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With a weather forecast of rain and snow for the next two or three days, there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to on Saturday, 6 September 2014. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. Yesterday's visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees and various tiny mushrooms growing in the moss, including the small, white ones above. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. They are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a Mink that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was very recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of quick shots. There were various things blocking part of my view, which is why I got pale or discoloured patches in the lower half of the image (posted yesterday). On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and two fawns. Apparently, she had three young ones, so we were wondering if something had happened to one of them. Maybe a Coyote? This morning, 8 September 2014, the temperature is 3°C (37°F) and apparently feels like -1°C (28°F). Mixed precipitation today and the next two days, and then things are supposed to improve! I got up very early to go on a bird walk, but when I saw the overcast sky and large puddles outside, I changed my mind. Will go later in the week, when the sun should be shining.

NOOOO! IT'S SNOWING (1:15 p.m., 8 September 2014)!!!! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas .... Not good news at all for all the different species of Warbler that are passing through at the moment. Maybe a high mortality rate? Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, called in at the unique Prince of Wales Hotel so that I could take a few shots of it and the incredible view over the lake that is lined on either side with layers of "blue" mountain slopes and peaks. Strong winds were blowing, making it difficult to keep ones balance. Earlier that day, 27 August 2014, I took this photo showing how beautiful the hotel looks from a distance. "Built in 1926-27 during one of Waterton’s windiest and snowiest winters, the Prince of Wales Hotel is the park's most recognized landmark. During its construction the extreme weather conditions and poor access created many problems for contractors Douglas Oland and James Scott, from Cardston, Alberta. On December 10 1926 hurricane-force winds (estimated at 145 km/hr) blew each of the hotel's wings about 7.5 cm off their foundation. The men managed to winch the sections back in line. Three months later winds reached speeds of over 129 km/hr, again pushing the building off its foundation. This time Oland feared structural damage if they tried to pull back the now fully-framed building so he decided to leave it slightly out of plume. The hotel is named after Edward, Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VIII, and, like its namesake, it has a colourful history. If its Douglas fir pillars could talk they would tell you a tale of American imagination and money, built with Canadian grit and patience. Today, many people recognize the Prince of Wales as a railway hotel, but few realize it was built by the Great Northern of United States ... and not the Canadian Pacific. In February 1993 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board approved the Prince of Wales' designation as a National Historic Site, recognizing its architectural style (rustic design tradition, with peaked roofs, gables, balconies and timber-frame interior that give it an appearance of a giant alpine chalet) and its contribution to tourism in the mountains. On July 23 1995 a commemorative plaque ceremony was held at the hotel." From Parks Canada. www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul4.aspx This morning, 8 September 2014, the temperature is 3°C (37°F) and apparently feels like -1°C (28°F). Mixed precipitation today and the next two days, and then things are supposed to improve! I got up very early to go on a bird walk, but when I saw the overcast sky and large puddles outside, I changed my mind. Will go later in the week, when the sun should be shining.

This delicate Harebell, complete with two tiny visitors, is one of the few wildflower photos that I got round to taking this summer. It was taken on 20 July 2014, the day that I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before - to Bow Valley Provincial Park, at the foot of the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. I had been that route to the park once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre.

This is definitely not what most people wanted to see yesterday, 8 September 2014! An early snowfall that left something like 5" of snow. I was so relieved that I didn't have to go anywhere, as I would imagine the roads were not good. We must have had something like 4 months without snow this year, that's all! Took this quick shot looking through one of my windows at home. Calgary is under a Snowfall Warning and the following alert for today/tonight is from the Weather Network: "Snowfall, with total amounts of 10 to 15 cm is expected. Another round of snow is expected to develop over southwestern Alberta tonight as an upper disturbance moves in from British Columbia. Accumulations of 10 to 15 centimetres of snow are expected with the system, although local amounts over 20 centimetres are possible over higher terrain. The snowfall will taper off Wednesday afternoon as the system moves south out of the province." By the way, the small tree in the foreground is one of about six that have appeared from nowhere in my garden. Can anyone tell from the leaves what species of tree this is? They all need to be removed - can't believe how fast they grow! Later: the estimate given on the News this evening is that about 5,000 trees in the city have been damaged (some badly, of course). The main cause is that all the trees still have all their leaves, so the snow couldn't fall between the branches. There were power outages in parts of the city - I've been lucky, so far. Will probably get 5-10 cm of further snow tonight, so the roads will be really bad tomorrow. I have a volunteer shift, so have no choice but to go part way across the city. Fortunately, a lot of this first snowfall has now fallen off the trees, so tonight's snow will not be added to the first snow. Chris, from Friends of Fish Creek Park, added in an e-mail to me today that on the News, they said that "the last time we had snow like this on this date was 1921." Interesting! Temperature today has been 2C - far from summer warmth!!

This photo was taken at 6:48 a.m. on 28 August 2014, the last morning of a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park with friends, Cathy and Terry. We were up and ready to leave very early, as we wanted to do a long drive eastwards before driving all the way back to Calgary. It's roughly a three-hour drive directly from Waterton to Calgary. Before leaving the park, we took a short drive along one of the roads, from where we caught the end of the sunrise. The mountains and clouds looked so beautiful, bathed in pink. You can see the road leading back to Waterton village towards the bottom of the photo. Little did we know that this was such a different sight from the one we were to encounter late in the afternoon, when we saw a menacing cloud approaching and bringing with it a mesocyclone! We were soon engulfed by it when it came down to ground level, bringing pounding hail and tremendously strong winds.

Judging by the wispy feathers, this looks like it was the young bird that was on the tree right by Mom or Dad. It's not the best quality, but it's difficult to get decent shots deep in the forest and of birds that don't stay still for a second and keep travelling further and further up the tall trees. These Three-toed Woodpeckers are rare here, so I sometimes hang on to photos that are far from good. The weather forecast was promising rain and mixed precipitation for 7 and 8 September 2014, and there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to before the bad weather arrived. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. This last visit was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch this adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. You can tell this tree has been used by the Three-toed Woodpeckers, as much of the bark has been stripped, leaving the orange/brown wood below. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. These are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past. birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=226 www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke... On that day, little did any of us know that we were in for a major, late summer, snowstorm! Yesterday and today, 9 and 10 September (today), we've had heavy, wet snow that is causing tremendous damage to so many trees in the city. Yesterday, it was said that 5,000 trees had been damaged, and today, conditions are far, far worse. And the snow keeps falling ....

My power went off for about two seconds, thanks to the dreadful late summer snowstorm that we are having. Just long enough to lose the description that I had almost finished here, ha. This time, I think I will save it a bit at a time. This photo was taken on the second day of a three-day trip I was lucky enough to go on with friends, Cathy and Terry. The first two days, 26 and 27 August 2014, were spent in Waterton Lakes National Park. Within the park, there are four different drives one can do. They are the short Bison Paddock Loop, Red Rock Parkway, Chief Mountain HIghway, and Akamina Parkway. The last one leads to Cameron Lake, where I took this photo. Our third day was spent driving eastwards across part of southern Alberta and then doing the long drive back to Calgary. An incredible three days!

Today, 10 September 2014, I am doing what Marmots like to do - stay in their burrow. The late summer SNOWSTORM continues today and is doing tremendous damage to all the trees in the city. Yesterday, they said that 5,000 trees in the city had been damaged, and today is far, far worse. I have a short length of hedge that grows against a fence. Yesterday, the hedge was overgrown by about three feet above the top of the fence. When I peered through my blinds when I got up, my hedge had almost disappeared, bent down so that it's now about three feet lower than the fence. I so hope it stays like that once the snow has melted, but most likely not! I suspect there are going to be quite a few people without power today, like yesterday. The little guy/gal in this photo was the cutest thing. It's a young Yellow-bellied Marmot that was peering out of a hole by some metal pipes. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had been watching these animals for some time, through the car windows. Eventually, we got out and took a slow walk down the road and back. Almost back at the car, I noticed that this youngster was still half way out and when I approached a little way, very slowly, he was quite curious and stayed right where he was. Young Marmots are born in May and we saw this one on 28 August 2014. The Yellow-bellied Marmot is classified as Secure in the current General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. "Yellow-bellied marmots usually weigh from 1.6 to 5.2 kilograms (3.5 to 11.5 lb) when fully grown, though males typically weigh more than females. Adult males typically weigh between 3 to 5 kilograms (6.6 to 11.0 lb); females typically weigh between 1.6 to 4 kilograms (3.5 to 8.8 lb). They get fatter in the autumn just before hibernating. Their territory is about 4 to 7 acres (2 to 3 ha) around a number of summer burrows. Marmots choose to dig burrows under rocks because predators are less likely to see their burrow. Predators include wolves, foxes, coyotes, dogs and eagles. Yellow-bellied marmots spend about 80% of their life in their burrow, 60% of which is spent hibernating. They often spend mid-day and night in a burrow as well. These burrows are usually constructed on a slope, such as a hill, mountain, or cliff. The hibernation burrows can be up to 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 ft) deep, but the burrows constructed for daily use are usually only 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. Their hibernation period varies on elevation, but it is typically from September to May. Yellow-bellied marmots are diurnal. The marmot is also an omnivore, eating grass, grains, leaves, flowers, legumes, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_marmot During three days away (26, 27 and 28 August 2014) with these friends, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton, where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the endangered Burrowing Owls (way east of Waterton, on our last day), a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon in the park. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before - a mesocyclone, apparently.

A quick, distant shot before this juvenile Pied-billed Grebe swam behind some bushes and trees at Carburn Park, on 2 September 2014. "Part bird, part submarine, the Pied-billed Grebe is common across much of North America. These small brown birds have unusually thick bills that turn silver and black in summer. These expert divers inhabit sluggish rivers, freshwater marshes, lakes, and estuaries. They use their chunky bills to kill and eat large crustaceans along with a great variety of fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Rarely seen in flight and often hidden amid vegetation, Pied-billed Grebes announce their presence with loud, far-reaching calls." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pied-billed_grebe/id "Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, thick-billed grebe, and water witch." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied-billed_grebe