from reddit, click and open in new tag to embiggen
apropos of nothing, were you aware that pocket gophers glow under UV
Category: Insects/Critters
lizard
saw the cutest little baby European wall lizard on the wall of Country Bee Honey.
Having a lovely day. Katie is napping with the lad and I just had a nice long chat with Auntie Mary.
another bear video
apparently from Vancouver.
Roll for initiative, roll for initiative!
Small shop & collapse
Well my brief burst of energy has imploded. I’m feeling small and tangled-up and misanthropic, but many things, including Buster’s training schedule, are exactly as they should be. But…. blueberry turnovers, for the first time, so that was tasty.
Slept from 9:30 pm to 6 am this morning! I am well rested but not energetic, what gives, body.
Heading to Victoria next week with some descendants, unless something hinders. Fingers crossed for a good visit.
This is for me mam.
Still LOVING “Wanted”, coming up on the end of the show, 3rd season.
And from the JOSUS FUKING CHRIS IT’S A PANDEMIC PEOPLE department…
OTTAWA — The Public Service Alliance of Canada president says he “will not stand for the termination” of federal public servants who refuse to get vaccinated, after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau warned of “consequences” for those civil servants.
In an interview with CTV News, Chris Aylward said “it’s very concerning to us when national party leaders are making statements around discipline around terminations when it comes to these vaccinations. That is totally unacceptable to us.”
Aylward, who represents more than 160,000 federal public servants, stated that he supports the government’s stance that all federal public servants should be vaccinated. But he said unvaccinated employees will require accommodations to keep their jobs.
- CTV News, from website 10;08 am PST 18 Aug 2021
An Alabama doctor is tired of helping people who refuse to protect themselves and others – so he’s no longer taking appointments with anti-vaxxers.
Mobile, Ala., physician Dr. Jason Valentine posted a photo on Facebook in which he’s seen standing in front of a sign that reads “Effective Oct. 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against COVID-19.”
from
Today is the 40th anniversary of the day Paul and I went to housekeeping. I emailed him asking him if he wants to get takeout for lunch. His response was that he has appointments so we’ll do it tomorrow.
I am not going to spend a lot of time yoinking your chain about Afghanistan. The politics of exploitation and colonization stretch into pre-history and I’m not a pro. Therefore I will stick with the present.
- If you have the money or donations in kind, please give generously to Afghan refugee and aid organizations in Canada or your jurisdiction. They are more clued in to what is going on and what is needed than I am and I’d rather give money to an Afghani woman in Canada, who will most intelligently disburse what she can to current refugees, than try to give a dime to international aid organizations, given the difficulties with freight at the moment. If your hope is lively donate directly to Afghan Red Crescent
- Please, if you have the stomach for it, read this: Stonekettle’s comments about Afghanistan.
- Please consider sponsoring or assisting in sponsoring a refugee, or asking your house of worship to sponsor someone. The one time I signed sponsorship papers for an individual it was the brother in law of a co-worker. I signed up for being financially responsible for him (as did another co-worker, who awesome as they are will remain nameless here) but never had to expend cash because he was working and self supporting two months after landing here (despite his considerable health problems, a consequence of the privations he endured as a refugee).
little birdies
The nesting pair of Great Blue Herons was at Fraser Foreshore Park today; they went to their usual haunts and one of them yelled at the water for a while for reasons that were completely opaque to me and Paul. We saw what I believe was a Pacific wren trot at a great rate of knots across the trail. I fed the last of the unsalted roasted peanuts to the crows, and glad they were of it.
It was almost too hot to walk, but in the shelter of the cottonwoods it was deliciously cool.
No other critters…. it’s starting to get to be the quiet part of the year, the male birds aren’t singing as much. But even when we see nothing, this guy sees lots.
Sundry
Got to see a momma raccoon and her three babies in a stream at Fraser Foreshore Park!
Also got very close to the two herons.
Ate sushi in the shade outside LA Sushi afterward, and then picked up some milk and halvah as a treat.
This is a Highland calf
This is Granville street in 1959
A handsome family (Barry, Alex, Imp)
It’s nice when the temperature goes back to ‘normal’
Teddy Bear’s picnic gets kinky.
Go for the gusto buddy
another beautiful day at the Foreshore
I SAW A NEW MAMMAL YESTERDAY
Yes, it’s worth yelling about.
And now I want to rant for such a long time, but I won’t. It has a white guy’s name.
I saw a townsend’s vole. And you know what else!? I saw it for perhaps 1.5 seconds as it ran from the water’s edge to the cover of the rushes and IDENTIFIED IT AS A VOLE RIGHT AWAY. No hesitation. Just THAT’S A VOLE at the top of my lungs. Despite the fact it was about twice as big as any I’ve ever seen in life…
Do you know how often I get to see a new mammal? Last time was the bobcat and that was the November before the November before the pandemic.
The critter was EXACTLY as I remembered it when I looked it up less than two hours later. Only difference was it had been tooling around in grey green mud so he was a little closer to the grey green end of the spectrum, not a wholesome plump brown like the illos.
No masks. Paul still wanders WAY TOO CLOSE to people, that man’s going to get himself a faceful of virus one of these days. I try to keep 6 feet, outdoors or no.
Also yesterday I made Paul sit through all the work I’ve done to get a bird list with calls together for us for when we go through Deer Lake Park. We ate Mike M’s chowder, which he dropped off Sunday night and how good it was to see him.
Continued writing, about 500 words yesterday and the same this morning so far.
Buried in ants in the kitchen. Something must be done.
cheerful but lazy
Uh, yup, that’s me.
Temporary crown has not come off yet.
Timmy Ho’s yesterday morning, followed by Time Team… happy sigh.
Fed Paul over at his place yesterday – finished off the Salad Shirazi (finely chopped english cuke, couple tomatoes, fresh mint, fresh parsley, juice of one lemon, a little onion – absolutely amazing, who needs salt?), provided him with chicken curry and rice pudding. He ate it with gusto.
Keith seems to be doing okay. He had a tiny bit of Shirazi salad and Paul hoovered up his leftovers… lol. Keith’s thinking about going back to school. Obviously I am more than happy about this and will approve whatever he chooses to study. Also, offered him shelter/respite if the baby turns out to be colicky or has a bad turn and he needs a decent night of sleep for his own health.
Prior to that we went to Fraser Foreshore Glenlyon side. Paul and I have watched any number of herons do any number of things – shit on our windshield while we’re going down the 401 at 90 kph – make a left hand turn on final descent into an airport on Christmas Day – leap into the air in front of us while we’re bike commuting – FUCK THAT’S BIG – gain three meters in altitude instantly upon taking a massive dump after take off – but we never saw what we saw yesterday before.
The heron landed sideways. It looked like it was doing a sliding tap dance on the surface of the water, and then just flung out its wings and set down. The grace, the total coolth and control… fabulous. Just wonderful. Like Fred Astaire possessed its body for five seconds.
SO MANY BEES: bumbles, honey bees.
Nice people to talk to. and Dorgles.
Amazing, beautiful weather, not too hot in the sun or chilly in the shade. Tide was EXTREMELY low.
Only grit was MUCH NOISE from Parks workers and the local industries.
Today – laundry and a quick shopping expotition.
A little nod and wink to Dave
The elytra of a Elaphrus sp ground beetle, Oklahoma. Practically invisible on mud, according to the photographer, Thomas Shahan, but up close HOLY CRAP
MY NUTS were RETURNED TO SENDER. and now they are going to have them redelivered at their expense.
It was perfect weather and the number on the house couldn’t be bigger AND JEFF AND I NEVER LEFT THE HOUSE DURING DELIVERY HOURS how they could have said they couldn’t effect delivery BLOWS MY MIND. Fuck Canada Post.
about my skills you may not harp
Cause I dove down and caught a carp.
Photo credit Zöe Rossman, Mammalogist. Photo shows a coyote with a bigass carp in its mouth, moments after diving down to catch it. Zöe got to watch the whole thing. I believe this is in New Mexico but given the ubiquity of both coyotes and common carp it could be almost anywhere in NA
Good morning mOm
Check out the masks that Jan made with your fabric that I sent her!!!
VERY SOGGY and abbreviated walk at Oakalla yesterday. Brought Paul back here for Ciabatta/pulled pork and tea. The snow was all slush. No otters. Towhees though.
Paul wanted to make sure that you knew mOm, that we were walking out of the park, and talking about you, and just as we did so a pterodactyl (Dryocopus pileatus) called to my right, and its mate called from the other side of the woods, to Paul’s left. We both burst out laughing at the idea that you and p0p got represented for our walk… and as I say, Paul was adamant that I advise you.
Coming up to a romantic and emotional writing session but I’ve been working on it for about a week now in the background (thinkita thinkita). I am trying to write it without using ‘love’ or ownership words which is going to be brutally hard, but I hope to manage.
Radam Ridwan’s message on instagram this morning about beach bodies and fatphobia GIVETH ME LIFE. I love them so.
Learned this morning that a NYC police officer assaulted one of the Capitol police on Jan 6. You know that what we’re looking at is a civil war; it hasn’t been declared, but there are 500K in the ground already.
This starfish, snapped by @figureoutthesea on Insta, appears to be saying ‘fuck you!’ to the juvenile glaucous winged gull.
walkies with OTTERS
Two decades I’ve been going to Deer Lake Park and this was the first time I’ve ever seen otters. I’ve seen their slides a million times, but not them. They looked me right in the face. I thought my soul had been yoinked up to heaven, I was so happy. And do you know where they were? WHERE THEY COULD BE SEEN WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR.
Now that’s Mother Nature excelling at yanking my chain.
Jeff got to see one too.
I’ll tread where I please
The Don’t Tread on Me flag with “Don’t call my employer and say you recognize me in the FBI photos from the Capitol” tagline
OH MY FUCKING GOD Susie Bright just followed me on Twitter, excuse me while I fan myself.
an amusing internet squib
André Muller made this genius work of art:
annnnnd this
I see the Daily Fail has been at it again
and then there’s this asshole
To apologize for putting both Anthony Sabatini (famine and death attend him) and Kyle Rittenhouse (may he never sleep again until the long sleep takes him) on eye level with you, have this.
EVERY CHILD EVERYWHERE