I've been sleeping ...

... with my head on my desk for an hour.

And now I have a stiff neck.

I'm going to bed. Cya tomorrow!

Cabin with a view.

Caught in passing

Seen in the alleys and lanes last week:

Resting place



# 119



On its last (3) legs



Woof! Let me out! Please? (His tail went round and round like a windmill.)



Watch for splinters.



Alley cat

36 Photos of Worm Poop

No, I'm not going to subject you to all 36. But I could. Easily.

Sunday afternoon, we went to Boundary Bay, as usual, but this time turned north, away from the park and the populated areas.


The tide was very low; it seemed, almost, as if we could have walked across the bay to the Surrey side. And all that expanse was dedicated to lugworm (Abarenicola pacifica) poop.

As far as the eye could see.

The invasive sea snails that pollute the park area to the south are scattered sparsely, here, between the lugworm casts; apart from this, we saw a few clam shells, and occasional "pimples"; the outlets of clam burrows.

There are millions of lugworms, though. Or billions.

Worm city.

Something was strange about this area; the only birds we saw were a few seagulls, far in the distance. I wonder why: do they not find the food they like here?

Lugworm. Looks yummy. To a bird, that is.

The worms live in burrows about 20-25 cm. (8 to 10 inches) deep. They eat the sand at the bottom, scrub out the goodies, and excrete the cleaned sand through the opening at the top of the burrow; the tail end is close to the surface. They would not be available to the birds, however; how fast do they dig down when they are disturbed? Something to experiment with, next time I'm at the beach. I'm carrying some digging instrument from now on.

There's not much else for a bird to eat; not even enough eelgrass to harbour other organisms. We saw no sandfleas, no crabs, no hermit crabs, even, in the snail shells.

An "empty" area; twice as many lugworms as snails.

Lugworms poop upwards.

From False Bay Species Descriptions, I found another way to pester these critters:

Try the following trick: poke a finger into a burrow hole, and see if water springs up out of another hole, showing that the two holes are connected by a common burrow.

Final shot; only the larger piles visible. The small ones are underwater.

Lugworm photo from here.

36 Photos of an egg

Looking for photos of lugworms (for my next post), I re-discovered WaveLength Magazine, a kayaker's mag. The lugworm page was not what I wanted, but "leafing" through back issues, I found this interesting photography assignment:

"Before you leave on your next trip, you should take 36 photos of an egg."

An egg? Why an egg?

The idea, I gather, is to force you to think of new ways to portray your subject. One or two photos won't do the trick; getting 36 different shots of the same simple object just may. Check out their article.

I immediately had to try it out. I took 36 shots of one egg. Half were duds, but looking them over, I thought of new ways I could tackle the assignment, so I'm going to do another 36.

And, before I post any of my results, I want to pass the assignment on:

"Think about an egg. An egg can represent many things. Whiteness, fragility, birth, food, purity, growth—these are some themes of “eggness.” Your assignment: take 36 different pictures of that egg. There are no other rules. Better yet, get a couple of friends to do the same exercise, and share your results."

Anyone want to try this? Let's compare notes: post your results in your own blog, and add a link in the comments here or on my egg post (in a couple of days).

*Update: I have set up a Flickr group where you can add your photos. Here: 36 Photos of an egg. I started it off with a half-dozen: 2 1/2 more to go, for me.

Canadian Content

Hi, there!

So Bloglines appears to be down today. There is no message to that effect; it just hasn't updated any of the blogs on my list. It remembers which ones I read, and who I am, and all that; just gives me no updates.

But I must have my fix!

I called up my list and went on down, clicking on each one to bring up the old posts, then on their "home" page for the new ones. Slower going than usual; I abbreviated the process, going only for the "must-reads".

One of the first was Cicero Sings. Where I found she'd awarded me the . Thanks, Cis! You made my day!

"Cis" remarked that she had passed on the award before to Canadian bloggers, and was continuing along the same lines. Which got me noticing how many of my "must-reads" are Canadian.

And now I must pass on this award; it's burning my fingers. So here are my day-makers, Canadians all:

First; a few I've linked to before, sometimes often:

Hugh, at Rock, Paper, Lizard. He's just across the river from me, and we end up comparing notes frequently. (Hey, Hugh, we saw a couple of pairs of red-winged blackbirds today, too!)

Jean at A Mountain Too High.

Botany Photo of the Day, from UBC Botanical Garden. Beautiful, if not exactly daily.

Prairie Preacher. Such enthusiasm! (Even in despair, he's 110% about it.) I liked his joke today.

And a few I check out often, but haven't linked to before:

Ontario Wanderer. Photos and commentary.

The Interpreter. Fiction; the square peg in a round world. Funny and heart-warming. When you go there, look at the URL. It defines the personality of the interpreter.

Existential Existence. One photo a day. Mostly wordless. But some people just don't need words.

A bit more wordy: Sandwalk. Biochemistry, Tim Horton's, life in general. Right now, he's in Paris, misbehaving.

And one final blog; Primordial Blog. Home of "The Sexiest Animal on the Planet" series. He says the post you must read is the one on Porcupines. Warning; this blog may not be to the taste of some.

Omniscience in the 21st century

Church sign, Tsawwassen

Blooms within blooms

"Let's go look for flowers in Beach Grove," Laurie says. Well, it's warmer down there, one block north of the US border; maybe it was time.

Crocuses, palest mauve and yellow.

Yes, it was.

Snowdrops

Miniature daffodils


Primulas. The centers so bright the eye boggles.

Up close and personal:

Bergenia


Tulip. Tips of the early leaves. About 2 inches high.


A fly sips on crocus nectar.
Click on this, and notice the way the veins in the wings echo those in the crocus petals.


Zooming down. Yellow crocus.


Closer: almost like another flower at the centre of this crocus.


Blue crocus, yellow stigma (the central fan things) and anthers (lower stalks, with pollen).

Terry Street Stairs: Overhead, underfoot and on the rocks

The cliff face from White Rock to Kwomais Point is steep, high, treacherous and prone to mudslides. That hasn't deterred the residents of the upper slope from making tracks to the beach; walking the railroad tracks at the bottom, we see trail outlets at every little gully or creek mouth. Some are private, some public, some well-built, railed paths and staircases, some just a few boards or logs jammed in the muddiest spots, some foot-paths made by running and sliding teenagers. On the way down, trails or staircases from the individual houses above angle across the slopes to join the main routes.

None of these trails are mapped. None are visible on Google maps; the trees above hide them.

We have been driving down each short street and alley off Marine Drive, scanning the gaps between houses, looking for a way down. Our latest find, last Thursday, is at the dead end of Terry Street (one block long).

199 solid steps, railed, and a long, sometimes steep trail.

This is a lousy photo; my camera protests at the difference in light and dark; the houses above in full sun, aimed at from the dark of the ravine. But it gives an idea of the terrain. This was from about 1/2 of the way down. The bare patch on the right is a mudslide scar. Laurie has scrambled across the blackberry canes to the creek; off the trail.


Not very pretty. Looking back up, anyhow. Tangled, scrubby bush, overrun with blackberries, dry and brown at this time of year.

But look down!


Quite a bit more climbing to do, and then the blue ocean.

On these slopes, the trees, alder, pine, birch, etc., adopt fantastic shapes, lop-sided and broken. Several had recently fallen across the trail and been chain-sawed out of the way. In a couple of spots, the trail was sprinkled with sawdust from woodpecker carpentry too far above to locate.

All to one side. Some repair work done with a chainsaw.

Nothing left but the bare trunk.

Overhead, a delicate tracery of branches and last summer's leaves.

At ground level, spring growth is on its way, straight and true.

This showed up on my screen, but was barely noticeable to the unaided eye:

On the mudslide scar, the shadow of an evergreen behind me.

One of the fallen trees, sawed off where it crossed the trail, is turning purple:

Some sort of crust fungus.

Here's a close-up, a bit fuzzy. (In real life, as well as the photography.) Look at that furry back!


On another downed trunk:

Tiny green lichen.

And a yellow jelly.

Looks good enough to eat.

Down at the bottom, several flocks of diving ducks kept well beyond camera range. Seagulls flew overhead and away. But this guy stood his ground. When we came too close, he picked up the treasure he was guarding, and retreated to the water's edge. We kept coming. He hopped over to this rock, and stood, holding his trophy. "Mine, mine, all mine! You're not getting any!"

It looks to me like part of a large crab. Probably stinky. We didn't want any.

Morning mist

Outside my bedroom window, Wednesday morning:


We hiked down another set of steps to the White Rock beach today (well, yesterday, since it's well past midnight now). 199 steps down, plus a steep trail, 199 steps up, plus ditto. I am too tired to blog about it at the moment. Tomorrow, I'll have the goods.

Just what I needed!

How to clean your computer's screen.

And I had just used Windex and a micro-lint cloth! But this method is so much more ... simple? ... labour-saving? ... No; "thorough" would be the right word; an intensive, deep cleaning, cleaning from the inside out.

Carpet beetles - cute, but ...

... I don't want them in my carpets. Nor in my sweaters. And definitely not in my insect collection.

I dusted and vacuumed my collection corner today, and later found this beetle walking up the wall. It was just a dot, like a fleck of dust, but when I looked closely, I could see a hint of legs. A varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci.

About 2 mm long, very active.

These, up close, are attractive beetles, with the tortoise-shell markings and the nicely rounded back. They fly readily, and enter houses through any tiny crack. In this stage, the adult, they do no damage, as far as I know. Except that they lay eggs.

Beetle flipped over on his back. Not happy about it.

Actually, the eggs aren't a problem, either. Except that they hatch in a couple of weeks, and head directly for the goodies.

Food: The larvae of this pest will feed upon a great variety of animal and plant products, such as carpets, woolen goods, skins, furs, stuffed animals, leather book bindings, feathers, horns, whalebone, hair, silk, fish manure, and dried silk worm pupae. Also it will attack plant products such as rye meal, cacao, corn and red pepper.
(From PestControl Canada.)

Well, they're welcome to any dried silk worm pupae or fish manure I have around the house (none), but not to my book bindings, nor anything else on that list.

Here's the larva I found in my laundry basket a couple of months ago, munching on a woolen blanket.


Question; do two adult carpet beetles, two larvae in 4 months constitute an infestation?

Question number 2: how do I get rid of them?

From PestControl Canada, again;

Carpet beetle controls include eliminating the beetles by cleaning or destroying infested items (clothing, food products, etc.). Often, the source may be difficult to find or there may not be a single source. A major part of carpet beetle prevention and control is thorough vacuum cleaning to prevent the accumulation of lint, hair, and other carpet beetle food materials. ... Pay close attention to areas where lint accumulates (corners, baseboards, shelves, etc.). Be sure to dispose of the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag after you clean. Clean or dispose of infested clothing, cloth, blankets and other fabrics. Freeze-treat small items such as ornaments and fur toys by placing them in the home freezer for a week. Periodic brushing and sunning of stored fabrics is helpful in prevention and control.
Store fabrics that contain wool or other animal fibers only after they have been brushed and cleaned. Storage in tightly sealed chests or storage closets is recommended. Cedar chests provide protection only for fabrics that are initially free from carpet beetles and clothes moths. Moth crystals,flakes or balls can be used...

I noticed today that the vacuum cleaner I have been using does not deal very well with the edges, at the baseboards. And that's where the eggs will be. Looks like I'll have to dig out the old monster with the good crevice tool.

I may be bug-tolerant, but I do have my limits.

Sheer Orneriness!

I have a tiny backyard, in deep shade, and sandwiched between a 3-storey building and a line of evergreens hiding a public foot-path. It's not prime birding territory, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have the patronage of my small flock.

I have 2 feeders, with an additional bowl that I set out when the weather is atrocious. There's a bucket of assorted bird seed hung on a post; the juncos and a pair of squirrels mainly use this. Sometimes a fox sparrow or two joins in; mostly they just pick up the handful of seeds I throw under the shrubbery.

The other feeder is my own invention; a home-made pop-bottle feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. I've been using one of these for about 10 years, and it has never failed to attract the chickadees.

I've posted this photo before, but it shows the feeder in operation:

A nuthatch, last fall

(I have posted instructions for making this feeder, here.)

This feeder serves the chickadees well, and the occasional nuthatch. Squirrels can't get at it. Unfortunately, neither can most of the ground birds; it swings and spins wildly at the least touch. I have never seen a sparrow at the feeder, at all. One (and I think one only) of my juncos has been making attempts at it, leaping from the nearest branch of the maple, flopping around wildly in the air, and occasionally actually grasping the perch and getting its reward. (I stand at my window rooting for it; "Go get 'em, little feller!")

The last couple of days, a pair of nuthatches have been assiduously ferrying seeds to the cedars. I thought I'd try for another photograph.

The feeder hangs about a foot outside my bedroom window; very handy for photography. But when I stand at the window with a camera, only the chickadees will stay on the perch for any length of time. Since September, when I got in the shot above, the nuthatches recognize me and drop off the perch, seedless, the instant they realize I am there. And the poor junco sees me, hesitates in the air, flaps all over the place, then misses the perch and drops.

So I set up the tripod at the open window, attached the camera, and hid myself from view behind the curtain, with only my shutter finger visible. I sat down to wait.

And even the chickadees took exception to that arrangement. Often, they stay on the perch, spinning around and around for a while before they take their seed and go off to crack it open; I think they get a kick out of the merry-go-round effect. But not today. Fly in, grab a perch for a split second, snatch a seed and escape before that nasty flash gets in their eyes; that was their technique. I took umpteen shots, and ended up with only two, both of a slightly smaller chickadee that I had seen for the first time a couple of days ago. Most of the rest of the photos were of an empty feeder, maybe with a blurry wing in the background.

The newcomer.

Just plain uncooperative, that's what they are, the lot of them.

However, there's a good side to it. Looking over the failed photos, I noticed that at least one of those escaping chickadees is a different colour: on the side, the flash catches a rich chestnut brown instead of the cream - buff - grey tones I'm used to.

It's a chestnut-backed chickadee, new to my backyard. Very nice. Now, to see if I can get a decent photo.

I'm leaving the tripod at the window. Maybe they'll get used to it. (Fingers crossed.)

Reflections in Stained Glass

The church next door, portmanteau edition.

Bubble Wrap

Serious winterizing
Beach Grove, at Boundary Bay.

Feels like home

More gleanings from our stored photos; these were from a few summers ago.

Laurie, out biking, takes a break in a park, and discovers a runaway. (Should that be "flyaway"?)

A parakeet?

Yes, a parakeet. Who has seen something interesting, himself.

Ahhh! Bars! Home away from home! But where's the food dish?

He's hand-trained, too.

Laurie delivered him to a resident of the area; they were last seen going door-to-door looking for the budgie's caregivers. Because no matter how much he loves his freedom, he'll hate the BC winter.