Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Judy Osborne's property

"In the city of Calgary the air quality health index was off the charts through the overnight hours Tuesday (25 August 2015), peaking at 19 on a scale where 10 is considered "high." The smoke is being blown here from the northwestern United States. It affected the visibility the whole day, so there was no sign of the distant mountains and even the hills and fields closest to us. Most unpleasant. Added on 27 August - apparently, a spider had climbed inside the equipment used to track air quality and this had given the inaccurate ratings! Air quality was really bad, though. On the morning of 25 August 2015, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers were finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including this rather cute bird house, plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the start of September! Public schools here reopen tomorrow and no doubt many parents will heave a huge sigh of relief - and many kids will be happy to reunite with friends. Others will have very different feelings. On a drive yesterday afternoon, it simply felt like fall. Two Magpies were the only birds I saw, and the landscape felt empty of living creatures. After a great summer of seeing so many things, it was a sad feeling to now see so little. After posting the same kind of photo for a long time - flowers, forest findings, so much green - I really needed to post something that was a different colour and completely different subject. This textured find was part of a small, old shed of some kind, seen on Judy Osborne's property. Can't remember if it was built into the hillside, but it was partly covered with branches and leaves. Six days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog, a Yellowjacket (wasp), and a mushroom or two, plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad, due to the smoke coming from serious, widespread forest fires in the northwest United States. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

This photo was taken on Judy Osborne's property on 25 August 2015, According to Wikipedia, other common names for this species include gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf, and thousand-seal." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium Six days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog, a Yellowjacket (wasp), and a mushroom or two, plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad, due to the smoke coming from serious, widespread forest fires in the northwest United States. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

When I got up about an hour ago, the sky was blue and the sun was brightly shining. It seems to have clouded over now, but hopefully the smoky air that we've had the last few days has disappeared. If so, that means that the forecast rain for the northwest United States actually happened, which should help all those brave firefighters in their battle against the widespread flames. August is the prime season for mushrooms here, but it has been such a hot, dry summer that it has not been a good year for them. Also, I have only been to a few places where they might be growing, so I have photographed any fungus that I've come across. For the most part, they have not been very photogenic. Four days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog, a Yellowjacket (wasp), and a mushroom or two, plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke coming from serious, widespread forest fires in the northwest United States. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

When I got up about an hour ago, the sky was blue and the sun was brightly shining. It seems to have clouded over now, but hopefully the smoky air that we've had the last few days has disappeared. If so, that means that the forecast rain for the northwest United States actually happened, which should help all those brave firefighters in their battle against the widespread flames. This photo is being posted just for the record, to add to one of my albums. It was fully zoomed and cropped and the quality looks even worse than it did late last night : ) This was taken before it flew to a nearby snag. Four days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including this distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog, a Yellowjacket (wasp), and a mushroom or two, plus a few of the flowers in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke coming from serious, widespread forest fires in the northwest United States. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

Looks like it is another day of poor air quality here, due to the smoke blowing from the forest fires in Washington State (US). A Poor Air Quality Alert is still in effect for Southern Alberta. Heavy rain is in the forecast for northwest US, so hopefully this will happen and will help with the severe fire problem before even more damage is done. Even from so far away, I am feeling the effects from the smoke-filled air. Despite this huge fungus being past its prime, I was just happy to see anything remotely mushroom-like. This has not been a good year for fungi - much too hot and dry with the occasional torrential rain. Thanks, Carole, for pointing this out to me! Three days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

Looks like it is another day of poor air quality here, due to the smoke blowing from the forest fires in Washington State (US). A Poor Air Quality Alert is still in effect for Southern Alberta. Heavy rain is in the forecast for northwest US, so hopefully this will happen and will help with the severe fire problem before even more damage is done. Even from so far away, I am feeling the effects from the smoke-filled air. Three days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp) and the bright red clusters of berries from the poisonous Red Baneberry plants. I also took a few photos of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. "All parts of the plant are poisonous. However, accidental poisoning is not likely since the berries are extremely bitter. The berries are the most toxic part of the plant. A healthy adult will experience poisoning from as few as six berries. Ingestion of the berries causes nausea, dizziness, increased pulse and severe gastrointestinal discomfort. The toxins can also have an immediate sedative effect on the cardiac muscle tissue possibly leading to cardiac arrest if introduced into the bloodstream. As few as two berries may be fatal to a child. All parts of the plant contain an irritant oil that is most concentrated within the roots and berries." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_rubra Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

An update on my daughter who was in the hospital for a few days. She was allowed to go home three evenings ago, though the medical staff still aren't completely sure of the cause of the problem. She has a follow-up appointment in September, so hopefully she and we will know more at that time. Meanwhile, I feel totally drained, ha! A couple of days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and this Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. No scenery shots, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air (from forest fires burning in Washington State, northwest US). We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

An update on my daughter who was in the hospital for a few days. She was allowed to go home three evenings ago, though the medical staff still aren't completely sure of the cause of the problem. She has a follow-up appointment in September, so hopefully she and we will know more at that time. Meanwhile, I feel totally drained, ha! A couple of days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. No scenery shots, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. There was nothing I could do about the single blade of grass that goes right across the Wood Frog's face. If I had tried to move it with my hiking pole, you know what the frog would have done : ) "Similar to other northern frogs that enter dormancy close to the surface in soil and/or leaf litter, wood frogs can tolerate the freezing of their blood and other tissues. Urea is accumulated in tissues in preparation for overwintering, and liver glycogen is converted in large quantities to glucose in response to internal ice formation. Both urea and glucose act as cryoprotectants to limit the amount of ice that forms and to reduce osmotic shrinkage of cells. Frogs can survive many freeze/thaw events during winter if no more than about 65% of the total body water freezes." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_frog Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air (from forest fires burning in Washington State, northwest US). We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

"In the city of Calgary the air quality health index was off the charts through the overnight hours Tuesday (25 August 2015), peaking at 19 on a scale where 10 is considered "high." The smoke is being blown here from the northwestern United States. It affected the visibility the whole day, so there was no sign of the distant mountains and even the hills and fields closest to us. Most unpleasant, and I don't know how people who live much closer to the wildfires are managing! So many Firefighters bravely battling the flames! Added on 27 August - apparently, a spider had climbed inside the equipment used to track air quality and this had given the inaccurate ratings! Air quality was really bad, though. Yesterday morning, 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including this distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated! "This is probably the most common hawk in North America. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles, eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out cold weather before climbing a thermal updraft into the sky." From AllAboutBirds. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/id

During a day of botanizing three days ago, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - I happened to notice this rather fine Virginia Ctenucha moth. Love those beautiful, feathery antennae, the iridescent turquoise, and the tiny splash of bright orange. Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley. We so appreciate her having us there to record all the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it while we were there. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city. We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had while we were way NW of Calgary! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...

During a day of botanizing three days ago, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - we happened to notice this beautiful, pale Swallowtail butterfly at rest, deep within a tangle of small branches. This is the first one I've seen this year that wasn't flying high overhead. Not the best photo, but needed to add it to an album. Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley. We so appreciate her having us there to record all the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it while we were there. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city. We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had while we were way NW of Calgary! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...

During a day of botanizing the day before yesterday, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - this rather fine Western/Boreal Toad was spotted. As you can see, it can camouflage itself very well, even more so when not seen in macro size. Love its "smile". Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley - and we so appreciate her having us there to record the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it when we were there. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city. We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob... "The Western Toad or Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches. Compared to females, males have smoother skin, reduced dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet during breeding season. In juveniles of this species, the dorsal stripe is weak or absent. Large young have prominent dorsal and ventral spotting and yellow feet. Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges ..... It is listed as near threatened largely due to the impact of disease and chemical contamination of the environment." From Wikipedia.

During a day of botanizing the day before yesterday, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - I happened to notice this small Red-blue Checkerd Beetle standing on a Yarrow flower. Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley - and we so appreciate her having us there to record the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it when we were there. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city. We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had! The Internet was down last night, too. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...