For the love of all wild things: 2013/02

2013/02/28

Snowfall in Peterborough

A decent amount of snow came down last night covering everything with a blanket of fresh snow. By the afternoon, the temperature had risen and most of that beautiful snow was gone.

Luckily I took some photos in the morning.

The view from the porch.

Into the neighbours' backyards.

Flowers of Ivvavik

Celebrated my 27th birthday yesterday with people in my lab and had dinner at Tim Horton's. Nothing super interesting in my life at the moment - working on my thesis, teaching, and thinking about what I should do with my future.

I have to teach a lab this Friday that requires me to identify tree species on one of the surrounding drumlins here at Trent. I spent some time last Saturday identifying the trees from a guide, but I still wasn't too comfortable with my skills. So yesterday, the lab coordinator took us teaching assistants to the drumlin again to identify the trees together. Hopefully, everything will work out fine on Friday.

Speaking on trees and plants, I have been wanting to share my flower photos from this past field season for some time now. Here they are.

Dwarf Fireweed (Epilobium latifolium)

Thoughts on Pentax K-01 (not my new camera)

Today, a friend working in the department who recently bought a new Pentax K-01 camera nicely lent it to me for a few hours. Unfortunately it was too cold outside for me to do a proper test (and comparison with my Olympus E-620), but from the few hours that I had it, it seems to be a very nice (although quirky) camera.

As always, DPReview has a fairly standard review of the camera, so this post won't be that. Plus, I am not too fussy about most of the stuff.

First, the size and shape. It's brick-shaped and a relatively heavy camera, despite the plastic-feel to it. The colour is nice, but this may be because yellow is my favourite colour. Traditionalists may not like the shape of it (I am impartial but mainly because of the lack of grip and thumb rest), but it has a pretty interesting and artistic design, I'd say. Photo taken with my Olympus E-620 with OM lens.

Assorted photos from Mon to Wed

I have assorted photos since the Family Day on Monday.

Since there was no public transportation on Monday, I walked around the nearby trails. Didn't see much of anything, except these bird-predated galls.

Wildlife this weekend - Chickadee, Woodpecker, and Squirrel

I walked (part-way) to school today (sunny but very cold) and yesterday. Tomorrow is Family Day here in Ontario, so a long weekend this week. Hooray (although no buses at all, so I might walk all the way to school tomorrow or I might just stay home and read and relax, I have not yet decided).

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Took this photo just a few hours ago. Lots of chickadees around the feeders behind one of the school buildings. Others were House Sparrows and goldfinches. Those were all that I saw.

Saw this Hairy Woodpecker along the Parkway Trail yesterday. It was pecking at my eye-level and fairly close to me. So I was able to get some shots despite all of the branches in the way.

Sheep Slot of Ivvavik National Park, 2012

Here are some photos taken at Sheep Slot in Ivvavik National Park (compare to the photos taken last year). No major caribou migration passed through this part of the park this year, unfortunately.

So gorgeous.

Snow Day in Bethany Hills

After last night's snowstorm, today was absolutely gorgeous with blue sky and no clouds at all. Perfect day to attend the Snow Day in Bethany Hills, an event hosted by Kawartha Heritage Conservancy and its sponsors.

Waiting for carpooling.

Upon arriving at South Pond Farms, we were greeted by friendly volunteers where we registered for the event, received a brief introduction, and borrowed ski and snowshoe equipments. It has been a while since I skied and I did not go very far (although I fell a lot) with the cross-country. In the end, I opted for the easier snowshoeing and began my hike through the land. After yesterday's snow, the land was pristine and gorgeous. Everyone I meet were extremely cheerful and appreciative for the event and the beauty of nature in general. Unfortunately, not much wildlife was heard or seen today, except for some tracks and sparrows that I saw and the chickadees that I heard.

Here are some photos taken along the trail.

Photos of the snowstorm & birds from Wednesday

Here are some photos that I took today with regards to the major snowstorm happening here in Ontario.

Morning - waiting for the bus.

Insects of Ivvavik National Park

Trent University was open this morning until 2 PM when the school decided to cancel all of the classes because of the snowstorm. So here I am sitting in my room enjoying the most snow I have ever seen in my life while reminiscing the insects that I observed in Ivvavik National Park. Despite the abundance and diversity being pretty low relative to southern latitudes, it's the Arctic after all, it is still fascinating to see the critters that call Ivvavik home.