Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Upper Kananaskis Lake

This is NOT my main photo today! Just wanted to add it to an album. This photo from my archives was taken on 7 August 2011, when I went with friends to Kananaskis. In the morning, we walked through the forest, following the shore line as far as the Sarrail Falls, and after lunch, we hiked the Mt. Everest trail. I will add the information given under one of his photos taken this hike, by late friend, Doug Waylett, who was very knowledgeable about lichens. My photo was taken when the lichen was very dry. "Solorina crocea 'Orange Chocolate Chip Lichen', An unmistakable foliose lichen, especially when wet, growing on the soil along a trail, I had just sprayed this specimen with water to bring out the green color. When dry it is quite a drab brownish gray. Upper Kananaskis Lake trail, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, 7334August 07, 2011."

It's snowing again today, 26 February 2017, so I grabbed this photo to add a bit of colour. The temperature is -10C (windchill -18C), with -17C (windchill -24C) forecast for tomorrow morning. After that, things should start to warm up again.. On 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we had been having the previous few weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungi to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, the Osprey flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we had last summer, one could find mushrooms growing almost anywhere. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first mushroom walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a very slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. This photo was taken along this path. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms.. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated.

It's snowing again today, 26 February 2017. The temperature is -10C (windchill -18C), with -17C (windchill -24C) forecast for tomorrow morning. After that, things should start to warm up again.. On 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we had been having the previous few weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungi to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, the Osprey flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we had last summer, one could find mushrooms growing almost anywhere. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first mushroom walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a very slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. This photo was taken along this path. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms.. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated.

On 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we have been having for so many weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungi to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, it flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we've had this summer, one could find mushrooms growing anywhere. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a fairly slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. This photo was taken along this path. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms, so hopefully we will have more rain soon (and preferably at night!). Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated. Thank goodness, the wait came to an end on 29 August.

One week ago, on 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungi to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, it flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we've had this summer, one could find mushrooms growing anywhere now. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a very slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. This photo was taken along this path. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms, so hopefully we will have more rain soon (and preferably at night!). Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated. Today, 19 August 2016, is Day 11 since ordering a new car.

Wow, it's noon and there are only 10 new photos on My Contacts page. A few evenings ago, on 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungus to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, it flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we've had this summer, one could find mushrooms growing anywhere now. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a very slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms, so hopefully we will have more rain soon (and preferably at night!). Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated.

Posted just for ID purposes and for the record. I have seen this fungus maybe three or four times before, but I don't know what it is. Could it be Yellow Fairy Fan / Spathularia flavida, Yellow Earth Tongue? This is a telemacro shot, so the fungus is only small. A few evenings ago, on 12 August 2016, friend Dorothy phoned and asked if I'd like to go with them to Kananaskis for the day. A last minute decision - and of course I said yes! What a great day we had in the mountains, with perfect weather and so many mushrooms to keep all three of us happy. When I think how many endless rainy days we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky that the sun shone, the temperature was pleasant, and a slight breeze kept comfort levels just right. Our first brief stop was at a pond on the way to Bragg Creek, where a mutual friend had been seeing a Common Loon, but there was no sign of it when we were there. From there, once we eventually reached the mountains, we stopped at a large pond to check for birds and kept our eyes open for any mushrooms. The ground seemed too dry here, for any fungus to be growing. However, we were treated to wonderful views of a beautiful Osprey perched on top of a tall coniferous tree further down the path. It flew to a few different trees and then finally made the plunge for a fish, with success. What a splash it made! Once caught, it flew out of sight - maybe it had a nest somewhere with young ones to feed. Our next stop was further into the mountains and we found that the ground was damper and more conducive to the growth of mushrooms. I suspect that after all the rain we've had this summer, one could find mushrooms growing anywhere now. We were certainly lucky at this location, finding various species. One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing one of my favourite fungi, Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii - the one that produces small, ruby red droplets on the surface. The individuals we saw were not hugely photogenic, but wonderful to see, both at this location and our next stop, at Kananaskis Lakes. Lunch was eaten at a convenient picnic table right by a large creek after this first walk. While we were sitting there, a cute little Chipmunk (Least Chipmunk?) stopped long enough to take a quick peek at us through the tall grass blades. I suspect it thought it was well hidden. After our lunch, we drove to Kananaskis Lakes and went for a most enjoyable hike - a very slow one, as there were mushrooms everywhere! We had been along this trail in previous years and had found a good variety of fungi. There were so many people on the trail! Good to see everyone out enjoying the good weather, fresh mountain air, and beautiful scenery. My friends returned to the same areas two days later and found about two-thirds less the number of mushrooms, so hopefully we will have more rain soon (and preferably at night!). Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, not just for this great day out, but for also helping to make my wait for my new car to arrive, easier! Greatly appreciated. Today is day 9 since I ordered my new set of wheels ... still waiting.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all Americans today, whatever part of the world they may be living in. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on 13 October 2014. We have so much to be thankful for, even when times are tough. A photo from my archives, taken when I went with a few friends to Upper Kananaskis Lake on 5 August 2012, where we hiked the Sarrail Falls Trail. Our original plans had been to hike the Mt. Everest Trail (which I'd never be able to manage now!), but coming across a Grizzly Bear sow and cub right near the parking lot made us change our plans : ) I was thrilled that we found this fungus along the trail – I had only ever seen it once before (in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis). A difficult fungus to photograph in the forest, but any photo is better than none : ) Some nice moss and lichen growing around it, too. "The fruit body 3-12cm high, 2-6mm wide individually; numerous slender cylindrical to spindle-shaped, compressed fruit bodies in a tuft; purple, lavender, amethyst, or pale brownish or smoky purple fading to pinky-buff." From Rogers Mushrooms website. www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5739.asp

Two days ago, I went with a few friends to Upper Kananaskis Lake, where we hiked the Sarrail Creek Falls Trail. Our original plans had been to hike the Mt. Everest Trail, but coming across a Grizzly Bear sow and cub right near the parking lot, made us change our plans : ) I was thrilled that we found this fungus along the trail - I've only ever seen it once before (in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis). Had a bit of a problem photographing it, partly because of the light. Photos using flash, like this one, came out sharper but paler. Photos without flash were darker but rather blurry .... sigh. I had similar problems a year ago, on the same trail. Also, my camera is developing similar problems to problems I had with previous FZ models - maybe I just wear out my cameras, as I do take a lot of photos!

Friends organized a wonderful day out for eight of us yesterday, walking the Sarrail Falls Trail along the edge of Upper Kananaskis Lake, in the Rocky Mountains. Our aim was to find anything that grew, flew or crawled - anything beautiful : ) My favourite kind of day! I just managed to catch this shot throuh the trees along the edge of the lake and liked the water patterns created by this couple in a boat (have blurred out the man's face). As you can see from my photo, the weather was absolutely perfect, though it did get rather too hot later on in the day. It was supposed to get up to 30C, but I don't know what the temperature ended up being. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for another wonderful day and thanks so much for doing the driving! (Oops, almost forgot to mention the second stop, at Elpoca - just a short walk, or should I say climb, up a scree slope (loose, very sharp pieces of rock) overlooking a beautiful stream with small waterfalls. However, I got just a short distance and then was unable to get around a bend where footing was maybe 4" wide and too high for me to get down to the ground below. Nothing to hold on to, but moss, ha. Then came the problem of how to turn around on that narow edge so that I could go back to where I started, to join a couple of others who knew it was not a climb they wanted to try. Thanks, David, for trying your best to help!

Friends organized a wonderful day out for eight of us yesterday, walking the Sarrail Falls Trail along the edge of Upper Kananaskis Lake, in the Rocky Mountains. Our aim was to find anything that grew, flew or crawled - anything beautiful : ) My favourite kind of day! I rarely get into the mountains, so a day like this is a huge treat. As you can see from my photo, the weather was absolutely perfect, though it did get rather too hot later on in the day. It was supposed to get up to 30C, but I don't know what the temperature ended up being. Trouble is, at these temperatures, our igloos are beginning to melt fast, lol! Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for another wonderful day and thanks so much for doing the driving! (Oops, almost forgot to mention the second stop, at Elpoca - just a short walk, or should I say climb, up a scree slope (loose, very sharp pieces of rock) overlooking a beautiful stream with small waterfalls. However, I got just a short distance and then was unable to get around a bend where footing was maybe 4" wide and too high for me to get down to the ground below. Nothing to hold on to, but moss, ha. Then came the problem of how to turn around on that narrow edge so that I could go back to where I started, to join a couple of others who knew it was not a climb they wanted to try. Thanks, David, for trying your best to help!

This is one of the smallest and most difficult flowers I ever get to photograph : ) I took about 25 photos of two or three different ones and this was the last I took and the only one to come out even remotely OK. The top flower of this wild Orchid does show the split blade reasonably clearly, though. Seen on the Sarrail Falls trail, Kananaskis, at Upper Kananaskis Lake on July 8th. If I remember correctly, I've only seen this species in a couple of different locations. This is a native, woodland species, only a few inches tall, and not easily seen. Each flower is only 3/16 inch across and the plant blooms June-August. The flowers are pale green to purplish-brown in color, with the lip divided for more than half its length into 2 linear lobes with a pair of horn-like teeth at the base. There are two varieties, one with pale green flowers and the other with purplish-green flowers (as in my macro photo). I think I'm correct in saying that my photo shows Listera cordata var. nephrophylla forma rubescens.

Not sure if I'd ever seen this plant before, but the little pink, bell-shaped flowers look so delicate and pretty. Photographed along the Sarrail Falls trail, along the edge of Upper Kananaskis Lake, in the mountains, when a small group of us went to botanize the area on 8 July 2012. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menziesia_ferruginea

It started off with hail, but has now changed to rain this morning - just when the guys have started taking out all the windows in my building, ha! My turn should be on Tuesday - yay! We came across this Gray Jay lying near the edge of the path at Upper Lake, Kananaskis, on 8 July 2012. At first we thought it was dead, but when we stood and watched, we realized it was still alive. Feeling sorry for the poor suffering bird, we got a surprise when it gradually pulled its wings closer and flew up into the nearest tree and proceeded to preen. We had wondered if it might be a young one who had stunned itself by flying into a nearby sign, but apparently Gray Jays (and other kinds of Jay) do this sunbathing : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Jay www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Jay/id

This photo was taken standing on a small, wooden bridge on the Sarrail Falls trail. Right behind me, the falls immediately flow into the Kananaskis Lake. This was such a delightful hike that led through a mossy forest, following the shoreline of the lake. We only went as far as these falls, but I would love to have gone further. We returned to the parking lot, ate lunch down by the lake, and then went on the steeper Mt. Everest trail, from where we had beautiful views over both Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. A most enjoyable day as far as company, weather and scenery were concerned.

This is the spectacular view that we had before us while eating our lunch down near the shore at Kananaskis Lakes on August 7th. We had just walked through the forest behind us, following the shore line as far as the Sarrail Falls, and after lunch, we hiked the Mt. Everest trail (off to the right of my photo).

One of the many spectacular views seen from the Mt. Everest trail, looking out over the Upper Kananaskis Lake, I believe. Taken on August 7th.