In order of Interestingness, Flickr

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...

This little family of Goldeneye were swimming at Forgetmenot Pond this afternoon. This is in the mountainous area before you reach the Rocky Mountains proper. I drove there this afternoon and spent about six hours in 31C temperature. More pleasant than the 30C inside my place!

This beautiful Great Gray Owl was busy hunting, but every once in a while would give a quick glance in my direction. Seen NW of Calgary, on 28 March 2013. (No cropping, but 48x zoom.)

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.

After a somewhat chilly two and a half hour walk in a local park this morning, I came home and knew I just had to go food shopping before the bitter weather rolls in for the next few days. The first snowflakes began to fall by the end of the walk and shortly afterwards, the heavy, blowing snow started. I glanced through a front window to see how much snow I was going to have to clear off my car and was delighted to see two of these Jack Rabbits hopping around outside my place. I dashed to get my camera and managed to get three or four quick shots. Not sure what the forecast now says for the weekend, but it was something like -27C (and around -40C with wind chill!). No nature walks for me - and my camera wouldn't like it, either : )

I seem to have been really lucky with Mountain Bluebirds the last couple of weeks, though the lighting hasn't always been the best. I never get tired of seeing these gorgeous blue birds. The male is spectacular, but the female with her more grey colouring, has her own beauty, too. Taken on 14 May 2013, along a backroad SW of Calgary. In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

This Ostrich at the Calgary Zoo looks rather like s/he got up on the wrong side of the bed - though I guess, in reality, that is what Ostriches always look like, ha. Taken on17 October 2009, and found while trying to save a few more of my old photos this week. I really need to make a lot more space on my hard drive before spring arrives and along with it, all the upcoming botanizing photos. This is getting done ridiculously slowly. "The ostrich shares the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, emus, rheas, and cassowaries. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs, and can run at up to about 70 km/h (43 mph),[3] the fastest land speed of any bird.[4] The ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest eggs of any living bird (extinct elephant birds of Madagascar and the giant moa of New Zealand laid larger eggs). The ostrich's diet consists mainly of plant matter, though it also eats invertebrates. It lives in nomadic groups of 5 to 50 birds. When threatened, the ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or run away. If cornered, it can attack with a kick of its powerful legs. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females. The ostrich is farmed around the world, particularly for its feathers, which are decorative and are also used as feather dusters. Its skin is used for leather products and its meat is marketed commercially." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich Funny to even think about wildflowers and insects, as we are having a winter storm today, with heavy, blowing snow! Visibility is really bad, but the temperature is only -3C. Drive carefully if you HAVE to go out, everyone - me, I'm staying home : )

Just managed to get a couple of quick shots of this beautiful, endangered Snow Leopard in between metal bars, which unfortunately, but understandably, have another fence outside them, between the visitors and the enclosure. Almost impossible to get even a half-decent shot of the two Big Cats, but sometimes you just get lucky. Taken at the Calgary Zoo on 28 September 2012. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard

The ground was covered in wet leaves on a recent walk in South Glenmore Park. However, this was the leaf that caught my eye : ) This actually made it to Front Page (interestingness#5) on 28th October 2009 - thanks so much, EVERYONE! I never bother with this, but after a few people left comments here to let me know, I just had to check the screen shots they very kindly left for me! Much appreciated.