Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: near Forgetmenot Pond

On 1 October 2015, I finally managed, for the first time this year, to get out to the mountains as far as Forgetmenot Pond - really an on the spur of the moment decision. The weather called for some sun and some cloud, which sounded good. I knew I had better not leave it any longer to get out there - as it was, we had a light dusting of snow the following night. You really need good, clear reflections to get the best photos at the Pond, but it wasn't quite calm enough for that and it was quite hazy for much of the drive. Forgetmenot Pond is actually a man-made pond, left over from the excavation of a gravel pit. The water is crystal clear. It's just a short walk around the pond, but enjoyable to do. The main road this far into Kananaskis only opens in June each year, as a winter gate at Elbow Falls closes in December for the winter months, to protect the wildlife in the area. Forgetmenot Pond is the only mountain drive I will do on my own and it's one of my favourite places. It only takes about 50 minutes to an hour to get from home to the Pond, so makes a very pleasant half-day trip. On the return drive, I called in at a place not far from Forgetmenot Pond, where I have found a few mushrooms in previous years, but found nothing this time. I didn't see a whole lot of anything during the few hours I was out, other than the spectacular mountain scenery. The fall colours were beautiful - a mix of Aspen yellows and the dark greens of the coniferous trees. I was comparing it with a photo I took on the same drive on 24 September 2007. The mountains above the tree line were all covered in snow, unlike this fall.

Photographed (macro) this dainty flower along the road that leads up to Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis, near the intersection with the Powderface Trail, on 1 July 2011. This is in the Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park, which lies within Kananaskis. These delicate, native Jacob's Ladder flowers are bell-shaped and about 2/3" across. "Polemonium, commonly called Jacob's ladder, is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Polemoniaceae, native to cool temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and also in the southern Andes in South America. Many of the species grow at high altitudes in mountains." From Wikipedia. The link below shows the whole Kananaskis (also known as K-Country) area. www.kananaskiscountrycampgrounds.com/govmaps/elbowmap.pdf

There wasn't a single car in sight when I reached this hill down into the valley just before Forgetmenot Pond, so I pulled over a little, stopped and half got out of the car and took the fastest photo I possibly could. Not a good place to stop and I've only ever done it a couple of times - but the view takes away my breath every time I come round a corner and see this view (I was already part way down the hill). A lot of the autumn leaves were already on the ground, but still enough colour to add to the view.

I keep noticing these very small, brilliant red berries recently. They add such a welcome splash of colour in the forest, especially along with the bright berries of Bunchberry, which are also low-growing. Macro photograph taken near Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis, on July 1st. This woody, groundcover shrub belongs to the family Ericaceae, and has evergreen leaves. Two other common names are Kinnikinnick and Pinemat manzanita. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctostaphylos_uva-ursi plantwatch.fanweb.ca/plant-information/bearberry-kinnicki...