Wrapping up 2014

After the school semester ended in mid-December, I continue to stay in Ottawa to work on my research, as well as taking care of Mertensia seeds and bumble bees for myself and others in the lab, and helping another graduate student with her project on spiny lizards.  I did the same things even in Christmas and felt I needed to get out of Ottawa and take a break.  Thankfully, a friend from Trent kindly invited me back to Peterborough for a few days and I had a great time there (I just returned from there this afternoon).

I bought a tripod this Boxing Day and will use it to stabilize my moon and macro photos in the future.

Final holiday update - Mudppy Night in Oxford Mills

One of the several reasons I came back to Peterborough this holiday season was to go to Mudpuppy Night (happening every Friday at 8 PM starting with the first Friday after Thanksgiving) with friends from Peterborough.  I don't remember exactly how I come across information about this event (probably from reading someone's blog post, such as this), but it is something I want to do for a while now. 

On Friday afternoon, we started our journey from Peterborough, and we couldn't had asked for a better weather with just a few degrees below zero.

View from the farm where we dropped Bronte off for the night.

We arrived at Kemptville Creek (near the intersection of Water and Bridge Streets) just around 8 PM and was greeted by the starry sky.  If you Google" mudpuppy" and "Oxford Mills", you'd be certain to come across a lot of information about Mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus), so I won't really go into it here (e.g., this and this).  But if I have describe this place in one word, I'd say it is special (or two words - very special).  There are a lot of places with similar conditions (shallow, rocky, clean, and relatively slow-flowing water), but to have tens of wild salamanders right in front of you, I doubt there is another place like it in Canada (or perhaps even North America).  Plus, Dr. Fred Scheuler is a very knowledge expert on Mudpuppies, so coming here, seeing the Mudpuppies in-person, and talking with Fred is the only reasonable way to learn about Mudpuppies.

[Photo series] Black dog in a white landscape

As mentioned before, I took care of my friend's pets during my time in Peterborough.  Since I took the dog (Bronte) out walking everyday and couldn't see anything (exciting) to photograph, I ended up taking a lot of photos of Bronte playing and just being a dog in the snow.  There were a lot of photos, so I compiled them all into this one post.

Sticks.  Bronte just love sticks.

Holiday update #3

I just returned back to Ottawa around midnight today, after spending a couple of hours driving from Peterborough and "mudpuppying".  I will post about it shortly, but here are three of the photos I took on Christmas and Boxing Day.

Morning snowy shadows

Snowy walk to school

Found another dead honey bee on the snow.  Rest in peace.  [Note: I just found this YouTube video and blog explaining that living bees perform cleansing flights in the winter to remove dead bees (from both natural and unnatural causes) from the hive.  All part of the nature's ingenious design to keep everything in balance.]

Holiday season update #2 from Peterborough

Hope everyone had a spectacular Christmas day.  This is another photographic update from the past few days.  I was busy cooking a turkey (for the first time) yesterday so I didn't get any chance to sort through yesterday's photos.

December 22nd (Sunday) - I shoveled snow in the driveway and was exhausted in the end to walk to school just for using internet.  I took the dog out for few short walks and that was about it.

Kami the cat.

Happy holidays & Update from Peterborough

Happy holidays to everyone!  I returned to Peterborough last Wednesday to stay at a friend's house to take care of her pets while she's away for Christmas break.  The wifi access is limited at her place, so I walked to school almost everyday (with the dog) to use internet.  I am still taking photos everyday, but uploading them won't happen immediately, hence there are a lot of photos in this (and upcoming) posts spanning several days.

A festive photo from Ottawa two Sundays ago.

Moving from Peterborough to Ottawa

I officially moved to Ottawa on Friday, thanks to my parents who flew from BC to Ontario to help me move.

Here are some photos from the past few days.

On Wednesday (Nov 20), while bored from packing, I looked at the wasp nest next to the house and found that all of the wasps were dead (probably from the cold) and so I took the nest out of the crevice.

Close-up on the nest.

Hasta la vista, Peterborough

This weekend will be my last official weekend here in Peterborough.  This time next week, I will be trying to get settled in Ottawa.  This past two and half years in Peterborough have definitely brought me memorable experiences - mostly good but also some sad memories.  I have traveled enough and met enough people since my undergraduate years to know that partings are eventual and inevitable, whether they are family, friends, or just acquaintances; therefore, the best thing to do is to look forward to the future and treasure the past (as I have tried to do with this blog).

Yesterday, I hanged out with friends for one last field outing and (potluck) dinner together.

Haven't photographed sunset in a while.

Wordless Wednesday - Cattails around pond

Oil Beetle and Heron

Walked to school today and came across these wildlife.

First was an Oil Beetle (Meloe sp.), the second straight day of finding an insect that can potentially harm humans.  When disturbed, they will emit an oily substance from their leg joints and cause skin blister and painful swelling.

Woodpecker and Water Bug

While walking along the path next to the Athletic Centre at Trent this morning, I saw a Hairy Woodpecker pecking away.  I only had my point and shoot with me, so I took a video.

Went out for a walk around the school building in the afternoon and I saw a giant water bug (Family Belostomatidae) crossing the parking lot.  I picked it up (while avoiding its proboscis) and decided to bring it home to get a photo of it.

While in my room, it started flying towards the light.  Feeling bad for it (and being kind of nervous of a large-sized insect with a nasty bite flying around in my room), I let it go right after.  Very cool encounter though.

Life in Peterborough winding down

As my work here at Trent winds down, I have a very very very busy month ahead of me as I have to pack, find housing in Ottawa, and then move there, all the while arrange for my parents to travel from BC and Ontario (because they want to help me move).  I'm up to my ears in searching for housings, car rentals, travel and accommodations for my parents; therefore, I may disappear for a week or a month.

The poor weather this past week did not help with my stress, until today when the sun came out.  I decided to bike to school and visited the Trent's Wildlife Sanctuary (probably one last time).  Sigh.

Foams on the Otonabee River.

Random photos from walking to school

Walked to Trent today.

Walking along Parkway Trail.  Autumn is almost gone.

Busy life...

One of the reasons I am extremely busy these days is that I am temporarily employed by my supervisor to analyze the data from my deceased labmate's project.  In the end, we will publish the results on her behalf with her being the first author.  I will also be presenting her research at the ESC-ESO conference next week at Guelph.

I walked to school yesterday to get feedback from my supervisors on the presentation slides.  I took some photos on the way there.

Maples leaves on the ground.

Apple cider making

This afternoon I was at a friend's house making apple cider and having Thanksgiving turkey dinner.  This was our first time making apple cider so it was quite interesting.  Here was how we made it.

Picked apples from tree.  It was raining out so I didn't take photos of us apple-picking.

(Long) walks around Peterborough and Trent

I have been very busy lately because I am working on my funding applications for my potential Ph.D. position due next week.  I took a little break on Thursday morning when I had to drive the lab vehicle to get serviced.  After dropping the truck off, I walked to Jackson Park to photograph the fall colours.

The colours were mostly here, although there were still some green leaves.

Sparrow, warbler, and a snake = good day

Came to school for a meeting today, and then I went behind the building to take some photos while eat my lunch.

Red leaves.

Windy day and cardinals behind the house

The weather has been pretty crappy since Saturday - windy, overcast and/or rainy.

The wind had blown down most of the leaves from this tree at the back of the house.  Too bad I don't have a "before" photo.

Check up on the fall colours at Jackson Park... not yet

While I was working from home today, I could hear the winds blowing quite fiercely.  Worried that the wind might blow down all the leaves from Jackson Park, I biked to the park after work.  When I got there, it appeared that most of the leaves still had not turned their colours yet (even though most of the trees on the streets are red by now).  I did a quick walk around the lake and headed back home for dinner right after.

Still green.

Cat and walk around neighbourhood

I am currently reading the blog posts by a Flickr photographer Crusade., who produces some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen.  This just makes me want to pick up my own camera and go outside and take photographs.  All the photos below were taken today with the OM 50 f1.4 lens.

My landlord's cat, or his nose to be more specific.