As we were nearing Kanaka Creek in Maple Ridge, BC, today for a woodland trail ramble, my wife spotted this coyote in a field. We pulled over and I got several shots before it trotted off.
It moved into some stronger light, and marked its territory while staring straight into the lens.
This is a great time of year to see salmon and eagles up the Sea-to-Sky highway heading north from Vancouver to Squamish.
Didn’t see that many of the magnificent raptors today, but enough for some decent photos.
Eagle soaring above the Paradise Valley road north of Squamish, BC
Lunching on what appears to be a chum salmon on the Squamish River
Cruising along the Squamish River
A mass of biomass. Lots of carcasses near the Tenderfoot hatchery off the Paradise Valley road north of Squamish. It looks gross, but salmon bring nutrients back from the ocean that enrich our coastal forests and other wildlife.
I ordered a SanDisk Ultra 32GB SDHC card online and got it today.
Disappointed that it came without a case. Every SDHC card I’ve ever bought previously — Kingston, ADATA, Patriot, and even some no-name ones — have always come with cases. And some SanDisk ones bought years ago.
I thought SanDisk was supposed to be a high-end product?
I’d think the difference between providing a case and just packing in flex must be on the order of a few cents.
I am an “environmentalist.” Local papers have labelled me an “activist.”
Yet as I sit here in my office, I am surrounded by metal, plastic, wood, paper — all materials mined or “harvested” from the environment I purport to protect.
I could not be sharing this with you, if you were not also in possession of plastic, glass, various metals that make up computers or tablets or smartphones, and the electrical energy required to charge their batteries, and run the infrastructure of the Internet.
You are all plugged into your various electrical grids. Some of you could be burning coal to read this, some of you oil. Some of you may be fortunate to be using hydro power (which still kills rivers and fish).
Anyone out there know for sure that they’re purely solar? Or geothermal? And then, what materials were used to make those panels, or bore and set up those wells?
It’s a tough world we live in, for those of us aware enough to realize that we’ve got problems.
BTW this is not meant as message of despair, it’s meant to be a message of awareness, and stimulation to design things better going forward.
I was expecting a nature tour around Deer Lake in Buranby, BC, today, but I couldn’t find the group. I ended up taking a bit over two hours to walk around the lake with my camera on a crisp, sunny morning. Here’s a set of 30 shots in a Flickr album.
Yes, I know circumrambulation is not a word, but I think it should be. It’s what you do when you ramble entirely around a lake : -).
I also counted about 30 chum salmon carcasses in Buckingham Creek, in the short stretch where it runs north of the parking lot and into the lake. I was impressed. Salmon had disappeared from the creek for decades, and began returning again only recently after restoration efforts including making culverts more fish friendly. The first time Yumi and I saw a salmon carcass there was in 2009, documented on my old blog.
I enjoy the “Before and After” show on TV Japan. Yes, it’s a home renovation show, but with Japanese construction, architecture, and interior design.
Often the show is about some 50- or 75- or even 100-year-old house, with a lone grandmother living there. The architects do amazing jobs of refurbishing these old homes, and a common theme is preserving as much of the past as possible while incorporating as many modern amenities as budgets permit.
Much of what is torn down is reused, and often in emotionally powerful ways. Japanese construction features extensive use of beautiful wood, much of which can be reused or re-cut.
The architects also honor the departed. For example, items from a late grandfather’s workshop may be incorporated into the modern decor.
A favorite rock in the garden takes a new place of honor in the restyled greenery.
Was a deceased family member an avid ink painter or photographer? A favorite piece may be used as a template for a much larger decorative feature.
Perhaps the house used to be fronted by the owner’s business — a sushi counter or noodle shop — and elements of such are maintained and used in creative ways.
And since these houses are often being improved for elderly persons, many shows depict creative solutions to barrier-free issues.
Japanese homes tend to be smaller than North American ones, so often unique space-saving solutions are thought up.
It all adds up to compelling story-telling that educates and warms the heart.
As I patrolled Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, in search of spawning salmon on Nov. 4, I didn’t see any fish as the water was high and fast. But I did get several video clips of moving water that I edited together into a 2-minute video today.
BTW, nothing fancy. I used my Canon Elph 520HS pocket camera in its 1920 HD video mode. I mounted it on a GorillaPod so that I could get nice and low into the creek, while keeping things steady.
I edited the clips together using the standard Windows Movie Maker that came with Windows 8.1
No music, no narration, just the sights and sounds of moving water in nature.
Enjoy!
I’m wondering if the colder weather has enticed a mouse into the house. The cat’s antsy, and wants to check out all the less used spaces behind closed doors — the storage under the stairs, the utility room, etc.
She rid us of a couple of mice a few years ago that sneaked in from the garage. Didn’t kill them, but caught them and brought them to us, and we released them outdoors.
She’s certainly fixated:
Ensconced in her cat cave, yet vigilant. The door to the under-stairs storage is about three bounds straight ahead, and is slightly ajar for access.
And yes, Daddy’s sweatshirts are great for sleeping on, under, in. . .
So are his outdoor fleeces, if he forgets to hang one up and just tosses it on the chair : -). That scenario results in a mass of cat hair matted onto the fleece.
Dear pedestrian dressed from head to toe in dark clothing who ran across the road in front of my car on this dark and stormy night:
I have no desire to facilitate your progress toward a Darwin Award.
If I hadn’t noticed you weaving on and off the sidewalk like a scared rabbit, I may not have seen your sudden dash.
Oh, and BTW, you were moving toward a well-lit crosswalk just ten or fifteen meters down the road.
I suspect there may be a few folks out there disturbed by reports that a bobcat has been sighted several times at Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC. Deer Lake is one of Burnaby’s beautiful parks, and I find the reports exhilarating and uplifting.
A bobcat seen smack in the center of one of BC’s largest cities. Excellent!
Here’s the Burnaby Newsleader story.
I was also heartened by the response from Burnaby Parks that this was nothing to be afraid of, and that, indeed, the sightings show that we have a relatively healthy environment in our city.
I agree. The more species that can share and thrive in the same space, the healthier the environment you have. In contrast, the loss of species diminishes all of us.
I suspect this cat strayed here from remoter areas, but that’s also a good sign. The fact that wildlife can travel from place to place in an urban/suburban area is a positive indicator that we still have enough green spaces and green corridors to allow for such travel.
It’s been reported that the bobcat runs away when it sees humans, and that’s good. Wild animals should remain wild. It’s when humans interfere by feeding them, and trying to interact with them, that they can become dangerous.
Perhaps domestic cats and small dogs may be enticing to the bobcat, but dogs should be kept close all the time, and leashed much of the time, anyway.
Domestic cats? They have a huge negative impact on small wildlife and birds for they will kill even if they are well fed at home. Try to keep your cat indoors. Our cat is very content, and she’s 99.8% indoor, only going out on a harness from time to time to enjoy the grass.