Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: formerly Canada Thistle

Creeping (formerly Canada) Thistle, with a touch of filter added in post-processing. This was the very first time I had ever visited a particular Osprey nest, though "everyone" else seems to have been : ) The sun came out yesterday, 3 September 2018, but while I was down in the park, some dark clouds came rolling in. Far from good light, but I managed to get a few shots. Ospreys are such beautiful birds and I was lucky that I spotted the first one standing on a street light A second Osprey (juvenile) was standing on the nest, feeding on something that looked like the remains of a fish. I should have checked if they only eat fish before posting the other photo. One thing I do know is that I would never have been able to take such a close photo with my trusty old Panasonic FZ200. I have used that make and model for several years and have loved using it. However, it has bothered me, especially the last year and a half, that the optical zoom is only 24x (though I used it on 48x) - just not enough reach for tiny or far away birds. A few months ago, I finally gave in and got a Nikon P900. I have only used it a handful of times, but yesterday afternoon I made up my mind to give it a better try. I don't know where all the birds were, other than the two beautiful Osprey! One thing I need to find out as soon as possible is why I couldn't focus on anything that was not far away. No problem with distant things, but when I tried to focus say on a wildflower, I could not get the camera to focus at all. Stood maybe 12-15 feet away and zoomed in and the camera just refused to focus. Tried standing at different distances and nothing worked. A lot to learn, I can tell : ) Hard to believe our very cool temperatures recently! This morning, 4 September 2018, just after 10:30 am, it is only 6C (windchill 4C). A far cry from the record-breaking 36.4C that we had a few weeks ago. It definitely feels and looks like fall has arrived already.

Always interesting to come across a white Creeping (formerly Canada) Thistle instead of the usual pink. Just as noxious as the pink ones. Back to the bio-blitz on Lisa Harbinson' property for my photos tonight. I have just added six extra photos. I really need to get the rest of my suitable shots taken that day edited and posted, so that I can send her the link to my album. The area we visited on 7 August was an 80-acre site near Bottrel, NW of Calgary. The site consisted of mostly open, low, hilly, ungrazed land, with a few Aspens and Spruce, and willows around three ponds (two of which were dry). On 25 May 2018, four people had visited this site for the first time - I had been unable to go, as I was spending the day with my daughter. The original visit was the result of the owners winning a free bioblitz at a Silent Auction, in connection with the Ghost Valley Community. A great idea and always a win-win situation, with the land owners learning a lot about what is found on their land, and the leader and participants enjoying a much-appreciated visit to a different location. We were very lucky to see an adult male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker with two juveniles. I rarely see one of these birds, but love to see the neat rows of small holes that they make on a tree trunk. Did you know that photographing mushrooms can be dangerous? I believe I knew this already and I was reminded of this on this bio-blitz. Towards the end of our hike, I stopped to photograph a not particularly photogenic mushroom that was growing on a very slight incline. I took one step back to focus better and lost my balance - not sure if my foot went down into a shallow hole or if I was tripped up by one of the many very small, short tree stumps. Whatever the cause, I did a most inelegant, slow-motion fall backwards, hitting my head hard on the ground, surrounded by my friends. Because I was wearing a backpack, I think this resulted in some whiplash, with my head falling back. It was not pleasant to drive anywhere the next day, especially each time I had to start off when traffic lights turned green. The muscles all around my neck and my shoulders are painful, but hopefully it will clear up before too long.