Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Spirit Rocks Sanctuary

I know, it's "just" a slime mold (supermacro shot) showing different stages of development of the Plasmodium and honeycomb fruiting bodies of the slime mold Ceratiomyxa porioides (?, thanks Doug/RIP) - but I was so thrilled to see this when a few of us were lucky enough to visit Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, way back on 26 June 2011. Joanne Susut inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking. Four of us went from Calgary and we met up with three delightful and very knowledgable ladies there. Thanks so much, Joanne, for letting us explore your land - we appreciated it greatly and enjoyed spending this time with you and your friends. (I don't have the exact location to add to my map, so have just marked Rimbey, Alberta, mainly just to remind myself where it is).

One of those most uninspiring photos that I want to add to a set, and this is the only way to do it : ) Found on a day of botanizing at the Sacred Rocks Sanctuary, a Nature Conservancy area, near Rimbey, Alberta (N of Calgary), on 26 June 2011. I don't have the exact location to add to my map, so have just marked Rimbey, Alberta. "Conocephalum conicum, commonly known as the snake liverwort, is the largest of the thalloid liverworts. Its pale to dark green thallus can grow up to 20 cm long. The dorsal surface of C. conicum is covered with tiny hexagons, which makes the entire thallus seem snake-like. In the centre of each hexagon is a pore, which is actually a break in the epidermis over top of an air chamber. This liverwort is widespread across Canada and it can usually be found on moist rocks or wet inorganic soils." Taken from the website below. www3.botany.ubc.ca/bryophyte/conocephalum.html

Definitely past its prime, but still eye-catching, this cluster of fungi was growing on a rather attractive tree trunk at the Spirit Rocks Sanctuary near Rimbey, north of Calgary. Taken on June 26th. This forest is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut. Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey.

Ha, sorry for the disappointment! This was such a very tiny lichen (or fungus?), growing on a tree trunk in the forest at the Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, near Rimbey, north of Calgary. Found, if I remember correctly, by friend Doug (dougwaylett) with his eagle eyes (or should I say lichen eyes?) on June 26th. This very small, collected (with a collecting permit) sample was resting on my hand for a macro shot. Doug, if you happen to see this image, I checked your photostream last night, but couldn't find any photos of this. Maybe I missed it, somehow, but did you ever find an ID for it? Thanks. Spirit Rocks Sanctuary near Rimbey, Alberta, is a forest north of the city, that is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut. Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking.

Photographed at The Nature Conservancy, near Rimbey, Alberta, on June 26th, when we were on a botanizing trip to Spirit Rocks Sanctuary. This is a forest north of the city, that is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut. Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking. I don't have the exact location to add to my map, so have just marked Rimbey, Alberta. There are two varieties of this orchid: Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) and Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens var. pubescens). When you find this orchid, do not disturb it. Do not transplant it - it will likely not survive. It is a wildflower and should stay where it is, also for other people to enjoy. I think I'm correct in saying that my photo shows the Small Lady's-slipper. Thanks Papa Ellis for the confirmation!

HAPPY CANADA DAY, everyone! One of my favourite wildflowers, the uncommon Mitella nuda, Naked Mitrewort or Bishop's-cap is extremely tiny and barely visible in the forest. You really need to know what you are looking for. Stems are 3 - 20 cm tall, and (in my eyes) look like a short, thin strand of thread, almost invisible amongst the other plants in the forest. The fringed petals resemble a snowflake. The seed capsules, 2 - 3 mm long, open widely into shallow cups containing shiny, black seeds that ripen in late-summer. Needless to say, this is a supermacro : ) Photographed (with GREAT difficulty, lol!) at Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, near Rimbey (north of Calgary), Alberta. www.em.ca/garden/native/nat_mitella_nuda.html

It was so lucky that a friend discovered this tiny orange fungus (macro shot) when we were on a botanizing trip to Spirit Rocks Sanctuary near Rimbey, Alberta, on June 26th. This is a forest north of the city, that is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada and belongs to Joanne Susut. Joanne inherited this land, which she has named Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, from her parents and has donated it to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It was about two and a half hours' drive north of Calgary, to near Rimbey. The day started off with rain and ended with rain, but luckily not a drop fell while we were walking. Four of us went from Calgary and we met up with three delightful and very knowledgable ladies there. Thanks so much, Joanne, for letting us explore your land - we appreciated it greatly and enjoyed spending this time with you and your friends. I have seen several mushrooms at various places, but not the photogenic kind, at all! I guess it is still fairly early in July and the peak of the fungi season isn't till August. Even so, I would have thought that we'd have seen a few more than we have seen by now. There was a day trip today to one of my favourite forests, but I decided I wouldn't even bother to go to the meeting place, as no one else turned up yesterday, apparently, for a botanizing day to another of my favourite places - neither of which I can drive to, and even if I could, I know I'd never find my way out of the forest back to my car, ha!

This is as far as the Purple Avens flower opens. An unusual flower and really, quite beautiful. Photographed at Spirit Rocks Sanctuary, near Rimbey, Alberta, on 26th June.