In order of Interestingness, Flickr

Photo of this beautiful, ENDANGERED Grevy's Zebra was taken at the Calgary Zoo on 8 September 2012, when I went with my friends from England for the day. "The Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), also known as the imperial zebra, is the largest extant wild equid and the largest and most endangered of the three species of zebra, the other two being the plains zebra and the mountain zebra. Named after Jules Grévy, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy's zebra is found in Kenya and Ethiopia. Compared with other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower. The Grévy's zebra lives in semi-arid grasslands where it feeds on grasses, legumes, and browse; it can survive up to five days without water. It differs from the other zebra species in that it does not live in harems and has few long-lasting social bonds. Male territoriality and mother–foal relationships form the basis of the social system of the Grévy's zebra. This zebra is considered to be endangered. Its population has declined from 15,000 to 3,000 since the 1970s. However, as of 2008 the population is stable." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%A9vy's_zebra

This was a really quick shot, which luckily came out OK. I pushed myself out the front door yesterday, as the forecast was for cloud and sun. I have done barely any walking for months - actually, all this year - and I'm supposed to do those 10,000 steps every day. After deciding to drive over to Carburn Park again, just in case the Clark's Grebe was still in the area, by the time I had eaten breakfast and got myself ready, the sky was overcast. By the time I reached Carburn, it was snowing and completely overcast. Decided I would still just walk around the small pond - my body was still feeling the effects of a long walk three days earlier, ha. Bumped into a fellow birder and we got talking and ended up walking round the large pond, too. I had just said something about deer in the park, turned around and there was a White-tailed Deer right behind us ; ) Then two more appeared from amongst the trees. Just managed to click in time to catch this sweet moment. No sign of the Clark's Grebe (same as the day before), so I feel really lucky to have seen this bird on Sunday - a bird that is not usually seen in Alberta. By the way, the wire netting you can see in the background is actually wrapped around a tree, in hopes of protecting it from local Beavers. These animals seem to be cutting down an awful lot of trees in our natural areas. It's -6C (21F) this morning and snowing. Forecast for this afternoon is -3C (27F) and ice pellets. Sounds like it might be a fun drive for my volunteer shift, ha. What just happened with Flickr? All I could get was a blank, white page and then I had to try three times to get Flickr to load at all. Anyone else have the same? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer www.hww.ca/en/species/mammals/white-tailed-deer.html

Like anywhere else in the mountains, Forgetmenot Pond (off Elbow Falls Trail, Highway 66, in Kananaskis) looks different each time you see it, depending mainly on the clouds. This particular day, there were none, unfortunately. There was also only a very slight breeze, so the lake surface was mirror-like. Taken on 27 September 2012.

A Common Raven that was hanging around one of the parking lots along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River (North Rim?), no doubt hoping to find some easy food. It hopped just a little too close in this photo - I did not intend cutting off the beak : ) Taken on 14 September 2012, during a week's holiday down as far as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. "Common Ravens will eat almost anything they can get hold of. They eat carrion; small animals from the size of mice and baby tortoises up to adult Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons; eggs; grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, and other arthropods; fish; wolf and sled-dog dung; grains, buds, and berries; pet food; and many types of human food including unattended picnic items and garbage." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven

I loved this very small mushroom that I found growing on the end of a small branch on the ground at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, back on September 21st. It was just so perfect. I think these little ribbed shrooms are so pretty. The cap was maybe half an inch in height. Growing out in an open, grassy area not too far from the Bow River. Not like my usual fungi photos, which are usually taken in a dark forest.

This was one of the wonderful rewards of our difficult mountain hike to Picklejar Lakes yesterday! The colour of these velvety-looking fungi was beautiful and some of them had clustered together into this amazing, almost flower-like grouping. Possibly Laccaria proxima?

Suddenly decided to upload Saturday's images tonight - well, actually it's about 1:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. I have a whole day of botanizing again tomorrow (plus some clean-up), this time south east of the city at the Nodwell Sanctuary (i.e. a few dry hillsides plus some wetter wooded area at the bottom of the hills). I didn't want to send my best wishes for Father's Day later tomorrow evening, when the special day is just about over, so thought I'd better post it at the unearthly hour of 1:15 a.m.. I still haven't got all my stuff ready for tomorrow yet! So, Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there (for Sunday 20th June) and to those of you who will quietly think of your Fathers who are no longer living. My own Father died about 33 years ago - people called him an exceptional photographer and he was the one who awakened my interest in photography (for which I am truly thankful every day). Everyone has or had a Father, so the day means something to each and every one of us - very different things for some compared to others. I hope that YOUR memories will be happy ones. A special Father's Day wish to my son, Steven, who is a really great Dad to his bright, smart, amazing 9-year-old son - oops, sorry, that's the Grandma in me talking, LOL! These three adorable baby Richardson's Ground Squirrels will find (or may have already found) that their Dad goes into hibernation any time soon, LOL. So much for having a Dad to look up to and spend time with. Seen at the top of the steep Weaselhead hill, North Glenmore Park. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson's_ground_squirrel

A different angle on the amazing, tiny Red Eyed Tree Frog that I saw at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. It seems that almost every part of it is beautifully coloured, textured or patterned. This little guy had suctioned his feet to the front glass of the aquarium. Everywhere was almost pitch black, so I'm still shaking my head that any of my photos came out at all. "Many scientists believe the red-eyed tree frog developed its vivid scarlet peepers to shock predators into at least briefly questioning their meal choice. These iconic rain-forest amphibians sleep by day stuck to leaf-bottoms with their eyes closed and body markings covered. When disturbed, they flash their bulging red eyes and reveal their huge, webbed orange feet and bright blue-and-yellow flanks. This technique, called startle coloration, may give a bird or snake pause, offering a precious instant for the frog to spring to safety. Red-eyed tree frogs, despite their conspicuous coloration, are not venomous. They are found in tropical lowlands from southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and in northern South America. Nocturnal carnivores, they hide in the rain forest canopy and ambush crickets, flies, and moths with their long, sticky tongues. Red-eyed tree frogs are not endangered. But their habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate, and their highly recognizable image is often used to promote the cause of saving the world's rain forests." From animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/red-eye...

Another Christmas bauble from a walk down in a local park, where someone had decorated one of the Spruce trees. Can't decide whether I like this one best, or the blue one that I posted recently : ) I like the tiny splashes of blue, red and gold in this one. Only six days left till Christmas now. For me, this will be the simplest Christmas I think I've ever had - haven't even put out my Christmas decorations this year. I am SO behind with absolutely everything, in general, that I know there is no way I can deal with Christmas things. The last few days of dizziness haven't helped : ) Not well-timed at all. For most of you who do celebrate Christmas, I'm sure the next few days will be hectic, though I hope you are able to find a little time to relax in between shopping, wrapping, baking, visiting, and so on. Have a healthy, safe and happy Christmas! May the New Year be a good one for each of you : ) And let's remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. A special thought goes out to those of you who are unable to be with family or friends during the Christmas Season. Thank you all so much for being such good Flickr friends - your encouragement, inspiration and comments are priceless and appreciated so very much!!! Happy Christmas, everyone!