Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Family: Apiaceae

I seem to remember seeing Yampa/Yampah somewhere once before, a long time ago, but this is certainly the first time I've "really" seen it and been able to get a photo. Taken on 3 August 2015 at the Timber Ridge Conservation Site. Common names are Common yampah and Gardner's yampah. This native plant belongs to the carrot family, Apiaceae, and it was growing in an area of open grassland. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perideridia_gairdneri The first words in an article from 3 October 2014, in The Western Producer, are as follows: "High in southern Alberta’s Porcupine Hills, where west winds wrestle the golden leaves of water birch and tickle the limber pines, water trickles from hidden springs into troughs at the Timber Ridge Conservation Site. That’s where the bears bathe." Well, we found out that the bathing bears was so very true, even if the bathing /swimming was not in the usual place, lol! We had seen no sign of large wildlife all day, so the sighting of a Black Bear at the end of the day was a real treat. This 640 acre site is located approximately 20 km southwest of Nanton. Other wildlife that can be seen include "moose, elk, white-tailed and mule deer, grizzly and black bear, cougar, grouse and a variety of small mammals and songbirds." I had never been to the Porcupine Hills, but had read and heard about this area for a number of years and had longed to go. Lying south of Calgary and southwest of Nanton, it is an area of beautiful, rolling hills. This is where Glen and Kelly Hall "have a co-tenancy agreement with the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), the first one ever established between that organization and private landholders. They own 68 percent of the site and the ACA owns the balance." "“We have a ranching operation right smack in the middle of a pretty important watershed. Our cows are our tools in order to look after the grass, which looks after the land, which looks after the watershed.” The drive from Calgary took maybe an hour and a half (?), with rain falling on the way there, and we were greeted with a warm welcome down at the lowest level. It was suggested that we make our way straight up to the highest point and then to take our time coming back down. The first part of that journey was travelling in something new and fun to all of us - in a horse trailer! How DO horses make such a mess over every inch, lol?! After that, we climbed higher and higher, sometimes with the aid of an amazing little vehicle - a Kubota. I was in awe at how this tough little machine was able to travel over the roughest of land - rocks, deep ruts, uphill, downhill. We had some of the curious cattle follow us in places - several different breeds, and all looking beautiful and so healthy. The rain stopped by the time we first arrived, but the mountains were hidden in haze (from the weather and possibly from forest fires). Far from ideal conditions for taking scenic shots of the surrounding hills and valleys, unfortunately. Wonderful views in every direction. By the afternoon, the temperature had risen to 31°C (about 88°F)! Glen and Kelly, a delightful, enthusiastic couple, plan to conserve the site, but they don’t plan to keep it to themselves. “Ultimately, one day, we want yellow school buses at the gates and we want kids here in numbers and we want them to learn where their water is, where the food is created,” said Kelly. “We want them to learn about the trees and the grass because we have a lot of native species on this land that haven’t been interfered with.” Thank you so much, both of you, for making this day so enjoyable and a great learning experience. We have a great deal of respect for what you are doing and how you are doing it. With all the exciting plans that you have for this amazing area, we know you will do well. Thank you for letting us do a bio-inventory of the living things on the 640 acre Timber Ridge Conservation Site! There is just so much I could write about this special place, but will add several links below for further information in case anyone is interested to learn more. www.producer.com/2014/10/landowners-eager-to-share-piece-... www.albertaefp.com/news/96-ranchers-passion-drives-a-thou... www.albertadiscoverguide.com/site.cfm?grid=F3&number=36 www.westernranchlands.ca/company-overview/advisory-board/... guddling.tumblr.com/post/61370115303/we-were-given-a-tour...

To have the chance to visit Waterton Lakes National Park in June was such an absolute treat, but to be able to visit this beautiful region again one month later was just incredible. I think I've only ever been maybe five or so times in the 37 years that I've lived here, so you can imagine my delight to get two chances in one year!! Actually, I signed up for the July trip a while ago and, though there were some aspects of the three-day trip that I wasn't particularly keen on, I knew this was a wonderful chance to go down south. Then, some time later, friend Sandy asked if I wanted to go down to Waterton in June for the Botany Alberta weekend. So, lucky, lucky me!! Just got back home two evenings ago from this second visit, 17-19 July 2015. Again, wonderful to be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds. Lots of great company with people I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Our first day, which included the drive from Calgary, it rained all day long. Thankfully, the remaining two days were beautiful and sunny, and appreciated even more because of the first rainy day. The first day, we drove around Waterton town, calling in at Cameron Falls and then driving to Red Rock Canyon. We did the short walk along both sides of the canyon, in the rain, so it was pretty much useless as far as taking photos was concerned. I was happy to see a Swainson's Thrush, the first time I had seen one close. Cameron Lake is a beautiful lake and I love the small jetty and the colourful canoes lined up. Our walk took us along the right hand side of the lake, through the forest. One of my favourite plants that we saw was Water Hemlock - though I had seen it before, I had never seen it this close and in such detail. The bees and other insects love it, too, with several insects on many of the flower heads. This attractive plant is one of the most deadly poisonous plants in North America. Two other plants that I was thrilled to see were Pink Monkeyflower and Yellow Monkeyflower. I had never seen these wildflowers before. Pearly Everlasting, False Helebore, Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus, Foam Flower, and Thimbleberry were just a few of the other plants we found. We were amazed at how many orchids there were - everywhere. Later on the second day, we called in at Red Rock Canyon again and, because it was absolutely packed with people, we decided to do the nearby Blakiston Falls Trail. Along this trail, I was thrilled to see a few Pinedrops plants in flower - I had only ever seen them once before (at Cypress Hills), and they were in seed. Thanks so much, Debbie, for the heads-up about these plants that you had found earlier! We also saw a couple of Prince's Pine plants along this trail - a first for me. They look rather like Pink Pyrola, so could easily be overlooked. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta Later, in the evening on this day, Andrew Hart took us to look at a wetland for Sandhill Cranes. He knew they can be seen there and, with the help of a spotting scope, he found a total of 5 seen from two lookouts. Barely visible with the naked eye, they were so far away. I just managed to get a 48x zoomed shot that was kind of fit to post : ) Andrew had also timed it so that we could drive along Chief Mountain Parkway afterwards, stop at the lookout and watch the sunset over the mountain peaks. The following morning, our last, some of us visited Cameron Lake again and then walked along the very short Akamina Lake trail (only 1 km) that starts from the Cameron Lake parking lot. A beautiful little trail, where we found two Bear Grass plants still in flower, but well past their prime. Also watched a rather thin deer making her way along the edge of the lake. A lovely walk to end our stay in Waterton Lakes National Park. Thanks so much, Darlene, for letting us do this, knowing that we needed to start driving north to Calgary. Thank you SO much, too, for driving three of us to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that we appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly! A great time was had by all.