Indian Paintbrush / Castilleja miniata

For those unfamiliar with this species, the pink parts are the bracts; the very small, narrow, green parts (only one can be seen in this photo) are the actual flowers

Yesterday, 27 July 2019, was such an enjoyable day, with a few lovely surprises. We had been invited to do a bio-blitz (i.e. list every plant, tree, bird, insect, fungi, etc. species) of the property belonging to Dennis Apedaile and family. This forested area is NW of Cochrane, reached by a beautiful road that was new to us.

The early morning started off with our first sighting - one of the neighbourhood Jackrabbits, seen when we were leaving our leader's house.

The next sighting, and unfortunately only seen by me, came as a total surprise. We were driving along the highway when I spotted a black dog in a field. I was a bit surprised to see it wandering on its own. OMG, it's not a dog, it's a Black Bear!! We were going too fast and passed it before anyone else could see it. Wish I had thought about trying to get a photo - no time, anyway.

Going to have to finish my description shortly, as it is 2:15 pm and I have not yet had breakfast or lunch! Thankfully, it was not hot last night and I was able to sleep for much of this morning. The night before the trip was SO hot indoors (no air-conditioning), I didn't get even one minute of sleep all night.

Later .... Nine of us from Calgary took part in this bioblitz, along with three ladies from the Summer Village on Ghost Lake. We were also joined by about 12 members of Dennis & Charlotte’s family, their friends and neighbours. A fun, most enjoyable group of interesting people. Our group took our lunch with us, but we were encouraged to also help ourselves to the delicious food provided.

The morning and part of the afternoon were spent on a slow walk along various forest trails on the Apedaile's acreage. We came across all sorts of wildflowers, the odd insect, and yes, we even found a few mushrooms, including Aspen Boletes. Birds were almost non-existent! I spotted a Hummingbird that flew to one of the feeders, a Black-capped Chickadee flitted about in the trees near the house, and someone noticed a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Everyone was thrilled to bits to suddenly notice something fairly small flying in all directions near a fire pit, that had a tangle of dead branches and a few pieces of wood piled up. It was a Little Brown Bat! After a few seconds, it flew into this pile, hid from view, and stayed there.

When it was time to leave, we began walking towards our cars, when suddenly the wind became strong and it started to rain. It didn't last long, but unfortunately, we had to make a very hurried departure. Thank you so much, Dennis and Charlotte, for letting us come and explore your wonderful property! Having you all come along with us made the visit even more enjoyable. Thanks, too, to good friends, Dorothy and Stephen, for driving the four of us there and back. As always, so much appreciated.