Bee nesting box
Farm seed elevator, Ellis Bird Farm, Alberta
Hollyhock buds
Needed a change of colour
Red-edged petals
Ornamental Spurge / Euphorbia polychroma (Cushion…
Iris at Olds College Botanical Gardens and Wetland…
Yesterday's summer hail
Egyptian Walking Onion
Showy Milkweed / Asclepias speciosa
Ladybug larva on Showy Milkweed
Bold and beautiful
They can't see me
Old cabin on Gottlob Schmidt's (Schmitty's) land
Splash of colour on a rainy day
Memorial Rose for Carl Handfield
Loved by Monarch butterflies
Pine Siskin at Jackie's
Lovage / Levisticum officinale
A garden in the forest
The colours of fall
Juvenile White-throated Sparrow / Zonotrichia albi…
Autumn berries
Glorious colours of fall
Tenderness
Brightness on a cloudy day
Owl sculpture at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens
Larch in fall colour
As fall colours come to an end
Passion Flowers
Astilbe
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Sunflower going to seed
Purple Petunias
Always good for a splash of colour
Fall colours at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens
Bark colour after the rain
The Wall Garden - October is Breast Cancer Awarene…
Aging beauties
A big splash of colour
A splash of different colour
A colourful walk through the woods
The second owl
Snake's head fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris
Simplicity
Lest we forget
That sinking feeling
Ornamental Cabbage or Ornamental Kale?
Clematis after the rain
Half Moon Garden, Silver Springs
Raindrops
Narcissus
Colour for a snowy day
Oak leaf and insect gall
Showy Milkweed with bee
Seedpod of Datura sp.?
A bright splash of colour
Fall colour
The centre of a labyrinth
Long gone, but memories remain
Like floral flames for a deep-freeze day
A welcome splash of red
Beginning to burst
The purity of white
Flowers of spring
Is this a Pink?
Snake's head fritillary / Fritillaria meleagris
Red Baneberry
Much-needed colour
The joy of spring
Periwinkle / Vinca minor
Colour
Snake's Head Fritillary / Fritillaria meleagris
Hepatica
After the rain
One of my favourite spring garden flowers
Hellebore beauty
Elephant Ears / Bergenia cordifolia
Beauty of spring
Art of nature
Hoverfly on European Pasque Flower
Physoclaina orientalis
Physoclaina orientalis
Candy-striped Tulip
Pink Hellebore
Delicate Iris
Siberian Squill
Home tweet home
Hanging on to the old
Hepatica
Giant Scabius with purple bokeh
Spider on Strawflower
Beauty lasts
Pink Sundae / Salvia viridis
Floral beauty
Popular with the Aphids
From days gone by
Siberian Squill
A little corner of Reader Rock Garden
Datura flower?
Just a splash of colour
Another day closer
Springtime colour
Poppy art
Delicate colours of summer
Sweet little garden ornament
Dianthus sp.
Embracing the sun
Beware those icy fingers
European Pasque Flower / Pulsatilla vulgaris
Vibrant
Busy little bee
Persian Cornflower / Centaurea dealbata?
Painted Tongue / Salpiglosis
Remembering the warmth of summer
Shoo Fly / Nicandra physalodes
Get well, Rachel
The donkeys with reflector eyes
Another day closer to spring
Ice is nice
Long-billed ice bird
Lily macro
Himalayan Blue Poppy
Summer Iris display
Christmas colours in July
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
139 visits
A colourful little corner
We are having hot weather, which always knocks me out! Today, it is supposed to get up to 31C (to feel like 33C). My place is already feeling like an oven (no air-conditioning) after the last few hot days, and this is expected to continue for a few more days. Actually, there is a Heat Warning in effect.
Two days ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people yesterday, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors.
It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm, which was good to know.
The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+!
We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, shy, modest man he was.
""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.
The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.
After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website.
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/
After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like varous friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit.
Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html
Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails. This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there.
www.jjcollett.com/
Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was as hot as if freshly made!
Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Very successful and greatly enjoyed! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.
Two days ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people yesterday, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors.
It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm, which was good to know.
The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+!
We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, shy, modest man he was.
""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.
The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.
After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website.
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/
After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like varous friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit.
Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html
Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails. This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there.
www.jjcollett.com/
Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was as hot as if freshly made!
Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Very successful and greatly enjoyed! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2024
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Sign-in to write a comment.