An eclectic assortment of stuff: food, archaeology, fun, books, history, geekery, etc.
Posted in outdoors on Oct 18th, 2008
From the New York Times: Zipping Through the Treetops.
"Basically, Dad, you freak out, then you go for it." This was the advice my daughter Lily, 16, had for me on a sun-bathed early-autumn day, as we perched on a platform in a tulip poplar 35 feet off the ground, facing my first-ever zip line. Ahead [...]
Posted in BC, animals, birds, insects, etc, outdoors on Sep 29th, 2008
If you were here I would take you to the beach in the mornings, right after coffee. In addition to the usual seaside delights, we now have Dead Jellyfish Season: every morning there are dozens of dead Lion’s Mane jellyfish sparkling on the beach. Some are small — just a foot or so across — [...]
Posted in outdoors on Aug 28th, 2008
Wow. Link found at The Presurfer.
Posted in environment, outdoors on Aug 25th, 2008
From the National Post: Smokey got it wrong.
Splashed with drops of burning fuel gel, trailing from a helicopter concealed by a roiling column of smoke overhead, the giant pines of Mount Nestor fire up like roman candles. A few kilometres away, on the eastern slope of Mount Nestor, Kevin Topolnicki’s team unleashes a necklace of [...]
Posted in outdoors on Aug 21st, 2008
What would sand look like if you could zoom in more and more and more, finally viewing individual grains under a microscope? Heres’s how you find out. From Discover Magazine: Each grain of sand a tiny work of art.
At the beach we see marvels: zillions of starfish, peculiar sea creatures, otters, sea lions, and herons. Eagles land near us on the rocks, tiny silver fishies squirm out of the sand, and seagulls come for lunch. The Chaos puppy jumps when geoducks squirt her.
I keep meaning to take some photos to share here, but [...]
I’m quite taken with this star clock. If the online version doesn’t do it for you, print your very own star clock. Won’t the other kids be jealous then!
Posted in outdoors on May 4th, 2008
Perhaps we’ve got it all wrong when we head off to the outdoor store to spend big bucks getting reading for a camping trip. Suppose you need a two-person tent, two sturdy packs, two sleeping bags, and a stove. Basic list, yes? According to the store catalogue I browsed through tonight, you’ll probably spend over [...]
Posted in environment, outdoors on Apr 9th, 2007
From the New York Times: From Europe, a No-Chlorine Backyard Pool.
Natural swimming pools (or swimming ponds, as they are called in Europe, where the concept originated 20 years ago) are self-cleaning pools that combine swimming areas and water gardens. Materials and designs vary — the pools can be lined with rubber or reinforced polyethylene, as [...]
Posted in BC, outdoors, strange stuff on Mar 22nd, 2007
From E-Flora BC we have this fascinating article on slime mould.
In an environment that is varying hues of brown and green, hot pink or coral red is hard to miss, so even the most preoccupied of hikers will stop agog having come across a slime mold, one of nature’s most mysterious creations.
The typical first reaction [...]
Posted in BC, miscellaneous, outdoors on Mar 15th, 2007
Isn’t this an amazing leaf? I’ve never seen one like it before, which just goes to show that I haven’t been paying enough attention. (You’d be surprised at what I’ve learned about the woods since we got a dog.)
Anyway, I’ll confess that it took me a while to figure out just what kind of plant [...]