My photos - my favourites

The sun has finally come out, late afternoon, but it has been a cold day today, with an unpleasant cold wind (which has just started to pick up). Had a routine dental appointment this afternoon and when I got back home, I noticed that the first flower on my little Christmas Cactus had fully opened. Thought I'd make the most of it - after all, a day without using my camera is not my favourite kind of day, LOL! Hope it sends out lots of cheer : ) Rebecca (Red-Star) - this is to celebrate your successful, but bittersweet, house sale.

Hope that all of you who celebrate Christmas are enjoying all your preparations. Less than two weeks now, so you'd better get busy : ) On a long, cold morning's walk in the park yesterday, we came across a tree that had been decorated with coloured baubles and ornaments. Loved the blue of this bauble and the reflection of the park - couldn't figure a way to exclude myself, LOL, so there I am, wearing T-shirt, sweater, fleece jacket, my bulky winter jacket, hat, hood, long-johns, jeans, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks and of course, my winter boots (plus ice-grabbers)! And it was only -12C!!! It's snowing again today - the beautiful, light, fluffy kind where you can see all the individual snowflakes. Light is so poor, so no use to try and take photos. Thank you to the person who spent time adding a little colour to the white landscape: ) I hope the birds enjoy it as much as I did.

HAPPY WINTER, EVERYONE!!! Trust me, this image took a lot of patience and time, lol!! I had managed to get a very quick shot (posted recently) of a different butterfly on this beautiful Sacred Lotus seedpod, but didn't particularly like the result. I was so lucky that this beauty landed very nicely and gave me the shot I had waited and hoped for : ) I think I am right in saying this is a Banded Orange ( Dryadula phaetusa). Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on September 30th. "The pods/seed heads contain the Lotus seeds within little circular chambers on the flat surface of the top of the pod. These circles appeared to cradle the seeds, which are round, within the pod until fully ripe. Both the chamber of each seed and the seed itself got larger and larger until the pod bent over to finally release the seeds into the water." www.flowersociety.org/lotus-plant-study.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryadula_phaetusa

The actual quality of this photo is far from good, taken in really low light, but I still like it : ) I think this little fungus was something like 1" diameter. Found on 12th August in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis, west of the city. Thanks, Sandy! Just a reminder of the tiny miracles of nature's beauty! What we can find if we don't just "look", but really "see".

Having problems uploading my photos this morning! A few days ago, I posted a photo of this gorgeous Globe Artichoke, in landscape format. I found it so hard to decide what shape to post it in, as cropping to a square would have meant cutting off a lot of the glorious bokeh background. So, today, I'm posting another shot taken the same day, but making it square, for a closer look. Also took a number of photos with the grass behind it, creating a plain green background. However, a plain background really looks very boring compared to this colourful richness.

The three Red Pandas at the Calgary Zoo are constantly on the run, and getting a decent photo is usually just a matter of luck, LOL! Hard to believe this was taken outdoors. I know I've cut off the ear to get it into a square crop : ) Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, everyone! "The Red Panda, also called the Firefox, Fire Cat, Lesser Panda, or Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat"), is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat (40 - 60 cm long, 3 - 6 kg weight). The Red Panda is endemic to the Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, Pakistan, India, Laos, Nepal, and Burma. There is an estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Their population continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation... Red Pandas are classified as Vulnerable. .... In southwest China the Red Panda is hunted for its fur and especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In the areas of China where the Red Panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies and in weddings the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. The 'good-luck charm' hats are used by Chinese newlyweds." From Wikipedia.

I've kind of been saving this image for "something" special, but I wasn't sure what. Then I thought this vivid, red Sunflower might be a bright and cheery way to wish all my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday. Decided to post it a little bit early, in case some of you are so busy either travelling or preparing things ahead of time for your delicious turkey dinner, that you won't have time to check in to Flickr closer to the time. Have a happy, thankful and safe time - and my special thoughts are with those of you who are unable to be with family or friends on Thanksgiving. I know I am thankful to know all you great American Flickr friends : ) Stay safe. (Note to self because I have such a lousy memory: in Explore #72, but Scout didn't pick it up).

I am so utterly exhausted this morning after an amazing evening of watching licensed bird banders band some of the owls I know, and then having to drive home in the worst rain storm I have ever experienced! This morning, I am in agony every inch of my upper body from gripping the steering wheel so hard for so long. Phil and Rob, so glad you were both able to come along, too. However, no thanks are passed your way for missing the turn to the only paved road going south, resulting in a nightmare drive north of Calgary and then all the way home on the dreaded Deerfoot Trail!!! You couldn't see the road or vehicles - all you could see was a faint red blur from the rear lights of the car in front of you. It was very windy, too, which didn't help, and we were surrounded by a lightning storm. Must go online and read various newspaper reports of the storm, ha. This is Richard, the main licensed bird bander who came down to Calgary from near Edmonton yesterday evening. He had so generously invited me to join him and several other banders while they banded a Northern Hawk Owlet and 1 adult Great Gray Owl (male) and three of his four adorable Owlets. This is one of the the latter, looking quite curiously at Richard : ) Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy yesterday evening (very unusual) and the rain drizzled the whole time. My camera lens was permanently fogged up, and I couldn't take many photos, and I wasn't expecting any of them to turn out at all. Fortunately, a few did, including this one of Richard, which I love. Just look at those owlet legs, one of which is now sporting a little bit of "bling". Not sure if this little Owlet is the same one as I posted yesterday or one of its siblings, when, with permission, I photographed the owlets - looking nice and dry. I even got the chance to hold some of the owls, which was just amazing. There's nothing like holding a warm little body just a few inches away and having the owl(et) turn and stare at you, ha. Absolutely priceless. Richard, thank you SO much for such a wonderful evening - one I will think of often and will never forget! You obviously love what you are doing : ) And there is worse weather on its way?? www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Tornadoes+spotted+stor...

I was standing maybe six feet away from this beautiful Snowy Owl (female or juvenile) in the Canadian Wilds area of the Calgary Zoo. It was sitting near the edge of a bank about five feet high, near the edge of the path through the aviary. At first, a slight hiss came from that partly open beak - obviously a little warning to not invade its territory. Then the owl became used to my presence. I took a pile of photos with my new Panasonic FZ18 camera, too, but found that when I use flash with it, images come out darker than with my Canon S3 IS. Consequently, the eyes were barely yellow from the FZ18, which I didn't like, so I'm posting a photo from my Canon.