Mimic Octopus is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen

Ottawa Riverbank rich in inukshuks and fossils

What an incredible shoreline the Ottawa River has. How ironic that it's lined with fossilized patterns and creatures of older river beds. Every year in September, artists flock to the shore to make inukshuks with this fossilized rock. From what I can tell, the artists challenge themselves to choose oddly-shaped/weighted and fine-pointed rocks. In some close-ups, you can see that they've used tiny rocks to wedge/shimmy things into place.

On this visit, many of the inukshuks have fallen victim to wind and rising water. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera on my first visit and so aren't able to show you some of the more impressive ones that were such bold balancing acts that I was afraid my simple act of observing might cause them to collapse.
Millions of years from now, will paleontologists find these odd, anachronistic configurations of fossil and wonder what happened?
• Wikipedia "Inukshuk"

In India, modern life threatens old ways of healing - thestar.com

Anil Gupta, head of India's National Innovation Foundation, has been collecting stories from centenarians about traditional medicines. The goal is to commercialize the remedies that work. In India, modern life threatens old ways of healing - thestar.com

Toads an earthquake early-warning system?

Researches notice mass exodus of toads from a breeding site in Italy just 5 days before a local quake. 5 days is plenty of time to evacuate. Full article at AssociatedPress.org

Note to self re earthworms and early-morning walks

Don't go for a pre-dawn walk on a wet day. You can't see well enough to avoid stepping on the earthworms. (They're just trying to go for a pre-dawn walk (slither), too!)

Sound Over Season

I have noticed that the same sound —for example, a train dopplering in the distance— has a different quality depending on the season. Am I imagining it or is this possible?

Something bugging me today

Noticed a few red dots on my face this morning. I heard about a recent outbreak of bed bugs in the news so I thought I'd check my pillow... here's what I found.


The hazards of living with a cheeky 3.5-year-old who has access to large plastic bugs.

Now that I look more closely, those are coffee dots on my face. Must reduce intake.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Guess what this picture is of?
Horse teeth! They're a bizarre shape. Here's the shot zoomed out for context:

Pretty Poppy

This is one of the prettiest poppies that I've ever seen.

Afternoon Nap

This male duck takes a leisurely afternoon snooze in the Sackville Waterfowl Park.

Trapped in Time

M. Campbell identified this substance as tree resin. It will harden over millions of years into amber. Notice the bug trapped in it at top-right. If resin keeps pouring over this bug, it could be perfectly preserved in time.

The Early Bird Gets the Spider

I was up pretty early this morning and everywhere I walked I cleared the spider webs for the next person. I'd like to say it was an intentional kindness but I wasn't clearing them with my hands, I was running straight through them. I even managed to scoop a spider up with one of them. The hazards of waking up early.

Did you know there are 42 Canadian National Parks?

• Listing of National Parks at the Parks Canada web site
• Tourism Canada (official Federal Government website)
• Canada.travel (official Federal Government website)

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The habit of ignoring Nature is deeply implanted in our times. This attitude reminds me of people who never look you in the eye; I find them disturbing and always have to look away."
— Marc Chagall

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves."
— Willem de Kooning

Five Islands in Five Habitats

A 4-hour trip to Five Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada.


View Larger Map

First, let me introduce our canine host, Sadie. With her at the head of our pack, she sniffed out some pretty amazing views.


1. Brackish Marshland

Flat land with thick and vibrant grass that can handle very wet soil filled with salt-water.


Samphire greens that are used in many dishes including salad. They're just a juicy burst of salty goodness.


Rotting engine or some sort of mechanical device. Although it provided an interesting subject matter for photography, I was disappointed by how many man-made things were abandoned in every habitat.


This bird (a wren?) takes a moment to rest on driftwood. Driftwood straddles the marsh and coastal areas.


2. Coast

In every habitat there are "edgitats". My word for mini habitats that fall in between 2 diverse habitats. In there are plants and all kinds of life that are best suited to living in the blend of both. Here, marsh and coast meet.


The coast is not clear. Abandoned lobster traps and debris throughout.


Interesting fossil or mineral deposit in beach rock.


Shell of a small crab.


Seagull uses a post at the end of the wharf to take in a bird's eye view of the landscape. Either that or he's waiting for a bite to eat from...


Fishing boats.


Widow Island.


Wild roses grow in the 'edgitat' between the coastal and the grassland habitats.


3. Grassland

The remains of an old fieldstone foundation.


Unfortunately, half of the foundation is filled with garbage and tires.


Incredibly thick grass that's all gone to seed.


Video of grass blowing in the wind. The three strongest sounds that surrounded us were wind, waves and bird song. (4 seconds.)


I kid you not — pink grass.


Thistles. Don't ever try to hold one still in the wind. Yowza!


4. Forest

This edgitat between grassland and forest was absolutely filled with small butterflies — likely Skippers.


Forest with trails.


One of the most interesting tree trunks that I've ever come across. It would be interesting to know what forces were at work to create this shape.


On the forest floor were many pine cones.


Video of a cool spider with white bum (possibly an egg sack). (4 seconds.)


An interesting 4-berried plant that seemed to like growing in the shade of the forest.


Wispy moss.


5. Urban

Grassland, Forest and Urbanity seem to live in harmony in this sunset shot.


Bizarre and interesting man-made contraption.


Mo's: café, internet, used books, art, hostel. A lovely place. Try the wood-fired oven pizza. Yum!


In the next town over, we see a step toward keeping all these habitats "clean". A very promising day's end.

Cool octopus looks like it has thin silk sheets between its tentacles

Check the octopus video at YouTube.