Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: St. Mary's Cemetery

My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by the devastating tragedy in the province to our east, after a collision on Friday (6 April 2018) between a Saskatchewan junior hockey team’s bus and a tractor-trailer in rural Saskatchewan. That afternoon, the Broncos junior hockey team of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, were en route to a playoff game in Nipawin. Twenty-nine people were on board the team bus. Fifteen people were killed, including the coach, assistant coach, bus driver and a team announcer. Others remain in hospital. The tractor-trailer driver survived. There has been such a huge outpouring from people across Canada, and beyond. Such sadness, especially at so many young lives lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are a number of Wild European Rabbits in Calgary, and this is just one of them. It always feels strange to see what look like pet rabbits wandering loose in people's gardens and around a neighbourhood. This one was seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. It was busy eating the grass by this tombstone and then it took a good look at me before continuing to feed. Right next to this area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours, or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. I know they did do something about this problem, but I don't know what the situation in Canmore is like now. I seem to remember reading that a fair number of them were sent to British Columbia to a sanctuary there and the rest were "got rid of". Here is a link to a Calgary Herald newspaper article from 15th December 2010, about the problem with these Rabbits in the town of Canmore, near Banff: They were, of course, also eating the plants in people's gardens, which some home owners complained about. "Canmore Mayor Ron Casey is taking aim at the picturesque Alberta town's rascally rabbits. Casey, who said the animals are attracting predators such as cougars, has secured support for a $50,000 budget to deal with feral rabbits." Read more: www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Canmore+cull+bear+baitin...

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates! Hope you have sunny days the next few days, so that it feels like spring. When I checked our weather forecast very late last night, it was for snow today, so I changed my plans for a day out. Woke up really late this morning and the sun was shining. I guess snow could still arrive this afternoon. This little rabbit is one of the Wild European Rabbits that I've seen in Calgary. I'm not sure if they are only found in this one area of the city or elsewhere. Seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. Right next to this natural area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see Rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours (light brown, black, black and white, and so on), or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. They were going to do something about this problem, but I don't know if they ever managed to "get rid" of them all. I seem to remember reading that a fair number of them were sent to British Columbia to a sanctuary there and the rest were "got rid of". Here is a link to a Calgary Herald newspaper article from 15th December 2010, about the problem with these Rabbits in the town of Canmore, near Banff: They were, of course, also eating the plants in people's gardens, which some home owners complained about. "Canmore Mayor Ron Casey is taking aim at the picturesque Alberta town's rascally rabbits. Casey, who said the animals are attracting predators such as cougars, has secured support for a $50,000 budget to deal with feral rabbits." Read more: www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Canmore+cull+bear+baitin... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A three-minute YouTube video on ALBERTA - "Remember to Breathe". www.youtube.com/embed/ThFCg0tBDck

There are a number of Wild European Rabbits in Calgary, and this is just one of them. Seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. Right next to this area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see Rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours, or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. They were going to do something about this problem, but I don't know if they ever did. Here is a link to a Calgary Herald newspaper article from 15th December 2010, about the problem with these Rabbits in the town of Canmore, near Banff: "Canmore Mayor Ron Casey is taking aim at the picturesque Alberta town's rascally rabbits. Casey, who said the animals are attracting predators such as cougars, has secured support for a $50,000 budget to deal with feral rabbits." Read more: www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Canmore+cull+bear+baitin...

You can't help but think of the movie, "The Sound of Music" when you see this unusual flower. The song "Edelweiss", which is about the flower, is from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 musical The Sound of Music, which takes place in Salzburg, Austria, before World War II. I've only seen this plant in two places in Calgary, neither wild. One plant was in someone's garden, and the plant in this photo was photographed in front of someone's gravestone in St. Mary's Cemetery. "The plant is unequally distributed and prefers rocky limestone places at about 1800–3000 m altitude. It is non toxic, and has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The dense hair appears to be an adaptation to high altitudes, protecting the plant from cold, aridity and ultraviolet radiation. As a scarce short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas, the plant has been used as a symbol for alpinism, for rugged beauty and purity associated with the Alps, and as a national symbol especially of Austria and of Switzerland. Leaves and flowers are covered with white hairs and appear woolly (tomentose). Flowering stalks of Edelweiss can grow to a size of 3–20 cm (in cultivation, up to 40 cm). Each bloom consists of five to six small yellow clustered spikelet-florets (5 mm) surrounded by fuzzy white "petals" (technically, bracts) in a double star formation. The flowers bloom between July and September." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontopodium_alpinum

There are a number of Wild European Rabbits in Calgary, and this is just one of them. Always feels strange to see what look like pet rabbits wandering loose in people's gardens and around a neighbourhood. This one was seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. It was busy eating the grass by this tombstone and then it took a good look at me before continuing to feed. Right next to this area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours, or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. They were going to do something about this problem, but I don't know if they ever did. www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/21/canmore-alberta-rabbits_... Looks like we may possibly have thunderstorms and rain the next few days. This morning, it's 24C (feels like 29C) and it is supposed to go up to 28C (feels like 33C) this afternoon. Yesterday, it got up to 32C in the afternoon. This is a long weekend here in Canada - Monday, 4 August 2014 is Heritage Day. Have a good, safe holiday, everyone!

There are a number of Wild European Rabbits in Calgary, and this is just one of them. Seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. Right next to this area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see Rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours, or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. They were going to do something about this problem, but I don't know if they ever did.

Thought some of you might be interested in seeing what an Edelweiss flower looks like, if you haven't seen one before. Lots of us remember the movie, "The Sound of Music". This plant was growing near a tombstone in St. Mary's Cemetery, right next to where we walk at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area. Taken on 25 July 2012. Normally, these flowers grow in inaccessible places and are associated with alpine and mountaineering. "The common name comes from German edel, meaning "noble", and weiß (also spelled weiss) "white", thus signifying "noble whiteness". Leaves and flowers are covered with white hairs and appear woolly (tomentose). Flowering stalks of Edelweiss can grow to a size of 3–20 cm (in cultivation, up to 40 cm). Each bloom consists of five to six small yellow flower heads (5 mm) surrounded by bracts in star formation. The flowers are in bloom between July and September." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontopodium_alpinum

Couldn't resist photographing this bright yellow flower that I found growing in a flower bed in the cemetery next to the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. Unfortunately, a few plants have invaded the Natural Area when dead flower arrangements have been tossed over the fence - plants such as the very invasive Baby's Breath. "Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) is a perennial that reproduces by seed only. It is native to Eastern Europe & western Asia and was likely introduced as an ornamental. It develops deep tap root that can extend to 4m1 allowing it to access deeper groundwater during periods of drought. This is the airy, white flowered plant used extensively by the flower industry as bouquet filler and sold for dried arrangements. In winter stems break off and tumble with the wind, spreading seed – a single plant can produce 1000s of seeds." www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-BabysBreath.pdf Severe thunderstorm warning for City of Calgary (just found this on the weather network at 6:00 p.m.). I was wondering what the temperature was and why I was feeling clammy - I guess it's very "close", not to mention 30C-32C in my computer room. My sympathies go out to those of you who are dealing with extremely high temperatures at the moment - hope you get some cooler air soon!