Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: trunk

Not as sharp as it should have been : ( "Some fungi are prone to exhibiting a curious phenomenon—they exude beads of moisture, called guttation. In several polypores, such as Fomitopsis pinicola, the liquid produced can look so much like tears that you'd swear the fungus was weeping. Or maybe sweating. Other species produce pigmented drops that can look like milk, or tar, or even blood." weirdandwonderfulwildmushrooms.blogspot.ca/2014/08/read-i... "Guttation, a term used in botany to describe the process by which plants excrete excess water through drops from their leaves. For some mushrooms this is so common that it is a reliable identification feature." www.fungimag.com/fall-2010-articles/mushroom-weepLR.pdf Yesterday afternoon, 21 July 2019, I decided to make a short visit to a forest area to check for any fungi. We have had so much rain the last few weeks, so I felt hopeful. However, the rain has made the plants and grasses grow well, but I didn't find much in the way of fungi. As it was a Sunday afternoon, there were quite a few people in the area, so I felt brave enough to venture a little way into the forest itself. The trails were wet and muddy in many places, making all the exposed tree roots slippery. Quite treacherous, in fact. In one spot, I managed to get my right shoe wedged in between two horizontal roots and it took a bit of effort to work it free. Was it worth going? Not really, especially as far as fungi go, but I did get some fresh air and exercise. There were a few butterflies, mainly White Admirals, and the wildflowers were the usual ones such as Purple/Water Avens, which I love to see at all stages, and Sticky Purple Geranium and Richardson's Geranium.

As you can see, I have finally made a start on photos taken on DAY 9 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas. I don't have a whole lot of images from this day and nothing too inspiring. If I can, I will edit and post as quickly as possible, as I need to finish this holiday's photos as soon as I can. On Day 9, we had an early start from Mission, so caught the beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, my photos had to be taken from back in the vehicle, and through the windshield. Poor quality, but posting for the memory. The approximate distance between Mission and Brownsville, where we were heading, is 106 km (65.8 miles) and travel time 1 hr 04 mins, travelling along US 83 and US 77. We stopped when we reached the western edge of Brownsville to visit the Resaca de la Palma State Park. This is where today's photos were taken. "Resaca de la Palma State Park is one of three state parks belonging to the World Birding Center and managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. At 1,200 acres, Resaca de la Palma State Park is the largest of the World Birding Center sites and is located in Brownsville. The property was acquired by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1977 and was opened to the public in December 2008. A resaca is a type of oxbow lake that can be found in Texas, and is a former channel of the Rio Grande. It is naturally cut off from the river, having no inlet or outlet. The World Birding Center is the official title given to a combined nine parks and nature preserves in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas managed by a partnership of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the local communities in which the parks reside." From Wikipedia.

On 25 October 2018, I dashed down to a place that I had been curious about for the last few years. Every time I drove the highway, I would pass a sign that said Kayben Farms. My daughter had posted photos from a visit there with friends a while ago and there were a few things that I wanted to see sometime. A spur-of-the-moment visit gave me the chance to do so. Actually, I suspect it may also have been a delaying tactic for all the endless things that I knew I should be seeing to. There were a few sheds/barns scattered around the grounds. Most were a pretty basic, simple shape and not old. However, I loved one little barn and absolutely loved the wonderfully bright and colourful door of two other buildings. The one barn had an assortment of ducks, chickens, pigs - and a rabbit that I only noticed when I was editing the image. There were several different kinds of domestic duck and two in particular caught my eye. A female domestic Turkey had two babies, one black and the other was a tan colour, and what a good mother she was. Wandering near the corn maze - now closed till next year - I came across a dead Sunflower hanging its head. One of my favourite things to photograph, at any stage of their life. As for a corn maze, nothing would make me enter .... nothing, unless the corn plants were no higher than my waist and if I was with someone who has an excellent sense of direction! Various pieces of old farm equipment dotted the area. I always enjoy coming across such things on any of my travels. In a nearby area, there was a variety of farm animals, including a very cute pig that was fast asleep and snoring loudly, and horses, sheep and goats were entertaining. All made for a very pleasant visit, just in time before the farm closed to the public for the winter season.

This photo was taken on 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast but, though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like! theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel... There are supposed to be no feeders in Weaselhead, but certain ones have stayed. This photo shows a popular one. A few people leave seeds for the birds and it must be costing a few regulars such a huge amount of money to do so. Feeding the birds does give these folks tons of fresh air, exercise, and the joy of doing something that they love. Unlike bird feeders in people's gardens, these forest feeders do keep the birds in their natural habitat. "As energetic as their electric zapping call notes would suggest, Common Redpolls are active foragers that travel in busy flocks. Look for them feeding on catkins in birch trees or visiting feeders in winter. These small finches of the arctic tundra and boreal forest migrate erratically, and they occasionally show up in large numbers as far south as the central U.S. During such irruption years, redpolls often congregate at bird feeders (particularly thistle or nyjer seed), allowing delightfully close looks." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/id The following is a list of the species seen on 4 February: FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups. 1. Bald Eagle-1ad 2. Downy Woodpecker-5 3. Hairy Woodpecker-2 4. Northern Flicker-1 5. Blue Jay-3+ 6. Black-billed Magpie-3 7. Common Raven-5 8. Black-capped Chickadee-20 9. Boreal Chickadee-3 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard 11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2 12. Bohemian Waxwing-1 13. Pine Grosbeak-40+ 14. House Finch-8+ 15. White-winged Crossbill-1 16. Common Redpoll-150 17. Pine Siskin-50 18. American Goldfinch-1 Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-8 White-tailed Deer-4+

"With its merging landforms, connected ecoregions and its mild, moist, windy climate, Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing meeting place for an abundant and diverse collection of vegetation. Despite it's small size (505 sq km) Waterton is graced with over 1000 species of vascular plants . Over half of Alberta's plant species are found in this tiny place. The park's four ecoregions - foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine - embrace forty-five vegetation communities. Sixteen of these are considered significant because they are rare or fragile and threatened. Waterton also has an unusually high number of rare plants - over 175 are provincially rare (e.g. mountain lady's-slipper, pygmy poppy, mountain hollyhock), and over twenty of these are found only in the Waterton area (e.g. western wakerobin, Lewis' mock-orange, white-veined wintergreen). Over 50 species are rare in Canada (e.g. Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, Brewer's monkeyflower.)" From Parks Canada website. www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul1/f.aspx I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful. Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants and many other things. This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time. The wind made photographing plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! I tried to find a list of plant species in Waterton Park on the Internet, but had no luck. I do have the book, "Wildflowers of Waterton Park" by Jacinthe Lavoie and Ian Wilson, which has an Index of Plant names, but I had hoped to find a list that I could print out. Thank you so much, Sandy and Heide, for a great three-day trip in such spectacular scenery, surrounded by amazing nature. The wildflowers were top priority, but I was so happy to see insects, scenery and even a bit of wildlife that included a very distant female Grizzly with a cub from last year and two Black Bears, one of which was along the Crandell Lake trail at the same time we were there. I believe the mass of Tent Caterpillars in this photo were seen along the Chief Mountain Parkway, that had a huge invasion of these - they were on every tree, plant, grass and a few on the road. They were busy stripping every leaf from the trees. It was most unpleasant trying to get photos of these insects, to say the least! Thanks, too, Sandy, for doing all the driving - so much appreciated by Heide and myself! Also have to thank you both for being so thoughtful as far as my limitations go and for your patience in allowing me to take lots of photos! Thanks, Heide, for all the reminders to stay hydrated while hiking! Two other people to mention - Arnold, it was so good to see you at the meeting place. Been a long time since our paths crossed. Jerry P. (from Calgary), good to bump into you in Waterton, and thanks so much for telling us about various sightings and even taking us to several of the locations, despite the fact that you had just returned from a major mountain ridge hike that day. Loved seeing the distant Loon lying in the grass at the edge of one of the wetlands. Great trip, great company! How lucky I was to get this chance.

All three photos posted today were taken yesterday morning, 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast - though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the forecast is for PLUS 11C! This morning, as I type, it is +6C (windchill +2C). Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like! theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel... There are supposed to be no feeders in Weaselhead, but certain ones have stayed. This photo shows a popular one. A few people leave seeds for the birds and it must be costing a few regulars such a huge amount of money to do so. Feeding the birds does give these folks tons of fresh air, exercise, and the joy of doing something that they love. Unlike bird feeders in people's gardens, these forest feeders do keep the birds in their natural habitat. "As energetic as their electric zapping call notes would suggest, Common Redpolls are active foragers that travel in busy flocks. Look for them feeding on catkins in birch trees or visiting feeders in winter. These small finches of the arctic tundra and boreal forest migrate erratically, and they occasionally show up in large numbers as far south as the central U.S. During such irruption years, redpolls often congregate at bird feeders (particularly thistle or nyjer seed), allowing delightfully close looks." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/id The following is a list of the species seen yesterday: FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups. 1. Bald Eagle-1ad 2. Downy Woodpecker-5 3. Hairy Woodpecker-2 4. Northern Flicker-1 5. Blue Jay-3+ 6. Black-billed Magpie-3 7. Common Raven-5 8. Black-capped Chickadee-20 9. Boreal Chickadee-3 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard 11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2 12. Bohemian Waxwing-1 13. Pine Grosbeak-40+ 14. House Finch-8+ 15. White-winged Crossbill-1 16. Common Redpoll-150 17. Pine Siskin-50 18. American Goldfinch-1 Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-8 White-tailed Deer-4+

Looks like it is another day of poor air quality here, due to the smoke blowing from the forest fires in Washington State (US). A Poor Air Quality Alert is still in effect for Southern Alberta. Heavy rain is in the forecast for northwest US, so hopefully this will happen and will help with the severe fire problem before even more damage is done. Even from so far away, I am feeling the effects from the smoke-filled air. Despite this huge fungus being past its prime, I was just happy to see anything remotely mushroom-like. This has not been a good year for fungi - much too hot and dry with the occasional torrential rain. Thanks, Carole, for pointing this out to me! Three days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

Four weeks ago, on 23 July 2015, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I was invited to go - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast! We were taken by surprise when we came across a nearby statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. A nice idea, I thought. Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, most places treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour. Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed through Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015). Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day. This summer, with quite a few botanizing outings like this, plus two 3-day trips to Waterton Lakes National Park, I am so far behind with the photos that I need to edit and e-mail!

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 already 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 may slip one of them into my photostream sometime, 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 has 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

I always try not to post photos of the same thing next to each other, so here is a shot of two Banana Tree trunks : ) It was taken in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, on 14 October 2014. I just liked the shades of colour and the textures - really, quite beautiful trees. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana The weather forecast has changed overnight. Last night, it showed snow for today, but instead now shows a chance of a shower for this afternoon. It's a balmy 5C at the moment - if only every winter could be like this one! Much deserved after last winter (2013/2014), which was unbelievably long and brutal. Tomorrow and the next day, Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mainly sunny. As of last night, Sunday was expected to have sun, cloud, snow and rain. My car is gleamingly clean and all set for Sunday, after being caked with dried mud for the last two or three months. I'm hoping it stays that way. Not too likely, though, as I do have to go out again and the roads are messy. Five minutes and the car is sprayed with filthy water. After Sunday, it won't matter.

This beautiful tree was right by one of the lookouts along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US. The trunk was so richly coloured and twisted and gnarled, it begged to be photographed (with the far side of the Canyon in the background). Taken on 14 September 2012 along the South Rim of the Canyon, maybe at Artists's Point or Uncle Tom's Point..

This was a rather fine display of fungi growing on a tree in the forest on Rod Handfield's land, when a few of us spent the day botanizing there on 17 August 2012. Such harsh sunlight, unfortunately, which tended to blow out many of my photos.

Just a jumble of Polypores, and perhaps "old" ones, growing from a tree in Weaselhead. Not particularly photogenic, but I was happy to see any fungi in the month of June (June 14th) : )