Pink and pretty

Shouldn't really be posting this evening, as I am totally, totally exhausted after a long, long day in the heat, botanizing Purple Spring Sand Dunes, down near Taber, south eastern Alberta. Left home at 5:15 a.m. and arrived back a short while ago, at 8:00 p.m.. A three-hour drive there and three hours back home, plus the driving we did when we were down that way, and of course the walking we did. Much too hot for me! The area doesn't really live up to its beautiful name - basically, it just looks like prairie grassland, but we did see some good plants, including several new ones. On the way home, we also called in at a park in Lethbridge to see what birds (and plants) we could find. One of our highlights was seeing a Prairie Garter Snake - a new species, certainly for some of us, as we don't get these up in Calgary.

This pink blossom was taken at Reader Rock Garden more than a month ago.