The sun has finally come out, late afternoon, but it has been a cold day today, with an unpleasant cold wind (which has just started to pick up). Had a routine dental appointment this afternoon and when I got back home, I noticed that the first flower on my little Christmas Cactus had fully opened. Thought I'd make the most of it - after all, a day without using my camera is not my favourite kind of day, LOL! Hope it sends out lots of cheer : ) Rebecca (Red-Star) - this is to celebrate your successful, but bittersweet, house sale.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada nature flora botany plant flower flowers Christmas Cactus petals centre image photograph digital square square format black background light indoors house plant color image close-up macro no people single flower beauty beauty in nature flower head pretty colorful color fragile fragility freshness details floral breathtaking Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1010932 FZ28 annkelliott FloralExcellence Explore interestingness#53 explore2009March26 NaturesFinest i500 ImpressedBeauty Flickr 5.25 birthday #23ccfbt #red
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Hope that all of you who celebrate Christmas are enjoying all your preparations. Less than two weeks now, so you'd better get busy : ) On a long, cold morning's walk in the park yesterday, we came across a tree that had been decorated with coloured baubles and ornaments. Loved the blue of this bauble and the reflection of the park - couldn't figure a way to exclude myself, LOL, so there I am, wearing T-shirt, sweater, fleece jacket, my bulky winter jacket, hat, hood, long-johns, jeans, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks and of course, my winter boots (plus ice-grabbers)! And it was only -12C!!! It's snowing again today - the beautiful, light, fluffy kind where you can see all the individual snowflakes. Light is so poor, so no use to try and take photos. Thank you to the person who spent time adding a little colour to the white landscape: ) I hope the birds enjoy it as much as I did.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada southern Alberta Fish Creek Park Votier's Flats nature park seasons winter snow Christmas bauble blue tree ornament decoration reflection me image photograph digital color image colorful pretty square square crop bokeh outdoors Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix point-and-shoot P1310823 FZ28 annkelliott beautiful_expression Feels Good Explore interestingness#2 explore2009December13 © Anne Elliott 2009 © All Rights Reserved Best of Winter
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HAPPY WINTER, EVERYONE!!!
Trust me, this image took a lot of patience and time, lol!! I had managed to get a very quick shot (posted recently) of a different butterfly on this beautiful Sacred Lotus seedpod, but didn't particularly like the result. I was so lucky that this beauty landed very nicely and gave me the shot I had waited and hoped for : ) I think I am right in saying this is a Banded Orange ( Dryadula phaetusa). Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on September 30th.
"The pods/seed heads contain the Lotus seeds within little circular chambers on the flat surface of the top of the pod. These circles appeared to cradle the seeds, which are round, within the pod until fully ripe. Both the chamber of each seed and the seed itself got larger and larger until the pod bent over to finally release the seeds into the water."
www.flowersociety.org/lotus-plant-study.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryadula_phaetusa
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada southern Alberta Calgary Zoo ENMAX Conservatory nature insect butterfly Banded Orange Dryadula phaetusa perched topside wings open plant seedpod Sacred Lotus Nelumbo nucifera bokeh beauty in nature square crop Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1210376 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression PlatinumPhotography LeapFrog's Hats
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The actual quality of this photo is far from good, taken in really low light, but I still like it : ) I think this little fungus was something like 1" diameter. Found on 12th August in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis, west of the city. Thanks, Sandy! Just a reminder of the tiny miracles of nature's beauty! What we can find if we don't just "look", but really "see".
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta Bragg Creek West Bragg Creek Kananaskis west of Calgary nature mycology fungus fungi mushroom mushrooms cap gills light on green bokeh glowing attractive image photo digital color image square square crop beautiful beauty in nature macro close-up Panasonic DMC-FZ35 DMC-FZ35 FZ35 Lumix point-and-shoot P1130433 FZ35 annkelliott beautiful_expression LeapFrog's Hats
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Having problems uploading my photos to Flickr 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.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo nature garden flora flower flowers Thistle Globe Artichoke Artichoke Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus Asteraceae Cynareae Cynara edible bud triangular scales involucral bracts introduced bokeh colourful macro close-up beauty in nature Panasonic DMC-FZ200 DMC-FZ200 FZ200 Lumix point-and-shoot P1030253 FZ200 annkelliott beautiful_expression #GreatNature
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