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

This morning, after viewing the photos I posted last night, from our second day at Pt Pelee, I needed to remind myself that I CAN take much better photos, given the opportunity : ) So, I decided to find, edit and post three "better", more colourful images. These three were all taken at the Calgary Zoo on 26 June 2018. This Hibiscus flower was absolutely gorgeous. The last time I had visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but has now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I have been waiting for this day for a long time. This day was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I decided to go before schools closed for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. When I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking. My intention had not been to visit the Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. There was no glass in front of one of the Pandas, but two other Pandas, including the one in the previous photo, were in a glassed-in part of the enclosure. Almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby - such a cute little thing, that they have named Gobi. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest.

Fortunately, at least the Hollyhocks and Gladioli were still in bloom and in good condition when I called in briefly at the Reader Rock Garden after an afternoon volunteer shift on 26 August 2015. Most of the flowers there had finished for the season and many of the ones that did still exist were past their prime. Still managed to get a few photos, though, including these Hollyhock buds with a little visitor. "Alcea (Ál-ce-a), commonly known as hollyhocks, is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Most species are native to southwest and central Asia, although a few are native to southeast Europe or Egypt." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcea I wasn't sure whether I should go there or not that day, as the air quality had been very poor for a number of days, due to smoke blowing across from the devastating forest fires in Washington State, northwest US. Fortunately, the rain that had been falling for a few days helped the firefighters fight the flames.

After a bitterly cold day yesterday (17 January 2016), standing in a temperature of -15C with a windchill of -22C, I needed a warm, sunny shot for today. Fortunately, at least the Hollyhocks and Gladioli were still in bloom and in good condition when I called in briefly at the Reader Rock Garden after an afternoon volunteer shift on 26 August 2015. Most of the flowers there had finished for the season and many of the ones that did still exist were past their prime. Still managed to get a few photos, though, including this beautiful pink Hollyhock flower. "Alcea (Ál-ce-a), commonly known as hollyhocks, is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Most species are native to southwest and central Asia, although a few are native to southeast Europe or Egypt." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcea I wasn't sure whether I should go there or not that day, as the air quality had been very poor for a number of days, due to smoke blowing across from the devastating forest fires in Washington State, northwest US. Fortunately, the rain that had been falling for a few days helped the firefighters fight the flames.

This beautiful, yellow Hibiscus plant was growing in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, on 6 October 2015. The flower centre is always fascinating, I think, especially when seen up close. Love the texture of those bright red stigmas. "Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

This beautiful, yellow Hibiscus plant was growing in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, on 6 October 2015. The west entrance to the Zoo closed about a week ago, and won't reopen till April 2016, so I did want to get in this one last visit. I don't like the drive home on Deerfoot Trail from the north entrance, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter. "Calgary's infamous freeway has taken the dubious top spot when it comes to this city's most dangerous place to drive." From the Calgary Sun newspaper. "Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

This beautiful, yellow Hibiscus plant was growing in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, on 6 October 2015. The west entrance to the Zoo will be closed from today, 13 October, till April 2016, so I did want to get in one last visit before then. I don't like the drive home on Deerfoot Trail from the north entrance, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter. "Calgary's infamous freeway has taken the dubious top spot when it comes to this city's most dangerous place to drive." From the Calgary Sun. "Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

A very sad day yesterday, as I learned that local photographer, Brad Russell, passed away a few days ago. He had a close group of great friends (including John Andersen and Brett Abernethy) and they used to go out together with their cameras, day or night. Stunning photography by all. I only met Brad on one occasion, at Heritage Park, on a photo shoot with my daughter and the photography group she ran for a short while. He left a lasting impression on me - something great about his personality, making him such a comfortable person to be around. My sincere condolences to his family and to each of his friends. He will be missed by many - his incredible images will live on. Though he closed his Flickr account quite a time ago, his photos can be seen with National Geographic. www.evanjstrong.com/obituaries/Robert-Russell-11/#!/Obituary My thoughts also go out to the families and friends of the nine victims of the shooting at Umpqua Community College, Oregon, US. A lot of healing, physical and emotional, will be needed for those who were injured, including the young father who bravely attempted to stop the shooter. Apparently, the shooter, a student at the College, acquired all his weapons legally, some bought by his own mother. This beautiful Hollyhock flower, seen in a friend's garden on 25 August 2015, represents to me the complete opposite of yet another senseless tragedy - a reminder of the good and beautiful in the world. A touch of winter arrived here last night and I woke up to a dusting of white. The snow fell, mixed with rain, so it's probably rather slippery out there. I've just checked our weather forecast (around noon) and the temperature is 2C (feeling like -4C). I don't think there is any fine snow falling now and, so far, none forecast for the next week or more. I know where I will be all day today - at home in the warm, hoping that the snow and ice on my car windshield will melt quickly. I am so not ready for this! Lol, is anybody?!

When I got up almost an hour ago, the sky was blue and the sun was brightly shining. It seems to have clouded over now, but hopefully the smoky air that we've had the last few days has disappeared. That means that the forecast rain for the northwest United States actually happened, which should help all those brave firefighters in their battle against the widespread flames. This is a close shot of a pale pink Hollyhock flower that was growing at the Reader Rock Garden on 26 August 2015. I always love to see the centres of these large flowers. Fortunately, at least the Hollyhocks and Gladioli were still in bloom and in good condition when I called in briefly at the Reader Rock Garden after an afternoon volunteer shift. Most of the flowers there have finished for the season and many of the ones that do still exist are past their prime. Still managed to get a few photos, though. "Alcea (Ál-ce-a), commonly known as hollyhocks, is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Most species are native to southwest and central Asia, although a few are native to southeast Europe or Egypt." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcea