iBiome

raindrops in my garden

  a few weeks ago a little water constellation. now frost

wandering around Chinatown

Chinatown is one of my favourite parts of Vancouver. It's the largest Chinatown in Canada and always diverse and engaging. Start here in the tranquility of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park, and wander from there. 

I love browsing the wildlife available in wet markets.  Where did they get these geckos?

BBQ pork, duck, and lots more.

Octopus and other sea life abound.  a bit dessicated perhaps.

I should note that the folks at T & T supermarket wouldn't let me take any photos of the live fish tank.   I wonder if they have had some run-ins with DFO.  It would be interesting to know where they source some of the sea life they have on offer.

Yarn bombing

I just read this article in the Vancouver courier about one of the odder forms of activism i have encountered (I've passed the display on Davie a couple of times).

Here in Vancouver, examples of yarn bombing pop up throughout the city, particularly in the Strathcona neighbourhood. The most vibrant example, however, is the Davie Street community garden fence, which now sports a technicolour sweater.

Knit graffiti can also be used by "craftivists" who want to get a message across in a creative and dynamic way. For instance, a fence on the south side of Oppenheimer Park has a large protest sign knitted in yellow plastic that was created by a Downtown Eastside resident after the park was closed off from the public June 15 for redevelopment. The sign reads: "An offence against our neighbourhood."

For all its appeal, the joining of knitting and street activism reminds me of this:

wings over Boundary Bay

Bald eagles are everywhere on the BC Coast but I rarely get one in front of the camera. Unfortunately not even this image is as clear as it could be.

This particular eagle was slowly riding the cool breeze over Boundary Bay on Saturday evening. 

wings over Vancouver

Flying over the city on the way back from Victoria, looking east past BC Place stadium to the coast mountains, Burrard Inlet, and Burnaby.

The Bullhead Derby

A couple of weekends ago the bairns and I participated in the Bullhead Derby in Steveston.  Scores of kids chasing sculpins large and small off the shore of Garry Point.  It was a lot of fun and #2 child took 2nd prize with a 9 1/2" fish (at right). All good.

a colony of bees in the garden

Last weekend we were treated to an unusual wildlife encounter. A colony of bees, likely in the process of locating and founding a new hive, settled in our garden on Saturday afternoon.  After trying out a branch in our plum tree, they dropped to the ground and settled for the next 24 hours or so.  Individual bees, perhaps scouts, shuttled in and out of the cluster until sunset and then again throughout Sunday morning.  Finally on Sunday evening they rose in one great cloud (well, they did leave some stragglers) and made their way to Pacific Spirit Park.   

It's great to see honey bees around and, it seems, in good health.

a foggy day

A park near my house.  Under fog instead of under snow is a welcome change. 

Piling up

The strike has gone on for almost 2 months.  What are people doing with the garbage?  Some are dumping it in the parks, others with friends and relatives in nearby municipalities. We are fortunate to have a garage and a few garbage cans to stockpile away from the house.  But if we were back in our old apartment in Kits we'd be screwed (particularly with the flow of dirty diapers we're generating).  Some people we know are burning stuff in their fireplaces.  I'm sincerely curious about how people are managing their garbage & recycling pileup.

Link: Strike makes woman easy pickings for garbage scam.

A Vancouver woman and three of her neighbours are out $40 after being tricked by a bogus trash collector. Tara Wohlberg told CBC News a man with a van full of garbage knocked on her door at 5 p.m. Thursday and offered to take her garbage away for $20. She said she collected up a bag of her own trash and three from her neighbours and paid the man a total $40 to take it all away. But the next morning, her garbage had been returned to her alley and "the rats, crows and raccoons had an all-nighter with my fish skins and cat litter," she said.

Today's Invertebrate

Sea nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens) at the Vancouver Aquarium, Saturday.