Monthly Archives: November 2018

Nature, Streamkeeping, Sustainability

Pitt River Stream of Dreams

I spent an intensive three days this week at École Pitt River Middle School doing the Stream of Dreams Murals Society environmental education and community art project.

Years ago I was on the Stream of Dreams board for about seven years, and now I’m back in training to do some PT gigs helping out with delivering the program.

Thanks to Krystal and Cass of Echo Ecological for their guidance, patience, and good humour.

And thanks to all the students, teachers, and staff who participated! What a great bunch!

Stream of Dreams Program Pitt River Middle School

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Spawner Patrol on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby

Yumi and I did a spawner patrol today from the confluence with John Mathews Creek to the stairs in the ravine.

Sunny, clear.

The redd at the confluence with John Mathews looked bigger.

1 dead coho about 15m u/s of the confluence with John Mathews, but it was unreachable in a deep pool. Looked small so possibly a jack or jill.

Appeared to be 1 or 2 redds just d/s of Byrne bridge.

2 live chum in sediment pond

2 live coho in sediment pond

1 live jack in sediment pond

1 dead chum, female, 62cm, not spawned, in sediment pond

redd d/s of first bend in spawning channel

1 dead chum, male, 56cm, loose milt, about 10 meters d/s of the footbridge in lower ravine.

1 dead chum, female, 60cm, not spawned, at the upper end of the washout in the lower ravine

A bit depressing to be finding chum females not spawned. . .

Also three mergansers, one male, two female in overflow pond, a couple of mallards, one heron d/s of John Mathews confluence, one downy woodpecker about halfway between Byrne bridge and John Mathews.

byrne creek salmon heron woodpecker


NOTE: It is illegal to interfere with spawning salmon. Streamkeepers have training, and permission from DFO, to patrol to observe and enumerate salmon returning to spawn, and to collect data (species, length, sex, spawned/unspawned) on salmon after they die.

Society

Fascism Is Worming Its Way Everywhere

So a day after Remembrance Day, someone that I follow on FB posted a Mussolini quotation, with zero qualification or explanation.

The hoary old “day as a lion vs lifetime as a sheep.”

Hello? He was a a fascist dictator.

Don’t people read ANY history?

You know all those ceremonies we had yesterday? All those men and women who died to protect our freedom and democracy?

One of their key opponents was Mussolini’s regime, eh?

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Volunteers Patrol For Spawning Salmon on Byrne Creek

Half a dozen volunteers with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society patrolled the creek in SE #Burnaby for spawning salmon today. It’s been a slow start to the spawning season, but we saw a couple of live ones today, and processed a couple of dead ones for size, sex, and spawning status.

Books, Society

Trying to Turn Around Falling Book Consumption

My consumption of books has dropped dramatically over the years. Twenty years ago I’d read 100 books a year no problem, but in recent years sometimes I barely get through a book a month.

There are a number of reasons that added together have put that big dent in my consumption.

  • The rise of social media, which eats up way too much of my time. Gotta put some limits there, eh?
  • The end of the confining tyranny of network TV. Now with NetFlix, specialty cable channels, cable on demand, etc., it’s just too easy to find all sorts of interesting stuff to watch for hours in front of the tube, er, screen. And PVRs add to the media flow by storing a backlog of stuff I want to watch.
  • An inability to say NO to volunteer commitments. I’m now down to being active on three boards, which is freeing up some personal time.

I noticed that following the injury to my ankle/foot recently, I read nearly a book a day over the last week. Hm. So it can be done!

It was also interesting to enjoy the interaction of reading. Active? I’m the kind of person who underlines, makes notes in margins. . .

With TV it’s more in one eye and out the other : – ).