My photos - my favourites

I am in love with these tiny flowers! I had heard the name "Hoya" for many years, but had no idea of the miniature beauty to be found behind that name. A cluster of these tiny, tropical flowers forms a ball shape at the end of a very long vine stem. I think the contrast between the "fleece" star and the shiny, "pearl" centre is totally exquisite. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoya I got soaked almost to the skin on a walk at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park, yesterday morning, and came home with just one photo worth keeping (of a Common Raven feeding two young in the nest, built high up on a railway bridge). It's raining again this morning so, even though I got up early for another walk, I changed my mind : ) Hmmm ... Flickr hiccups.

I was trying to "improve" a couple of my photos of this little Long-eared Owl last night for someone who had kindly asked permission to use one of them. I happened to notice that I had uploaded the photo above to a different website (talkabout wildlife) and that I preferred this one over the photo I had posted on Flickr three years ago. Didn't want to simply "replace", so bear with me for posting this second shot. Phil, I picture you half way out your door if you just happened to see this image begin to upload, LOL!!! Sorry for the disappointment : )

There is just something about Owls and the way they capture your heart : ) You want to encourage them and protect them at the same time. A few of us were treated to this beautiful sight, and more, when both Great Horned Owlets flapped, clawed and climbed their way to the top edge of their nesting cavity. As if that wasn't enough, we even watched as Mom flew to where they were and fed them a Northern Flicker for supper - oops, looks like it was maybe a Blue-winged Teal after all. We had kind of wished that it was a Starling instead, but everything has to eat : ) Took lots of photos, so hope you don't get bored to death. I do try and space them out to give you a break from owls, owls and more owls. The light was not good and unfortunately, my camera doesn't sem to like being pointed up towards the sky, but I am just thankful for any photo that comes out sufficently well. On top of seeing the owls, it was so good to bump into a few friends, too : )

This is where I spent yesterday with a small group of friends, doing the May Species Count for the Whaleback. This location is about 171 km south of Calgary, down towards Pincher Creek. I'm adding photos taken yesterday to a Set of photos that, up till today, contained images taken on the Small Whaleback on 10 July 2011. Yesterday, we covered the southern end of the Whaleback. As you can see from today's image, the whole area is made up of endless hills, with the Rocky Mountains quite close in this very southern part of Alberta. It rained or drizzled all day, so I had to battle water spots in the camera lens as well as low light and wind. Many of my photos are not really as sharp as I would have liked, but I am so glad that I went. The Balsamroot, which we don't get further north, closer to Calgary, was just beautiful. A closer look at these plants revealed all the damage done to their leaves - we saw a couple of tiny, green, hairy caterpillars in the centre of one flower, but I'm not sure if these were two of the culprits. It was a good day, great company, a few interesting finds and glorious scenery to thoroughly enjoy. Andrew, I hope your back isn't too painful today - such a great pity that you had to miss out on just about everything. Thanks so much, Sandy, for the drive there and back - much appreciated, as always. Ha, today, the sun is shining and the sky is blue : ) Must stay home, though, and get myself organized, as I have two very long day trips coming up in the next three days. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday, I was out on a full-day bus trip to the Red Deer Wetlands Area, NW of Calgary. I think it was about an hour and a half's drive to get there. This was an annual outing arranged through the nature group that I belong to, and each year is to a different place. The Red Deer Wetlands Area is made up of Slack Slough (our first stop, and where I photographed this little male House Sparrow), the McKenzie Trails area (our second stop) and lastly the Kerry Woods Nature Center and Gaetz Lake Sanctuary, where we spent the last two hours of the day. The latter was such a beautiful area, wonderfully laid out, with several viewing decks around the lake. Some of us chose to walk the whole way round the huge lake (further than I had expected, lol!). A couple of Moose certainly made it more than worth the effort. We were so lucky that the rain stayed away until just the last few minutes of our walk, and then the heavens opened. The forecast had been for thunder showers morning and afternoon, but it just remained overcast till the last moment - hence a lot of photos that came out blurry, ha. A great trip, well-organized - thanks so much for all your hard work, Lynne! - and it was so good to see various friends that I hadn't seen for ages, as well as those whom I see often. It's raining here this morning, but I really, really hope that the forecast for tomorrow turns out to be accurate, as three of us are heading north to Edmonton (roughly a three-hour drive) for an exciting day!

I was so thrilled to see this rare fungus (Hydnellum peckii) again, when friend Sandy and I went along the Icefields Parkway to Peyto Lake (and a little further, to Mistaya Canton), on 29 August 2013. I had seen it maybe three or so times before, but it is such a treat to see. So unusual and beautiful. There were several of these all together - and nearby was a blue species, complete with a few blueish-white droplets. While we were looking at them and I was taking photos, a young guy stopped to see what we were looking at. He, too, took photos. A short while later, we bumped into him at the Peyto Lake lookout and he showed us his hands and fingers that had turned orange. I wondered if he had actually touched the fungus. On our walk back through the forest to the parking lot, I stopped to take a few more photos of them, resting my hands on the ground. Sure enough, I ended up with orange hands, too. Would this be from spores? This specimen may have been something like an inch in length, and has "teeth", not gills underneath, which unfortunately you can't see. "Hydnellum peckii is an inedible fungus, and a member of the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses. The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" a bright red juice that contains a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth. Although Hydnellum peckii fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and nondescript when they age." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9643944809

I had the wonderful chance to return to the mountains again today, with friend Sandy, to see what we could find that was new that could be added to various lists, including Alberta-wide records. A tremendously time-consuming thing, but we are also able to enjoy the spectacular scenery and all species of flora and fauna at the same time : ) We set off early this morning and drove westwards, out past Banff, Lake Louise, Bow Lake and Peyto Lake and a little further. It was great to call in at Bow Lake again and, of course, the lighting was completely different. Really, no reflections in the lakes, though I did seize the opportunity to position myself in a good place (by a big puddle, ha!) to photograph this young couple visiting from Austria. They had asked if one of us would take a photo of them together, and I left this to Sandy, as I can't use a camera without a viewfinder : ) I asked them if I could take a shot with my own camera - if anyone on ipernity or Flickr happens to recognize them, please feel free to pass on this photo to them. Normally, I never post photos of people (or take them) and I wasn't sure whether to post this shot or a similar one without the couple. Any opinions?? Must admit I kind of love their reflections. Got home around 10:00 p.m., tired out, but so "renewed" and happy! We even saw two rare fungi - I had seen both before, but what a treat! It was strange to notice small, broken branches when I was driving along my street, and I could see that there must have been some strong winds blowing in the city, at least in my area. When I turned on my computer, I found two photos on Flickr from a friend, showing that an enormous tree had fallen and crashed right down on top of his truck! Such a great shame - and he and his wife were all packed up ready to go camping for this long weekend : (

I love photographing these gorgeous Globe Thistles at any stage. This one was growing at the Reader Rock Garden on 14 August 2013. In Calgary, we have seen them growing wild at one of the natural areas (can't think of the name of the place, as it's not a place we normally go to). Not sure, but I believe this is Echinops ritro. Yesterday, 24 August 2013, four of us went west of Calgary, to the West Bragg Creek area, in Kananaskis, for a fungus foray. We managed to find a few interesting and photogenic mushrooms. With so many places either still closed or totally devastated, outings and walks since the Alberta Flood of the Century in June have had to be cancelled. Our outing yesterday was doubly delightful, after we've been so limited the last couple of months. Thanks for leading us, Karel! After this walk, I was so close to the Elbow Falls Trail (highway 66), that, on the spur of the moment, I turned right instead of left and headed off in the direction of Forgetmenot Pond. This mountainous road is the only one I will drive, so it always feels good to get out there. The other week, I had tried, but the road was closed, due to flood damage, past Maclean Pond. Yesterday, the road was open, but there was a long wait at a temporary traffic light just past Maclean Pond, where the bridge was still standing, but the embankments had been totally washed away. What destruction! Also called in at Allen Bill Pond - now just a heap of gravel with a few water channels through it. Totally destroyed. I think half of Calgary must have had the same idea as I had, as everywhere was packed. So many cars at Elbow Falls that I decided not to bother. Forgetmenot Pond was extremely busy, too, so it was impossible to get photos without people in them. Some of the path around the lake had been washed out and a lot of the area of trees and plants near the pond were now covered in a layer of silt. The area was still looking beautiful, though, and safe to visit. I only get out there maybe twice a year, and normally I would never go on a Saturday or Sunday. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9592076266

tThe fact that this image came out OK amazed me, as it was taken on a heavily overcast, snowy morning with low visibility (26 April 2014). My camera kept focusing on the snowflakes, but I'm glad that at least one of the photos worked. We certainly had a mix of weather last weekend. On the day this photo was taken, a few of us had gathered to go on a birding drive south of the city, but weren't sure whether to cancel the trip. We drove to the edge of the city to check out a huge pond, but it was decided that the visibility was just not going to be good enough, so the trip was postponed. Two of us did drive some of the backroads just south of the city and the snow did stop for a while, but the light was not good. I really appreciated the drive, though, as we went on a few roads that I don't drive, but now will feel confident to do so. Thanks so much, Terry! We had a few nice sightings, including a Moose, a Snow Goose (possibly a Ross's Goose) that I didn't see, and a distant flock of about 60 Mountain Bluebirds which was a real treat. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds are now back, joining the Red-winged Blackbirds that I believe arrived first. Feels so good to have them back again! www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_Blackbird The weather forecast for the next five days is mixed precipitation, light snow or snow-rain showers. Not quite the way one wants to welcome the month of May, but we can't complain. Compared to all those people who are suffering and continue to suffer the loss of loved ones and loss of homes and businesses, thanks to air or sea tragedies and the tremendous nightmare from tornado damage, we here in Alberta are very fortunate. My thoughts go out to all those who are going through such terrible times. If I suddenly disappear off Flickr, it will be because of anti-virus software problems that surfaced this morning. No part of McAfee worked - anything I clicked on did nothing. There was no McAfee to be seen! When I bought my computer, it already had this anti-virus software installed on it. I have to remove it so that I can install Norton (that I've always used before). Just hope I manage to remove all the bits and pieces from the present one, or the new one won't work. Later: dashed out immediately to buy the software I normally use, and thank goodness, it seems to have installed successfully. Relief! Which was short-lived, as I find that now my printer won't work after installing Norton Anti-virus. Aren't computers fun?