Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: canoe

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.

This photo was taken on Saturday, 10 September 2016. This was the second day in a row that I did a long drive that I had never done myself, and had longed for years to be brave enough to do. On the Friday, I drove way down south as far as the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale (drove 496 km that day). Then, on the Saturday, my daughter came with me to Kananaskis and I drove the Highway 40 loop, going south via Turner Valley and then coming home via 1X and Highway 1A. I had been to Coaldale maybe five times before with various friends, and I had been to Kananaskis quite a few times over the years with different friends. What a way to introduce a new car to life with Anne Elliott, lol! By the end of this second day, it was so dirty from all the dust gathered, especially along the rough, gravel Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail (only drove part way along this mountainous road). My car was also covered in splattered insects which were unlucky enough to fly into my car. Got my very first (tiny) paint chip from all the flying gravel along this road, on the passenger door. If I had been able to do these drives a bit earlier in the summer, I would have done so and not on consecutive days. However, I would never have taken my 17-year-old car, for a start. Then, when I checked the Birds of Prey Centre's website, I discovered that Saturday was the last day it would be open before closing till next May. As far as the Kananaskis trip was concerned, there had already been snow in some areas of the mountains, and I definitely did not want to risk doing my very first drive there in snow. So, two wonderful days, for which I am truly thankful! A few weeks before, I had been with friend, Pam, for a long day out in Kananaskis (the mountain area of the Rocky Mountains that is closest to Calgary). What a great day we had, seeing so many different things in such beautiful scenery. The trip with my daughter followed part of the trip I was on with Pam, which was very helpful. Our first stop was at Highwood House, a very convenient place to stop for things like coffee, snacks, washroom, gas station. All the Hummingbird feeders had been taken down. now that the Hummingbirds have left. From there, we drove north to Rock Glacier to see the little Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits). I'm pretty sure we saw just two individuals and managed to get some rather distant shots. As usual, they were darting all over the massive scree (talus?) slope, busily collecting plants to store and dry in their "caves", ready for the winter months - they don't hibernate. There was very light rain while we were there, but that cleared up for the rest of our journey. A couple of short YouTube videos in case anyone wants to hear and see these absolutely cute creatures: youtu.be/US_Hy_eGPtg youtu.be/OQ2IgcjVIfc Further along, we called in at Boulton Bridge, as I wanted to do a quick check to see if there were many mushrooms around. I had been there with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, and we found lots of interesting mushrooms to photograph. Saturday was very different and it was obvious that the peak of the season was now over. Trying to find Buller Pond, where I had stopped with Pam the other week, we ended up at an area called Peninsular, part of Lower Kananaskis Lake. I don't remember ever having been to this area before. Parts of the lake were emerald green. A short drive along the Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail, followed by continuing along Highway 40 past Barrier Lake, brought us to Highway 1. We crossed over and found 1X, which then took us to Highway 1A leading to Cochrane. From there on, I was on very familiar driving ground. Many thanks, Rachel, for coming out with me. We had a great day in such magnificent scenery with enough wildlife to keep us happy (Pikas, Bighorn Sheep and a tiny Chipmunk who was happily munching on a bright red berry).

This was one of the two large ponds on Frances and David Dover's property, visited on 7 August 2015. There were so many Cedar Waxwings in this area. 21 other species of bird were seen during the few hours that we spent on this wonderful property. On 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land. This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little gems exist out there. This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion! There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. There is a total of seven wetland basins, including these. It was while walking around the Japanese Garden that a large brown 'shape' could just be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and will slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!). There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen! Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete (and glass) - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! While I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area. Saw a total of 22 bird species. There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens. books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp... www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/... David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link. www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP... ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc... glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45

To have the chance to visit Waterton Lakes National Park in June was such an absolute treat, but to be able to visit this beautiful region again one month later was just incredible. I think I've only ever been maybe five or so times in the 37 years that I've lived here, so you can imagine my delight to get two chances in one year!! Actually, I signed up for the July trip a while ago and, though there were some aspects of the three-day trip that I wasn't particularly keen on, I knew this was a wonderful chance to go down south. Then, some time later, friend Sandy asked if I wanted to go down to Waterton in June for the Botany Alberta weekend. So, lucky, lucky me!! Just got back home early yesterday evening (19 July 2015) from this second visit, 17-19 July 2015. Again, wonderful to be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds. Lots of great company with people I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Our first day, which included the drive from Calgary, it rained all day long. Thankfully, the remaining two days were beautiful and sunny, and appreciated even more because of the first rainy day. This day, we drove around Waterton town, calling in at Cameron Falls and then driving to Red Rock Canyon. We did the short walk along both sides of the canyon, in the rain, so it was pretty much useless as far as taking photos was concerned. I was happy to see a Swainson's Thrush, the first time I had seen one close. This photo of the canoes at Cameron Lake (end of the Akamina Parkway) was taken on our second day (18 July). This is a beautiful lake and I love the small jetty and the colourful canoes lined up. Our walk took us along the right hand side of the lake, through the forest. One of my favourite plants that we saw was Water Hemlock - though I had seen it before, I had never seen it this close and in such detail. The bees and other insects love it, too, with several insects on many of the flower heads. This attractive plant is one of the most deadly poisonous plants in North America. Two other plants that I was thrilled to see were Pink Monkeyflower and Yellow Monkeyflower. I had never seen these wildflowers before. Pearly Everlasting, False Helebore, Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus, Foam Flower, and Thimbleberry were just a few of the other plants we found. We were amazed at how many orchids there were - everywhere. Later on the second day, we called in at Red Rock Canyon again and, because it was absolutely packed with people, we decided to do the Blakiston Falls Trail. Along this trail, I was thrilled to see a few Pinedrops plants in flower - I had only ever seen them once before, and they were in seed. Thanks so much, Debbie, for the heads-up about these plants, that you had found earlier! We also saw a couple of Prince's Pine plants along this trail - a first for me. They look rather like Pink Pyrola, so could easily be overlooked. Later, in the evening on this day, Andrew Hart took us to look at a wetland for Sandhill Cranes. He knew they can be seen there and, with the help of a spotting scope, he found a total of 5 seen from two lookouts. Barely visible with the naked eye, they were so far away. I just managed to get a 48x zoomed shot that was kind of fit to post : ) Andrew had also timed it so that we could drive along Chief Mountain Parkway afterwards, stop at the lookout and watch the sunset over the mountain peaks. The following morning, our last, some of us visited Cameron Lake again and then walked along the very short Akamina Lake trail (only 1 km) that starts from the Cameron Lake parking lot. A beautiful little trail, where we found two Bear Grass plants still in flower, but well past their prime. Also watched a rather thin deer making her way along the edge of the lake. A lovely walk to end our stay in Waterton Lakes National Park. Thanks so much, Darlene, for letting us do this, knowing that we needed to start driving north to Calgary. Thank you SO much, too, for driving three of us to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that we appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly! A great time was had by all.

My power went off for about two seconds, thanks to the dreadful late summer snowstorm that we are having. Just long enough to lose the description that I had almost finished here, ha. This time, I think I will save it a bit at a time. This photo was taken on the second day of a three-day trip I was lucky enough to go on with friends, Cathy and Terry. The first two days, 26 and 27 August 2014, were spent in Waterton Lakes National Park. Within the park, there are four different drives one can do. They are the short Bison Paddock Loop, Red Rock Parkway, Chief Mountain HIghway, and Akamina Parkway. The last one leads to Cameron Lake, where I took this photo. Our third day was spent driving eastwards across part of southern Alberta and then doing the long drive back to Calgary. An incredible three days!

On 10 August 2013, I had such a wonderful day in the mountains! I don't get out there very often at all, and certainly not as far as we went today, so it was an absolute treat! In fact, it must have been something like 32 years since I went to Bow Lake, but I never forgot it and always longed to go back some day. Friend Sandy had found an interesting Liverwort (non-vascular plant) there and wanted to go back to see it at a different stage, hoping it would make ID a little clearer. She asked if I wanted to go with her - ha, yes, you bet! We went past Banff and Lake Louise, as far as Bow Lake (seen in my photo) along Highway 93, the Icefields Parkway. They do say that this scenic highway is the most beautiful in the world, and it's easy to believe. I had jokingly said to Sandy when we left Calgary, that what I would really like, please, was blue sky to start with it, then a few puffy white clouds and then maybe even a touch of grey with the white - and that's exactly what we got (plus some rain on the drive back to Calgary, which I definitely didn't ask for, lol. Though this particular view doesn't really do the area justice, I liked the bright orange/red of the canoeists.

Yesterday, four of us met across the city at 7:30 a.m. and made the long drive NW of the city to the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, Spruce View, near Raven, Alberta - about 70 kilometers west of Innisfail. (Location on map is very approximate location of Spruce View, just to give a very rough idea of where we were in Alberta and as a reminder for myself.) "Founded in 1984, the Medicine River Wildlife Centre is a nonprofit organization operating under federal and provincial permits to care for injured and orphaned wildlife. MRWC now treats close to 1200 wildlife patients annually. MRWC's education programs encourage people to respect our environment and do their part in keeping wildlife safe. MRWC presents to almost 200 groups annually from schools to youth groups, to seniors to service clubs." From the MRWC website. Carol Kelly, executive director of Medicine River Wildlife Centre, and staff member Judy Boyd, made us feel most welcome, just as they have done on the other two (or is it three?) times that I have been there before. Judy very generously came with us for the day, taking us on a very interesting botanizing walk in the morning - we even found some fungi : ) After lunch, she asked us if we would be interested in travelling by canoe to check out the enormous Sandhill Slough that lies near the Centre, with a great observation tower from which one can gaze over the peaceful scene and listen to various bird songs that break the silence. We heard Sandhill Cranes, but were unable to spot them. Judy wanted to cut a few stalks of fresh green leaves (cattails?) to feed to the baby Beavers that were back inside the building, calling the Centre "home" temporarily. What an absolute thrill this was for us, to paddle our way through the reeds and open water, passing a few glorious Yellow Pond Lilies and skimming over masses of submerged Bladderpod on our journey. The arrival of dark clouds and distant thunder brought us back to the safety of shore! As always on our botanizing outings, all species of plant, bird, insect, fungi, animal, were listed, helping to create a more complete list for any area we explore. The Centre also does an amazing job of placing orphaned wildlife with foster families of the same species and this, along with all the other endless tasks, keeps them busy non-stop. Their dedication is something to witness - their respect for wildlife (shown through wildlife rehabilitation, education and research), awe-inspiring. Busy, busy, busy, day after day. They have a new dream - unfortunately, a very necessary dream - to replace the old building with a brand new one. Grants help with this, but there is also a lot of public fund-raising that goes on. They welcome every bit of help. This day would not have been possible if our friend, Stephen, had not offered to come and pick two of us up at the end of the day. When we met at the meeting place early morning, we discovered that the two people who were going to be the drivers were not coming back to the city, but instead were going to stay overnight for a very different event this weekend. It looked like the remaining two of us were not going to be able to go after all. Then Stephen, who was not coming, but was only dropping off his wife, offered to drive the long, long way to the Centre late afternoon, to pick us up. This was an incredibly generous offer, one that the two of us appreciated tremendously! Thank you so much, Stephen, for being your usual, generous self, and enabling us to spend such an enjoyable, interesting day of botanizing!! If you would like to assist injured wildlife so that they can receive proper medical treatment, be rehabilitated and then re-introduced into the wild, please contact Carol at (403) 728–3467 or email her at info@mrwc.ca. They are just in the middle of creating a new website and hope to have it completed soon. Meanwhile, check them out on Facebook. www.facebook.com/pages/Medicine-River-Wildlife-Centre/754... culture.alberta.ca/communityspirit/profile/medicineriver.... 24 Hour Emergency Line (403) 728-3467

On July 27th, four of us met across the city at 7:30 a.m. and made the long drive NW of the city to the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, near Raven, Alberta - about 70 kilometers west of Innisfail. (Location on map is very approximate location of Spruce View, just to give a very rough idea of where we were in Alberta and as a reminder for myself.) "Founded in 1984, the Medicine River Wildlife Centre is a nonprofit organization operating under federal and provincial permits to care for injured and orphaned wildlife. MRWC now treats close to 1200 wildlife patients annually. MRWC's education programs encourage people to respect our environment and do their part in keeping wildlife safe. MRWC presents to almost 200 groups annually from schools to youth groups, to seniors to service clubs." From the MRWC website. Carol Kelly, executive director of Medicine River Wildlife Centre, and staff member Judy Boyd, made us feel most welcome, just as they have done on the other two (or is it three?) times that I have been there before. Judy very generously came with us for the day, taking us on a very interesting botanizing walk in the morning - we even found some fungi : ) After lunch, she asked us if we would be interested in travelling by canoe to check out the enormous pond/lagoon that lies near the Centre, with a great watch tower from which one can gaze over the peaceful scene and listen to various bird songs that break the silence. We heard Sandhill Cranes, but were unable to spot them. Judy wanted to cut a few stalks of fresh green leaves (cattails?) to feed to the baby Beavers that were back inside the building, calling the Centre "home" temporarily. What an absolute thrill this was for us, to paddle our way through the reeds and open water, passing a few glorious Yellow Pond Lilies and skimming over masses of submerged Bladderpod on our journey. The arrival of dark clouds and distant thunder brought us back to the safety of shore! As always on our botanizing outings, all species of plant, bird, insect, fungi, animal, were listed, helping to create a more complete list for any area we explore. The Centre also does an amazing job of placing orphaned wildlife with foster families of the same species and this, along with all the other endless tasks, keeps them busy non-stop. Their dedication is something to witness - their respect for wildlife (shown through wildlife rehabilitation, education and research), awe-inspiring. Busy, busy, busy, day after day. They have a new dream - unfortunately, a very necessary dream - to replace the old building with a brand new one. Grants help with this, but there is also a lot of public fund-raising that goes on. They welcome every bit of help. This day would not have been possible if our friend, Stephen, had not offered to come and pick two of us up at the end of the day. When we met at the meeting place early morning, we discovered that the two people who were going to be the drivers were not coming back to the city, but instead were going to stay overnight for a very different event this weekend. It looked like the remaining two of us were not going to be able to go after all. Then Stephen, who was not coming, but was only dropping off his wife, offered to drive the long, long way to the Centre late afternoon, to pick us up. This was an incredibly generous offer, one that the two of us appreciated tremendously! Thank you so much, Stephen, for being your usual, generous self, and enabling us to spend such an enjoyable, interesting day of botanizing!! If you would like to assist injured wildlife so that they can receive proper medical treatment, be rehabilitated and then re-introduced into the wild, please contact Carol at (403) 728–3467 or email her at info@mrwc.ca. They are just in the middle of creating a new website and hope to have it completed soon. Meanwhile, check them out on Facebook. www.facebook.com/pages/Medicine-River-Wildlife-Centre/754... culture.alberta.ca/communityspirit/profile/medicineriver.... 24 Hour Emergency Line (403) 728-3467

It is obvious how Emerald Lake, in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada, got its name : ) The turquoise colour of the water is beautiful. I was so fortunate to have the chance to see this lake - and other spectacular places - when Flickr friends, Ron and Trish, invited me to go with them as far as Takakkaw Falls, near Field B.C. (British Columbia) on August 1st (a holiday Monday). What an absolute treat for me! "The first European to set sight on Emerald Lake was famed guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an impression on even the most seasoned of explorers: "For a few moments I sat [on] my horse and enjoyed the rare, peaceful beauty of the scene." It was Wilson who gave the lake its name because of its remarkable colour, caused by fine particles of glacial sediment, also referred to as rock flour, suspended in the water. However, this was not the first time Wilson had dubbed a lake 'Emerald.' Earlier that same year he had discovered another lake which he had given the same moniker, and the name even appeared briefly on the official map. This first lake however, was shortly renamed Lake Louise." From Wikipedia.

The weather today was about as perfect as one could dream about. Around 21C, deep blue sky, no wind (unusual for Calgary!). This couple must have reckoned that we can't be sure just how many (i.e. few!) mild days are left till winter hits us. Paddling the calm water was an ideal activity for today. So tranquil.