I passed 1,000 observations reported to iNaturalist today, with 232 species so far.
I think this puts me at the Pee-Wee or Bantam level 
. I know some folks who post hundreds per week!
I have to shoot, and learn about, more plants and flowers etc. The bulk of my observations are birds and mammals, with the occasional insect or reptile. . .
Saw several eagles and herons at Centennial Beach in Delta, BC.
I saw four or five Northern Harriers at Centennial Beach in Delta, BC, today.
I played follow the leader with this Pileated Woodpecker for about 20 minutes at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, today.
Another slow ankle/Achilles rehab walk. Made it all the way to the stairs to Byrne Creek ravine and back. Progress!
Sparrow
Junco
Northern Flicker
American Robin
American Crow
A quarter to show how tiny these flowers are.
My injured ankle/Achilles is getting better, and today I eked out a slow, 30-minute walk on the urban trail in Byrne Creek Ravine Park in Burnaby, BC.
A few feathered friends along the way, and then some signs of spring.
Varied Thrush
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Nuthatch
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Long out of print, I found a copy of Vonda McIntyre’s Dreamsnake on Abe Books.
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote a thought-provoking review of the book in 2011, and why she thought it disappeared:
Theory #1: Ophidiophobia. The phobia is common and extends to pictures, even the mention, of snakes; and the book features them even in the title. A heroine who lets snakes crawl on her, and she’s named Snake? Oh, icky . . .Theory #2: Sex. It’s an adult book. Snake, though, is barely more than a kid, setting out on her first trial of prowess, so that young women can and do identify with her, happily or longingly, as they do with Ayla in Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children books, though Snake’s taste in men is far better than Ayla’s. But could the book be approved in schools? The sexual mores are as various as the societies, including some very unorthodox customs, and Snake’s sexual behavior is both highly ethical and quite uninhibited. . .
Given the relentless fundamentalist vendettas against “witchcraft” and “pornography” (read imaginative literature and sexual realism) in the schools, few teachers in the 1980s could invite the firestorm that might be started by a right-wing parent who got a hint of how young Snake was carrying on. . .
Theory #3. The hypothesis of gendered reprinting. It appears that as a general rule books written by men get reprinted more frequently and over more years than books written by women.”
What are you having for lunch, Daddy? Oh, leftover Gardein Meatless Ground pasta casserole?
What’s that? I’m supposed to be a carnivore? Bwa-ha-ha. . .
In this time of anti-Asian hate crimes and Covid frustration, I thought of a wonderful day back in June 2014 — a garden party in Vancouver with folks of many cultures.
I am sharing this nearly seven-year-old post here again because I hope this memory brings a wee bit of comfort and joy to others.
Had a wonderful evening last weekend. A BBQ hosted by friends of ours in Vancouver. Lovely old house in an older neighborhood. An evening in a gorgeous, modestly groomed, but more wild, back yard, with many burgeoning fruit trees and raspberry bushes.
We were the youngest couple there, and we’re in our mid-40s to mid-50s.
We’re a “mixed” couple, and so was everyone else. And some were in their 80s and 90s, and enjoying life to the full. Former neighbors, still friends, now living in old folks’ homes but graciously picked up and driven to this communal feast in their former ‘hood..
As the evening eased by, there were smatterings of Korean, Italian, and Japanese in the conversations. Not all understood by all present despite efforts at interpretation.
But everyone was cool with that. We were all happy to be with other convivial folks.
And all were sure to ensure that all were happy.
I just came across my childhood Immunization Record from the City of Saskatoon Department of Public Health.
At the bottom of the first page it clearly states:
“This record is necessary when child begins school. Please keep it carefully.”
It has dates and doses of my Smallpox and Polio vaccinations.
Apparently I had 5 doses of Polio Vaccine over the course of about six years from age 6 months to 6 years.
This was over 50 years ago.