by the recent flooding in Alberta. Parts of the Park were closed, so we didn't walk at Many Springs, but instead walked the Flowing Waters Trail and around Middle Lake (that you see in my photo above). The water level was high and the reeds around one part of the lake were lying on top of the water. I had seen two Common Loons out in the middle of the lake on 18 June, when I spent the day in the rain walking around this lake and Many Springs. Wonderfully, these Loons were still there yesterday and we saw and heard them calling. Such an amazing sound. They tend to stay in the middle of the lake, which makes it difficult or impossible to photograph them. My next photo shows one of them, 48x zoomed and heavily cropped : ) The weather was perfect yesterday and it felt so good to be out and to have no rain at all. I couldn't help but feel rather guilty, though, going out enjoying myself in such a beautiful place, knowing that there were so many people back in Calgary and so many other parts of southern Alberta, who were dealing with flooded basements and other damage. The person who was going to be leading this trip lives in nearby Exshaw and he was unable to come because of dealing with the bad flooding there. In fact, sadly, it's most likely that he has lost his house completely. It's so frustrating to me that a painful back, hips, etc. won't let me help with any clean-up. All I can do is donate to the Red Cross, and carry on with my usual volunteers shifts. I was expecting to hear from many flood victims, but only had a call from one family who had had to come to Calgary from High River, where everyone was so badly affected by the floods. We are expecing a lot more calls from flood victims in perhaps another couple of weeks. Lol, I'm not sure if I slept for 12 or 13 hours last night!!! Haven't done that for years - I usually get between 2 and maybe five hours of sleep a night. Only got about an hour and a half of sleep befere I went on this trip yesterday, partly because I was busy posting the rest of my Flickr photos on another site, but mainly because of emotional tiredness from seeing all the devastation form the "Flood of the Century" in Calgary and the rest of the southern part of the province. I was so tired when I got home late afternoon and was falling asleep at my computer, so by 4:00 p.m. I had no choice but to lie down for maybe "an hour", ha.

I definitely should not have cropped this image as much as I did! If I have time and energy, I might just think about re-doing it - but most likely won't get round to doing it : ) Taken at 48x zoom and heavily cropped. Posting it just for the record and to add it to a couple of my Sets. Yesterday, 28 June 2013, seven of us spent the day at Bow Valley Provincial Park, recording all flora and fauna that we saw. Bow Valley Provincial Park lies at the foot of the very first mountains when one drives westwards from Calgary. In other words, the Park lies at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. It's a very popular place with botanists, birders and photographers of any kind. We weren't sure just what we would find when we arrived, especially how much or little the Park had been affected by the recent flooding in Alberta. Parts of the Park were closed, so we didn't walk at Many Springs, but instead walked the Flowing Waters Trail (which was quite wet in places) and around Middle Lake. The water level of the lake was high and the reeds around one part of the lake were lying on top of the water. I had seen two Common Loons out in the middle of the lake on 18 June 2013, when I spent the day in the rain walking around this lake and Many Springs. Wonderfully, these Loons were still there yesterday and we saw and heard them calling. Such an amazing sound. They tend to stay in the middle of the lake, which makes it difficult or impossible to photograph them. The weather was perfect yesterday and it felt so good to be out and to have no rain at all. I couldn't help but feel rather guilty, though, going out enjoying myself in such a beautiful place, knowing that there were so many people back in Calgary and so many other parts of southern Alberta, who were dealing with flooded basements and other damage. The person who was going to be leading this trip lives in nearby Exshaw and he was unable to come because of dealing with the bad flooding there. In fact, sadly, it's most likely that he has lost his house completely. It's so frustrating to me that a painful back, hips, etc. won't let me help with any clean-up. All I can do is donate to the Red Cross, and carry on with my usual volunteers shifts. I was expecting to hear from many flood victims, but only had a call from one family who had had to come to Calgary from High River, where everyone was so badly affected by the floods. We are expecing a lot more calls from flood victims in perhaps another couple of weeks. Lol, I'm not sure if I slept for 12 or 13 hours last night!!! Haven't done that for years - I usually get between 2 and maybe five hours of sleep a night. Only got about an hour and a half of sleep befere I went on this trip yesterday, partly because I was busy transferring more of my Flickr photos to ipernity, but mainly because of emotional tiredness from seeing all the devastation form the "Flood of the Century" in Calgary and the rest of the southern part of the province. I was so tired when I got home late afternoon and was falling asleep at my computer, so by 4:00 p.m. I had no choice but to lie down for maybe an hour, ha. ------------------------------------------------------

I went with friends to Bow Valley Provincial Park near the end of August, for a day of botanizing. They were searching for lichens, especially any ones that were new to them, but of course I had to get it a few scenery shots, too ; ) There are several trails one can follow in this Park, all beautiful, and this was seen at the Middle Lake trail. It is less than an hour's drive from Calgary west to Bow Valley Provincial Park, and it is a superb place for wildflowers, especially in June. Wish I had the courage to drive there myself, though it's probably not a good thing to do on one's own, anyway.

I only took a few photos yesterday, when I went with several others to Bow Valley Provincial Park for the day. These were birders, LOL, and they walk at a much faster pace than my botany friends! Also, most of the wildflowers have finished now, apart mainly from Asters. This park is well known for its amazing displays of wildflowers - best time, end of June. I always love the view across this small lake, Middle Lake, with reeds in the foreground. The sky darkened with clouds as the day wore on and my scenery photos came out dark blue and little else. I've adjusted colours, etc. in this one, so that you can actually see something, but still not sure now that I've got it right ; ) Was out for about three hours this morning in Fish Creek Park. Raining and cold - well, it's only 6C this afternoon! The average low for today is 7C, so that tells you something. I think the average high for today is 21C. I ended up having to drive to three different spots, all pretty close together, as I was just in too much pain to do a long walk at a fairly fast pace. Saw a few things including two handsome White-tailed Bucks, two teeny slugs on a post, and various birds. I hadn't been to this part of the park for ages and was shocked at the devastation caused by one recent storm. So many large trees had been blown down. I was relieved to see that the Great Horned Owl's new nesting tree for this year was still standing, but two trees near it had fallen to the ground. The young owls had used these other two trees when they were learning to fly, so I'm not sure if the adults will use this nesting tree next year.