Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: mosses

Came across these Puffballs on 31 August 2012, when a handful of us went on the Waiparous Trails, NW of Calgary, for a day of botanizing. I had done part of this walk before, for the annual Ghost River Alliance nature outing, but the small community of Waiparous has created a few new trails through the forest there. "A puffball is a member of any of several groups of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills. Instead, spores are produced internally, in a spheroidal fruiting body called a gasterothecium (gasteroid ('stomach-like') basidiocarp). As the spores mature, they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruiting body that is often of a distinctive color and texture. The basidiocarp remains closed until after the spores have been released from the basidia. Eventually, it develops an aperture, or dries, becomes brittle, and splits, and the spores escape. The spores of puffballs are statismospores rather than ballistospores, meaning they are not actively shot off the basidium. The fungi are called 'puffballs' because clouds of brown dust-like spores are emitted when the mature fruiting body bursts, or in response to impacts such as those of falling raindrops." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffball

I knew that a group was going to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park today (16 July 2013) and, as this place absolutely creeps me out, I reckoned I should go when I knew there would be quite a few people in the forest! A video was being made of this outing, so, even though I was told I would be welcome to join them (I knew at least two of them), I don't like cameras when they are pointing towards me, lol! They were going further than me, and anyway, I wanted to take photos and walk at a very slow pace. So, it all worked out well. Got lots of blurry photos (don't ask me why, lol!) and some that were thankfully sharp enough. On the way home, I drove some of the backroads that I love to drive. Completed the day with urgent food shopping : ( Tomorrow, I have a volunteer shift, but in the evening, I have no choice but to install updated Anti-virus software (which I bought, and now have just one day left) and I HAVE to back up a few photo files and delete from my hard drive. Has to be done before I'll be able to download any new photos from my camera ... sigh.

Yesterday, a small group of us were privileged to be able to access the Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve. This mountain (SW of Calgary) is at the southern end of Kananaskis, located in the Livingstone Range of the Rocky Mountain Region. The plateau rises gradually from about 2,280 metres in the north to 2,519 metres at the summit near the south end of the plateau. There is a gate across the road up to Plateau Mt. that is kept locked, preventing access other than for workers checking the small gas plant at the top, and for certain people who have permission to go for scientific reasons. We walked from the south end to the north end (about 9 kms round trip, which was much further than many of us were expecting, lol!)). At the north end, we saw the plaque giving information about the Ice Cave that is somewhere in this area, gated so that no one can enter. This was a perfect place to stop for our picnic lunch, after which a few people walked on a little further. They found one of our target plants, the rare Pedicularis flammea (flame coloured lousewort). I was thrilled to find a little cluster of them (mainly leaves and just one flower in bloom and another with dead flowers), without having to walk that extra distance to see theirs! Will eventually post a photo of this tiny plant with its unusual flowers. By the way, I was down on all fours in water from the melting snow to get photos of it, ha. Can you imagine finding one very tiny plant of a certain species on a mountain top like this? It always amazes me when it happens. As you can see from my photo, it was a beautiful day (though it was not hot, thank goodness), sunny with great clouds filling the sky, and a strong and cooling wind. A good variety of plants - and great company, some very familiar faces and some new, which is always nice. Thanks so much for the ride, Stephen - as always, greatly appreciated! "This nearly flat high-elevation plateau is recognized for several unique features. There is an internationally recognized ice cave with ice crystals, curls, sheets and pillars (ice crystals are so fragile that a temperature increase of one degree Celsius can cause melting). The periglacial features (known as "patterned ground") in the reserve include active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps and frost boils. The area also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep." From www.albertaparks.ca/plateau-mountain.aspx There are no public roads in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve; the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil; to prevent vandalism to natural gas production facilities and to lessen impact on the area's natural features, access is controlled by the locked gate; travel in the reserve is by foot only; there are no facilities on site and overnight camping and open fires are prohibited." www.albertaparks.ca/media/2741526/plateau_mtn_mgmt_plan.pdf Note: 12:35 p.m. Hold your Clicks ....

We had quite spectacular clouds when we were on top of Plateau Mt. two days ago. Unfortunately, they looked less spectacular in my photos than in real life. Will be back on Flickr later this evening, as I have to dash out for an early start for another day in the mountains.

On 6 July 2012, a small group of us were privileged to be able to access the Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve. This mountain (SW of Calgary) is at the southern end of Kananaskis, located in the Livingstone Range of the Rocky Mountain Region. The plateau rises gradually from about 2,280 metres in the north to 2,519 metres at the summit near the south end of the plateau. This image was taken as we approached the northern end. There is a gate across the road up to Plateau Mt. that is kept locked, preventing access other than for workers checking the small gas plant at the top, and for certain people who have permission to go for scientific reasons. Very fortunately, we were able to get access, so were able to drive to the top of the plateau. We walked from the south end to the north end (about 9 kms round trip, which was much further than many of us were expecting, lol!)) At the north end, we saw the plaque giving information about the Ice Cave that is somewhere in this area, gated so that no one can enter. This was a perfect place to stop for our picnic lunch, after which a few people walked on a little further. They found one of our target plants, the rare Pedicularis flammea (flame coloured lousewort). I was thrilled to find a little cluster of them (mainly leaves and just one flower in bloom and another with dead flowers), without having to walk that extra distance to see theirs! By the way, I was down on all fours in water from the melting snow to get photos of it, ha. Can you imagine finding one very tiny plant of a certain species on a mountain top like this? It always amazes me when it happens. As you can see from my photo, it was a beautiful day (though it was not hot, thank goodness), sunny with great clouds filling the sky, and a strong and cooling wind. A good variety of plants - and great company, some very familiar faces and some new, which is always nice. Thanks so much for the ride, Stephen - as always, greatly appreciated! "This nearly flat high-elevation plateau is recognized for several unique features. There is an internationally recognized ice cave with ice crystals, curls, sheets and pillars (ice crystals are so fragile that a temperature increase of one degree Celsius can cause melting). The periglacial features (known as "patterned ground") in the reserve include active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps and frost boils. The area also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep." From www.albertaparks.ca/plateau-mountain.aspx There are no public roads in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve; the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil; to prevent vandalism to natural gas production facilities and to lessen impact on the area's natural features, access is controlled by the locked gate; travel in the reserve is by foot only; there are no facilities on site and overnight camping and open fires are prohibited." www.albertaparks.ca/media/2741526/plateau_mtn_mgmt_plan.pdf

On 6 July 2012, a small group of us were privileged to be able to access the Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve. This mountain (SW of Calgary) is at the southern end of Kananaskis, located in the Livingstone Range of the Rocky Mountain Region. The plateau rises gradually from about 2,280 metres in the north to 2,519 metres at the summit near the south end of the plateau. This image was taken when we took a look at the southern end. There is a gate across the road up to Plateau Mt. that is kept locked, preventing access other than for workers checking the small gas plant at the top (which is going to be closing down), and for certain people who have permission to go for scientific reasons. Very fortunately, we were able to get access, so were able to drive to the top of the plateau. We walked from the south end to the north end (about 9 kms round trip, which was much further than many of us were expecting, lol!)) At the north end, we saw the plaque giving information about the Ice Cave that is somewhere in this area, gated so that no one can enter. They found one of our target plants at the north end, the rare Pedicularis flammea (flame coloured lousewort). I was thrilled to find a little cluster of them (mainly leaves and just one flower in bloom and another with dead flowers), without having to walk that extra distance to see theirs! By the way, I was down on all fours in water from the melting snow to get photos of it, ha. Can you imagine finding one very tiny plant of a certain species on a mountain top like this? It always amazes me when it happens. As you can see from my photo, it was a beautiful day (though it was not hot, thank goodness), with a strong and cooling wind. A good variety of plants - and great company, some very familiar faces and some new, which is always nice. Thanks so much for the ride, Stephen - as always, greatly appreciated! (Location on my map is only very approximate!) "This nearly flat high-elevation plateau is recognized for several unique features. There is an internationally recognized ice cave with ice crystals, curls, sheets and pillars (ice crystals are so fragile that a temperature increase of one degree Celsius can cause melting). The periglacial features (known as "patterned ground") in the reserve include active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps and frost boils. The area also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep." From www.albertaparks.ca/plateau-mountain.aspx There are no public roads in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve; the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil; to prevent vandalism to natural gas production facilities and to lessen impact on the area's natural features, access is controlled by the locked gate; travel in the reserve is by foot only; there are no facilities on site and overnight camping and open fires are prohibited." www.albertaparks.ca/media/2741526/plateau_mtn_mgmt_plan.pdf

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 really was a huge fungus, growing near the base of a tree in Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on August 20th. I think I have the ID correct! Note the typical brown staining around the bracket fungus. This really isn't the most photogenic fungus, but I wanted a record of it for my Fungi of Alberta set. Some Artist's Conks are used by artists to do their etching. The underside of a fresh artist's conk is white and turns brown wherever scratched or scored. Once it dries out it becomes very hard and the artwork becomes permanent. Must admit I'd rather know that they were still growing in the forest : ) mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomartist.html

LOL, I have taken so many photos of tiny Cladonia lichen and always wondered if I would EVER get a photo that was sharp enough for my liking. I think this macro shot is probably the best one so far : ) Can't remember exactly, but the Cladonia were probably around half an inch tall. Growing amongst the mosses at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 12th October, doing their job of disintegrating the fallen log they were growing on. How I love the miniature world that surrounds us! You know, the world that most people never, ever see. I always used to call these Cladonia Lichens little green Golf Tees. Then I saw on someone's photostream the name "Shrek Ears". Wish so much that I could remember who gave this name (then I could give credit where credit is due). I LOVE that name!!! Also, Maxine below described them as little green angel horns - and I love that name, too. Thanks, Maxine! How I miss being in the forest - I always get the wonderful feeling of being "home", that that is where I belong ; )

Could this possibly be Lichenomphallia umbellifera, Lichen Agaric/Mushroom Lichen (which I have photographed and posted before)? Just a very small fungus, found a week ago at the West Bragg Creek Environmental Resources area.