Brown-Lowery Provincial Park 2

The red berries of the Twisted-stalk plant are always so welcoming when you are on a walk through the forest. The bright splash of colour catches your eye amongst all the green. Taken on 17 August 2013 at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, SW of Calgary. Also known as twistedstalk, clasping twistedstalk, claspleaf twistedstalk, White Twisted-stalk, or Watermelon berry. "Twisted Stalk was used as a food plant by Native Americans in Eastern North America and as a medicine. The plant was referred to by early settlers of Eastern and Western North America as "wild cucumber" and as "scoot berries" for the mildly laxative effects of the berries if they are eaten in excessive quantities. The tender young shoots of this plant were eaten by Native Americans as a salad green, but most consider the plant and berries poisonous. The entire plant is sweet with a cucumber-like flavor.[citation needed] The berries are reported to be juicy and sweet, with a cucumber-like flavor.[citation needed] The juice of the berries was used as a soothing treatment for burns by American Indians. Twisted Stalk has a supercifial resemblance to False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), but Twisted Stalk produces axillary flowers and fruits along the stem, where False Solomon's Seal produces a terminal inflorescence." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptopus_amplexifolius

Two days ago, on 10 August 2014, I slept right through an hour of very loud music and then woke up nearly five hours later (around 11:30 a.m.)! As a result, I missed a trip with friends to a great place SW of the city, Brown-Lowery Provincial Park - one that I don't like going to on my own. Knowing that there would be other people in the area, I decided to still go, but not go very far into the forest on my own. Hopefully, the others would scare any Bears and Cougars out of the forest and not in my direction! To say that I could kick myself is to put it mildly! So much for hoping that there would be no bears. When I arrived at the not particularly well-known natural forest, I signed the "guest book" as I often do. Before I turned the page to sign on a nice fresh page, I happened to read one of the last comments that someone had written - a Black Bear had been seen that day, on the very trail I wanted to go on! I put the can of Bear Spray into my fanny-pack (can't use a backpack because of the rotator cuff inflammation in both my shoulders), but after a few steps, knew my pack felt just too heavy. Put it back in the car and instead, attached my bear bell to my camera strap and clutched a small air-horn in one hand. I only spent about an hour in the forest, but did not enjoy a single step of it, lol! I was determined to at least go a very tiny way in, having driven all the way there. Very thankfully, there was no sign of the bear - but also no sign of any mushrooms other than one tiny cluster of Pholiotas (posted yesterday) at the base of a tree stump. Absolutely nothing, despite recent rain. Maybe it's still too early, especially after such a late spring? August is supposedly the peak of the fungi season here. Found the beautiful Police Car Moth and little Skipper butterfly, in my photo above, when I walked around the edge of the parking lot after my short walk. Saw very little on the drive home - a couple of Hawks (one on a hay bale), a few Ravens and a few Crows, one Cedar Waxwing, and several very distant ducks. No sign of any Red-winged or Yellow-headed Blackbirds and no Wilson's Snipe. "The Police Car Moth is a fairly large moth with a wingspan of up to 50 mm. The wings are jet black with large white patches between the black scaled veins. As well, there are two orange patches of hairs on either side of the thorax, right behind the head. It is this colour combination, that of an old style police car, that gives it its name. Larvae are hairy and black with yellow and blue markings. The Police Car Moth is found throughout the province in or near forested areas. Adults fly throughout July and early August." From Royal Alberta Museum. www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .

A couple of weeks ago, on 10 August 2014, I slept right through an hour of very loud music and then woke up nearly five hours later (around 11:30 a.m.)! As a result, I missed a trip with friends to a great place SW of the city, Brown-Lowery Provincial Park - one that I don't like going to on my own. Knowing that there would be other people in the area, I decided to still go, but not go very far into the forest on my own. Hopefully, the others would scare any Bears and Cougars out of the forest and not in my direction! To say that I could kick myself is to put it mildly! So much for hoping that there would be no bears. When I arrived at the not particularly well-known forest, I signed the "guest book" as I often do. Before I turned the page to sign on a nice fresh page, I happened to read one of the last comments that someone had written - a Black Bear had been seen that day, on the very trail I wanted to go on! I put the can of Bear Spray into my fanny-pack (can't use a backpack because of the rotator cuff inflammation in both my shoulders), but after a few steps, knew my fanny pack felt just too heavy. Put the can back in the car and instead, attached my bear bell to my camera strap and clutched a small air-horn in one hand. I only spent about an hour in the forest, but did not enjoy a single step of it, lol! I was determined to at least go a very tiny way in, having driven all the way there. Very thankfully, there was no sign of the bear - but also no sign of any mushrooms other than one tiny cluster of Pholiotas growing at the base of a tree stump. Absolutely nothing, despite recent rain. Maybe it's still too early, especially after such a late spring? August is supposedly the peak of the fungi season here. Found the beautiful Police Car Moth in my photo above, when I walked around the edge of the parking lot after my short walk. Saw very little on the drive home - a couple of Hawks (one on a hay bale), a few Ravens and a few Crows, one Cedar Waxwing, and several very distant ducks. No sign of any Red-winged or Yellow-headed Blackbirds and no Wilson's Snipe. "The Police Car Moth is a fairly large moth with a wingspan of up to 50 mm. The wings are jet black with large white patches between the black scaled veins. As well, there are two orange patches of hairs on either side of the thorax, right behind the head. It is this colour combination, that of an old style police car, that gives it its name. Larvae are hairy and black with yellow and blue markings. The Police Car Moth is found throughout the province in or near forested areas. Adults fly throughout July and early August." From Royal Alberta Museum. www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .

With a weather forecast of rain for tomorrow and mixed precipitation for Tuesday and Wednesday, there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to yesterday, 6 September 204. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. Yesterday's visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fung. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch this adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. You can tell this tree has been used by the Three-toed Woodpeckers, as much of the bark has been stripped, leaving the orange/brown wood below. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. These are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=226 www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke... On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of quick shots. There were various things blocking part of my view, which is why I got pale or discoloured patches in the lower half of the image (posted today). On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and her two fawns. Apparently, she had three, so we were wondering if something had happened to one of them. Maybe a Coyote?

With a weather forecast of rain for tomorrow and mixed precipitation for Tuesday and Wednesday, there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to yesterday, 6 September 204. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. Yesterday's visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and a juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a Mink that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with this Mink, catching it in a couple of quick shots. There were various things blocking part of my view, which is why I got pale or discoloured patches in the lower half of the image (posted yesterday). On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and her two fawns. Apparently, she had three, so we were wondering if something had happened to one of them. Maybe a Coyote? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mink

With a weather forecast of rain and snow for the next two or three days, there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to on Saturday, 6 September 2014. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. Yesterday's visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees and various tiny mushrooms growing in the moss, including the small, white ones above. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. They are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a Mink that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was very recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of quick shots. There were various things blocking part of my view, which is why I got pale or discoloured patches in the lower half of the image (posted yesterday). On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and two fawns. Apparently, she had three young ones, so we were wondering if something had happened to one of them. Maybe a Coyote? This morning, 8 September 2014, the temperature is 3°C (37°F) and apparently feels like -1°C (28°F). Mixed precipitation today and the next two days, and then things are supposed to improve! I got up very early to go on a bird walk, but when I saw the overcast sky and large puddles outside, I changed my mind. Will go later in the week, when the sun should be shining.

Judging by the wispy feathers, this looks like it was the young bird that was on the tree right by Mom or Dad. It's not the best quality, but it's difficult to get decent shots deep in the forest and of birds that don't stay still for a second and keep travelling further and further up the tall trees. These Three-toed Woodpeckers are rare here, so I sometimes hang on to photos that are far from good. The weather forecast was promising rain and mixed precipitation for 7 and 8 September 2014, and there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to before the bad weather arrived. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. This last visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch this adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. You can tell this tree has been used by the Three-toed Woodpeckers, as much of the bark has been stripped, leaving the orange/brown wood below. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. These are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=226 www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke... On that day, little did any of us know that we were in for a major, late summer, snowstorm! Yesterday and today, 9 and 10 September (today), we've had heavy, wet snow that is causing tremendous damage to so many trees in the city. Yesterday, it was said that 5,000 trees had been damaged, and today, conditions are far, far worse. And the snow keeps falling ....

With a weather forecast of rain and snow for the following two or three days, there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to on Saturday, 6 September 2014. (Little did we all know that we were in for two days of heavy snowfall that has caused a huge amount of damage to thousands of trees and shrubs throughout the city.) The first place I wanted to get to was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. On 6 September, it was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees and various tiny mushrooms growing in the moss, including the small, white one in the macro shot above. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and a juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. They are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a Mink that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was very recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of quick shots. On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and two fawns. Apparently, she had three young ones, so we were wondering if something had happened to one of them. Maybe a Coyote?

When I went back and had a better look through the photos I took at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 6 September 2014, I came across this shot that is somewhat sharper and better than most of that day's photos. The weather forecast was for upcoming rain, so I decided that I had better get over to the park straight away, as I wanted to check for any mushrooms. I had been there fairly recently, and only found a couple of things. The visit on 6 September was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. Not sure if this is the adult or the young one in this photo. You can tell this tree has been used by the Three-toed Woodpeckers, as some of the bark has been stripped, leaving the orange/brown wood below. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. These are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=226 www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke... On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about. Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them that day. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing reasonably OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of very quick shots. On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and her two fawns. Apparently, there is another doe with triplets in the area.