Sounds of summer

As I stepped out of the workshop a few nights ago I heard a moth battering itself against a light. The spring peepers were going at it, though not as deafeningly as a month ago. But the real treat was the snipe making its strange winnowing sounds from high over head. Last year we had no snipe and really missed its aerial performances, so this years return was very pleasing.

The next morning I was looking out the bedroom window when something 'whooshed' by the open window. I was just in time to see a raptor chasing one of the pigeons that feed here. It made a brave attempt to get away, but got caught crossing the field, at which point the two birds seemed to merge into one and fly off into the woods. I say 'raptor' because I really couldn't identify the attacker, though my best bet is that it was a sharp shinned hawk.

There was a small pile of downy feathers on the lawn, so it must have made a first strike there. A little later I noticed a couple of barn swallows picking up the feathers, presumably to line their nest.

This year has seen a huge increase in the number of squirrels and snow-show hares. The bunnies seem exceptionally laid back and come right up to the house. One evening I saw three sat in our drive way, and once disturbed one right up on our verandah.

On the other hand, ruby-throated humming bird numbers seem to be low this year. Usually they are battling over the feeders and we have to put up four feeders to try and keep them satisfied. This year two feeders seems sufficient, and I haven't seen a single fight. The weather this year has been cold and wet, so maybe they gave up on their migration and nested further south.

Tags: snipe, humming bird, nova scotia, birds, wildlife

"They" should do something about it.

Boating blogger (say that quickly ten times over) Sue, of Retirement with No Problem, draws my attention to some fairly typical bureaucratic nonsense in her post " River Rubbish - What a farce! "

It seems like the town council (someplace in England that I never heard of), the district council and the Environment Agency are passing the buck when it comes to clearing some junk out of the local river. You know it is getting petty when they start involving lawyers, when they should in fact be sitting around a table together and figuring out how they could work together to solve a problem for the citizens and taxpayers that pay their wages.

Of course, the chances of that happening are pretty remote. So maybe the local citizenry needs to stop complaining that ' "they" should do something about it ', roll their sleeves up and clear their river up themselves. Done properly, and with the support of the media, they might even be able to use name and shame tactics to get someone in authority to take responsibility for this river.

There are of course bigger issues at play. Like why do some morons feel that it is ok to dump stuff in the river in the first place?

Most importantly, why are various levels of government, and the organisations within them, allowed to pass the buck like this?

Maybe because the rest of us let them? Maybe because we let them forget who they work for, and who pays their wages?


Tags: bureaucracy, government, citizenship, society

Thermachromic postage stamps

I got a letter from the UK in this morning's post. One of the postage stamps bore the instructions "RUB FEZZES WITH YOUR FINGER TO FIND PYRAMID". I just had to find out more.

According to the Royal Mail, this is one in a long line of trick stamps.

It uses body temperature thermachromic ink which becomes transparent when heated to body temperature.

See more by bike

It was such a nice day yesterday that I could no longer resist the temptation to fetch my bike out of the basement and cycle to the village on errands. It's about 7km each way, and the rolling hills make for a good workout.

Apart from the exercise, one thing I like about travelling by bike is that you get to see a lot of things that would be missed by car. First thing I noticed was the four inch diameter holes that had been drilled in the road surface along the way. I'm not sure why, but maybe it is a sign that this section of the Sunrise Trail is finally going to be rebuilt. It will certainly make for a nicer and safer ride, whether by car or bike.

Birdsong and the sound of other creatures near the road go completely unnoticed when I take the car. And on a bicycle it is very easy to stop and watch the wildlife, like the woodpecker that was searching for bugs on a tree.

On the way back I noticed an odd feature on the telephone wires. I guess my interest in that will need some explaining. Well, our community has been trying to bring broadband internet access to our area. One option of course is DSL, but I was just reading that it will not work if there is a loading coil in the circuit, and I was wondering if that was what this device was. So far I have not been able to find any pictures on the web to show me what load coils may be mounted in on the power poles.



Tags: cycling, canada, dsl, Broadband

The Tannahill Weavers tour Canada

Last night I had the good fortune to see the Tannahill Weavers live at the deCoste Center in Pictou, Nova Scotia. This band has been bringing traditional Scottish music to audiences around the world for several decades.

I was a little concerned when Colin Melville came on stage with bagpipes, and more so when he stepped up to a pair of microphones as I have always been of the opinion that the last thing the bagpipes need is amplification. But I really shouldn't have worried since Colin is an extremeley talented musician who makes beautiful music on this much maligned instrument. Colin also plays whistles, including one huge beast the likes of which I had never seen before, a low whistle which is an octave lower than normal pipes.

The Tannahill Weavers take their name from Robert Tannahill, a weaver and poet from the band's original home town of Paisley.

Roy Gullane is the lead vocalist, guitarist and story-teller. On flute, bodhran and whistles, Phil Smillie and John Martin on fiddle. Les Wilson played bouzouki, guitar and keyboards and sang lead vocals on Lassie wi’ the lintwhite locks. This is a beautiful love song written by Robbie Burns, who according to Roy, had a way with the women and could talk the underpants off any lassie.

My only disappointment was with the audience. Considering the Scottish heritage that Pictou is so proud of, it was disappointing that the audience was so small and so quiet.

The Tannahill Weavers tour of Canada continues this month in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario. They will be back in November at venues in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. If you get the the opportunity to see them, I don't think you will be disappointed. CDs and downloads are available from GreenLinnet.com.

Tags: music, pictou, tannahill weavers, bagpipes, canada

Spring in Canada

Our first real sign of spring came this morning in the form of a red-winged blackbird atop the power pole in our yard. There is still plenty of snow on the ground here in Nova Scotia, but it's edges are receding. The Northumberland Strait is still packed with drift ice, and that sometimes hangs around long enough to delay the start of the lobster fishing season in May.

Out on the shores of Lake Erie, Gerard Pas reported seeing his first red-winged blackbird yesterday. In other blogs, Barend has reported the spring weather in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Further west in Montreal, Barry Welford reports that the St. Lawrence Seaway is open, and wonders if the record length of season it had last year is due to global warming. Out in mid-western Canada, Jeff comments on the dramatic metamorphosis of the changing season.

There are a couple of other creatures I like to watch as a further indicator of the changing season. First is the northern spring peeper. There used to be a website which recorded when it was first heard in various locations, but I am unable to find this today, so if you know this site, do please let me know. The second is the ruby throated hummingbird with one reported sighting yesterday in Virginia.


Tags: spring,
canada.