Garden Flowers 3

OK, I just HAD to photograph another Chrysanthemum - you will all be getting a little bit tired of snowy scenery : ). Still have a few more winter shots to upload - don't want to be uploading them in the summer.

Lol, I think I know why I didn't post this before!! Rather too much out-of-focus part! Oh, well, guess I'll leave it here, especially as some of you have very kindly commented on it already. I think this was a plant that I bought from my grocery store. In total comparison, have any of you read about the Corpse Plant that has just bloomed in Switzerland? On 23 April 2011, it was reported on the BBC News website that this rare plant that has the distinct smell of rotting flesh is attracting large crowds in Switzerland. Thousands of plant lovers are flocking to the Basel Botanical Garden in Switzerland to see a full bloom of a corpse flower. The 17-year-old plant is blooming for the first time. A truly incredible plant! www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13179745 I was out on a walk all morning, from the Boat Launch to Bankside, Fish Creek Park. This afternoon, I went and got my Taxes done - yay, thank goodness that is out of the way for another year. Then I went to photograph a few Prairie Crocuses before heading home. They were very pale in colour, plus it was very windy, which made it difficult to keep my balance on the steep hillside, and of course the delicate petals were all a-flutter : ) A friend just sent me this link to a feel-good video about a dog and a dolphin: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_popout&v=Yfbchq0...

This endless rain is getting very monotonous, to say the least : ) I can never summon up any energy or motivation to go out with my camera when the weather is like this. I'm definitely a blue sky and sunshine (but no hot temperatures) kind of person! Photographed this vibrant yellow flower at Reader Rock Garden on 11th August 2010 and today, I'm feeling very thankful for it. Had a good day yesterday! Received an e-mail from the Solicitor letting me know that an offer has been made on my brother's house - two other offers had been made, but the people didn't provide proof of their financial ability to pay. This time, that has been done, so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that it will go through. The house seller's market in England is so bad at the moment, so I would be very fortunate to sell, though the price had to come right down. I also sent my six wonderful friends in England, who have now spent the last five months dealing with my brother's estate, out for a meal together, now that things are really winding down. They decided to go yesterday evening - which was my birthday, ha! They even sent me a couple of photos of them, raising their glasses to my brother and myself, which was so thoughtful. As for me, after my afternoon volunteer shift, I called in at a lovely little Greek restaurant and got take-out Chicken Souvlaki Wrap with Greek Salad (and a creme-broulee, seeing as it was my birthday!). Got home in time to relax in front of the TV and watch Oprah's final show : ) I've watched plenty of her shows over the last 25 years (though I don't in fact watch much TV at all) and I have a lot of respect for her as a human being. I wish her well in her new journey (her OWN Network). My lovely day ended with a phone call from my youngest daughter - always a treat ; ) Thanks, Rachel! ALERT: RAINFALL WARNING FOR THE CITY OF CALGARY

This is a day that everyone can celebrate - we all have Mothers, whether they are still alive or not, and many of us are Mothers ourselves. I never really like the idea of having just one day to celebrate such an important thing - every day should be Mother's Day. Hope you have a sunny, blue-skied day to acknowledge the most important - and toughest - job in the world : ) Here, I cancelled my plans for a day out, as it is grey and raining : ( By the way, I did something that I've only ever done once before - I changed the background to black. I always feel it's "cheating" to do this and I'm just fine at getting black backgrounds the "good" way. However, I just couldn't stand the pale beige background, especially on such a gloomy day as today, so I "cheated". Jim (Garnite), this is to send bright and cheery thoughts your way this morning! If anyone else would like to send healing thoughts to Jim - he really needs all the thoughts and prayers he can get - please go to the For Garnite Group here: www.flickr.com/groups/1655195@N20/ and post your good wishes and beautiful images there.

Just wanted to thank all of you for your wonderfully kind comments and words of support, especially during the last five weeks. It really has been an exceedingly hard time for me, unexpectedly losing my brother (from Ischaemic Heart Disease) in England, helping to plan the funeral, and dealing with his house and belongings. I would not have been able to do this without my amazing friends in England who have done and are still doing SO much, but I do want you to know how much difference the support of my Flickr friends/Contacts has made during this difficult time. John's funeral was just a few hours ago and I stayed up all night, worried that I might sleep through my alarm that I'd set for 4:30 a.m. : ) I knew the order of the songs/music and I had even been sent all the words that were going to be said through the Service, so at 4:30 a.m. this morning, I sat at my computer and played the music in turn and read the words, having my own little service at the same time as all John's friends and colleagues. Apparently, the morning went very well, just as I knew it would in the capable hands of my friends. Actually, thanks to friend, Tony, I have even just seen the first bit of video - already! Thanks so much, Tony! You're the best. Now, there is the legal stuff to see to, and going through the rest of my brother's belongings (via photos sent in e-mails) and then the house can be put up for sale. Lots of Thank You cards and notes to be written, too : ) Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support, and bearing with me during these few weeks!!! Oh, and after more than a day of e-mail problems yesterday, it turned out that I had a corrupted file in there, which is what the Shaw technician suspected. Looked like I was going to have to back-up all 2,470 Inbox e-mails (ha!) , then delete Inbox and start from scratch, but thank goodness I happened to delete the culprit - whichever e-mail it was - and all seems OK now. Phew! This year, I have so many thousands of photos to back up and I definitely need to save all these very important e-mails, too. It really needs to be a year in which I make myself see to an awful lot of things, lol!

Beautiful Peony that was growing at Reader Rock Garden on 7th July 2010. I believe today was the first full day that I've had out in a long, long time - the sun actually came out today. This was so well timed, as a few of us did the May Species Count all morning at Votier's Flats, and then just three of us spent all afternoon at Bebo Grove, both in Fish Creek Park. Just had time to dash home for lunch in between and post my photos to Flickr : ) Now I can barely move and can hardly keep my eyes open, lol! Tomorrow, some of us are doing a second day of the May Species Count, this time spending a long day south of the city, recording all birds, plants, insects, etc. that we happen to come across. It is more of a driving day, thank goodness, with various stops. Actually, this morning's walk started at 8:00 a.m. with the sighting of a Turkey Vulture, of all things, flying high over the trees at Votier's Flats! It is so rare to see this species and a thrill when it does happen. Three Cormorants also flying high overhead, a spider guarding her eggs and even a rather strange looking Morel mushroom. So, a very varied day : ) After our days of heavy rain, many parts of Fish Creek Park are flooded and the small creek has become a raging river! Parts of the park have been closed off. Quite spectacular and quite horrifying to see the power of water, though at only a fraction of the strength as was seen in other parts of the country. Apparently, 51 species of bird were seen between 8:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. this morning.

Saw this beautiful sunlit Poppy in a garden along the edge of Clearwater Park, Highway 8, on 4th September 2010. Anyone else having problems with Flickr this morning? I didn't think I was going to be able to upload any photos and everything I click on takes ages to work. Yesterday morning, when I first went to Flickr, I got the Hiccups screen. Another grey, gloomy day here. Big puddles in my parking lot, so it must have rained overnight. Hopefully, the rain will stay away, as Fish Creek Park is holding a Creekfest today and they have put so much work into the preparations. It was only 5C here this morning when I got up!

I had this Orange Star plant in my kitchen for weeks, waiting to be photographed. Finally had a day on which there was enough light coming in through my kitchen window! Macro shot of one of the flowers that was part of the cluster. I uploaded these three photos at some unearthly hour this morning (maybe around 6:30 a.m.?). Why would any sane person be up at that hour normally and, not only be on their computer, but on Flickr, lol?! And then be on Flickr during the day, too : ) I had planned to go on an out-of-town botany trip for the day, but I was the only participant to turn up. Instead, I chose to drive west of the city by myself, and had a great day. I have to set my alarm for about 1:00 a.m. (I never get to bed before that!) as I have an annual birding occasion that starts at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Usually, I stay up the whole night instead on this night each year, worried that I might not hear my alarm go off. Hoping that the rain in the forecast doesn't arrive!

After my volunteer shift on Wednesday afternoon, I made a last-minute decision to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Managed to get a few photos, despite it being so windy. Another cool, heavily overcast day here. As the day progresses, I know I am going to find it more and more difficult to remember what day and time it is. I stayed up all last night, as it was the annual Dawn Chorus at 3:30 a.m. this morning, in Weaselhead. We were so lucky that it stayed dry most of the time, with just a few raindrops and a few flashes of lightning. Haven't yet heard how many species we saw/heard, but the number of species and actual birds was way down. I think we must be insane to travel from different parts of the city at this unearthly hour (I left home around 2:45 a.m.), but it's quite fascinating to witness the start of a brand new day for our feathered friends.