Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: on fallen branch

This photo and the previous one (Bluebirds) were taken two days ago, on 25 June 2016, when I drove SW of the city to possibly meet friends. No one was sure how bad the weather was going to be, as the forecast was for rain and thunderstorms. It had rained overnight, so everywhere was soaking wet. Normally, on a day like that, I stay home, but I'm really glad I did go, especially as I was able to find a Bobolink again. Or, perhaps I should say it found me. Three times now, when I have been photographing a particular pair of Mountain Bluebirds, I have heard a certain persistent call, turned around, and there was a Bobolink sitting on a fence post across the road. It just kept up this call until I stopped what I was doing, crossed the road, and started taking photos of him, as if to say: "Hey, take my photo, too!" I didn't think any friends were going to turn up, as I hadn't seen anything that looked like a small convoy of cars. Then suddenly, one single car came around a distant corner and stopped. Three people got out - Andrew, Tony and Howard. Three people who are excellent birders and who didn't let the weather keep them from doing what they love. After they had had a far sighting of a Bobolink, I followed them slowly as far as Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where the day's walk was supposed to take part, stopping to look at various birds along the way, Once there, we parted ways, as I didn't want hours of walking in mud and dripping trees. Instead, I wandered for a few minutes near the parking lot, where I took this lichen photo, and then I returned to the Bluebirds, where the Bobolink reappeared and repeated his behavior, giving me another chance for photos. The Bluebird babies are getting quite noisy and, judging by the number of insects they are being fed, they must be ready to fledge any day now. Which means just one thing - I will have to take another drive, as I couldn't go yesterday (hike plus annual BBQ, NW of the city) and I may not be able to go tomorrow. Thought I would add a link here, to a video about two local friends (Don and Andrew Stiles, father and son) who have spent many years building bluebird boxes and monitoring Mountain Bluebirds. Inspiring to see the dedication these two people have for the preservation of this beautiful species of bird. calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=678225&binId=1.120191...

It felt good to be able to find a few different fungi on 6 August 2013. This one was maybe an inch across, growing on a thin, fallen branch at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. I always think that the gilled underside is more attractive than the top side.

Macro photo of a rather beautifully coloured fungus that was growing on a fallen branch in the forest on Rod Handfield's land the day before yesterday, 17 August 2012. A group of us went there for a day of botanizing and mushroom hunting. Though the number of fungi was far less than some previous years, we still managed to find quite a few different species, making the day very worthwhile. Of course, the difficult part now for me is identifying the fungi that I photographed. A list was sent out to us, and so I will be able to put an ID to some of my images, but have not got the ID for this one yet. Thanks for the ID, Art! Violet Toothed Polypore /Trichaptum biformis.