Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: beige

Our temperature just after noon today, 4 October 20i8, is -1C (windchill -6C), with an overcast sky. There is no snow in the forecast, at least not until the weekend. The massive snowfall on 2 October is slowly melting, thank goodness. Total chaos, with so many accidents. I had been hoping to get over to Granary Road all summer, but it just didn't happen. This is a fairly new market garden, SW of the city, with an Active Learning Park, too. Before this, the area was simply a huge, empty field, except for the row of five old, red granaries/sheds. I was very disappointed some time ago, when I first saw what was being planned for that particular area. Most of all, I and many other photographers, were horrified when we discovered that the row of old granaries had been removed from the landscape. Some of you may remember my photos of these granaries, which I called "The Famous Five". They have been replaced by five new, red sheds which, I have to say, look better than I had originally thought. Link for my album, "The Famous Five" - 25 images of the original, old row of five, red granaries. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157648910659879 My daughter finally had a day free for us to get together on 23 September 2018. She suggested we could go to the Saskatoon Farm, a place we both love, for breakfast and a wander round the grounds with our cameras. After that, we drove west to Granary Road. Though the Active Learning Park had closed for the fall and winter, it was open for the day on the day we went, It covers a large area and has all sorts of learning areas, including a mushroom area and a farm animal area. We had fun trying to photograph a group of funny Alpacas there. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca granaryroad.com/active-learning/ granaryroad.com/ There was thick fog in places on this day, but it didn't seem to affect photographing objects that were close. My favourite kind of day, spending time with my daughter.

All three photos posted today were taken yesterday, 19 November 2017, when I spent a few very enjoyable hours out with my daughter. This is the time of year, of course, when Christmas Markets and Fairs spring up everywhere, within the city and in various hamlets outside the city. There were two that we ended up going to - Granary Road and Bragg Creek. The scenery in the previous photo was taken during the drive between the two places. This was the very first Christmas for the newly opened Granary Road. Bragg Creek market has been held for many years, but we had never been out there to one before. Both felt calm and were far less densely packed (at least when we were there) than some of the bigger markets in various towns. I had been hoping to get over to Granary Road all summer and fall, but it just didn't happen. This is a brand new market garden, SW of the city, with an active learning park, too. I was very disappointed months ago, when I first saw what was being planned for that particular area. Most of all, I and many other photographers, were horrified when we discovered that the row of five, old, red granaries/sheds had been removed from the landscape. Some of you may remember my photos of these granaries, which I called "The Famous Five". They have been replaced by five new, red sheds which, I have to say, looked better yesterday than I had previously thought. The huge main building is full of various permanent, carefully chosen vendors, and a restaurant. Very nicely designed, I thought. Three huge greenhouses stand next to the main building - fresh produce is sold from them and from local farmers. A small petting Zoo was being held in one of the greenhouses - Alpacas, goats and bunnies, all very cute. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca The huge, outdoor educational area looks like a lot of fun, and I want to go back next summer to wander round it, when it reopens for the season. www.granaryroad.com/ Thank you, Rachel, for an enjoyable few hours spent with you! Always the best kind of day. See you in December.

I couldn't help loving this little textured mushroom, seen growing in Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 23rd August last year. LOL, I've just checked to see the date on which I took the very first photo of a fungus that I posted on Flickr - 3rd September 2004 - though I had loved mushrooms for many years before that. My passion developed once I got my first digital zoom camera, but then really took off last year when we had such a bumper crop of fungi.

I loved this very small mushroom that I found growing on the end of a small branch on the ground at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, back on September 21st. It was just so perfect. I think these little ribbed shrooms are so pretty. The cap was maybe half an inch in height. Growing out in an open, grassy area not too far from the Bow River. Not like my usual fungi photos, which are usually taken in a dark forest.

Didn't set my alarm for this morning, as I desperately needed to sleep until I woke naturally, so am posting my photos really late today. Also, when I checked the weather forecast late last night, it was not good - but guess what, it's a beautiful, sunny day, that I've now "wasted." I loved this very small mushroom that I found growing on the end of a small branch on the ground at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, back on 21 September 2010. It was just so perfect. I think these little ribbed shrooms are so pretty, looking like they are wearing knitted hats. The cap was maybe half an inch in height. Growing out in an open, grassy area not too far from the Bow River. Not like my usual fungi photos, which are usually taken in a dark forest. Later: as there were still a few patches of blue sky later this afternoon, I decided to make another drive SE of Calgary , to the Frank Lake area. The closer I got to my destination, the more overcast it became. This didn't really matter as there was no sign of any Short-eared Owls - I think all my friends who've been photographing them recently must have "scared" them off, lol!! I did come across a Snowy Owl, though, perched high on a distant power pole. Took me by surprise because I was thinking only of Short-eared Owls. Total kilometres from the southern edge of Calgary and back = 165 km. Total time = approx. 3 1/2 hours. Just as I reached home, the snow was beginning to fall!

Photographed at the Reader Rock Garden on 26 September 2012. Darryl, you might just like this one : )

Well, you can't say I never have a bit of variety on my photostream (in between all the butterflies, flowers and water droplets, LOL). When we were at Janel Butler's farm two days ago, to botanize their beautiful acreage, we got to see a whole herd (?) of these strange and woolly Alpacas. I find them so amusing to watch - when one moves, they all move in the same direction. They seem to be curious and, oh, the wonderful faces and expressions, especially with their huge front teeth. What a great day we had. All the fresh air, heat and bright sunlight that I've been exposed to recently have just knocked me out. Very bad when it comes to driving. "Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance. Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States.... Most alpacas do not like being grabbed. Some alpacas tolerate being stroked or petted anywhere on their bodies, although many do not like their feet, lower legs, and especially their abdomen touched or handled." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca

Puffballs are one of my favourite fungi - love their roundness and the various patterns on them. This cluster was growing on 23rd August last year at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park.

Many many years ago, I picked up this very small shell (can't remember if it was on a beach in Borneo, Qatar or Oman). I almost threw it back down on to the sand, as it looked rather like a broken piece of a shell, but instead kept it. Some time later, I happened to see a National Geographic Magazine page illustrating some of the rarest shells in the world. One of them looked just like this little one - somewhere around 1" in length, if I remember correctly. Too dead beat to go downstairs to check, after a full day of Christmas Bird Count in the Canmore area (near Banff, in the Rocky Mountains). It's recommended that a person does 10,000 steps a day - well, I've done 23,377 today, LOL, and it feels like it, too! I don't know if someone "out there" is able to confirm or correct this. Would be greatly appreciated : )

This cluster of Oyster Mushrooms was quite spectacular. Found while botanizing private property near Millarville, south of the city, on 25th June.

This large puffball was growing out in the open, near a trail we were walking along on Erik Butters' ranchland on 28th September. Doug, hope you don't mind, but I've taken the ID you suggested on your photostream, with thanks. Calvatia bovista 'Pestle-shaped Puffball' (?).

I came across this gorgeous display of fungi on 17th August, at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Today is definitely a day to dream about the joys of summer - our weather is atrocious!

"Just" a couple of mushrooms, but there was something that I liked about this image. As Barb says below, the contrast between the dark leaves and the pale fungi is nice. These were growing at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on 28th August.

These small fungi were growing side by side on a log in Weaselhead five days ago. They kind of make me think about ice cream, with a single scoop in each waffle cone : ) Time to do a rain dance, I think - hardly any fungi to be found, it is SO dry everywhere.

This was one of the many wonderful species of fungus that we discovered while botanizing the 152-acre property of Rod Handfield, south of Calgary, west of Millarville. Just loved the grooves and the light : )

Silly title, I know, but this gorgeous mushroom almost looks to me like it is waiting to catch the purple blossoms (Wild Bergamot). Seen on the Marston Creek hike (Kananaskis, off Highway 40 at the Ptarmigan Cirque parking lot).