Brown-Lowery Provincial Park

If you only knew what I went through today to get some mushroom photos!!! I have a phobia of driving, but finally pushed myself to definitely get out of my "comfort zone". I had been to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park (southwest of the city) a handful of times before and vowed I would never drive there or go walking there, on my own. Friend, Doug, had driven me there many weeks ago (thank you so much!) and then we went back with another friend, so I was hoping that these trips would be enough to make me go there myself, despite my fear. And I SO wanted to search for mushrooms to photograph. Today was the day - I finally did it! I have to admit that, despite my careful look at a very rough trail map, I still ended up doing my walk on a different trail through the dense forest from what I thought I was on, LOL! The important thing is that, not only did I do it, but I even found my way back home, ha, ha.

Came across this tiny cluster of gorgeous pink Wolf Milk's Slime at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 31st August. The patch may have been something like an inch and a half across. Love the pattern and texture on this slime when seen up close. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycogala_epidendrum museumofdust.blogspot.com/2006/05/garden-slime-molds.html Four of us spent the whole day today out in Bragg Creek Natural Area, recording all the plants, birds, fungi, insects, etc., that were seen. So happy to see that there were a few species of fungi still around, too : ) No rain today, which was wonderful - sunshine, yay! Not even 6:00 p.m. and I can't keep my eyes open. Such a shock to be out in sunshine all day - knocked me out totally, LOL.

I rather liked the polished leather look of these two mushrooms, photographed on 24th July at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Friend, Doug, says it looks like the mushroom season is over, for the gilled species, anyway. Polypores will be around for a while - but it's the gilled mushrooms that I love. We've only just begin our fungi photography for the season!!!! So, those of you over on the wet (I mean, West!) Coast, who get mushrooms for most of the year and then feel totally lost and deprived when you are without them for a very few, short weeks, come and move to Calgary and see what "depressing" really means, LOL! We have to wait almost a full year before we see mushrooms again : ( Just got home a short while ago (7:30 p.m.) after a long, long day out in the fresh air. We spent the first part of the day very happily exploring Jim Coutts' amazing homestead and gardens near Nanton (south of the city). We've been going once a year the last few years, thanks to Jim's generosity in allowing us to be there. My favourite part of Jim's gardens is the Poppy garden, to which I headed straight away. After lunch, we drove west through William's Coulee to a wonderful area of natural prairie grassland, to search for flower species. This included a walk on Howard Hornecker's property, too. Thanks so much, Jim and Howard - I hope you both know how much we all appreciate your kindness (and company)! Thank you, too, Laura, for very kindly being willing to drive us there and back! Found a few nice insects, too, which I will upload as soon as I can. And now I need to download almost 500 photos, recharge batteries and get myself all organized for a very early start tomorrow, for a day of birding (for a change - though I know I'll be looking for and photographing plants, inects, etc.). Come Sunday, I will be more than ready to totally collapse : ) Oh, and Dorothy, that Wanton soup was SO good, LOL!

This fungus, which was growing at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 17th August, has a wonderfully velvet look to it. Love the forest floor "litter" : )

Usually, I see bright orange Coral Fungus, but this one was a different colour. Found growing at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 17th August last year.

Taken on 12th February 2005, south of Calgary, from the viewpoint high up at Brown-Lowery Park looking west towards Kananaskis.

This is the black (nitra) form of the Old World Swallowtail butterfly, seen at Brown Lowery Park, Alberta, mid-July.

Thanks to Doug Waylett, I have the ID for this remarkable fungus that we saw at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 17th August last year. Love the texture and many upturned scales on the caps of this fungus.

Funny, just got to thinking, how these delicate stalks support the weight of the teeny caps - such an extreme to the Twin Towers of 9/11. Remembering all the precious victims and their families and friends, who have suffered immense sorrow since the horrific events in each of the places that were attacked. Our thoughts are with you all. Love these teeny mushrooms that grow on dead leaves. I suspect they are a different species from all the very tiny white fungi that grow up out of dead leaf material, but seem to be more firmly "rooted" to something. Found these ones growing at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 7th September. They may have been around half an inch tall. Oh, and I noticed an empty casing from some kind of insect on the leaf, behind the mushrooms. Will post a macro shot of it sometime. Thanks, Doug, for the ID - Marasmius! A day of mixed weather today. Was out all morning for a birding walk in Fish Creek Park - Sikome and Bow Valley Ranche areas. Decided I would go to the far western end of the park straight afterwards, though I had a feeling that this decision was against my better judgement. Nothing like a short hail storm to make mushroom photography impossible, LOL! In between hail and rain, I did manage to shoot a couple of Wolf Spiders - there's nothing like making eye contact with these through my macro lens, ha! Also a bit of Wolf's Milk Slime and a small variety of fungi. Everywhere was very muddy and slippery. Was the same out at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park yesterday afternoon - the trails there are just one mass of tree roots and when these get really wet, they can be treacherously slippery. It was kind of funny, as I was down on the ground photographing "you know what" and when I turned around I noticed a man standing on the path a short distance away. I told him that he had scared me to death, and he told me that he had called out "Hello" five times so that I would know he was there, but thought I must be hard of hearing. I'm not (for which I'm truly thankful), but I guess I was completely in my "own little world", ha. We walked the loop back to the parking lot and, despite the fact that this was a birder, he ended up getting a "crash course" in fungi - very patiently! Nice to have company, as usually I'm there on my own : ) By the way, it turned out that we do have some mutual friends and aquaintances.