In order of Interestingness, Flickr

This little Red Panda (one of three at the Calgary Zoo) was peering over the top of their fairly natural "playhouse" yesterday. I just managed to catch him/her before he/she continued with constant movement around their enclosure. They just never seem to stay still : ) "The Red Panda is endemic to the Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, India, Laos, Nepal, and Burma. There is an estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Red Pandas are classified as endangered. No reliable numbers exist for the total population but it is very threatened due to the fragmentation of its natural habitats, their small numbers, and their food specialization needs. In southwest China the Red Panda is hunted for its fur and especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In the areas of China, where the Red Panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies and in weddings the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. The 'good-luck charm' hats are used by Chinese newlyweds." From Wikipedia.

All three "cubs" were in a sleepy heap along with Mom when I visited the Calgary Zoo on 16 April 2013. These are two of the cubs, who have grown so big that they aren't that much smaller than the adults now - still very playful, though. The three beautiful but endangered Amur Tiger cubs were born March 30, 2012 at the Calgary Zoo. They were out in the main enclosure, but I managed to zoom in fully to avoid most of the faint blur from the wire fence. Three new animals make such a wonderful addition to the endangered Amur Tiger population. By the way, the Tigers have a huge area of trees, grass, fallen logs and a small creek running through the area - not like being in the wild, of course, but so much better than a small cage. They also have just a very small separated area, with a hammock, where certain animals can be separated when necessary, for various reasons. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_tiger Later note added on 14 June 2012: Tigers that used to be known as Siberian Tigers are now known as Amur Tigers. The name change is because their range now only includes the Amur Valley in Eastern Siberia. The link below is from YouTube, showing the three Amur Tiger cubs at the Calgary Zoo. This video from the den box camera was taken on Friday, April 20. youtu.be/XFyAFe0nCeY

Holy smokes - this even took me a little by surprise this morning, lol!! Should have saved it to post on our next snowy day - though we are all REALLY hoping there won't be such a thing till next winter! Makes me feel a bit guilty posting something so colourful and cheery, knowing that so many people are still reeling from the deadly attack at the Boston marathon. Still hard to believe that two (comparatively) small explosions can cause so much human devastation. Took this photo of the only Water Lily in bloom at the Calgary Zoo yesterday afternoon. Moments earlier, it had been standing tall and upright. Then the sprinkler was turned on and the weight of the water bowed down this beautiful bloom, giving a different angle on the centre.

This photo was taken on 28 March 2013, NW of Calgary, shortly after the sun had risen and when quite a lot of the snow had melted. Today, 14 April 2013, it looks like we are in the middle of winter, once again. It snowed all day yesterday and the snow is falling steadily this morning. My fence is topped with maybe 5" of snow so far. More snow expected tomorrow and then next week, the rain arrives, lol! This Great Gray Owl was the first of four that I was lucky enough to see that morning, two closely and two far more distant.

Yesterday morning, I went for a walk with friends in Carburn Park. It was such a beautiful morning, and 21 species of bird (all the "usual") were seen. We spotted several White-tailed Deer in amongst the trees in the distance - at which point I announced that I was going to stay and try and get a few photos : ) The thought of hopefully seeing deer had been enough to get me out of bed early and face the cold, so I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. I hung around, at a respectful distance, and was able to watch how they interacted with each other. I think I spent more time watching them than I've ever watched deer before - and it was fascinating. For most of the time, there was a mass of branches between us, but I did get a handful of reasonably open shots. This buck, along with two other bucks of different ages, eventually made their way to feed out into the open, so I only had bushes and tall grass to contend with. They were fully aware that I was there, but I still got a rather surprised look on their face each time they glanced my way. In the afternoon, I had various errands I had to run, including desperately needing to wash my car. My joy at getting in and out of a sparkling clean car and of loading and unloading bags of groceries without getting my clothes filthy, was VERY short-lived! It snowed overnight - again : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer

This is the pair of Great Horned Owls that lives down at Sikome, in Fish Creek Park. I've been "following" them for several years now - always a joy to see. They weren't in their usual winter tree, but in another one close by. Even so, they were not easy to spot from so far away, hidden deep within the snow-covered branches of this Spruce tree. Often, you find these owls closer to the trunk, which makes it even more difficult to find them. They really do have amazing camouflage. Yesterday was an absolute winter wonderland, despite being cold (-11C, windchill -18C) and lacking the sun. Hoar frost covered every tiny twig and blade of dried grass, and it was snowing all day long. Today is an even more overcast, grey day with more snow falling, useless for photos, so maybe I can get on with all my overseas Christmas letters and cards!

After a three-hour walk along the south shore of the Glenmore Reservoir yesterday morning, and seeing around 10,000 birds out on the water (at a great distance, so no good for photos), I found something to photograph back at the parking lot : ) A row of tall Sunflowers, still beautiful with their withered and drooping golden petals, and each one wearing a cap of snow. Now, if I had photographed them today, there would be around 6 or 7 inches of snow on them!! I had no idea that these beautiful flowers had been growing there. Taken in atrocious light, so I'm glad that a few of the photos came out OK. Still snowing, too. I am so thankful that I don't have to go out today, though it will probably be even worse when I do have to go out for my volunteer shift tomorrow, ha.

I thought this was such a beautiful sight, looking down into the thermal water at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US. It was taken somewhere near Canary Spring, on 12 September 2012, the second day of a week's holiday with friends from England. "Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park ... It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas... A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Hot_Springs For a diagram of the Hot Springs layout: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MammothHotSprings.JPG Map of Yellowstone National Park: hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/YELLmap2.pdf

Looking head on at a glorious Hibiscus in bloom in the ENMAX Conservatory yesterday. To keep myself off my computer and away from mouse-clicking yesterday, I was on a walk all morning with friends at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and then I couldn't resist going over to the Zoo (which is nearby) for the afternoon. On the way home, I called in at Sikome, Fish Creek Park, to see if the two Great Horned Owlets were in view in their nesting cavity - they were when I got there, but then the younger owlet soon disappeared more or less from view. Rainy weather at the moment and the dreaded "S" word was mentioned for tomorrow.