Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: southern Aberta

This gorgeous flower makes me think of satin. Taken at the Calgary Zoo on 10th September 2011.

I loved this very small mushroom that I found growing on the end of a broken-off twig on the ground at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, back on September 21st last year. It was just so perfect. I think these little ribbed shrooms are so pretty. The cap was maybe half an inch in height. Growing out in an open, grassy area not too far from the Bow River. Not like my usual fungi photos, which are usually taken in a dark forest.

How I love Water Lilies! This beauty was growing in the tiny pond at the Calgary Zoo, in the ENMAX Conservatory, on September 10th. I was out on a 3+ hour walk in Fish Creek Park this morning, from Votier's Flats to Bebo Grove and back. The highlight of the walk has to be a family of Least Weasels - about eight babies! For most of the time, these little creatures moved in one solid mass through the tangle of grasses and plants. They were absolutely adorable. I don't think I've ever seen a Least Weasel (or maybe I did, once) - much smaller than the Long-tailed Weasel. Couldn't get a sharp focus on them because my camera wanted to focus on the grasses, but I'll see if I can rescue a shot when I've downloaded them to my computer.

On the rare occasion that I see one of these beautiful Cinnamon Teals, they are always far, far away. This one was a little closer, though I still had to use full zoom and heavy cropping. They are such gorgeous ducks, especially when the sun shines on their plumage. Sun??? Where is the sun? Yet another day of heavy, endless rain. When I think of how we all longed for spring to arrive after seven months of severe winter, lol.

This is where I spent the day, yesterday. Rosedale is a community in southern Alberta, located on Highway 56, 107 kilometres (66 mi) northeast of Calgary, at the confluence of Rosebud River and Red Deer River. It is 8 km southeast of Drumheller and this whole area is part of the Canadian Badlands - home of the dinosaurs. The owners of a very beautiful home perched at the top of one of the hills generously allowed us to wander the area, recording all species of plants, birds, flowers, insects, etc. that we came across. Part of this family's land is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada. How we appreciate those who do everything they can to help preserve beautiful land, protecting it from development, keeping it safe for all of us and for future generations. We first explored the hilll in the foreground and then, after lunch, climbed the hill across the gravel road, on the right hand side of the photo, continuing down the valley. Thank you to the Browns for welcoming us and letting us botanize here, and for making coffee for us before we returned to Calgary. It tasted so good, especially after our long day! I've placed the photo on my map just at Rosedale, to give an idea of where Rosedale is located. I don't have the exact location for where we were.

One of my favourite kinds of mushroom to photograph : ) They are so tiny (maybe three-quarters of an inch tall) and delicate and grow on leaf litter. This, and other similar ones, were found at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park, on September 12th. Was out for a three hours+ walk from Votier's Flats to Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, this morning, to check for birds (and anything else, of course). We were thrilled to bits to see a tiny, pop-can sized Northern Pygmy Owl perched on the very top of a very tall Spruce tree! SO good to know that at least one of these little owls has returned to the same area. They have given us so much enjoyment the last three+ years. Two of us had a Northern Goshawk male fly right past us, not much above head height and very close. Such a magnificent bird of prey. It was one of those magical moments that you are so in awe of what is happening that you don't even think about trying to get a photo! Also watched a couple of Coyotes in the distance. The morning started off chilly, but the sun warmed us up later on and it felt so good to be out in this lovely October weather. I was walking in snow yesterday afternoon, west of the city, down Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66), LOL. It felt strange to be kneeling in snow to take photos of some little Split Gill fungi on a log, out at Maclean Pond. Much prefer the snow-free city paths, though snow is in our forecast in the coming week. I need to go and wash off all the mud from my vehicle in a short while, in case I do go ahead with arranging to get a remote car starter installed.

What a sight to see : ) On the very rare occasion (once in a year, or twice if we are lucky!), we might see a cluster of 3-10 of these teeny fungi. Yesterday, I came across hundreds, even thousands, of them, growing amongst woodchips, barely noticeable. Most of the "nests" were empty - the rain disperses the very tiny "eggs", but you can still see a few lying around. I took a lot of photos, but the light was atrocious (as it has been almost all "summer", LOL). Might just have to go back sometime. Here comes the sun, FINALLY, after an overcast, cold, wet "summer - yay!!!!!! Enjoy it, everyone. I have a volunteer shift to go to, so will be indoors : (

I picked up one of the very small Bird's-nest Fungi to give an idea of its size, seen here against two of my fingertips. As you can see, two (or more?) of the spore-bearing "eggs" have not been dispersed (yet) by falling raindrops. Seen at Burnsmead a couple of days ago. Sorry, I'm behind with commenting - have been out so much, taking photos before the snow returns and stays. Should be safe from that happening for the next few days, thank goodness. Dashed over to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park this afternoon. Very muddy in the places I went and leaves are covering the ground now, making it almost impossible to see any small mushrooms that might still be around. It was a bit windy and the forest was full of creakings, scraping sounds, knocking sounds and rustlings. Sometimes, I later discover that it is a little squirrel making the noises, but it really creeped me out this afternoon, so I didn't go very far into the forest at all. Any day now, our extremely short fungi season will come to a complete end and I will suffer mushroom withdrawal symptoms for the next 10 MONTHS, LOL! Was out this evening at a talk on Butterflies. Will be out of the city all day tomorrow Friday), botanizing with a couple of friends, and then will be out all Saturday, too, with separate "events" in morning and afternoon.