Small fungi growing among the mosses
Shooting in the rain
Like floral flames for a deep-freeze day
Backside beauty
With a twinkle in its eye
Harris's Hawk
Beginning to burst
That majestic look
The droplet
Barn Owl
Canada's new National Bird - the Gray Jay
Remembering summer colours
Snowman who loves Amanitas
I love Llamas
Open wide - big yawn
A splash of fall colour
Don't you spit!
Turkey Vulture preening
Snowy Owl in rehab
Cheery sunflower
Unidentified fruit
Summer colour
Goat's-beard with visitor
The Sickener / Russula emetica?
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Decorating the base of a tree
Seedhead wisps
Just needed colour
Heart of a Snowdrop
Chocolate Pansy / Chocolate Soldier / Junonia iphi…
Humboldt Penguin / Spheniscus humboldti
Colour among the mosses and lichens
Bark patterns on a cut log
Wild Bergamot
Farm cat
Lovable Llama
Showing off its gills
Meerkat deep in thought
Invasive Goat's-beard and Baby's breath
Chocolate chip lichen / Solorina crocea
Pinedrops
Unidentified fungus
Turkey Vulture talons
Female Kestrel
Crab on the pier at Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Ruddy Turnstone / Arenaria interpres, Blue Waters…
Allamanda, Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Blue-gray Tanager / Thraupis episcopus, Tobago
Rufous-vented chachalaca / Ortalis ruficauda, Toba…
Giant seedpod of the Flame Tree, Blue Waters Inn,…
Cutie on the beach - Atlantic ghost crab / Ocypode…
Ixora
Rufous-vented chachalaca / Ortalis ruficauda, Toba…
Splash of colour
Tropical shell
It's hard work, but someone's got to do it
Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tobago, Day 2
Aphelandra sp. (Aphelandra pulcherrima?), Little T…
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Tr…
Torch Ginger / Etlingera eliator, Trinidad
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Copper-rumped Hummingbird / Amazilia tobac, Trinid…
Muskrat, SW Calgary
Fall colour
A bright splash of colour
Seedpod of Datura sp.?
Showy Milkweed with bee
Oak leaf and insect gall
False Morel fungus
Colour for a snowy day
Narcissus
Raindrops
Clematis after the rain
A blast from the past
Simplicity
Hiding in the shadows
Shingled/Scaly Hedgehog fungus / Sarcodon imbricat…
Ferruginous Hawk
Peregrine Falcon talons
A beauty from mushroom season
Feather finery of a female Mallard
Dark chocolate bunny with milk chocolate eyes
Snake's head fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris
Growing on a tree trunk
A splash of different colour
Mariposa Lily
Colours and textures
Sweet little thing
Turquoise fungi / Blue Stain / Chlorociboria aerug…
A big splash of colour
Aging beauties
Up close and personal with a Turkey Vulture
Fungi goblets
American Kestrel - or is it a Merlin?
Deadly duo - Amanita muscaria
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
Gotta love those Golden Eagle feathers
Regal
Katydid on Common Tansy
Sunflower going to seed
Alpine Harebell
No need to worry about one or two wrinkles
Astilbe
Ice crystals on a mountain top
As fall colours come to an end
Larch in fall colour
Brightness on a cloudy day
Puffballs on Plateau Mountain
False Dandelion / Agoseris glauca
A fine network of cells - maybe Arcyria obvelata?
Spruce Grouse, adult female
Rusty Gilled Polypore / Gloeophyllum sepiarium
Yesterday's find
Autumn berries
Three insect species on a single flower
Strap/Coral Club / Clavariadelphus ligula
The colours of fall
Barn Owl / Tyto alba
Reindeer lichen
Look into my eyes
Fungus on a log
Highbush cranberry / Viburnum opulus var. american…
Eye contact
Growing amongst the mosses
Merlin
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
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197 visits
A special treat at Antelope Hill Provincial Park
![A special treat at Antelope Hill Provincial Park A special treat at Antelope Hill Provincial Park](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/55/24/43945524.2a51806d.640.jpg?r2)
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Generosity comes in all shapes and sizes. On 30 July 2016, six of us from Calgary had the honour of meeting a 92-year-old gentleman who has lived most of his long life on a huge area (380 hectares, 939 acres) of beautiful land near Hanna, Alberta. Though Gottlob Schmidt (known as Schmitty) has now moved into town (Hanna), he is not far from his beloved land and still loves to spend a lot of time there. My friends and I understand why. This untouched land is not only beautiful to the eye, with its undulating hills with small, scattered pockets of woodland, but it also hides all sorts of natural treasures, including the wildlife that enjoys this native grassland.
There are so few areas of native grassland left in Alberta, so each one is very precious. Schmitty told us that he had never seen his land looking so green! Perhaps not too surprising, as we had had so much rain recently, often accompanied by thunderstorms. In fact, the rain started on our return journey to Calgary and I was driving from our meeting place back to my house in torrential rain.
This is where the word 'generosity' comes in. Two years ago, Schmitty donated all his land to Alberta Parks, along with certain strict regulations (listed below) on how the land was to be maintained. He was very warmly recognized for his extreme generosity. The Park is known as Antelope Hill Provincial Park and, when Schmitty is no longer able to visit and enjoy his old, family homestead, the Park will be opened to the public. For now, it remains his own, private property.
The highlight for us that day was meeting Schmitty himself. I can only hope that I might be lucky enough to be in half his shape if I ever reached that age! It was an absolute delight to spend a little time with this man with the big heart when we first arrived and again later in the day, when it was time for us to head back to Calgary. We also got to meet Schmitty's good neighbours, Donna and Ken.
www.albertaparks.ca/media/5788002/antelope-hill-pp-fact-s...
calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/you-can-thank-this-man-...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVVBdkoUVY&feature=youtu.be
My friends (specialists in mosses, lichens and liverworts and other things) and I, were given permission to spend the day there, to list all our findings. Our time was spent climbing one main hill and walking part way around it, calling in at several of the small areas of woodland. This bright yellowy orange fungus was hidden with others within the trees. These were the other highlight for me! It is quite rare that we come across one of these Amanita Muscaria mushrooms, and it is so exciting and such a treat when we do! Isn't it beautiful and amazing? Of course, it's just a "fungi nut" talking, ha. This is a telemacro shot, so it was much smaller in reality. They are so attractive but also poisonous!
"A large conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, and is often found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like a white egg, covered in the white warty material of the universal veil... Amanita muscaria poisoning occurs in either young children or people ingesting it to have a hallucinogenic experience... A fatal dose has been calculated at an amount of 15 caps. Deaths from this fungus A. muscaria have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports. However, with modern medical treatment a fatal outcome because of the poison of this mushroom would be extremely rare."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria
Various plants were good to see, too, including about four Prairie Crocuses that were still in bloom. I hadn't seen Skeletonweed for a long time, but there were quite a few small clusters of it. A new plant to me was a tall one with white flowers, that I still need to identify properly. The occasional gorgeous wild Rose made a bright splash of colour.
After a few hours of exploration, the only things that we were so happy and relieved to leave behind were the mosquitoes! Never had I seen so many of them - the air was filled with these tiny, blood-sucking insects that followed us every step of the way!
Thanks so much, Heide, for driving Sandy and myself all the way out there - about a two and three-quarter hour drive. Much of the distance was on the same roads that I had driven recently with my daughter, but this was the first time I had ever been as far as Hanna and just beyond. Hanna now has a Tim Horton's, opened around three months ago : ) Thanks, Heide, too, for trying to find the old railway roundhouse - unfortunate that there was too much construction in the area, so one can't get to the roundhouse. And thank you so much, Peter, for arranging and organizing this wonderful trip! Most importantly of all, our thanks to Schmitty, who so kindly allowed us to share the special land that he has called home for so many decades. Our thanks for allowing us to spend the day there and, even more importantly, thank you for your great gift to all Albertans, with your incredibly generous donation of Antelope Hill Provincial Park.
There are so few areas of native grassland left in Alberta, so each one is very precious. Schmitty told us that he had never seen his land looking so green! Perhaps not too surprising, as we had had so much rain recently, often accompanied by thunderstorms. In fact, the rain started on our return journey to Calgary and I was driving from our meeting place back to my house in torrential rain.
This is where the word 'generosity' comes in. Two years ago, Schmitty donated all his land to Alberta Parks, along with certain strict regulations (listed below) on how the land was to be maintained. He was very warmly recognized for his extreme generosity. The Park is known as Antelope Hill Provincial Park and, when Schmitty is no longer able to visit and enjoy his old, family homestead, the Park will be opened to the public. For now, it remains his own, private property.
The highlight for us that day was meeting Schmitty himself. I can only hope that I might be lucky enough to be in half his shape if I ever reached that age! It was an absolute delight to spend a little time with this man with the big heart when we first arrived and again later in the day, when it was time for us to head back to Calgary. We also got to meet Schmitty's good neighbours, Donna and Ken.
www.albertaparks.ca/media/5788002/antelope-hill-pp-fact-s...
calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/you-can-thank-this-man-...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVVBdkoUVY&feature=youtu.be
My friends (specialists in mosses, lichens and liverworts and other things) and I, were given permission to spend the day there, to list all our findings. Our time was spent climbing one main hill and walking part way around it, calling in at several of the small areas of woodland. This bright yellowy orange fungus was hidden with others within the trees. These were the other highlight for me! It is quite rare that we come across one of these Amanita Muscaria mushrooms, and it is so exciting and such a treat when we do! Isn't it beautiful and amazing? Of course, it's just a "fungi nut" talking, ha. This is a telemacro shot, so it was much smaller in reality. They are so attractive but also poisonous!
"A large conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, and is often found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like a white egg, covered in the white warty material of the universal veil... Amanita muscaria poisoning occurs in either young children or people ingesting it to have a hallucinogenic experience... A fatal dose has been calculated at an amount of 15 caps. Deaths from this fungus A. muscaria have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports. However, with modern medical treatment a fatal outcome because of the poison of this mushroom would be extremely rare."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria
Various plants were good to see, too, including about four Prairie Crocuses that were still in bloom. I hadn't seen Skeletonweed for a long time, but there were quite a few small clusters of it. A new plant to me was a tall one with white flowers, that I still need to identify properly. The occasional gorgeous wild Rose made a bright splash of colour.
After a few hours of exploration, the only things that we were so happy and relieved to leave behind were the mosquitoes! Never had I seen so many of them - the air was filled with these tiny, blood-sucking insects that followed us every step of the way!
Thanks so much, Heide, for driving Sandy and myself all the way out there - about a two and three-quarter hour drive. Much of the distance was on the same roads that I had driven recently with my daughter, but this was the first time I had ever been as far as Hanna and just beyond. Hanna now has a Tim Horton's, opened around three months ago : ) Thanks, Heide, too, for trying to find the old railway roundhouse - unfortunate that there was too much construction in the area, so one can't get to the roundhouse. And thank you so much, Peter, for arranging and organizing this wonderful trip! Most importantly of all, our thanks to Schmitty, who so kindly allowed us to share the special land that he has called home for so many decades. Our thanks for allowing us to spend the day there and, even more importantly, thank you for your great gift to all Albertans, with your incredibly generous donation of Antelope Hill Provincial Park.
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