Category Archives: commentary

Squirrel stripes

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Alistair

The squirrel family (Sciuridae) is represented by quite a few species around the Lake: two of marmots, one tree squirrel, two ground squirrels, one flying squirrel, and one (maybe two) chipmunks. Only the chipmunks and the Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel sport stripes. … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 2 Comments

Anniversary bluebirds

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Alistair

Today marks the tenth anniversary of this website. It was launched on March 15th, 2005. The original, and abiding, objective of the site was neither commercial nor promotional. It was merely a notebook of things learned about my surroundings. Had someone else built … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 10 Comments

Bank slump

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Alistair

Creeks are brimming with water after days of warm rain and snowmelt. A few have burst banks while others merely cut into a bank that will give way on another occasion. When a creek takes a serpentine course, the … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, scenes | 3 Comments

Shooting the messenger

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Alistair

Margaret Atwood is among the many prominent authors and naturalists who recently sent an open letter to the Oxford University Press. The group expressed its profound alarm at the decline in a child’s awareness of the natural world. The petition … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 10 Comments

White-fronted Goose

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Alistair

These blog postings usually explore the ordinary. Ordinary doesn’t mean familiar, indeed obscurity often dominates. However, the exploration is ordinary in the sense that it treats locally encountered features. Ordinary doesn’t apply to the solitary Greater White-fronted Goose that … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | Comments Off

Official local site

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Alistair

bing.com (the Microsoft and Yahoo search engine) tries to add helpful information alongside its listings. So, if one searches for Vancouver Canada, out of the many million listings bing produces, it labels the one from the city, itself, as … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, weather | 7 Comments

Best grizzly ever

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Alistair

It is the best, most evocative, shot of a Grizzly Bear I have ever seen (and I have seen and taken many grizzly pictures). It was taken by Jim Lawrence, a wildlife photographer (Kootenay Reflections) and friend. The story … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 4 Comments

15-seconds of fame

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Alistair

Today on ten-minutes’ notice, I was interviewed for a BBC science programme. Unexpectedly, I was asked to comment on an article in a British newspaper with the intriguing title: Passenger’s amazing photo captures moment her plane flew directly over … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, weather | 5 Comments

Observational physics

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Alistair

I do little to promote my blog or website as each was created primarily for my own satisfaction. Occasionally, I mention an avian posting to a birding group, but that is about it. That others look at my material … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary | 2 Comments

Marauding menace

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Alistair

A search of news services reveals that a number of municipalities in the Province either have implemented or anticipate implementing deer culls. As a public service for locals who might mistakenly view visits from deer as one of the delightful perquisites of rural living, I offer … Continue reading →