Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: conifer cones

"The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers,[3] chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 7 September 2015. This image and the mushroom were seen at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park. After about four days of rain, I made myself go for a walk and saw more than I was expecting to see, including a few reasonably photogenic mushrooms. Just as I was leaving the park, I noticed the dark clouds rolling in and I wasn't sure if some Mammatus clouds (sagging pouch-like structures) were forming. Most unlikely, but I wanted to be sure, so drove out towards the SW edge of the city. None to be seen, but it still felt good to see the very distant mountains. A word of warning: if you don't like potholes (and I mean a lot of potholes!), avoid driving along 146th St (that then becomes 69th, eventually getting on to 22X)! The temperature is 4C early this morning (8 September 2015), though it is supposed to get up to 16C this afternoon. There was a frost warning for last night. It's really feeling a lot like fall.