biodiversity project

Just discovered an amazing website. Photographer Joel Sartore has been taking picture of zoo animals against black or white backgrounds. Prints available for sale with profits from the photos goes towards funding further shoots. His mission is to show the amazing animals that are in danger of extinction with the hope that raising awareness will help raise support.

I was surprised by the number of creatures on the site that I'd never heard of before. What's cool about the Biodiversity Project is that it doesn't focus on the charismatic megafauna that usually get all the attention. There's equal coverage of the ugly and ridiculous. Except in Mr. Sartore's photographs, the unique beauty of each creature is brought out. I mean seriously... this little possum ain't pretty, but isn't it also oddly endearing?

Yesterday morning was beautiful. The forecast for the evening was showers with a chance of lightning. I thought "beautiful morning, showers this evening..... I'll plant my garden!" Put in everything. Herbs, annuals, tomatoes, plus there are lots of delicate little seedlings popping up. And then...

torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, hail

Put pots over the basil and hoped the rest were hardy. You can't tell in the picture but the water between the beds was like a river, gushing out into the back lane (which is much better than it gushing towards the house).

Still raining this morning so I haven't gone out to survey the damage. Some of the lettuce looks like it is covered in mud. Pretty sure the beans and peas will be toast but it's still early enough to replant. Fortunately, I'm a pragmatic gardener. It's just not fun if you're stressed out about it.

working weekend

The weather here has been astonishingly beautiful. Feels more like July than May. So we took advantage of the sunny days and got the yard ship shape. Mowed the lawn, weeded and mulched the front garden. O fixed the back gate and adjusted some of the stone path between the back garden beds. I made two frames for my cukes and peas to climb up and wrapped our laundry pole in chicken wire for the beans. O made a small window box for the garage and I painted it. Planted all the veggies.

Then we had beer and tacos on the patio. Followed by much needed showers. And woke up this morning feeling very much like we had worked all weekend. Next weekend.... cleaning the garage.

Took some photos of the yard. Pretty amazing compared to what we started with!

may 2012

may 2008

may 2012

may 2008

jane's walk

Spent a cloudy Sunday afternoon on my first Jane's Walk. The one I chose was located just a few streets from where I live and featured a stop at my community garden. The walk was hosted by a local blogger and history buff, Christian, who has nicely put up a history of Burnell Street and lots of photos on West End Dumplings.

It gave me a totally new appreciation for my community. I had no idea there was such a strong Icelandic influence in the way it was developed. Some of the gorgeous old buildings are the only ones that have ever stood in that spot and were built on what was once pasture or a dairy farm. Others, such as Greenway Elementary School have been built and replaced multiple times. And speaking of Greenway, the modern school patrol system started there. Who knew?!?

I am now a huge fan of Jane's Walks and I'm sure this will be an annual event. O is still a bit limpy and didn't join me but I'll be dragging him out next year!

may theme song

Not really my theme song but very bummed to hear that Adam Yauch aka MCA died of cancer today. This was the first Beastie Boys song I ever heard and though I was never a fanatical fan they've been part of my musical landscape since 1986. They were true originals. Maybe the death of MCA won't be the death of the Beasties but it's hard to imagine them without him.

april theme song

In honour (?) of Earth Day. And because it's really funny and ridiculous. 

sure sign of spring

Half way through Fahrenheit 451. Another classic that I probably should have read long before now. Humming nicely along, enjoying dystopia, and then this on page 61:

Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy.

*sigh*

Now they tell me.

Thinking maybe I should read Something Wicked next rather than Something Wicked This Way Comes.

march theme song

Pretty bad video but this song is so spring-y! And I am literally breathless these days as I have started running** again after a 10 month hiatus. 

**Running means mostly walking until I get my stamina back. Whew!

How I Spent St. Patrick's Day Weekend

In no particular order...

1. Raking the lawn in a tank top. But not raking the leaves off the perennials even though they are definitely coming up. The weather is unbelievably warm but really.... it's Manitoba. We could get a snow storm at any moment.

2. Multitasking in the lounge chair. That is: knitting, eating crackers and cheese, listening to an audio book, cuddling with the cats, noticing a butterfly, watching the sparrows scrap, enjoying the reggae drifting over from my pot smokin' neighbour's house and trying not to fall asleep.

3. Drinking coffee on the stoop with O and Lexi.

4. Drinking coffee on the patio at the Neighbourhood Cafe with Elizabeth and Lexi. Lots of coffee drinking this weekend though technically Elizabeth and I were doing MALT work.

5. Unearthing ladybugs.

6. Hanging laundry on the line. And then blissfully sleeping in sun dried sheets.

7. Riding my bike. Woo hoo!

8. Gazing at the planets. Three of them, anyway. Have yet to spot Mercury and Saturn but hoping my sister and her telescope will help out with that on Easter weekend.

9. Listening to my favourite birds singing. Just the common white-throated sparrow. Excellent video below.

flower pictures

from my recent trip, for all the flower-crazy girls who read this blog...

almond blossom
ceres

some kind of gorgeous succulent
monterey bay

calla lilies on a cliff
perkins park, pacific grove

some other gorgeous succulent, some purple flower, aloe arborescens and dandelions!
perkins park, pacific grove

azalea & bee
ceres

camellia
ceres

february theme song

Was there (but more stage left.... and closer!) Amazing show. Not procrastinating on school work by surfing for videos. Specifically looked for this song because, well, I can kinda relate right now.

the pack

Reading Sharp Teeth, a modern epic poem about werewolves. Surrounded by dogs. Hoping I'm pack leader.

Some people love winter.

Others? Not so much.

- 32 C with the wind chill this morning and my hands are so dry they have cracks.

BUT

It is a brilliantly sunny day and spent the afternoon drinking chai tea and reading. 

happy national sweater day!

As a knitter, this is something I can get down with. Actually working on my first sweater but it is definitely not ready to wear.

Come on people... Turn down the heat, put on a sweater!

dinner party

Omar and I had an amazing dinner last night with his friends who are in town doing a show at PTE. Jan prepared an excellent beet soup, pakora and filo pockets, five Indian dishes, naan, rice, and various condiments. Was quite blown away and totally stuffed. We were tasked with brining wine and dessert.

Don't have any pictures of the buffet but did take a shot of the dessert. Very pleased with myself! They are mini cheesecakes made in a muffin tin and they rocked, if I do say so myself. Topped with apricot ginger jam. Recipe is available on the Martha Stewart website. She suggests straining the jam, which does make it look prettier (and a bit like eggs) but I preferred the chunky bits of apricot and ginger.

Rufus was a big help, as always. He's well known for his love of all things toasty but this was going a bit far. He wisely stayed off the vent (which is why his butt is hanging over the edge) but he didn't seem the least bit concerned about getting caught lounging on the stove. He jumped off in a dignified and casual sort of way after I shrieked at him. Had to take his picture first, of course!

my new theme song

Holiday pics

Gingerbread house by Marilee and Ayva

Packed and heading to Brandon

Bluejay at my mom's feeder

Visiting Judy and Blair's farm near Miniota

Mom not getting suckered!

January 2011
Classic prairie winter

January 2012
Record breaking plus 6 degrees celsius

Resolutions for 2012

Well, half last year's resolutions were a bust. Specifically 2, 3 and 4. I resolve to do better this year?

1. I will continue to keep my head above water financially. My income has been cut in half since September but I appear to be doing okay. No wiggle room, but hey, surviving.

2. I will get back on the exercise bandwagon. Got rid of the 10 lbs I had gained and then put them back on. Grad school is hard on the body. Waaaaay too much sitting at a desk. Taking Lexi for a 5km walk every morning and lifting weights again. Will start running and biking as soon as the snow disappears.

And a new one....

3. We will not waste food. This is actually a household resolution prompted by a statistic that I came across while researching a paper. Approximately 1/3 of food is wasted at the household level. This one starts right after I clean out the fridge! I'm sure there is all kinds of horrifying things growing in there...

Set pizza on kitchen table.
Turn around to get plates...

cookie day

Cookie decorating with Marilee, Ayva and Heather.

Close-up of the Adam and Omar cookies (made by Ayva and me).

The Citadel, Halifax, May 2011

We are officially out of garden carrots.
Missing summer already.

Old Pinewa Dam, September 2011

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

My mental break / procrastination technique is watching a few minutes of online videos. These are my current favourites. Seven minutes and thirty-four seconds well spent. Enjoy!

Shoveling snow, November 19, 2011

Banff Springs Hotel, October 6, 2011

bad blogger

I can see my bad blogging habits continuing for the foreseeable future, so how about I just post pictures for a while?

Ditch Lake, October 2011

happy ending

Mon Dieu! / Oh No!

Taken in Montreal when I visited Deb in June.

Hurray!

Email received from Deb today.

Message from John Spencer himself:

"Thanks, friends, for keeping an eye out for me! I have been found!! By a nice guy named Felix and his entourage in Outremont park, the night of June 25th. I was also being fed by a couple in the park every other night. All these nice people have refused any monetary compensation from my stalwart servant, Dan. I travelled 8 blocks east ...of my home, crossed many busy streets (including Parc avenue)… It's been 2 months of adventures, but I'm happy to be back… I am skinny as heck, but eating and lapping up water. Tomorrow I go to the vet, where I'll get checked out, and get a collar, and ID tag. Dan can't stop staring at me in wonderment and wants to thank you all again for your help!"

post for the whole month of june

The weather doesn't feel very summer-y today, but I've been acting like it is summer!

Two weekends ago, it was the 7th (?) Annual Girls Camping Weekend, this year at Camp Morton. Once again, we were prepared! Besides drinking, we also lounged around the beach, lounged around the campfire, ate really great food and talked into the wee hours.

We also took a lot of pictures of flowers!

Last weekend was spent at Crooked Mountain Cabins with my sister on our 3rd Annual Sister's Camping Weekend. Once again, I picked the perfect date. The weather was oddly gorgeous, right down to the summer storm on Saturday evening to the sunny afternoon spent wandering around Wasagaming.

As usual, there was Aggravation. This picture is of our first game, right before I rolled a one and beat my baby sister. But don't feel bad for her.... she got me back!

Saturday morning. Bright and early (note the lack of curtains on the east-facing windows!). Nothing like sitting in bed drinking coffee and taking in the view.

Our lovely cabin. I'm basically ready to move there. 

More flowers!

 Sunset from the pier at Clear Lake.

View from the porch of a storm rolling in.

And the mist rising out of the forest the morning after.

(Bunch of these pics courtesy of Alison.)

live from new york, it's tuesday afternoon!

 Just a quick update from my travels. Was in Halifax for the CLA Conference last week. Sessions were great, but overall felt that the conference didn't have much place for Library Technicians. And the social events were pretty much a bust because a nasty cold hit me on the first day (it has now morphed into bronchitis... my self diagnosis). The best part about being in Halifax was spending lots of time with Cosette and her daughter. So good to hang out with someone who didn't mind my hacking up a lung every hour or so.

Some thoughts on Halifax:

• The mayor of Brandon and a bunch of the business leaders need to take a trip there. ASAP. Downtown Halifax is everything Brandon could be but isn't.... we have the historic buildings but are lacking the quaint and interesting shops, myriad of pubs, variety of restaurants and most importantly, all the people.
• Halifax loves Tom Petty. He was being played in a home decor store, a clothing store and a coffee shop. And not just one song on the radio or on random, but whole albums. When I mentioned this to the clerk in the clothing store, she said (very enthusiastically) "Oh yes! Tom Petty is great!". Feeling the need to download some Tom now.
• Halifax seriously knows how to party.
• The women of Halifax are unbelievably committed to towering, fashionable shoes. They have several great shoe stores that absolutely do not cater to those of us who wear flats. And loads of women can be spotted in 4-inch heels traipsing up 50 degree inclines like it was nothing.
• My limited experience of the city tells me that I could not live there. This is what the weather was like every day:

Picture is the view from my hotel. Totally gorgeous, but by the end of a grey week (during which I still managed to get a sunburn.... you know you're white when...) I was ready to pop a bottle of pills and end it all. Or fly somewhere else...

Like New York! Currently visiting Kana and Brad for a week. We were in the city Sunday and Monday but they are back to work today and I'm resting and trying to get better. Went to see Priscilla on Sunday, did a bit of shopping and hit some of the sights. Yesterday was the MoMA and then brunch at the Sunburnt Calf (which serves unlimited food and booze for $18). Was planning to go back to the city by train on my own tomorrow, but will see how I feel. It's kind of embarrassing and inconvenient to have major coughing fits every couple of hours. Definitely want to have one more day in the city before I leave. Even though it makes me feel like this....

Okay.... maybe I was exaggerating because I knew my picture was being taken.... but Times Square truly was too much for me to take. Complete sensory overload. I felt like I was going to have a seizure from all the flashing signs.