Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: touch of filter added in post-processing

Well, hello again, winter!! Yesterday, it looked like late fall. Today, we are having another snowfall, giving us our second world of white already this fall. Because of the forecast for today, I knew I had better get down to the Saskatoon Farm yesterday. I had wanted to buy a few of their vegetables, but they hold their special event at a weekend and I had no intention of facing masses of cars and people. Instead, I did a long drive into Kananaskis two days ago, which turned out to be a really good decision. Yesterday, 7 October 2019, was overcast and not good for photos, which didn't really matter, as I barely used my camera at the farm. Basically, apart from sunflowers hanging their heads, everything had already died and much had been removed. There was no colour left, and the wonderful days of visits to the farm to happily snap endless photos full of colour are now over till next spring and summer. Can't wait! After enjoying lunch there, and buying two kinds of frozen, home-made soup, I drove along one nearby road just to see if there was anything of interest. I came across an old wooden shed (outhouse?). A touch of filter in post-processing brought out the wood details. For me, the next few days will be days to hibernate, hoping that the ground (and my car) will become bare again. The forecast reckons Calgary will be getting about 10 cm of snow today. Looks like we should have sunshine on the coming days. This year has been an absolutely crazy year as far as the weather is concerned!

As usual, any fungi IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat! You could end up very sick, or worse. Another gloomy day today, 13 September 2019, with a temperature of 14C just after noon. Yesterday, however, it was actually sunny, so I had to get out and make the most of it. It definitely feels and looks like fall. Snow is already being forecast for parts of Alberta. It will soon be time to get all-season tires off and winter tires put on. Five days ago, on 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I believe this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. This last visit was so overwhelming! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry. A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking and fresh air, but also because of all the excitement. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then whenever I have checked. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year. As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient.