A post shared by Gavan Watson (@gavanwatson) on Apr 30, 2017 at 5:56am PDT Here’s a bit of a natural history mystery that I found yesterday: this green flower in a bed of White Trilliums (Trillium grandiflorum); something that I had never seen before. The few initial web references I found suggested this is caused […]
I’ve only just noticed a change since our move 100 kilometres south-west from Guelph to London: there’s a different Cicada that makes up the summer-time chorus. I’m very used to the song of the Dog-Day Cicada (Tibicen canicularis): it’s song has made up the entirety of my summer aural landscape in Southern Ontario. Now that male […]
No bull, cow escapes slaughterhouse and hoofs it through Queens: The gallivanting hay-eater’s Houdini attempt apparently paid off. City officials said the animal – who they named Molly – will be headed for greener pastures. “We will find it a home,” said Richard Gentles of the city Animal Care and Control. “We’re starting to reach […]
photo credit: vasta So there is talk in shutting down Riverdale Farm in Toronto as a cost-savings measure (insert reference to gravy here). 2500 of the concerned have taken to Facebook to “Save the Riverdale Farm“. I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about this. On one hand, we have less and less contact with the animals […]
The Toronto media is ablaze with reports that Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) has been found within the borders of the GTA. Normally, when an invasive species is found, it does not generate this kind of buzz. Why the hubbub? The sap of Giant Hogweed, on the skin, can lead to a severe skin inflammation called […]
OK, I should be editing my dissertation at this very moment, but I came across videos of an event on July 4th, 2010 at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Japan, that I need to share. I found it to be disturbing, as a warning. There is no doubt in my mind, especially seeing an event like this, […]
photo credit: quinn.anya Pronunciation: \ˈmi-sən-ˌthrōp\ Function: noun Etymology: Greek misanthrōpos hating humankind, from misein to hate + anthrōpos human being Date: 1683 : a person who hates or distrusts humankind Would you consider yourself a misanthrope? I suspect that most, if asked if they hated or distrusted humanity, would say no. Take ethical consideration, for […]
photo credit: jnthnhys The Toronto Star is reporting that a local plan to tap Norway Maples (Acer platanoides) this spring, collect sap and boil it down into maple syrup has hit a snag (no pun intended) with the proposal to tap the Norway Maples found in city parks: Toronto’s urban forestry department believes that tapping […]
The start of the Skunk Cabbage, originally uploaded by Gavatron. A sure sign of spring is the emergence of Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). While walking the dogs in the Nordheimer Ravine today, I noticed some cabbage is beginning its 2010 growing season. This is the earliest that I’ve noticed the Cabbage in this location, […]
Inspired by Gregg McLachlan’s recent twitter conversation with Caroline Schultz ((As aside, here’s why Twitter is awesome—before Twitter, how or where else do you get to have an informal chat with the executive director of Ontario Nature and the founder of environmentally-focused career site?)), allow me some reasoned conjecture answering what might happen to animals […]