Got home around 7:45 p.m. yesterday evening (Monday, 23 September 2013) from an amazing four day (three night) road trip down to SE Alberta with two friends. Our furthest destination was Elkwater in the Cypress Hills, but we did a lot of driving all over the SE part of the province. All new territory to me, so I was extremely lucky to get this chance. Both friends had been to this area before, but wanted to go back to see if they could add any new species of Lichen to those already on various lists for each area, and to simply explore this beautiful section on Alberta. Always exciting to see some new things, not to mention all new scenery for me : ) Was really concerned before we went, though, as I had been on antibiotics (which, normally, I never take) for the previous nine days and they were making me feel nauseous and generally sick, and I wasn't sure how I was going to manage the trip. Had to forget the last day of pills, as apart from the nausea, another side-effect was reddening of the skin, and my poor legs looked like they had suffered burns! Think they have also affected my eyes, too, which is really troubling. So thankful I still managed! What I would have missed! Now, of course, I have so many images to sort through and edit so that they can be passed on to various people, including some to Medicine Hat College.
We left Calgary on Monday morning, 20 September 2013, and had to reach Elkwater in the Cypress Hills (not that far from the Saskatchewan border), several hours' drive away, where we were going to stay in a little rustic cabin for three nights. On the way there, we stopped at Red Rock Coulee, and you can see just a tiny bit in my photo above. Actually, this particular photo was taken yesterday, Monday 23 September 2013, when we called in again, this time walking down the hillside and into one of the coulees. While my friends searched for Lichens, I wandered around, taking photos of the scenery and anything else I came across. While we were down there, the sky had filled with some rather nice clouds, which I appreciated. However, the extremely high winds were not pleasant at all, to say the least! In fact, strong winds were everywhere in many parts of SE Alberta. I was expecting a lot of my photos to be blurry, as I could barely keep my balance or hold my camera. Amazingly, most seem to be OK, from the very quick look I've taken so far. This is Rattlesnake territory, too, but fortunately we didn't come across any!
"The main feature of this natural landscape is the huge red boulders; some measuring 2.5 m across. They are scattered over a relatively small distance. Bedrock is close to the surface in this area, covered by only a thin layer of soil. Water erosion has carved the landscape over time and a badlands topography has formed in places. The bands of colour visible in the exposed bedrock are made of dark gray shales, greenish and gray sandstones, bentonitic clays and thin bands of ironstone.
The most striking features of this landscape are the round reddish boulders. These are sandstone concretions and at up to 2.5 m in diameter, they are among the largest in the world. The boulders were formed in prehistoric seas as layers of sand, calcite and iron oxide collected around a nucleus formed by shells, leaves or bones. The concretions grew larger as the circulating waters deposited more layers. The reddish colour comes from iron oxide." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Coulee
Tags: Alberta Canada SE Alberta Red Rock Coulee nature landscape scenery unique concretions reddish boulders sandstone up to 2.5 metres in diameter iron oxide round Explore interestingness# explore2013September25 Geology
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Got home around 7:45 p.m. yesterday evening (Monday, 23 September 2013) from an amazing four day (three night) road trip down to SE Alberta with two friends. Our furthest destination was Elkwater in the Cypress Hills, but we did a lot of driving all over the SE part of the province. All new territory to me, so I was extremely lucky to get this chance. Both friends had been to this area before, but wanted to go back to see if they could add any new species of Lichen to those already on various lists for each area, and to simply explore this beautiful section on Alberta. Always exciting to see some new things, not to mention all new scenery for me : )
This beautiful Blue Darner dragonfly suddenly landed on one of my friends' back, while we were out for a walk along the Soggy Bottom Trail that runs along the edge of Elkwater Lake. We were right down at the water's edge (looking for Lichens), when this happened. The dragonfly was in no hurry to leave, which was great, giving me the chance to get a few close shots. Not sure if this is a male.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE Alberta Cypress Hills Elkwater Soggy Bottom Trail at edge of Elkwater Lake on friend's back nature insect Dragonfly Darner Blue Darner macro close-up jacket perched beauty in nature annkelliott Anne Elliott #GreatNature
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We were all thrilled to bits to be taken to see these Pinedrops, which none of us had ever seen before, by a delightful young woman. We had met her the previous day, on a trip with people from Medicine Hat College to see and monitor an area of Yucca plants growing in the wild. Such a treat to get this rare opportunity. Pterospora andromedea lacks chlorophyll - trace amounts have been identified, but not enough to provide energy for the plant or to color it. One plant we came across was just over a metre tall!! They are very narrow and very difficult to photograph, as it was almost impossible to focus on the plant. I got lots of blurry shots, but this macro was fit to use : )
"Pterospora, commonly known as pinedrops, Albany beechdrops, or giant bird's nest is a monotypic genus in the subfamily Monotropoidiae of the blueberry family, the Ericaceae, and includes only the species Pterospora andromedea. It grows in coniferous or mixed forests. It is native to North America from southern Canada to the mountains of Mexico and is most commonly found in the western half of the continent, though small isolated populations are found in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.
The genus name is derived from the morphology of the seeds which have narrow flaps of tissue on the side and therefore appear winged: ptero (Gr.) = winged, spora (Gr.) = seed. The specific name andromedea derives from the resemblance of the flowers to those of another genus in the Ericaceae, Andromeda.
The visible portion of Pterospora andromedea is a fleshy, unbranched, reddish to yellowish flower spike (raceme) 30-100 cm in height, though it has been reported to occasionally attain a height of 2 meters. The above-ground stalks (inflorescences) are usually found in small clusters between June and August. The inflorescences are hairy and noticeably sticky to the touch. This is caused by the presence of hairs which exude a sticky substance (glandular hairs). The inflorescences are covered by scale-like structures known as bracts. The upper portion of the inflorescence has a series of yellowish, urn-shaped flowers that face downward. The fruit is a capsule.
Like all members of the Monotriopoidiae (see Monotropa), Pterospora andromedea lacks chlorophyll (trace amounts have been identified, but not enough to provide energy for the plant or to color it). Plants exist for most of their life as a mass of brittle, but fleshy, roots. They live in a parasitic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, in which plants derive all their carbon from their associated fungus, but the relationship is not yet well understood. The term for this kind of symbiosis is mycoheterotrophy. In Pteropspora the association is with a very limited number of fungi in the genus Rhizopogon, including Rhizopogon subcaerulescens, R. arctostaphyli, and R. salebrosus. Pterospora has yet to be discovered with any species outside the genus Rhizopogon." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterospora
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Tags: Alberta Canada SE Alberta Cypress Hills a forest trail nature plant botany flora flower flowers Pinedrops Pterospora andromedea macro close-up Albany beechdrops Giant Bird's Nest Ericaceae Blueberry family subfamily Monotropoidiae native inflorescence lacks chlorophyll parasitic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi #GreatNature
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Discovered that this bug is an Ambush Bug - a new species for me. I had heard the name a few times before, but had no idea what such a bug looked like. I was trying to photograph some sort of Thistle - maybe Wavy-leaved Thistle - when I thought I saw "something" very small on it : ) Taken on Saturday, 21 September 2013, when we joined a group of people from Medicine Hat College to drive a long way across the prairie in SE Alberta to an area called the Pinhorn Grazing Lease. Yucca plants, which are not found in Alberta, had been discovered there and were being closely monitored. They spent a few hours counting every single plant and clone, how many new clones, how many old ones, how many seedpods and how many tiny exit holes from a certain insect were in each pod. Most of the plants were in enclosed "cages", the largest of which could be entered. The GPS location was recorded for every plant, and careful notes were made. Very tedious work, and I commend everyone for doing this. Have to admit that I wandered the area with my camera, photographing the plants in various stages and the surrounding scenery. We were so lucky because two of the plants were in a second bloom, whereas all the other plants had seedpods. Couldn't get a decent photo, as there were just too many old stalks in the way, but I did want to add one to my album for the area. It was a treat to be able to see Yucca flowers, and a surprise for the folks from the College. We aren't sure how these plants got where they are, but it's possible that they were brought north by Native Americans. We were very close to the border with the US and could see the beautiful Sweetgrass Hills rising from the flat prairie in the distance. A very interesting day for us and one that we were so lucky to experience.
"Phymata americana americana is one of only two species of Ambush Bug in Alberta. Typically the bug will use it's yellow and brown coloration to camouflage itself on a yellow flower (such as goldenrod) and then wait to ambush an unsuspecting pollinating insect. The front legs of the Ambush Bug are very strong and it can capture insects as large as Bumblebees and Butterflies. After the victim is pinned, the Ambush Bug injects digestive juices into it and sucks the soup out. (J. Acorn, 2000). Taken from www.insectsofalberta.com/ambushbug.htm.
Tags: insect bug Ambush Bug Phymata americana americana flower Thistle macro close-up
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Two friends and I had such a great time travelling around SE Alberta for four days, from early in the morning on Friday, 20 September to Monday evening, 23 September 2013, when we arrived back in Calgary. Our destination was Elkwater, situated in a provincial park in the Cypress Hills, not that far from the boundary with the province of Saskatchewan. Elkwater is a lovely little hamlet and we stayed three nights in one of their small, rustic cabins. The Lodge served absolutely delicious food and we ate there on two of the evenings. On the last evening, after our main course, we decided that we would have dessert, too. Tiramisu, which I really like, was on the menu and so it was ordered. However, a while later, the waiter returned to our table, most apologetic - it was not available after all. At his suggestion, we could have the cheesecake instead. It arrived, beautifully presented, with a music "clef" in syrup at the side. When we went to pay afterwards, we discovered that we had not been charged for the dessert - the waiter, seeing our disappointment over the Tiramisu, very generously hadn't charged us for the cheesecake.
"Elkwater is an unincorporated community at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta, Canada, 65 kilometres (40 mi) southeast of Medicine Hat. The main access route is via Alberta Highway 41 (Buffalo Trail), which leads south from the Trans Canada Highway.
During the last ice age the Cypress Hills were not covered with ice because they were high enough to rise above the surrounding flatlands. As a result it has rare soils found on the upper plateau area which is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador. The Elkwater townsite is elevated at 1234m, the same altitude as Banff, resulting in much similar flora and fauna. Thick pine and spruce forests cover the hills. Animals found there include white-tailed deer, coyote, elk, wild turkey, cougar and moose. Moose and wild turkeys are not native to the Cypress Hills, but were introduced.
Since the Elkwater townsite is in a provincial park, it is administered by the provincial government. Residents can never own the land on which their cottages or homes are built. Leases must be negotiated with the provincial government." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkwater,_Alberta
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu
Tags: food cheesecake dessert
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