Rodent: it’s what’s for dinner, originally uploaded by Gavatron.
Went birding on the weekend and saw this! How cool?
Content © Gavan P.L. Watson, Some Rights Reserved.
Archive: April, 2007
April 28, 2007
Family matters
Ollie & siblings at 8 weeks, originally uploaded by Gavatron.Heather, Ollie and myself had a great little experience this morning–we met (Heather & Ollie for a second time and me for the first) Fozby, one of Ollie’s litter-mates (or, as Max, Fozby’s alpha-male, refers to the two of ‘em: “the Beavertown Boys”).
The two brothers hit it off instantly and spent the next twenty minutes playing. It was also fun comparing notes with Fozby’s owners (Fozby is as vocal as Ollie; loves to snuggle in bed in the morning; has a thing for tennis balls; “leaks” when he is excited). It was just a blast watching them.
April 26, 2007
A square kick to the academic testicles
So, I’ve found out that I didn’t get a SSHRC. My proposal was scored a 15.5 and it would have needed a score of 16.5 to have been in the money. I also found out I’m 11th in line (out of 36) just in case somebody who got funding doesn’t want it / can’t take it.
Last year I was really out of the running (though my proposal got to Ottawa) with a score of 13 and funding beginning at 18. What makes this rejection particularly dejecting is how close I was. That, and the fact I’m 11th means there is no way in hell I will get SSHRC’s sloppy seconds. Ah, at least I’m so far along in my program that I can’t apply anymore.
Wait a sec, that’s not a good thing.
I can’t help but think that not getting a large scholarship as a student now puts me at a distinct disadvantage when looking for that first job. The inevitable question will come up: Can this man get external funding? Comparatively speaking, the likely answer will be no.
I knew I should have written a proposal about children, attention-deficit-disorder and environmental education. Something about teaching the world to sing through education for sustainability. Saving Polar Bears from global warming. That’s so easy to understand, I would have got funding for sure. When you talk about “multiple enactment of birdwatching” that kind of shit goes over people’s head.
April 26, 2007
Sweat bee enjoying sweet (not sweat) nectar
Sweat bee enjoying sweet (not sweat) nectar, originally uploaded by Gavatron.
April 24, 2007
Wood squill
Wood squill, originally uploaded by Gavatron.
Taken outside the apartment.
April 24, 2007
Interviewed on Animal Voices
Traci and I are being interviewed on Animal Voices this morning. The blurb about what we’re supposed to talk about:
On Animal Voices, Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11 a.m. EDT:
Between peering into binoculars and keeping meticulous checklists, for some outside the activity, bird watching may seem perplexing. Why do people enjoy it, and what does the practice reveal about human-animal relationships? Or, consider aquariums, with their carefully choreographed performances and animal-touching activities. What ideas about animals and conservation are encouraged through such institutions, and what insights might be drawn from academic critique? Consider, too, the promise of genetic modification as a means to end farmed animals’ suffering. Are such efforts a step in the right direction?
Join us tomorrow as we explore these, and other questions, with Traci Warkentin and Gavan Watson, doctoral students in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University. Including themes of ethics, representation, and phenomenology, Warkentin and Watson’s respective research is both challenging and engaged. Watson, a naturalist, works at the intersection of animal studies, environmental education and natural history, while Warkentin’s scholarship draws together environmental ethics, education, and animal geographies from a feminist and interdisciplinary approach.
Link: Animal Voices, April 24th Show
April 23, 2007
Mining bees in a mating pile-on
Mining bees in a mating pile-on, originally uploaded by Gavatron.
These are solitary mining bees which overwinter as adults and are some of the first bees to become active in the spring. There were lots of them active at the Brickworks today, at a wet area along a path.
Spending some time watching, it was obvious that love was in the air–mating was the major going-on.
April 23, 2007
Ah, the cat bib.
I’m not sure if it is a well-kept secret or not, but I have a certain distaste for cats, likely originating when I was two and family friend’s Siamese cat crawled up my back as I was singing Happy Birthday. A distressing event.
I’ve never really warmed up to them for many reasons including:
- the aforementioned Siamese birthday incident
- the fact that they shit in a box in your house
- they shit in a box and then cat owners let them walk on kitchen counter-tops, dining room tables
- the fact that they’ll also shit in sandboxes & garden beds
- cat parasites affect our personality
- they’re an ecological disaster killing millions of native birds, herptiles & other small wildlife every year
The best solution for the last point is to keep you cat indoors (sorry about the kitty-litter thing though). Some (unreasonable) people seem to believe that their cat needs to be outside. Luckily, there seems to be something of a solution for those outdoor cats: The CatBib (pictured above).
April 21, 2007
Banjo. It’s not for the Appalachia anymore.
April 20, 2007
Devil sticks and a Border Terrier do NOT mix
Devil sticks and a Border Terrier do NOT mix, originally uploaded by Gavatron.Nothing says “look at me” like an all-white outfit, a man rack and devil sticks. Ah, I love the first warm day!
Last sighting
