Colours
Sunflower and visitors
Last days before the snow
Masterwort / Astrantia major
Gentians in a friend's garden
Kangaroo Apple flowers / Solanum aviculare (?)
Purity
Same kind of flower as yesterday's
Cosmos beauty
Artichoke flower with different bee species
Remembering summer colour
Welcome colour
End of the season
Goodbye fall, hello winter!
Lichens on nature trail at KOAC
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
Snow-capped berries
Dragonfly - Black Meadowhawk?
September flowers
At the Saskatoon Farm
Lest we forget
Spider walking on snow
Before "winter" arrived
Memories of colour
Aging Echinacea
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Snow-capped
The final stage of an Artichoke
In memory of my daughter
Pachystachys coccinea?
Purple Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright, Trinidad
The end of an Artichoke
Tropical flower, Trinidad - Begonia
Silky Scorpionweed / Phacelia sericea, Pocaterra C…
Asystasia gangetica, Trinidad
Dragonfly sp., Trinidad
Dragonfly at Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Dragonfly at Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
A scream from the Asa Wright verandah, Trinidad
Unidentified tree, Trinidad
Plant from the Whaleback
The beauty of Borage
Dreaming of spring and summer
Tropical plant, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Shoo-fly / Nicandra physalodes
Bear Grass, Waterton Lakes National Park
Sedge
Milk Thistle, I believe
Dragonfly, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Trillium
Pretty in pink
Beauty
Dryad's Saddle Fungus (?), Pt Pelee, Ontario
Dutchman's Breeches / Dicentra cucullaria, Pt Pele…
Trillium with a visitor, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Wolf Willow / Elaeagnus commutata
Yellow Lady's-slipper / Cypripedium parviflorum
Fungus (Dryad's Saddle?), Pt Pelee, Ontario
Horsetail strobilus
Blue Flax / Linum lewisii
Orange Peel Fungus, Peyto Lake
Blue Himalayan Poppy
Western Wood Lily
Rooster, Saskatoon Farm
Back view of an orange Sunflower
Looper Moth sp.
Origanum vulgare
Lasting beauty
Busy little bee
Back-lit Goat's-beard
Cabbage White on Creeping Thistle
Grass in bloom
Bees, bees and more bees
About to open
Bear Grass bud / Xerophyllum tenax
Bee on Sunflower
Checkered Skipper sp.?
Hosta flowers
Hanging on
When the last petal has fallen
Red Birds in a Tree plant
Painted Lady
Short-eared Owl
Showy Aster
Geranium sp.
Splash of colour
Painted Lady
Yesterday's main find : (
Ohio Buckeye or ?
Who can resist a Burrowing Owl?
A wild Sunflower from a gravel road
Little green hearts of White Camas
Day Lily
Star-flowered Solomon's Seal / Maianthemum stellat…
Bear Grass bud
Common Tansy / Tanacetum vulgare
Bear Grass with Crab Spider and prey
Nodding/Musk Thistle / Carduus nutans
Western Wood Lily
Greenish-flowered Wintergreen / Pyrola chlorantha
Ruby-throated Hummingbird female
Indian Paintbrush
Purple/Water Avens seedhead / Geum rivale
Hearts at the Rusty Bucket Ranch
Pinedrops
Orange False Dandelion / Agoseris aurantiaca
Pink Monkeyflower
Gaillardia
Yellow Prairie Coneflower / Ratibida columnifera
Thistle
Glacier Lily
Lilium martagon - the beauty of a Lily
Yellow Angelica / Angelica dawsonii
Bear Grass starting to open
Gaillardia
Red Baneberry, Waterton Lakes National Park
A splash of much-needed colour
Unidentified plant - Milkvetch?
Striped Coralroot / Corallorhiza striata
Indian Breadroot / Pediomelum esculentum
Meadow Goat's-beard / Tragopogon pratensis
Dandelion perfection
Wild and wonderful Lupines
One of many
Tall Lungwort
See also...
See more...Keywords
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214 visits
Memories of Waterton - Bear Grass
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL, everyone!
"Fire recycles nutrient stored in live and dead vegetation by converting it into mineral-rich ash. After a fire, pine cones pop open from fire’s heat, releasing their seeds. New growth sprouts from the roots of burned shrubs. Flowers bloom and grasslands are reborn. Animals forage in the lush new growth. Over time, fires create a patchwork of burned and unburned vegetation. This diverse mix of habitats is favoured by wildlife and supports many species." From Parks Canada website.
www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/waterton/securite-safety/feu-fir...
Mother Nature will renew our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park, though it will take a long time especially for the trees to grow again. It is such an enormous relief that structures like the historic Prince of Wales Hotel, the townsite itself, and the facilities at Cameron Lake and Red Rock Canyon were brilliantly saved by all those involved in fighting the fire. The Lodge and 3 of the 7 cabins at Canyon Church Camp were also saved. The words "Thank You" feel very inadequate!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 flowers in this photo were seen on 8 July 2017, our second day of three days in Waterton, along the Akamina Parkway. I spent this day with three different friends, going to Cameron Lake and then Red Rock Canyon. A great day, despite the awful heat.
Friend Darlene and I arrived in Waterton (from Calgary) on 7 July around 1:00 pm, stopped and had lunch and then went to see the Cameron Falls on the edge of town. The cold spray felt so good on such a hot day! Afterwards, we drove up the Akamina Parkway, to Cameron Lake, stopping along the road to photograph a few of the thousands of beautiful Bear Grass flowers. Many were growing along the edge of the road, but in places, you could look through the forest and see many more. We also stopped to look at the Penstemon plants, and I was delighted to see a small Orange False Dandelion plant in bloom. I've only ever seen about three of these plants before.
"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
A very quick stop at Cameron Lake itself and then we were on our way back down the Akamina Parkway so that we could go up the Red Rock Canyon Parkway, to visit the beautiful canyon. On the way there, we made a quick stop to check for a Lazuli Bunting. We were in luck, but I could only get very distant shots of this beautiful little bird.
By this time, we needed to get to the Canyon Church Camp, where we would be staying two nights. Supper was being served at 6:00 pm, but we could check in any time after 5:00 pm. After supper, most people went on a hike up to Crandell Lake, but I decided not to go, as I remembered what the trail was like. I did follow everyone for just a very short way but knew that I was not going to do the rest of the hike. Instead, I walked around the camp, finding a few flowers to photograph, and then I bumped into the camp manager and we got talking. I mentioned one of my favourite plants, Pinedrops, that I had seen last year on one of the paths that led out of the camp. The manager said he had already checked, but had only found last year's dead stems. He took me back to the location - and I spotted several new stems partly hidden in the long grasses. He was so happy to see that this plant was doing well, after all. He also took me on a short walk through the edge of the forest and down to the river. About 20 minutes after getting back to the camp buildings, a Black Bear wandered along the edge of the same trees that we had walked through to get to the river! Could only get a really poor photo that I probably won't post - or maybe I will, just for my own records. Shortly after this sighting, everyone else arrived back at the camp, and it was time to get to bed before all the lights were turned off.
"Fire recycles nutrient stored in live and dead vegetation by converting it into mineral-rich ash. After a fire, pine cones pop open from fire’s heat, releasing their seeds. New growth sprouts from the roots of burned shrubs. Flowers bloom and grasslands are reborn. Animals forage in the lush new growth. Over time, fires create a patchwork of burned and unburned vegetation. This diverse mix of habitats is favoured by wildlife and supports many species." From Parks Canada website.
www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/waterton/securite-safety/feu-fir...
Mother Nature will renew our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park, though it will take a long time especially for the trees to grow again. It is such an enormous relief that structures like the historic Prince of Wales Hotel, the townsite itself, and the facilities at Cameron Lake and Red Rock Canyon were brilliantly saved by all those involved in fighting the fire. The Lodge and 3 of the 7 cabins at Canyon Church Camp were also saved. The words "Thank You" feel very inadequate!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 flowers in this photo were seen on 8 July 2017, our second day of three days in Waterton, along the Akamina Parkway. I spent this day with three different friends, going to Cameron Lake and then Red Rock Canyon. A great day, despite the awful heat.
Friend Darlene and I arrived in Waterton (from Calgary) on 7 July around 1:00 pm, stopped and had lunch and then went to see the Cameron Falls on the edge of town. The cold spray felt so good on such a hot day! Afterwards, we drove up the Akamina Parkway, to Cameron Lake, stopping along the road to photograph a few of the thousands of beautiful Bear Grass flowers. Many were growing along the edge of the road, but in places, you could look through the forest and see many more. We also stopped to look at the Penstemon plants, and I was delighted to see a small Orange False Dandelion plant in bloom. I've only ever seen about three of these plants before.
"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
A very quick stop at Cameron Lake itself and then we were on our way back down the Akamina Parkway so that we could go up the Red Rock Canyon Parkway, to visit the beautiful canyon. On the way there, we made a quick stop to check for a Lazuli Bunting. We were in luck, but I could only get very distant shots of this beautiful little bird.
By this time, we needed to get to the Canyon Church Camp, where we would be staying two nights. Supper was being served at 6:00 pm, but we could check in any time after 5:00 pm. After supper, most people went on a hike up to Crandell Lake, but I decided not to go, as I remembered what the trail was like. I did follow everyone for just a very short way but knew that I was not going to do the rest of the hike. Instead, I walked around the camp, finding a few flowers to photograph, and then I bumped into the camp manager and we got talking. I mentioned one of my favourite plants, Pinedrops, that I had seen last year on one of the paths that led out of the camp. The manager said he had already checked, but had only found last year's dead stems. He took me back to the location - and I spotted several new stems partly hidden in the long grasses. He was so happy to see that this plant was doing well, after all. He also took me on a short walk through the edge of the forest and down to the river. About 20 minutes after getting back to the camp buildings, a Black Bear wandered along the edge of the same trees that we had walked through to get to the river! Could only get a really poor photo that I probably won't post - or maybe I will, just for my own records. Shortly after this sighting, everyone else arrived back at the camp, and it was time to get to bed before all the lights were turned off.
Schussentäler has particularly liked this photo
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