Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Grand Valley Rd

Took this photo of a beautiful Swainson's Hawk, NW of Calgary, on 15 June 2013. When I left Calgary, the weather was pleasant, but as I got nearer to my hoped-for destination, a massive, black cloud was hanging over the area. I did drive northwards on paved road, but turned around just before the hilly, gravel roads began. They are not good roads to drive on when it is, or has been, raining. Ten minutes later, on the return drive, I saw a white field that looked strangely out of place, lol. In just that short time, it had hailed heavily over just that one huge field, piling up along the edge of the road, too. We do have some strange weather where I live, ha! Little did I know about the major flooding (Alberta's Flood of the Century) that was about to happen on 20 June! Passed this Hawk and presumably its mate, perched on nearby fenceposts. This one flew off after just one shot, but the other one gave me a chance for a few photos. Such spectacular birds of prey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson's_Hawk www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/swainsons_hawk/id Something is definitely wrong with Flickr this morning. I posted my "daily three" images almost four hours ago and it shows only a total of 10 views for the three photos together. Not one comment, which is highly unusual. I mention this only because it's obvious that Flickr is not working properly. Anyone else experiencing this? Just checked My Contacts' new photos and there are only photos uploaded by four people, so my photos are most likely not showing up on their pages, either! I guess that's another problem, sigh. 8 hours later - just got home, and found that there has been basically no activity on my photos from today. Just left a message on the Help Forum. Hey, Flickr - what's going on? Something needs fixing! Please ...

I believe I am correct in saying that this is Equisetum arvense, commonly known as Field Horsetail or Common Horsetail - the spores are contained in this beautiful cone-like strobilus. This macro image was taken on 21 May 2013, NW of Calgary, along the edge of a gravel backroad. I always think that the tiny "plates" look rather like flowers with their "petals".

Snapped this quick shot when I drove back to a familiar road (in the distance), after taking the Wildcat Hills Rd. on 2 April 2013. It was just a short detour, but one I had never done before, though I had passed the intersection many times before. So glad I did decide to "explore", as I got a beautiful view in front of me (out of sight, behind where I was standing here). Actually, I pulled over just a bit further down this road, as I noticed a bird of prey and a Magpie feeding on something that must have been dead in the field. Unfortunately, what turned out to be a Northern Harrier, decided to fly off almost immediately. It takes me about an hour and a quarter to get from home to this location.