Category Archives: commentary

Flaws in supporting pictures

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Alistair

This blog bases its postings on recently taken pictures from local nature. Now and then an identification is mistaken and this results in a flawed text. Nevertheless, the picture is correct. News sites have the opposite problem. A textual … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in commentary | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in commentary | 4 Comments

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

1,500^th 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 →

Posted in birds, commentary | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in commentary, weather | Comments Off