Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: nature's art

William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is named after Mountain View County’s first reeve, who served in the position from 1961 to 1981 and also served as a councillor until 1985. The William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park (34.7 acres) is located seven kilometres west of Water Valley just off Highway 579. "Remediation efforts for the wilderness park were undertaken after the area was made inaccessible following the flood of 2005. Included in the upgrades is a new entry and parking lot on the south side (just off Highway 579); two walking trails that will form a 1.2-kilometre loop; a historical sign detailing the history of the site as a coal mining area; a small picnic area, including outhouses, tables and pest-proof containers; along with several stairways for steep-grade accessibility." From an article in the Mountainview Gazette on 14 June 2011. www.mountainviewgazette.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201... Yesterday, 18 April 2016, I went NW of Calgary with a small group of friends to explore the William J. Bagnall WIldness Park. This was actually my very first visit to this wilderness park. A couple of friends had mentioned it recently and two weeks ago, on 5 April 2016, I finally decided to go and explore the area. That day, I drove through some beautiful scenery, but discovered after I got home that, in fact, I had not even been in the park itself. Instead, I had kept driving past the entrance way along what I think is the Harold Creek Rd. William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is only small, with a fairly short trail that loops back to the parking lot. It leads through the forest, down the forested hillside to the creek which still has a layer of old snow and ice on it, and then back up the slope to where the cars were parked. It was still too early for plants and fungi to be growing, but the friends I went with are specialists in mosses, lichens and fungi, with most impressive knowledge of every kind of nature, including birds. The second photo I posted this morning shows one of the rather attractive lichens that we saw on a rocky outdrop that was covered in these circular patterns. As far as photography goes, there was not very much to photograph, though I did catch this little Red Squirrel near the parking lot. I also stood listening to the call of a Varied Thrush and, when I was ahead of the rest of the group, I suddenly saw a bird fly into a distant tree. Couldn't find it in my viewfinder, but I could tell exactly where the call was coming from. Then the bird flew and I got a tiny glimpse of its colour. A tiny Comma butterfly gave me a chance to use my camera, too. We stopped and ate our lunch at the small picnic area that has an outhouse. Always a welcome sight! Once back at the cars, we then returned to the city via Highway 22. Thanks so much for driving, Peter - much appreciated. It was pure luxury to travel my usual owling route with someone else driving! A great day in glorious weather and in great company. Nothing like having summer weather in mid-April. It's supposed to get up to 27C this afternoon, which is crazy. A week from today, though, the forecast is for 3C and snow, lol!

Usually, I can never resist photographing a patch of lichen that catches my eye. This one did just that. Wish I knew more about lichen, then I would be able to add an ID. 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 at the lowest level. They suggested 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, 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...