Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Alberta Canada

For many years, I had longed to see Bear Grass / Xerophyllum tenax, and finally, in 2015, I was lucky enough to visit Waterton Lakes National Park and saw and photographed it for the very first time. The flower in this photo was seen on 8 July 2017, also in Waterton. "Xerophyllum tenax is a North American species of plants in the corn lily family. It is known by several common names, including bear grass, squaw grass, soap grass, quip-quip, and Indian basket grass. Xerophyllum tenax has flowers with six sepals and six stamens borne in a terminal raceme. The plant can grow to 15–150 cm in height. It grows in bunches with the leaves wrapped around and extending from a small stem at ground level. The leaves are 30–100 cm long and 2–6 mm wide, dull olive green with toothed edges. The slightly fragrant white flowers emerge from a tall stalk that bolts from the base. When the flowers are in bloom they are tightly packed at the tip of the stalk like an upright club. The plant is found mostly in western North America from British Columbia south to California and east to Wyoming, in subalpine meadows and coastal mountains, and also on low ground in the California coastal fog belt as far south as Monterey County. It is common on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascades, northern Sierra Nevada and Rockies. Xerophyllum tenax is an important part of the fire ecology of regions where it is native. It has rhizomes which survive fire that clears dead and dying plant matter from the surface of the ground. The plant thrives with periodic burns and is often the first plant to sprout in a scorched area. This species has long been used by Native Americans who weave it in baskets. They also braid dried leaves and adorn them on traditional buckskin dresses and jewelry." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerophyllum_tenax

Beautiful pink-purple Bergamot, pale wild Roses, purple Lupin(e)s, and a splash of bright yellow from Gaillardia flowers all contributed to this gorgeous wildflower meadow in Waterton Lakes National Park. A backdrop of mountain peaks completes the picture. This photo was taken on 9 July 2017, our last day in Waterton. "With its merging landforms, connected ecoregions and its mild, moist, windy climate, Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing meeting place for an abundant and diverse collection of vegetation. Despite it's small size (505 sq km) Waterton is graced with over 1000 species of vascular plants . Over half of Alberta's plant species are found in this tiny place. The park's four ecoregions - foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine - embrace forty-five vegetation communities. Sixteen of these are considered significant because they are rare or fragile and threatened. Waterton also has an unusually high number of rare plants - over 175 are provincially rare (e.g. mountain lady's-slipper, pygmy poppy, mountain hollyhock), and over twenty of these are found only in the Waterton area (e.g. western wakerobin, Lewis' mock-orange, white-veined wintergreen). Over 50 species are rare in Canada (e.g. Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, Brewer's monkeyflower.)" From Parks Canada website. www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul1/f.aspx Late afternoon on 9 July 2017, I arrived back home from a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park. I had just been on a one-day bus trip to this beautiful park on 24 June 2017, so felt very lucky to be returning for a longer stay so soon. I travelled there and back with friend, Darlene, who had very kindly offered to take me, and we had a fun time, seeing so many interesting things. Thank you SO much, Darlene - I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated being able to go on this trip with you! Three days of 32C temperatures, and then I arrived home to find that my thermostat read 29C inside my home. I am not good at dealing with the heat and then to walk and hike in such temperatures was exhausting. Back in Calgary, we had already been having a heatwave, but today, 11 July, it rained and temporarily cooled down, thank goodness. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of good company with around 20 (?) people, some of whom I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic but adequate Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed SO well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our huge thanks go out to Jean Kennedy, the camp cook, who cooked and prepared these great meals for us! Jean was there in 2015 and 2016, when I attended this weekend, and it was really good news when I was told that she would be there again this time. The food was so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Our huge thanks to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly! He has been organizing these annual weekends for a number of years now. A great time was had by all.

Yesterday, 26 June 2017, our temperature reached 29C, which is too hot for me. The inside of my place was uncomfortably warm, so I knew I just had to go for a short drive to get some air-conditioning. My usual drive SW of the city was a bit disappointing, as the few Mountain Bluebirds I did see were only distant. I was beginning to think that the babies must have already fledged from the one nest box. However, the Wilson's Snipe were doing their usual thing, perching on top of fence posts. Not that I need any more Snipe photos : ) While I was photographing them, I noticed a small bird down on the road, way in the distance. Driving very slowly, as I got closer, I realized it was a Sora. For a second or two, it ran down the road alongside my car, until I completely stopped. Just managed to get a couple of shots before it vanished from sight. I always forget how small these birds are. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sora/id

This evening, I photographed a "turkey" made from corn husks to use as my Happy Thanksgiving greeting. I tried everything under the sun but just couldn't end up with a photo I liked. So, I grabbed the next "best" thing - a Turkey (Vulture), lol. Hope all my American friends will be lucky enough to enjoy a turkey (or equivalent such as vegetarian) dinner tomorrow, the US Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for, though of course more so for some people than others. A special Happy Thanksgiving to all those US servicemen and women (and their families, who also make so many sacrifices), who risk their lives on a daily basis, in order to keep the rest safe and free. Happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow), everyone! Please drive safely if you are on the roads. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on October 14th.

HAPPY 4th JULY to all Americans, wherever you happen to be living at the moment! A special thought to all those men and women who serve their country, either at home or overseas, and those who make sacrifices every day so that the rest of Americans can live in freedom. We, in Canada, celebrated Canada Day on 1 July. The day before yesterday, 2 July 2013, our temperatures reached 100F. No air-conditioning at home, so I drove my car out to Maclean Pond, which was as far as the Elbow Falls Trail is open now, due to all the damage caused by the Flood of the Century that started about two weeks ago. I believe that Calgary's State of Emergency is being lifted today. After Maclean Pond, I drove around the backroads SW of Calgary, further avoiding going back to my home that was like an oven. Near one intersection, I came across several of these gorgeous horses and their foals. The youngsters looked tired out from the heat. Decided to leave all the insects in the image rather than deleting each one. You can imagine what our mosquitoes are like, with so much extra water in so many places : )

This is what the weather was like on 15 July 2012, when five of us took a long drive NE of Calgary, to spend a few hours botanizing at Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park! The day started off overcast, then turned to drizzle, which then turned into non-stop rain. There is a gate at the top of this area, which is closed when it has been, or is raining, as everywhere turns into one slippery surface. Bentonite, ancient volcanic clay ash, is prolific, and when it gets wet, it becomes very, very slippery and treacherous. Our feet slid on the surface of the gravel road that we had to walk on, and we weren't able to leave the path to explore. Yesterday, the gate at the top was unfortunately closed, so we had to walk all the way down to the floor of the badlands - which meant, of course, that the return walk was all uphill, which I never do well with. I'm always so thankful for very patient friends! By the time we reached the bottom, the rain was heavy and after just a few minutes, I was soaked to the skin and remained that way for the rest of the day, ha. Thanks so much, Sandy, for introducing us to a new, fascinating area of Alberta and for the ride - made a great day, despite the rain! "Dry Island Buffalo Jump is so-named because of a flat-topped mesa called a "dry island" that rises 200 metres above the Red Deer River. In the distance you can see the grassy cliff-top of an ancient buffalo jump. Cree Indians hunted bison here by stampeding them over the high cliffs, providing enough meat, skins and other products to sustain them. The park is a mix of badlands and riparian forests where cacti and other plants typical of Alberta's grasslands are found in proximity to species normally associated with the Boreal Forest Natural Region. Prairie falcons nest on cliff faces in the park. Due to the high content of bentonite (a clay-like material) roads and trails in this area can become very slippery when wet, sometimes making them unsafe or impassable for both vehicle and foot traffic. As a result, the access road from the viewpoint to the park's day use area is often closed during wet conditions." albertaparks.ca/dry-island-buffalo-jump.aspx www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/7590931376