Category Archives: nature

Friday Wednesday Quiz-ology

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Yes folks, it’s time for another fun quiz from my puzzle-a-day desk calendar!   I was going to save this for Friday, but I just submitted a grant after much stress and panic and lost sleep,* so I could do … Continue reading →

Posted in career, competition, English language, grant wrangling, nature, science, silliness, technology | 91 Comments

Destination: Sound!

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

It always seems to take me a while to write blog posts about my favourite trips, probably because I’m in denial about them being over. So the fact that it’s taken me almost a month to start writing this post … Continue reading →

Posted in camping, Canada, drunkenness, food glorious food, kayaking, nature, photos, travel, videos | 16 Comments

Trees do the darndest things!

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Like celebrate their British roots: and, um, be intimate with fence posts: Both photos taken by me within the last week. Evolution in action, or just an overactive imagination (and a dirty mind?) (I did try to write a proper … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, photos, silliness | 14 Comments

A walk in the woods: choose wisely

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Which path would you choose? Would the adjacent sign affect your decision?  (Shmeegs?) Would you consider the relative scariness and likelihood of this… …compared to this? (Photo source). Would the sight of vultures circling overhead affect your decision making?  (is … Continue reading →

Posted in bad people, camping, food glorious food, music, nature, photos, travel | 15 Comments

Sound as a pound

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Right, we’ve got charts, a compass, tide tables, two Swiss Army knives, bear spray, and an air horn*, and we’re off on an adventure! (Well, we’re actually off to my mother-in-law’s today, which isn’t all that adventurous, even when our … Continue reading →

Posted in camping, kayaking, meta, nature, travel | 11 Comments

Land of my four bears

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

As you may remember from an old post, since I moved to Canada in 2002 I’ve spent much, much more time worrying about bears than actually encountering them. In fact, I’d only ever seen one bear in the wild… …until … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, family, nature, photos | 5 Comments

Vancouver’s wildlife is getting wilder!

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My usual route to work takes me through a cemetery full of beautiful old trees, and then along urban side-streets which at this time of year are lined with cherry blossoms. I’m used to seeing squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, and … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, photos | 9 Comments

"But the thing you don’t realize is that there’s good naked and bad naked"

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I came home from work last night to find Mr E Man watching one of those survival shows on the Discovery Channel. Some testosterony chap was striding around the Namibian desert killing snakes and being condescending in a way that … Continue reading →

Posted in bad people, nature, rants, television | 37 Comments

Tuesday Pet Peeve: common garden variety

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

It’s a beautiful day today. After days of rain the sun is shining on the snow-capped mountains, and the trees are resplendent in yellows, oranges, and reds. So are the roads. Yup, the leaves are falling and winter is on … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, gardening, nature, photos, plagues, rants, silliness, Vancouver | 17 Comments

Book Reviews: the good science, the bad science, and the ugly

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Inspired by Science Bear’s epic book review post, here are three very overdue book reviews of my own! The Good Science Dry Store Room No.1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, by Richard Fortey. I first visited the … Continue reading →

Posted in bad people, book review, communication, medicine, nature, pseudoscience, science, the media | 4 Comments