Elkton Bog

Totally misleading, as any macro or supermacro shot is! This beautiful Kalm's Lobelia flower (and others) was found when botanizing Elkton Bog, near Cremona, on 30th July. This was a new plant for us, so we were excited and happy : ) Unfortunately, my camera turned the blue into a pale purple! "Lobelia kalmii is a species of flowering plant with a distribution primarily across Canada and the northern United States in temperate and boreal regions. It was formerly known as Lobelia strictiflora (Rydb.) Lunell and has a variety of English names including Kalm's lobelia, Ontario lobelia and Brook lobelia. Lobelia kalmii is a small plant (10 - 40 cm) of wet environments such as bogs, wet meadows, and rocky shorelines, including wet alvars, where it grows in calcareous soil or cracks between limestone rocks. It has small (1 cm) blue flowers , with a white center and has thin upper leaves and spatulate basal leaves. It starts flowering in July, lasting into September." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_kalmii

.... as Engelbert Humperdinck sang in 1985 (but not my kind of music!). We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs at Elkton/Cremona Bog on July 30th last year, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him gently so that a few photos could be taken, to add to our botanizing day records. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : ) "Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... The following link goes to a short, fascinating video on YouTube, about how Wood Frogs freeze solid in the winter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjr3A_kfspM

This is a supermacro image of these tiny, red seedpods belonging to the Sticky False Asphodel wildflower. When they have turned bright red, they make a pretty splash of colour on a nature walk - if you happen to notice them, as they are very small (reddish-yellow, oval capsules, 5-6mm long). These seedpods were found while on a day of botanizing Elkton Bog, near Cremona, north west of Calgary on 30th July. www.mountainnature.com/plants/PlantsLatinNameResult.asp?I...

I think I have the correct ID for this plant. Photographed on a day's botanizing at Elkton Bog, north west of Calgary, on 30th July.

A small, uncommon Fringed Gentian, (macro) photographed at Elkton Bog, near Cremona (north west of Calgary) on 30th July last year.

I could spend hours macro photographing the tiny Sundew plant! Unfortunately, I only get to see it when we go to the Elkton Bog, north west of the city, near Cremona. We've been lucky enough to botanize the bog area once each of the last couple of years, so I'm really hoping that we get a chance to go again this summer. It's definitely a very wet experience, as you sink partly under water, lol! "The carnivorous sundew plant, botanical name Drosera, has about 130 species. All of the species of the sundew plant are beautiful and many look like fireworks, but they are deadly to the insects that fly near to them. One thing that all carnivorous sundew plants do have is the gel-like substance at the tips of the tentacles that cover the leaves. This gel is a sticky substance that the insects that fly too near the plant get stuck on. The plant can then eat it. The many species of the sundew plant can be found all around the world, on every single continent. This is unusual for a plant because most carnivorous plants are found only in one or two regions of the world because of the different climates that they must live in. The plant is called sundew because of the gel like substance on the tentacles. The gel makes the plants look as if they have morning dew on them all day long, especially when it glistens in the sun." From www.carnivorous--plants.com/sundew-plant.html A date has now been set for my brother's funeral - February 3rd. Amazing how many things have to be decided upon for a funeral. My life-long friend Linda in Birmingham, England, is still working hard to make this the best possible (simple) farewell to my brother. She sent me a second draft of what will be said at the Service and, to read it, one would think that the person who is going to lead the Service had known John for years (he's never met him). He and Linda have done such an amazing job of this. When I read it through the very first time, I kept gasping, as the words so perfectly described my brother. Beautifully written, way beyond any possible expectation. My close friends will read out some "Memories" from myself and each of my three kids. I don't know how they will be able to do this - I know I would never be able to do it myself - far too emotional! Does anyone have any suggestions about possibly audio-taping the service? I had a look on the Internet yesterday to see what kind of little gadgets there are, preferably digital, not tape. Not a very successful search, though, so I must take another look. Linda and I had both had this idea to record, which would be wonderful if we can think how to do it.

Not sure if this is simply a female Cherry-faced Meadowhawk or not. Not the best kind of photo for ID purposes, LOL. Seen on 30th July at the Elkton Bog, near Cremona, north west of Calgary. If you have a moment to spare, you can see the detail in the eyes in large size. Haven't looked at the Original size, as I never recommend that size taken with my camera : )

This was the first time I had ever seen this wildflower, Common Labrador Tea, so I was delighted to see a new species. We found it growing in a bog, north-west of Calgary, on 2nd July last year. The leaves of this plant can be used to make tea. Flowers June-July.

Another shot of one of the three little Wood Frogs we saw on a botanizing trip to Elkton Bog, north west of the city, near Cremona, on 30th July. I would never be able to hold one of these little froggies myself, but my ID capabilities when it comes to human hands fails me today. Sorry, I can't remember who the kind soul was who willingly held this cute little creature! The Wood Frogs we saw there that day were very dark coloured on their backs, unlike frogs we've seen elsewhere.