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  1. Downes

    Looking Outside

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    May 17, 2022. Julia on the shelf looking outside. Every morning starts the same way - I start the coffee, start the oatmeal, weigh myself, and then go over to the shelf where Julia is complaining that I'm too slow. Up she jumps, and then she gets a nic...
  2. Downes

    The Optomitrist

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    May 16, 2022. This is the device the optomitrist uses to examine my eyes; there are some 148 lenses inside. Had a couple of meetings this morning, did the newsletter, and caught up on some email. https://flic.kr/p/2nmJv6j
  3. Downes

    Encroachment

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    May 15, 2022. Our next door neighbour is slowly expanding his front lawn into ours.The actual property line (so far as I know) is three or four feet from his driveway. But they routinely mow well on to our side, they've trimmed our spruce trees and cut...
  4. Downes

    Maxville

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    May 14, 2022. This is the distinctive tartan-clad water tower in Maxville., I cycled there and back today, 57km total, with 30 degree heat and a light breeze. The ride was a bit slower because I paused to take video a number of times, creating a YouTub...
  5. Downes

    New Crop

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    May 13, 2022. This is just outside Casselman, and is typical of some of the gigantic soybean fields we have around here. It's changed a lot from when I was young and all of this was divided into fields and 100 acre farms. Today I gave a presentation on...
  6. Downes

    A Cow Out Standing in its Frield

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    May 12, 2022. Another day out cycling after work, and today I photographed these cows enjoying the sunny weather. Still cleaning up the debris from the data literacy work and arranging for it to be published on NPARC. https://flic.kr/p/2nkvTg2
  7. Downes

    Tilling the Soil

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    May 11, 2022. A farmer near St. Albert tills the soil on a beautiful but breezy spring day. The weather has turned to HOT and I am enjoying being able to get out on the bicycle after work. Today was mostly about cleaning up and doing errands that stack...
  8. Downes

    Bretzler Family Farm

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    May 10, 2022. This farm is on the long way back from St.Albert. If you were wondering, this is what farms look like these days - the traditional barns and silos are a thing of the past. Beautiful warm day (at last!) and quite pleasant to cycle. Mostly ...
  9. Downes

    Spring Azure

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    May 8, 2022. This is a spring azure butterfly, small, flighty, hard to capture. With wings closed, like this, it looks a little brown, but when they're flying you see the bright purple. We went to Bank Street to pick up some bicycle tubes (and ended up...
  10. Downes

    Celebration of Life

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    May 7, 2022. This is my Aunt Marilyn, whose life we celebrated today. She passed away in the middle of the winter after a long and interesting life, and since there's no rush to inter her urn, the early spring celebration allowed the entire family to g...
  11. Downes

    The Cows of St. Albert

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    May 5, 2022. This is a cow outside the St.Albert cheese factory, which is where I go on my regular 25km bike ride. I took this photo in the context of recording a TikTok video (I'm up to 156 TikTok followers now!). Had a bit of an issue with my data li...
  12. Downes

    Brown Thrasher

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    May 4, 2022. Andrea came rushing into my office saying, "There's a new kind of bird." She was quite right; it was a brown thrasher, which we haven't seen before. Got new slippers today. Tried to start a No Man's Sky Circumnavigation project that may ha...
  13. Downes

    Nation Behind a Tree

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    May 3, 2022. This is a view of the Nation River along my cycling route (the usual 25km to St. Albert). Still practicing with the camera. Started the day with a couple of meetings, which means I'm not generally very productive thereafter. https://flic.k...
  14. Downes

    Summerstown Forest

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    May 1, 2022. This is a wet section of Summerstown Forest - it's pretty hilly and there are wet spots and good spots for trails. It was our first time in this forest and it was a good one. Lots of spring flowers just getting started (the flowers are all...
  15. Downes

    Trees and Pond

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    April 30, 2022. This is a pond at the far end of King Street in Limoges, right at the dead end near the highway. I was more concerned about learning teh Fujufilm X-T200 camera than getting great composition, so this is testing exposure, iso, depth of f...
  16. Downes

    Char on the Cardboard

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    April 27, 2022. I don't know what it is about cats and cardboard, but they are unnaturally attracted to it. Working on the appendices of my data literacy report today - a sign that it's almost done! https://flic.kr/p/2nhC1t8
  17. Downes

    Muskrat

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    April 28, 2022. I thought it was a groundhog at first, but the muskrat's hairless tail is distinctive. Taken alongside the Nation River on a quick loop to St.Albert and back. Cold today and windy. Good progress today on the appendices. https://flic.kr/...
  18. Downes

    String Time

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    April 26, 2022. Living with four cats means that your every activity is monitored and timed. Cats crave routine, and part of the daily routine is string time, after supper around seven (if I'm late for supper, or late for string time, I hear about it)....
  19. Downes

    Tiny

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    April 25, 2022. I've been completing an expedition in No Man's Sky this week - there's a full playlist of video recordings if you're interested (though I can't imagine that you would be). Otherwise, it's all data ethics all the time. https://flic.kr/p/...
  20. Downes

    Turtles

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    April 24, 2022. We saw rows on rows of turtles sunning themselves in Mer Bleue today. WE also saw garter snakes mating, a wide variety of birds, and all sort of plants springing back to life. It almost feels like spring. Almost. https://flic.kr/p/2nhsfUD
  21. Downes

    Weir

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    April 23, 2022. This is the weir at Crysler, a town about 20 km from Casselman. I did a loop through Crysler and Berwick for a cold 50km today. I did a short TikTok of the weir and learned from a comment that I've been spelling the name of the town wro...
  22. Downes

    Cropland

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    April 22, 2022. This is a field between Casselman and St. Albert. It was cool, but I did the 25km route today after work. Most fields aren't showing a crop yet, but you can tell everything is ready for another growing season. https://flic.kr/p/2ngENE5
  23. Downes

    The View from the Trainer

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    April 21, 2022. This is my view from the exercise bike in the morning. I toggle back and forth between CNN and Breakfast Television. Last week I took a week off to rest my sore obliques, but I'm back at it this week, gingerly. Today was another full da...
  24. Downes

    Parking Lot

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    April 20, 2022. Happy 4-20. This is the parking lot at the Costco. I took it thinking how everything seemed blue, black and white. Such odd spring colours. Aside from picking up groceries, I spent the entire day (once again) on data literacy. I know; s...
  25. Downes

    Bathstand

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    April 19, 2022. I was thinking today what a world without plastic would look like. This is my sink in the downstairs bathroom, and almost everything on it is plastic (just the Gold Bond is metal). Some meetings today, but otherwise totally focused on d...
  26. Downes

    Ravager

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    April 18, 2022. These new Ravager tires arrived from Amazon and will hopefully be the answer to my tire needs for my Anticosti Island bikepacking expedition. This Easter Monday was spent working on data literacy and playing No Man's Sky (which I'm stre...
  27. Downes

    Oh Deer

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    April 17, 2022. We spotted this deer while hiking in Guindon Park, near Cornwall. It was a bit cool and the ground was *very* soggy. Still, the Jays won and the sun came out for a bit and we saw deer and snakes and birds and squirrels, so overall it wa...

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