Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014September24

I had just been photographing some beautiful cones on a coniferous tree (Douglas Fir?) along the Red Rock Parkway in Waterton Lakes National Park. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had made a brief stop along the way. I happened to notice some tiny “bumps” along the stem of a plant, and when I zoomed in as close as I could, I discovered these beautifully patterned Leafhoppers. I would love to have been able to take a macro shot of them, but I have to avoid any bending because of my back issue. Still, a heavily cropped shot is better than nothing. This was the first time I had ever seen these amazingly beautiful insects. Taken on 26 August 2014, our first day in Waterton. We spent the next day in the park, too, and then for the third day of our trip, we drove something like two hours east of Waterton Park before we turned and headed back to Calgary. "Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafhopper

Just a very small leaf from a bush that was growing at the side of a path that I walked along, to go and see if there was any sign of the Beavers in Fish Creek Park, on 20 September 2014. Not sure if it's some kind of Currant. The leaves were such a beautiful orange colour. When I was editing this image late last night, I had a quick look to see if there was some way I could make the leaf stand out a little more. I happened to see "Sponge effect", clicked on it, and thought it was different and I quite liked it. Honestly, it's really not noise from a photo taken in very poor light, lol! We need some strong colour today, as it's pouring with rain this morning. Rain that certainly wasn't mentioned in the weather forecast last night, ha. It is supposed to clear up this afternoon, though.

On 18 September 2014, I finally managed, for the first time this year, to get out to the mountains as far as Forgetmenot Pond - really an on the spur of the moment decision. The weather called for some sun and some cloud, which sounded good. After the two heavy snowfalls on 9 and 10 September, I wasn't sure what to expect before I reached the beginning of the mountains, but every bit of snow had disappeared. Forgetmenot Pond is the only mountain drive I will do on my own and it's one of my favourite places. It only takes about an hour to get from home to the Pond, so makes a very pleasant half-day drive. The bridge over the river, just before Allen Bill Pond, has now been repaired. The high banks of the river had been totally washed away during Alberta's Flood of the Century in 2013. On the return drive, I called in at a place not far from the pond, where I have found a few mushrooms in previous years, and managed to find several that were just about in good enough condition to photograph. Other than that, I didn't see a whole lot during the few hours I was out. The scenery is spectacular, of course, and there were patches of trees that have turned yellow. Some of the trees looked as though their leaves were past their fall prime, and I came away wondering if I was a bit too early or a bit too late to see the best of the fall colours. The final place I called in at was Maclean Pond, but the light was fading somewhat and so I didn't feel like going far into the forest. I had just got back into my car when I happened to look up just in time to see a family of beautiful Bluejays not far from the parking lot. Managed to get a few shots, but distant and not as sharp as they should have been. A nice way to end the day, though.