…while taking a keen interest in something or other.
A few years ago, close to this time of year, I lead a group of apiarists (beekeepers) in a macro workshop. After a morning of learning, setting up equipment and some table-top practice, we had lunch and then set out for the hives. It was a sunny afternoon, but cool (about 16ºC) and windy, so... Continue Reading →
A Naturalistic Garden is primarily a method for the urban or sub-urbanite to feel closer to the natural world. It is a garden to relax in rather than to fuss over. It is a garden that invites visitors of all types, from bugs to birds to like-minded humans. It is a garden that allows us, for at least a short while, to escape the pressures and tensions of modern life and to actively connect with our biophilic needs. In this, it can be considered as part of a remedy for lives and lifestyles that have become separated from the natural world which formed our being.
These are cell phone photos taken in our garden in mid-June 2022. We had an amazingly moist spring for our location in Edmonton, Alberta, and the garden was lush and green. My wife and I had put a lot of effort into this green space in the early years. Although our daughter is now hundreds... Continue Reading →
The Scarlet or red lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii) I must confess that when I first discovered this beetle on one of our martagon lilies in 2015 it gave me a smile and added enough spring to my step that I could have managed the clicking-of-the-heels. This leaf beetle --with its scarlet and black colouration--has... Continue Reading →
I left home and soon cycling up 82 St. with the wind behind me. It was great to get out on the bike again, to feel the pressure on the peddles, the stretch of neglected leg muscles, and the fresh wind in my face. The city had done a preliminary road sweep earlier, so there... Continue Reading →
For most of us outside of the church, and not intimate with the relationship between the tilt of the earth as it rotates around the sun, Easter is spring and chocolate bunnies. Reynolds, 1846. Royal Museums Greenwhich For those who care about facts, however, spring begins with the Vernal Equinox. In 2020, in my part... Continue Reading →
Lurching Toward Oblivion 