All posts by Paul Cipywnyk

Photography, Technology, Uncategorized

Got My Eager Fingers on My New Canon 720HS

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Despite being a Nikon SLR/DSLR user for over 40 years, I’ve always been partial to Canon point-and-shoots, particularly the Elph series for their teeny size and good quality.

I carry a camera 99% of the time, and the Elph series is shirt pocketable, if that’s a word. Yeah, yeah, I know the world has moved on to cell phones, but I still like a quality optical zoom and the ability to use various exposure modes.

My last Elph series, a 520HS, has been carried daily for several years, and has been battered and bruised. The nail in its coffin was a scratch on the lens that’s become an irritant.

So I’ve upgraded to a Canon SX720HS that was on sale for $110 off through the Canon Canada website. I got my eager fingers on it today, and am impressed, though a bit disappointed in how much larger it is. More like a cargo-pant pocket camera, or I could put the included case on my belt and look even more the nerd : -).

But then again, the 720’s capabilities are a fair jump beyond the 520’s, so it’s a more than fair trade-off.

The retiring 520 and the new 720:

Canon 520HS Canon 720HS

Fishing, Food, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

DFO Community Advisor’s Last Fish Release on Burnaby’s Byrne Creek

Kids from Clinton Elementary in south Burnaby helped Byrne Creek Streamkeepers volunteers and DFO release coho smolts (yearling salmon) in Byrne Creek today.

It was a bittersweet event, as it was the last release on Byrne with retiring DFO Community Advisor Maurice Coulter-Boisvert.

But we’re very happy that long-time tech Scott is taking over Maurice’s role. Looking forward to working with you!

Byrne Creek coho smolt release
DFO and City of Burnaby staff share a laugh. It was that kind of uplifting day, and event, eh?


Byrne Creek Streamkeepers stalwart and Stream of Dreams co-founder Joan helps connect the kids to nature


Maurice on the salmon life cycle


Joan demonstrates proper fish release technique


Lining up to take fish down to the creek. The excitement is palpable. . . : – )


Netting coho smolts out of the tank, and putting them in baggies for the kids


Helping hands guide excited kids for a safe release


Look at them go!


Volunteer Ray points out how the fish quickly change color to match their new surroundings


They are so beautiful. Thanks so much to the volunteers at Kanaka Creek who raise these cuties!


Don’t mess with this crew : -)

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping, Sustainability

Spring Bug Count on Byrne Creek

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society volunteers sampled nine sites on the creek today for bugs — AKA aquatic invertebrates. The types and quantities of bugs found are an indicator of water quality.

Byrne Creek Bug Counting
After the bugs are collected using D-nets, we retire to a volunteer’s home to count in comfort, accompanied by coffee, tea, and muffins.


Caddisfly


Growing collection of mayflies


A cool aquatic snail

Food, Nature, Photography

Hours After Setting Up Mason Bee Station, Action!

We built this little shelter for our balcony and installed a mason-bee release box, and two containers of paper tubes that Yumi patiently rolled using bee-whisperer Joe Sadowski’s exact instructions as to proper sizing. He provided us with several dozen tubes, and a dowel to fashion our own.


Little bee station I made from scrap lumber saved in our garage. Nothing fancy, just a bit of shelter from rain. I had some old paint from painting a bedroom over ten years ago, and by chance it matches our siding :-).


Joe’s bee-release box at upper left — fashioned from a small plant container. A wooden box I made at center, and a pop-bottle tube holder Joe made on the right.


And within hours of taking cocoons out of their over-winter storage in the fridge, we’ve got action!


Yumi rolled over a hundred tubes in one evening!

mason bee action south Burnaby BC
Mason bees do not provide honey, but they are super pollinators, and are very docile and people-friendly.

I’d like to thank the City of Burnaby Parks Dept. for getting us started with mason bees a few years ago with their “adopt a mason bee condo” program in which volunteers were trained to monitor and maintain boxes supplied by the City and installed in municipal parks and schoolyards.

A few mason bee resources:

Suzuki Foundation How to Harvest Mason Bee Cocoons

West Coast Seeds A Year in Mason Bee Keeping

Bee Diverse — If you’re not handy and want to buy all your supplies this is a good source. Many garden shops also carry mason bee gear.

Nature, Photography, Sustainability

Prepping To Put Out Mason Bee Boxes

Yesterday, Yumi and I spent a wonderful evening with mason-bee whisperer and native-plant gardener Joe Sadowski. Thanks for the personal tutoring and inspiration!

We even got several plants to take home!

Today I put my basic carpentry skills to the test (earning at best a “C”), and made two additional boxes.

Mason Bee boxes

I’ve never been a cabinetry or finishing type of carpenter, if I may call myself a carpenter at all — more of a demolition and framing, roughing in, kinda guy.

But while not pretty, they’re functional.