Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014October09

For many years, I was fascinated by these seedpods, but had only seen them when they had turned dark brown and were included in flower arrangements. I was thrilled to bits when I knew they were growing at the Calgary Zoo and I could see them at all different stages. This photo was taken the day before yesterday, 6 October 2014, when I got to the Zoo for the second time since the Flood of the Century in June 2013. The tiny indoor pond where this was growing had just the one plant in it, unlike before the flood, when there were several. "The lotus was of great significance to many ancient cultures, and in particular to the Eastern religions. From ancestral times, the lotus regularly appears as a symbol of purity, peace, transcendence, enlightenment, rebirth, beauty, and fertility. In India, the lotus flower is considered to be of divine origin and is viewed as sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists. Buddha was said to sleep on a lotus six months of the year, and Shambala (Buddhist heaven) is sometimes represented as a field of flowering sacred lotuses." Taken from the first link below. www.holisticaroma.co.uk/shp/TheSacredLotus.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera "The pods/seed heads contain the Lotus seeds within little circular chambers on the flat surface of the top of the pod. These circles appeared to cradle the seeds, which are round, within the pod until fully ripe. Both the chamber of each seed and the seed itself got larger and larger until the pod bent over to finally release the seeds into the water." www.flowersociety.org/lotus-plant-study.htm

This photo was taken when I went to the Calgary Zoo, on 6 October 2014. This was only the second time I had been since before the Alberta Flood of the Century in June 2013, which devastated the Zoo and made it necessary to close the Zoo for many months. Several of these small, colourful birds had made nests that were hanging from the leaves of a tropical plant. They are such busy little birds, constantly collecting very narrow, long strands of leaf for their weaving. This bird is a little female, as usual, less colourful than the male - will post a previously posted photo of a male in a comment box below. "The Taveta weaver (Ploceus castaneiceps) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. The name of the bird comes from the unique markings/coloration of the bird, as well as how these birds weave intricate nests. The male Taveta weaver is a vibrant golden yellow color; this color is duller on its back. The wings and tail are a greener color, whereas brown spots are located on the chest. The back of the head is red, and the bill, or beak, is black. The female is an olive color with paler streaks. In general, the Taveta weaver is a small bird, around the size of the finch and closely related to the sparrow. These birds live in large groups, or colonies. Weavers often make a unique—often described as "weird"—noise to communicate. Male weavers build extravagant oval nests over water attached to stems of reeds or grasses. The Taveta weavers lay two or three glossy, dark, olive-green eggs. The female bird chooses who she will mate, depending on how impressed she is with a male's skill to construct a nest." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taveta_weaver