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Northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea) hidin

Northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea) hiding in the leaves of a great mullein (Verbascum thapsus). The mullein grows next to a rock wall, which is the lizard’s favourite hang-out 🦎 #saltspringisland #northernalligatorlizard #lizardsofbc #lizardsofinstagram #backyardecosystem #mullein

Found an abandoned nest of a black-eyed junco (Jun

Found an abandoned nest of a black-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) under our big Douglas fir this afternoon. I suspect there was too much foot traffic from our fence and berm construction 😢 My apologies to mama junco...

Reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s description of wit

Reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s description of witch hazel flowers, I am reminded of this photo I took this past February ❄️ “The flowers are a ragged affair: five long petals, each like a scrap of faded yellow cloth that snagged on the branch, torn strips that wave in the breeze.” ❄️ They did wave in the breeze in January, before being covered in snow ❄️ #saltspringisland #witchhazel #hamamelis #robinwallkimmerer

I think these are the remains of a Giant Pacific O

I think these are the remains of a Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) washed up on Fernwood beach🔸Of course, I can’t look at any octopus the same way after seeing the @seachangeproject film My Octopus Teacher🔸 #saltspringisland #giantpacificoctopus

I love the sounds of ravens, from the powerful ‘

I love the sounds of ravens, from the powerful ‘whoosh, whoosh’ of their wings above me to their resonant clucking. Briony Penn in A Year on the Wild Side describes it as “the noise of a champagne bottle popping or the rattle of an ancient drum.” I’ll drink to that, Corvus corax 🍾 #saltspringisland #raven #soundscape

Fog hovering over St. Mary lake makes for a serene

Fog hovering over St. Mary lake makes for a serene atmosphere on the last day of what has been everything but a serene year. Here’s to a more peaceful 2021 in all possible ways! #saltspringisland #december2020 #fogoverthelake #stmarylake 📷 @chinneryann

A sickly yellow sky, windows closed all day. No fi

A sickly yellow sky, windows closed all day. No filter on the photos, but the filter in the air purifier is working overtime. This is how we are local-lish, affected in BC by forest fire smoke from Washington State and Oregon. We have entered the Pyrocene and I am terrified 🔥 #pyrocene #forestfires #climatechangeisreal #saltspringisland

While blackberry picking, we found this Northern P

While blackberry picking, we found this Northern Pacific tree frog just hanging out on a berry. It’s one of my favourite pictures ever! 📷 credit: Ann Chinnery #saltspringisland #blackberryseason #treefrog #getoutside

Found an intact garter snake skin in our back yard

Found an intact garter snake skin in our back yard. So paper thin and delicate! Snake skins are all about transformation, which makes me wonder if there is special significance to finding one... #saltspringisland #gartersnake #snakeskin #changeispossible

I couldn’t figure out why there were strange bal

I couldn’t figure out why there were strange balls of moss on this wild rose bush. Turns out it’s not moss but a “rose bedeguar gall” or mossy rose gall. It is the result of a gall wasp (Diplolepsis rosae) laying its eggs in a leaf bud. The gall (that is, the thing that looks like a ball of moss) even has medicinal uses. Kind of gross but also fascinating! #burgoynebay #saltspringisland #robinspincushion #diplolepisrosae #natureisweird

We spotted these white plants on our Channel Ridge

We spotted these white plants on our Channel Ridge walk today and first thought they were mushrooms. Turns out they are ghost plants (Monotropa uniflora). This plant does not photosynthesize its own energy but relies on photosynthetic trees nearby via mycorrhizal fungi. Clever little 👻🌱 #saltspringisland #mycorrhizae #channelridgetrails #ghostplant

The Calypso orchids have succumbed to the rain now

The Calypso orchids have succumbed to the rain now, but the spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata) is just coming up 🌲 It looks like red asparagus at first, but then the spotted flowers unfurl 🌲 I just learned from @ubcgarden that they have rhizomes, not roots 🌲 #orchidsofbc #saltspringisland #coralroot

A lovely fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa) wa

A lovely fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa) was an unexpected splash of purple along the unassuming trail in our neighbourhood #saltspringisland #orchidsofbc

Look in’ good today, St. Mary Lake, lookin’ go

Look in’ good today, St. Mary Lake, lookin’ good 🌲 #saltspringisland #channelridgetrails #getoutside

I am thinking of everyone who doesn’t have a cho

I am thinking of everyone who doesn’t have a choice but to be in traffic at the moment, and hoping you are safe! ❄️ If you are lucky enough to be inside, or in a nearby park for play time with a snow-loving pup, it’s magical. ❄️ My favourite part is the silence. The dry, fluffy snow that is falling at the moment absorbs sound especially well. ❄️ #nofilter #snowday #soundofsilence

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are incredible, producing such bright flowers in dry, sandy soil. They are not native to Canada and in some places in BC they are considered a nuisance or potentially invasive weed (see, for instance, http://stanleyparkecology.ca/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/06/SPES_StanleyParkISMP_5June2014.pdf) but I’m having a hard time disliking them. Here they are just off the beach at #albertheadlagoon #californiapoppy

Ants on a log (no celery, peanut butter, or raisin

Ants on a log (no celery, peanut butter, or raisins required — and whoever thought up that combo?!) 🐜 We came across this busy ant overpass on a #channelridge trail 🐜 I am no ant expert but these seemed too small to be carpenter ants, so my money is on western thatching ants (Formica obscuripes)🐜 #antsofinstagram #saltspringisland

Beautiful Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park (Xwaaq’um

Beautiful Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park (Xwaaq’um) with Quw’utsun welcome poles #saltspringisland #xwaaqwum #quwutsunterritory #burgoynebay

One of my favourite views on #saltspringisland is

One of my favourite views on #saltspringisland is from the trails of the Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve 🥾 Such a peaceful place 🙏🏼 @saltspringconservancy @tlc4bc

Gartersnake curled up in the back yard. I’m not

Gartersnake curled up in the back yard. I’m not completely sure what kind it is but #saltspringisland is home to three kinds of #gartersnakes (common, northwestern and terrestrial) says @saltspringconservancy and, since our yard is quite dry, I’m guessing northwestern is most likely. I love having these guys in the garden because they eat the slugs! #backyardsnake #gartersnake

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