Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014August01

Yesterday, I was finding the heat in my house just too unbearable, so a quick decision was made to go for a drive and enjoy the air-conditioning in my car. I don't think I saw anything different on this drive, compared to my previous two drives SE of the city, but may have got a closer shot of a baby Coot than I've taken before. After driving around Frank Lake, I decided to drive northwards - which was a bad mistake! I got lost and it must have taken me a good couple of hours to finally get on the right road. The roads have two different numbers, and almost all of them were displaying signs with numbers that were not familiar to me at all. The system of road numbering is so crazy here. Also, many of the backroads have no exit, and it took me so long to finally get back to a road that would let me go south. Road signs are also very confusing. I was SO relieved to find the right road, especially as the sun had set and I definitely didn't want to find myself lost in the middle of nowhere in the dark. I had visions of having to find somewhere I could pull off and sleep in my car overnight. Of course, I got home much later than I had hoped. I needed to get all my things ready for today and I eventually fell asleep around 3:00 a.m., with my alarm set to go off at 4:30 a.m.! Being so late did mean that I caught the pale pink of the sunset over the distant Rocky Mountains. Another hour and I have a 45-minute drive to meet friends. Wish I could just fall into bed!!

I don't think I've posted any photos from 28 July 2014, when I drove along some of the dusty, gravel backroads SE of the city. It was another really hot day, so I just had to get out of the house and into the air-conditioning of my vehicle. Once again, I was lucky to come across a lone White-faced Ibis on one of the small sloughs in the area. Quite a distance away, but not too bad using 48x zoom plus a tiny bit of cropping. There were a few other Ibis flying over the area, but too far away to try and photograph. This one was hanging out with a family of American Avocets. I always think that these beautiful birds look like they have escaped from the Zoo. Other birds seen that afternoon/evening included a Barn Swallow, a young Marsh Wren that was enjoying a dust bath, a single young Sora, several Coots including one young one, two or three different species of shore bird (will eventually post photos, but I may not have the IDs), American Avocets, a couple of Swainson's Hawks, and a Meadowlark (looking rather scruffy, so may have been a young one). "A dark wading bird with a long, down-curved bill, the White-faced Ibis is a western replacement for the Glossy Ibis. Similar in appearance and habits, the two species can be distinguished only by slight differences in coloring of the face and legs. From AllAboutBirds. In the book, "Birds of Alberta" by Fisher & Acorn, it says that, in Alberta, White-faced Ibis are very rare from May to September. Length is 22-25" (56-64 cm), wingspan 3'1" (94 cm). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_ibis I'm not sure, but there seemed to be no sign of the beautiful Maximilian's Sunflowers that I love to see each year. This species found its way here, I believe from eastern Canada, and this was the only location where I have seen it. I did notice a couple of large holes in this area, which looked like someone may have dug up the plants. If so, who knows if it was because they wanted the plants in their garden or because this species in a non-native plant here. This is a long weekend here in Canada - Monday, 4 August 2014 is Heritage Day. Have a good, safe holiday, everyone!

There are a number of Wild European Rabbits in Calgary, and this is just one of them. Always feels strange to see what look like pet rabbits wandering loose in people's gardens and around a neighbourhood. This one was seen on 23 July 2014, when I went on a botany walk at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area. It was busy eating the grass by this tombstone and then it took a good look at me before continuing to feed. Right next to this area is a Cemetery - funny, I do tend to see rabbits in cemeteries, either these Wild European Rabbits, which come in all sorts of colours, or the White-tailed Jackrabbits. The town of Canmore, near Banff, in Banff National Park, has had a problem with these Wild European Rabbits. They attract Coyotes and other wildlife into the town. They were going to do something about this problem, but I don't know if they ever did. www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/21/canmore-alberta-rabbits_... Looks like we may possibly have thunderstorms and rain the next few days. This morning, it's 24C (feels like 29C) and it is supposed to go up to 28C (feels like 33C) this afternoon. Yesterday, it got up to 32C in the afternoon. This is a long weekend here in Canada - Monday, 4 August 2014 is Heritage Day. Have a good, safe holiday, everyone!