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I couldn't believe my luck when I returned home a few days ago, after seeing the tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl in Carburn Park for the first time, plus seeing the beautiful White-tailed Buck nearby. When I pulled up into my parking spot, there was this beautiful Jackrabbit, sitting in the snow just a few steps from my place. As soon as I got out of my car and saw that it was still there, I dropped my backback on the ground and turned on my camera. This beautiful animal, wearing its white winter coat, just sat there till I had taken enough photos - unusual, as I find they tend to immediately take off in leaps and bounds. I guess it thought that, as long as it didn't move a hair, I wouldn't see it : )

talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=571

This is my paternal Great Grandmother, Eliza Jane Shadick. She was born about 1847? in Gravesend, Kent, England, and died in 1929. She had one sibling, Ann Shadick. In 1875 (between July 1875 and September 1875), she married the Rev. Henry Carden (1852-1930) at Gravesend. Their children were Alice Gladwell (1876), Florence Sophia (1878, who married Frederick Hobson between July 1904 and September 1904 at Yorkshire [North Riding]), Nellie (1879), Percy Samuel (1880, who married Catherine Batson between July 1905 and September 1905 in Cumberland), and William Henry (1885 - between December 1951 and March 1952, who married Daisy Elizabeth Jinks between July 1908 and September 1908 in Northamptonshire).

Eliza Jane Shadick of Greys, Essex, was a school-teacher prior to marriage. Her family later moved to Gravesend, Kent. Alice, the oldest, was my paternal Grandmother. I'm adding these old family photos to Flickr so that I don't have to take up lots of space in my kids' e-mail Inboxes. I also hope that someone out there might just find these images of interest or help - I had found nothing on Google myself. Funny, I can see a likeness to my oldest daughter.

Information taken from UK Census 1881, 1891, 1911:

Birth about 1847 Gravesend, Kent
Census 3 April 1881 49 Victoria Road, St. Giles, Northampton, Northamptonshire
Census 5 April 1891 Walsall Road, Willenhall, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
Census 31 March 1901 4 West Road, Tottenahm, Middlesex
Census 2 April 1911 Heathfield, 100 Elwick Road, West Hartlepool, Durham

This was such an eye-catching flower, seen at the Calgary Zoo on 8th September 2011. I'm a bit confused, though, because I thought (before I saw this plant with the red parts) that the flowers were the tiny "four-petalled" parts that form such a beautiful pattern. Known as the Panama Hat Palm.

The forecast for yesterday was "cloudy periods", but overcast sky was all we got the whole time we were out NE and E of the city : ) I wasn't expecting any of my photos to turn out, so was happily surprised to find that they were sharp enough to use once brightened. A beautiful blue sky as a background would have been nice, of course, but I was still thrilled to not only see Snowy Owls but to get a few photos of them. Flickr friends Ron and Trish invited me to go on this drive with them and Ron, in true form, found 12 of these birds for us : ) About three of the birds were close enough and gave us just enough time to quickly take some photos - I would have been content with just one bird and one reasonable image! Thanks so much, both of you, for this special treat! Hope your colds clear up really soon!

An interesting webpage, about sexing and aging of Snowy Owls:

www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/snowy.htm

Adding this at the end of the day: just found this link on my Daughter-in-law's Facebook page (thanks for posting it, Carrie) - a video of a horribly abused little dog, Edie, who was rescued from being put down. A real tear-jerker, for sure. Hard to understand how people can be this cruel to another living being - but incredible how just a moment's kindness can work miracles. Sadly, this is just one of endless videos that all share this common theme. Eldad (Hope for Paws, www.hopeforpaws.org/) has such a way with animals and there are many videos of his work. He is also on Flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/eldad75/.

www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.godvine.com/Meet-the-...

UPDATE on tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl - a few of us went over to Carburn Park around lunch time today, but there was no sign of this owl in its usual place. Hope it hasn't left the area for good.

These huge Atlas Moths always amaze me. I don't get to see one very often - at the Calgary Zoo - and they are often on a messy background, which is OK for a macro shot The antennae are quite amazing, I think. Taken on 8th September 2011.

"The Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) is a large saturniid moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, and common across the Malay archipelago. Atlas moths are considered the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area [upwards of c. 400 cm2 (62 sq in)]. Their wingspans are also amongst the largest, reaching over 25 cm (10 in). Females are appreciably larger and heavier.

Atlas moths are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns. In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as "snake's head moth", referring to apical extension of the forewing, which bears a passing resemblance to a snake's head."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas