Mountain Ash berries

For a splash of colour! Also to remind me of yesterday's botany walk in North Glenmore Park, in Calgary. I took very few photos as the park has changed dramatically. Lots of road construction going on, and so many of the trees and shrubs along the long trail near the houses were dead. It looked like they had all been sprayed to kill them. Everywhere was a total mess, and we wish we knew why.

When I see a Mountain Ash tree covered in bright red berries, I can't resist taking a quick photo. The following interesting article is by Myrna Pearman, of the Ellis Bird Farm in Alberta. She is a very knowledgeable person, great photographer, and has published several beautiful books.

"Although bohemian waxwings are the birds most often see gobbling mountain-ash berries in the winter, many other species will also dine on them. I have seen pine grosbeaks (shown here) and house finches feast on the berries, and a quick reference search indicates that many other species will as well: cedar waxwing, ruffed grouse, common grackle, European starling, American robin, northern flicker, Townsend’s solitaire, purple finch, yellow-rumped warbler, hermit thrush, evening grosbeak.. The seeds are indigestible, so birds are responsible for “planting” mountain-ash trees far and wide." From link below.

www.reddeeradvocate.com/community/birds-etc-mountain-ash-...

When we reached our usual furthest point of this walk, we discovered that a round bed of garden flowers and a second bed further away were both overgrown and full of dead plants. It used to be my favourite part of this walk. One of the house owners had created this display, so maybe it became just too much to maintain. I feel very grateful for the pleasure it gave over several years.

Adding a bit of information on the wildfires in British Columbia:

"British Columbia spent more than $568 million on firefighting efforts last year (2017), and while the figures for 2018 are still coming together, the bill is estimated to be higher than $300 million.

Since April 1, humans have been responsible for starting more than 420 of about 1,950 wildfires in British Columbia, although the B.C. Wildfire Service said it's too early to be more specific about the causes since many are still under investigation. On average, the Wildfire Service says 40 per cent of fires over the past 10 years, or 666 per year, have been caused by humans. This season has seen an unusual amount of lightning activity, which has skewed that ratio."

www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/b-c-wildfires-interactive-...

At the moment, Waterton Lakes National Park is safe from the wildfires just south of the Canada/US border. I think I'm right in saying that the evacuation alert has been lifted (for now, at least).