Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014March24

I'm always delighted to see a Straw Flower (Strawflower), of any colour. Just fascinated by how perfect they usually are when I see them - this one does have a few curls. Love their paper or silk-like petals and gentle mix of pink and white. Photographed (macro) at the Reader Rock Garden on 26 July 2013. The petals aren’t true petals at all, but in fact are modified leaves called bracts, that come in many colours, including yellow, orange, cream, pink, white, and purple. "Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerochrysum_bracteatum www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/13379730393

When I took myself off for a short, afternoon drive SW of the city on 5 March 2013, I found an unexpected haze over the hills - and nothing much to photograph. Then, all of sudden, I noticed this rider training (?) a second horse, sending the snow flying. It was so beautiful to watch, and I felt rather like an intruder when I got out of my car to take a few photos. As fast as they had appeared, they were gone over the hill. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/13379592555

It's 7:45 a.m. on 23 March 2014, and the temperature is -13C (windchill -17C). Yesterday, we had more snow, which was to be expected, seeing as March tends to be the snowiest month here. However, I remember way back last fall, before winter officially started, everyone felt as if they had had enough of winter already, lol. It will eventually come to an end .... won't it? Thought I'd post a "promise of summer" kind of shot - an Echinacea flower at the Reader Rock Garden, taken on 8 August 2012. When I got up this morning, I discovered that the GoFlex Desk external drive that I plugged in yesterday, DID start copying the whole of my new computer's hard drive, not just backing up the last few week's of changes. I hadn't been able to see any way of choosing what I wanted it to do, so now I have one and a half copies on the external and it is almost full, with a lot of data still not updated. No idea how to fix this, unless I buy another automatic external drive and start all over again. The present one must be a 2.0 USB drive, as it took something like 12-14 hours to copy. Wish I was technologically minded! "Echinacea /ˌɛkɨˈneɪʃ(i)ə/ is a genus, or group of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called coneflowers. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming from early to late summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος (echino), meaning "sea urchin," due to the spiny central disk. Some species are used in herbal medicines and some are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea