Hikes and Plants-Rocky Mountains, Eastern Slope, Alberta (Kananaskis, Banff)

[cohan]

After another 8" of snow overnight, our yard looks much the same, minus the peaks.     (Will this very unusual, incredibly snowy winter never end?)

snowing here, too--interestingly, in the town where i work, only about 30k west, snow started several hours earlier than here..proximity to the mountains (here in alberta) really does make a difference in the weather, especially precipitation..when we left work, it had been snowing quite a while, but hadnt been cold enough yet for much accumulation/.... probably 10k or so towards home, and the road was dry; started here later; we may get up to 15cm...

march is actually often the snowiest month in alberta, historically; i think the difference this year is that we had more snow the rest of the winter than we often do, so it seems like its neverending--dont worry, only a couple more months of it, lori

[cohan]

i really like the minuartia! thanks for showing it
the genus name was familiar--i wonder if there is a species on a catalogue list?
i looked in royer/dickinson, and i see  and some  things have been moved out of arenaria into this and other genera; i think we have some of these (others) around here (i remember a kind of cool one growing on hummocks in slough areas-great little grassy/mossy clumps with tiny white flowers) will be trying to figure some of them out this year..

[Lori S.]

That minuartia is sort of an ugly duckling compared to the more flowery wonders shown on this site - the petals are absent or at best rudimentary... but it's interesting!  Yes, there are other, much-showier, species available (even locally, surprisingly).   Most of the minuartia species here are essentially alpine in their distributions (a couple with broader ranges) - what you are seeing might also be stellaria or cerastium.

This is the most snow we've seen in 12 consecutive years here (14 total) and it's some sort of a record since the mid-1950's; I imagine you'd normally have more snow cover where you are, but here, snow cover is normally thin and temporary.  Yes, the big dumps of snow are normally always in spring here too.  What a lovely climate - I've seen frost on the ground in every month of the year - such a treat.   
But we are close to the mountains...
Mt. Lipsett
Sparrowhawk
Saxifraga lyallii in moss garden
Sparrowhawk

[ranunculus]

Beautiful area, Lori.

[Lvandelft]

Lori, the pictures of Arnica and Saxifraga lyallii (the first one) are very impressive!

[Lori S.]

Thank you! 
Light snow continues to fall here, but it should warm up next week!  (Is the end in sight?) 

The fall larches (Larix lyallii) on Panorama Ridge, Banff:





Lineham Ridge, Kananaskis:

Myosotis alpestris on Lineham Ridge, a fabulous wildflower area:

Erigeron aureus:

Pedicularis bracteosa:

Townsendia parryi:

Some unusual colours of Penstemon procerus, which is normally purple-blue, in this area... (The last one may be P. confertus, though I had thought it was P. procerus - I'll have to look at it again, though unfortunately I didn't get much of the foliage in the picture.)

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Amazing pictures Lori ! 

[Paddy Tobin]

Lori,

How wonderful! Such light and the larch are particularly amazing.

Paddy

[cohan]

That minuartia is sort of an ugly duckling compared to the more flowery wonders shown on this site - the petals are absent or at best rudimentary... but it's interesting!  This is the most snow we've seen in 12 consecutive years here (14 total) and it's some sort of a record since the mid-1950's; I imagine you'd normally have more snow cover where you are, but here, snow cover is normally thin and temporary.  Yes, the big dumps of snow are normally always in spring here too.  What a lovely climate - I've seen frost on the ground in every month of the year - such a treat.   
But we are close to the mountains...

of course there are flower covered mounds that i do like, but i do like plants which are also structurally interesting, and with interesting foliage..
yes, by 'others' i meant related genera..some certainly stellaria..
we do usually have a more persistent snow cover than you in midwinter, but its not unusual to have a lot of melt in february (and subsequent recovering, of course); i dont know if we have neared any records or not, but certainly there is more snow on the ground still than has been usual...
personally i've never seen frost in june(apart from probably the first week) and not at all in july, past mid august its no surprise.... yeah--such a long growing season...lol;
your summer last year was quite a bit cooler than ours...i
i wouldnt mind a move to drumheller area--i love the landscape, and its often among the warmest spots in the province, all year..

[Armin]

missed this wunderful thread.
Thanks Lori.