Category Archives: commentary

Kokanee Wild

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Alistair

  Once a year, I mention a presentation that I will be giving — this is the one for 2019. Topic: Kokanee Wild Presenter: Alistair Fraser Occasion: Science in the Park When: 7-8 pm, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019 Where: Nature … Continue reading →

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Seeing nature remotely

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Alistair

  Sometimes one cannot get out into nature oneself and the only way to appreciate it is remotely through a book, TV, or possibly even a blog. There was an occasion fifty years ago today when I found an aspect … Continue reading →

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Canada’s diversity

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Alistair

  Today, July 1st, marks Canada Day and the country’s 152nd birthday. Canadians value and celebrate diversity — by which they mean cultural diversity. However, some feel that the preservation of our species diversity merits a similar attention. This selection … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, commentary, fish, herptiles, mammals, weather | 7 Comments

1,500th posting

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Alistair

  This is the fifteen-hundredth posting to the blog, Exploring Kootenay Lake. The oldest was a decade ago in December, 2009. The blog is merely a notebook to which I regularly record delight with my surroundings. Yet, as these notes … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, fish, mammals, weather | 23 Comments

Lake ullage

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Alistair

  Kootenay Lake is at the lowest level I have seen it in the last couple of decades. The low water of March and April is, of course, an annual spring feature, which occurs when there is a reduced inflow … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, weather | 1 Comment

Dock 'n' duck

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Alistair

  Dock 'n' duck is an odd title for a posting that only shows a picture of a circling eagle. However, this is the second time this year that I watched an interesting behaviour whereby a duck — earlier a … Continue reading →

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Great War, R.I.P.

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Alistair

  Today, November 11, 2018, marks the centennial of the end of the Great War (1914-1918), a horrendous conflict that erupted accidentally. Requiescant in pace. Ancestral military service: In addition to my grandfather’s service during the Great War, my father, … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, history | 12 Comments

Underwater spring

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Alistair

  Video: It is rare that I think that a posting would have been improved by the inclusion of a video clip. I am usually more concerned with stopping motion than showing it. However today, a movie  clip would have … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, scenes, weather | 1 Comment

Perplexing sky

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Alistair

  Down here on the surface of the earth, we are used to judging distance with the help of contrast: distant objects have a lower contrast than those in the foreground. This insight works for solid objects with sharp boundaries. … Continue reading →

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Ecotone walk

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Alistair

  I could have merely spoken of a walk along the beach, but, I wanted to emphasize something subtly different than such a stroll. An ecotone is a place where ecologies are in tension (in Greek, the word is tonos). It describes … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, fish, mammals | 3 Comments