Our Naturalist's garden and neighbourhood, 11 September 2018

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight. "Members of the yew family and the closely related Cephalotaxaceae have the most highly modified cones of any conifer. There is only one scale in the female cone, with a single poisonous ovule. The scale develops into a soft, brightly coloured sweet, juicy, berry-like aril which partly encloses the deadly seed. The seed alone is poisonous. The whole 'berry' with the seed is eaten by birds, which digest the sugar-rich scale and pass the hard seed undamaged in their droppings, so dispersing the seed far from the parent plant." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight.

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight.

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight. This painted cow, now residing in someone's front garden in Calgary, dates back to the year 2000. The story behind this and many other cows is given in the Avenue magazine article below. "If you’ve ever noticed large, strangely decorated cows that seem to dot the city and wondered, “what’s up with that?” wonder no more. The story goes back to the year 2000. A group of charity-minded individuals, led by artist and businesswoman Bonnie Laycock, thought Cowtown was lacking in cows, and so the Udderly Art: Colourful Cows for Calgary project was born. Taking inspiration from similar CowParade projects staged in Chicago and Zurich, the volunteer driven, not-for-profit project began creating large cow statue canvasses to be decorated by local artists and strewn about the city for a six month period, with its stated goals being to: - Generate artistic creativity and showcases for Alberta artists, - Bring smiles and chuckles to the faces of children and adults, Calgarians and visitors alike, and - Raise funds for many charities. The molded fiberglass cows were originally white, clocking in at 54 inches tall from head to hoof; 84 inches long from nose to tail; and weighing 90 pounds. (Though that number shot up to 900 once the concrete bases were added). Individuals and companies who initially purchased the cows for $5,000 each chose which artist would work on their bovines and, starting May 15, 1999 the cows were on display everywhere in the city from the airport to the zoo." www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/The-Story-of-Calgarys-Cow...

The five photos posted this morning were all taken yesterday, 11 September 2018. Our botany season has come to an end and so our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. Mixed precipitation tonight. I always enjoy seeing Globe Thistles, though the Reader Rock Garden is where I usually see them. These tall plants are popular with bees and butterflies. This species beongs to the Sunflower family, Asteraceae. "The plants are native to Asia and Europe and the name means hedgehog in Greek, which is appropriately referencing the prickly blooms."

Our botany season has come to an end and so, on 11 September 2018, our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and for a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. I love this twisted tree in the front part of his garden. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. We were luckier than those who live further north in Alberta, such as Edmonton and Grand Prairie, as we have not had snow in Calgary yet, at least not in my part of the city. At 1:00 am this morning, the temperature was -1C (windchill -6C)! We seem to have gone from summer straight into 'winter'.

Our botany season has come to an end and so, on 11 September 2018, our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and for a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it. We were luckier than those who live further north in Alberta, such as Edmonton and Grand Prairie, as we have not had snow in Calgary yet, at least not in my part of the city. At 1:00 am this morning, the temperature was -1C (windchill -6C)! We seem to have gone from summer straight into 'winter'.

So, what happened to autumn??? We seem to have jumped straight from summer to winter! Yesterday evening, 13 September 2018, I was out at a meeting with friends and, when it was over and we looked outside, all the cars were covered in SNOW! Our temperatures have been winter-like recently, too. This morning at 10:30 am, it is only -2C (windchill -5C) and is forecast to soar to a balmy 7C with rain later today. Really hope things change and fall does eventually arrive. Our botany season has come to an end and so, on 11 September 2018, our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and for a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. This attractive bush caught our eye, with its gorgeous colour. "A sprawling, somewhat upright shrub with fine textured leaves that may turn reddish purple in fall; main attribute is showy pink capsules and bright red fall colour; will benefit from a frequent pruning to keep it in control. Turkistan Burning Bush has bluish-green foliage throughout the season. The narrow leaves turn an outstanding brick red in the fall. The flowers are not ornamentally significant. It produces pink capsules from late summer to mid fall." From the link below. search.millcreeknursery.ca/11050005/Plant/145/Turkistan_B... Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it.

So, what happened to autumn??? We seem to have jumped straight from summer to winter! Yesterday evening, 13 September 2018, I was out at a meeting with friends and, when it was over and we looked outside, all the cars were covered in SNOW! Our temperatures have been winter-like recently, too. This morning at 10:30 am, it is only -2C (windchill -5C) and is forecast to soar to a balmy 7C with rain later today. Really hope things change and fall does eventually arrive. Our botany season has come to an end and so, on 11 September 2018, our main Naturalist had a group of us visit his amazing garden and for a walk to look at wild and garden plants in his neighbourhood. This attractive vine with small leaves caught my eye. Not the greatest weather, but at least the rain kept away. I think rain is in the forecast for the next week, which is a pity, as the fall leaves will all be on the ground before we know it.