Sunday, June 4, 2023

NATIVE PLANTS

        I confess that my weakness is for native plants. I don't recognize many plants but I do go out on field trips to find plants.

      Here we have bush and all kinds of plants that grow in the under bush. With deciduous trees we have a very lush undergrowth. I like prairie flowers best , but since I don't live on the prairie I don't see the prairie flowers. 

     Yesterday I was birding in the morning. Birds and plants were at their peak. We identified 39 species of birds. I tried getting some flower photos but since I'm not that steady anymore the camera is continually refocusing .

     We started at a foot bridge across the Red Deer River. There were hundreds of cliff swallows nesting under the bridge. 

            Then we walked along the escarpment of the river so it's a challenging walk . It's set up for cross country skiing but it goes through heavy bush.

     So here are some of the flowers I found. 









40 comments:

  1. You are fortunate having that fauna and flora. So much is disappearing

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  2. I love looking for wild flowers too. One of those looks like a strawberry plant.

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    1. This time of year the bush has many flowers.

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  3. Interesting wild flowers Red - they are none of them familiar to me but like all wildflowers, they sit perfectly in the landscape. I have Benign Essential Tremor which makes taking photographs impossible - the shots are always out of focus.

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    1. And we probably don't have many of your flowers here either.

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  4. NIce little lady slipper capture, Red. That is a whole lot of birds!!

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  5. It's good to appreciate the little things. I like seeing the yellow lady slipper orchids. We only seem to have pink around here.

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    1. We have 2 more species but they are more rare and smaller.

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  6. Hello,
    Birding is best in the early morning. I like the yellow lady slipper orchid, we have the pink color here. Take care, have a great day and happy week ahead.

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    1. We have two more orchid species here but they are smaller. I don't think I'd get many birders early in the morning even when they know it's a better time to see birds.

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  7. It is fun to see the wild blooms when out for a hike! I wish I could get more of these to appear in my garden without having to do much work!

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    1. A lot of them don't trmsplant very well.

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  8. I love to identify wildflowers. The last is something called 'blue eyed grass'. Before that, cinquefoil, before that, lady slipper. wild strawberry. The first, because I could not distinguish the leaves, I'd guess what we call wild rose. I am not sure that this is the right name. If you have a smart phone, here's a key: mywildflower.com It's a fun application for walks in the woods.

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    1. You're right on the last one. The edges of the bush are thick with wild roses.

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  9. It's so good that you got out for a walk there and saw these lovely flowers.

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    1. I walk every night but this was a different place with lots of plants.

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  10. Lovely flowers! I don't think I've ever seen a buttercup, but if they are to be found in Alberta, I'm sure they would be here too.

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    1. I like to walk on the native grasslands at this time of year as there are many, many flowers.

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  11. Red, we are in agreement about prairie wildflowers. They are the best. Now, you said, “I'm not that steady anymore the camera is continually refocusing.” Despite that, I enjoyed all your photos and hope you’ll keep taking them and sharing them. Your pic of the Red Deer River really piqued my curiosity so I took a close look at it on Google Maps. I found 2 footbridges. One is called Riverlands Pedestrian Bridge, in the southwest part of the city, and the other one near Discovery Canyon, northeast of the city. Wondering which one you were using?

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    1. Most of the photos were from other years. I was at the Discovery canyon bridge but that area is called Riverbend. The other area is called Heritage Ranch.

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  12. Lady's Slipper Orchids are extremely rare in the UK, though I did once find some in the Dolomites. It's a beautiful time of year to be out in the countryside.

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    1. This time of year is special as you have such a variety of plants in their prime.

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  13. A nice walk and you found some pretty flowers.

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    1. It was a good walk over some rough terrain.

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  14. Oh, you have Lady Slippers like Connie's in Minnesota!

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    1. And the Lady Slipper is Connie's favorite flower.

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  15. You did pretty well! Good work.

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    1. Thanks. I cheated a bit and used older photos.

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  16. I love that ground cover this time of year! Beautiful!

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    1. Sadly most of the ground cover is non native.

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  17. Replies
    1. I used photos from past years so I was cheating ...a bit!

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  18. Finding a wild flower (or a bird) is like finding a treasure. Enjoy your days outdoors :)

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  19. If you put the camera on "flash", it will capture the image. 'Course it may not look natural but . . .

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  20. You found some good flowers! Nice job finding that many birds too!

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  21. It always feels a little bit like magic when flowers pop out again after a long winter. I see wild roses and strawberries there - ours are blooming too!

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  22. i am glad you found some pretty little blooms on the way :)
    sorry but it seems that you have moved somewhere else from older place ,please correct if i am right .
    if so i hope weather and environment is pleasing and friendly dear Red!

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  23. When we lived in VA years ago, we would go out on walks looking for native flowers, some of which were planted in the yard. At the time, I could ID far more than today.

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  24. I love the lady's slippers -- I'm not sure I've ever seen those in real life. Just in pictures! I recognize the strawberry right away, too.

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