What is Project 366? Read more here! It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and we had made our way to Whitemud Ravine south of Snow Valley to Look for some rose hips. I was not sure about the timing as some online resources claim one should wait with harvesting rose hips until after the…
What is Project 366? Read more here! The prevailing view of lichens for the last 150 years or so has been that they a composite organism resulting from a mutually beneficial relationship between a fungus and an algae. It turns out that recent research from the University of Alberta (which is in my neck of…
What is Project 366? Read more here! The Identification Guide for Alberta Invasive Plants has nearly 90 species listed. Twenty one of the species have yellow flowers. The other flower colours include white, purple, pink, red, green, blue and orange. Today’s invasive plant is the Perennial Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis), a member of the sunflower…
What is Project 366? Read more here! Lichens are cool critters. They are a composite organism consisting of an algae or bacteria living in a mutualistic relationship with a fungus. The resulting lichen has properties different from those of its component organisms. While lichens share features with plants, e.g. growing in a specific location, the…
What is Project 366? Read more here! The water level has been dropping in the Whitemud Creek and the flow of the water has slowed down substantially from oily a week ago. It is remarkable how the level of the water and speed of the flow closely reflects the current precipitation regime. As soon as…
What is Project 366? Read more here! I have seen the pretty violet and yellow flowers in the Whitemud Ravine all summer long, but have somehow not stopped to try to identify them yet. Since they are likely to going to be astound for much longer + because most other flowers are gone by now…
What is Project 366? Read more here! Summer is not even over yet but the fall colours are impatient and the Prickly Wild Roses are already turning red. The process of leaves changing color in the fall is surprisingly complex. Perhaps the most common explanation for color change in leaves is the withdrawal of chlorophyll….
What is Project 366? Read more here! The Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) can be found natively through the Rocky Mountains with Alberta being its northern limit. These evergreen shrub with their blue-green needles and perfect conical shape have a regal looking about them. In traditional First Nations medicine the needles are used for an infusion…
What is Project 366? Read more here! The seeds of the Creeping Thistle are about to get airborne. All it will take now is the slightest of wind puffs and they are on their way. This inflorescence almost looks like it has a bad hair day. But it will not last. Soon the seeds will…
What is Project 366? Read more here! It was a late sunny afternoon down at the Whitemud park and I noticed that a lot of crows were flying around, all seemingly heading in the same direction.It turns out that these were crows on a mission. The were all heading to a grove of dead trees…