@cohanf@mastodon.online
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cohanf

@cohanf@mastodon.online

old guy struggling toward a new path; artist; painting, writing, photography, gardening; plants, bugs, music, film, books, connection (not dating)...
West Central Alberta, Canada

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cohanf, to Weather
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I like #puddles , pools, ponds, so this is a great time of year for me- #SpringMelt ! + since we keep alternating melting #weather with snow (more to come in the next few days after 18-19C/64-66F today) the puddle season is extended! Not so fond of mud, but oh well!

I shot this icy puddle the other day, where there'd been a much larger pool a week or two back- on viewing on the screen, I realised there was a face, then 2! Not creepy, I think they are #winter #spirits saying goodbye! #animism

A small irregularly shaped depression in the ground has filled with melt water-maybe still some winter snow turned to ice underneath- then variously frozen, re-melted as temperatures change so there is some liquid water, and several textures and densities of ice and slush at different depths. It's surrounded by a flat area melted out of the snow which has dried leaves over flattened grass, moss, fine shrubs etc, and the dark shadows of trees out of frame except for the very bases of a couple, come toward the viewer, angling to each side around the puddle which is catching a bit of sun.

cohanf,
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@NatureMC I'd never heard the word, though of course the concept is not new to me- I've started a series of drawings of the creatures I see in spots and stains around the house 😆
These photos are a little different, though, since the Winter Spirits were really there, I didn't imagine them 😉 😀

DemocracySpot, to random
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Day-old buttermilk biscuits, split and buttered with 1/4 slice of American cheese, Bake on a sheet pan @ 350ºF until the cheese is brown and bubbly. The biscuits are crunchy. Great plain or with jam, honey or syrup. Dunk in grits, if you want.

Breakfast.

cohanf,
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@DemocracySpot can't remember whether I've ever had grits... if I did the only chance would have been on a visit to Miami.. not something one sees generally in any part of Canada I've lived in (though surely some specialty restaurant must serve them..). Had to look up Karo syrup- we used to have corn syrup when I was a kid, not sure if it would be the same- I remember it tasting tinny, but lots of canned things did then I remember it in metal 'buckets' not that big...lol!

billyjoebowers, to random
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Young people gonna be shocked when it turns out their generation did not actually bring about the sweeping left wing changes that were predicted and is actually just a balance of all types across the political spectrum, just like every generation before was.

cohanf,
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@billyjoebowers I'm still holding out hope that they are going to grow up to throw all the conservative politicians and corporate leaders who put profit over planet into jail.

NatureMC, to climate
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    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC Always lots of beans, peas, lentils here :) being vegetarian, they are the backbone of my food!

    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC and the gladiators apparently ate lots of barley- so if we combine barley and pulses, we should be able to do anything! lol

    NatureMC, to random
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    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC always nice to see performers who are really involved emotionally in the music.

    NatureMC, to ukteachers
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    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC very true in art- if you are afraid to make mistakes you will not accomplish much! One practical tip that comes from that idea: when people are starting, they should not use expensive materials they will be afraid to 'waste' (later maybe you learn to work with your mistakes more, so you are not losing too much material!0

    cohanf, to wildlife
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    1. I spotted a in the woods on the acreage. May not sound exciting, but I've never had a good sighting before (more in replies): they are stealthy + presumably mostly nocturnal. So it was very cool to see this one, and in its winter pelage (seasonal white fur) : even more cool! Vid links from YouTube and Spectra (smaller files) another vid + pics to follow
      https://spectra.video/w/kZMTVjwYUwp9nJ8g3mVdFg
      https://youtube.com/shorts/1vvugC7HeNU?feature=share
    cohanf,
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    1. second video- more footage of the , including almost full body as it comes out of a burrow- cussed myself as I moved the camera just then and missed full body/tail shot- which might have helped me see if it was a Short-tailed Weasel erninea or Long-tailed. Plus some context footage.

      https://spectra.video/w/qBfYMzqPhG3c7pKgUnBHW1
      https://youtube.com/shorts/tsjF80eQCXs?feature=share
    cohanf,
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    1. 1st photo as I was coming into the area with a running chainsaw in my sled- luckily the camera was around my neck when I saw some white creature at the base of a tree- I first thought some bird, snapped a shot before it dove into a tunnel.
      2nd shot it was eating something, though I could never see what (no remnants there when I looked later). It never made a big effort to run away- it was only 5-10m away and much less when it was in the tunnels

    Seen in the gap between 2 large balsam poplars with dark furrowed bark with moss, especially on north side, a smwall white animal is seen blurrily with small bare branches in front of it. Its pointy muzzle is tipped to one side and it is chewing on something unseen.

    cohanf,
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    1. a capture from the second video, we see almost the whole body of the weasel as it emerges from one of the burrows.
      This sighting was exciting, since in all the years I've been back here (since 2007) ,while we see tracks of these little critters in the snow, at times, and I once saw the tail end of one disappearing into a hole by the furnace in Mom's old house--it was raiding the cat food! and once saw from the car one dash across the road- that's it!
    cohanf,
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    @deborahh that's what I think of also whn I hear 'ermine' and the Short-tailed Weasel has 'erminea' as a species name!

    cohanf,
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    @deborahh There are several similar species- I'm not sure which one this is, I don't have experience iding them, and didn't get a great look at body/tail length- could also be Long-tailed... I have no idea about European species, presume there are several there, as well!

    cohanf,
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    @deborahh a lot of plants and animals that look like their European counterparts were assumed to be the same, but many were later- some recently- assigned to subspecies or new species- this has been the case recently with our native Campanula /harebell, Pulsatilla/Anemone/Pasqueflower (=Prairie Crocus, but I hate that name, cuz some folks don't realise it's not actually a Crocus). Always new understanding of nature 🙂

    cohanf, to wildlife
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    Very exciting afternoon cutting firewood on the acreage- in the woods behind the house: it was a 5 day! 2 spotted, one almost for the first time for me , and first photos/videos (a wesael in winter colour!), the other an every day event (squirrel-several, actually); one more heard running away (moose), and two noted from scat (deer, hare)-one of those for nearly the first time this winter (Snowshoe Hare)- all in all, exciting! Pics/vids to come..

    cohanf, to Alberta
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    Last week was cold- day time temperatures into the mid minus teens C, repeated snowfalls, 15-20cm over a number of days. Nothing shocking for here, March can be both a winter and spring month here (and back and forth). This week as high as +12C and lots of melting! Pics from last week here, vids in replies-YouTube and smaller file links.

    A snowy bit of driveway with dark snow-covered spruce boughs behind. The road has been ploughed but is still coated with snow. Behind, is a mound of shovelled snow and low bank, in front an uncleared area with a half foot or more of snow with tire tracks through it.
    A glowing white ball of sun with faint gold around the edges emerges from a blue grey cloud. The rest of the sky is warm grey-blue with bits of textural clouds. In front several modest sized bare poplars and birch and a young spruce tree.

    cohanf, to Battlemaps
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    I actually got this readyin time, but by then it was late and since it had been a work day, no more oomph to post ( I take text and alt text seriously, no quick matter! lol)
    We had snowy days and cold (seasonally adjusted- days in mid minus teens C) so views of covered beds, and cool with a shadowy selfie + Aloe taking a look at a Haworthia- indoors of course!

    cohanf, to HikingPics
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    Views from before the recent snow (several days last week + snow all day yesterday, not extreme amounts, but back roads are pretty messy, so extra day off to avoid the driving).

    a piece of mostly rotted birch log, the bark still intact, lies in granular half-melted, refrozen snow. A large patch of blue-green-grey lichen is on top of the bark, from one side (upper side in photo) a colony of fungi emerges, rather flat bodies, irregular slightly clam shell shaped with layers/bands of lighter/darker colour and varying texture, all muted by a light coating of green algae.
    View across a snow covered road allowance and across a wire and post fence to a pasture with many tracks and trails from cattle, some paths worn/melted away so a bit of dry grass is showing through. Midway into the scene, a patch of dark spruce rises to one side and a bit farther a series of upright dark board wind fences cross the frame. Beyond- more snowy fields and distant blue mountains. It is an hour or so from sunset, and the sun is huge white glow through thin clouds in the upper right, with light clouds farther out tinting to gold and blue grey, a bit darker on both colours above the mountains.

    NatureMC, to Bloomscrolling
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    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC always a happy sign!

    cohanf, to music
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    No, I don't have a drop of Swiss blood (as far as I know) but yes I still enjoy and sing along with (parts of ) some classic yodel songs like 'Min vater isch en appezeller' and 'Jetzt wei mer eis jödele'-- long ago my mom got into Swiss yodel music via cowboy yodel music! She had a few favourite vinyl records when I was growing up (and yes, I can still yodel 😆 )
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4YX8Rl9r3k
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy1wM66U6Kw

    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC I don't think I could tell anything about region, but I do know at least the talerschwingen (I knew this sound from my childhood, but just learned the word the other day 😆 ) , and the yodelling associated with it that sounds very different from other yodel music- it is mostly very sombre, no perky accordion or fast yodelling. That is from Appenzell, but I don't know if the people who perform that music only perform that style.

    NatureMC, to SciComm
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    cohanf,
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    @NatureMC People often don't understand the distinction between doing something that you enjoy and find rewarding, but which requires a lot of effort and time= work! and things that are just casual and 'fun' with no great inputs of energy. When I write or paint, my body temperature actually goes up, so it is definitely work!

    Subumbral, to random
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    cohanf,
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    @eyrea @Subumbral But that's where the discretion of a good teacher should come in- neither overwhelming nor holding back!

    kas, to gardening

    I've always been told that seeds from the mistletoes you can buy around are no longer able to germinate because they are kept in dark during transportation.

    Well, four years ago I decided to challenge that claim: I bought a mistletoe twig in a local nursery and “sowed” the seeds on a Japanese cherry tree resp. a young willow in my garden.

    Result: While lots and lots of the seeds germinated, only a few of the seedlings survived the first year after germination, and fewer still made it past the cotyledon stage.

    Here, four years later, I have three mistletoes on the cherry tree: a smaller one and a bigger one (the latter is a pair of twins, actually), and a really tiny one on the willow. Please see the attached pictures.

    The tiny mistletoe on the willow seems to be having a hard time. It's still a tiny seedling only. I guess it doesn't approve of the host species.

    The mistletoes on the cherry tree, on the other hand, seem to be thriving, although it took three years for the first real leaves to appear, so I've had to be very patient.

    Apparently twin embryos are very common in mistletoe (i.e., Viscum album), but only one survived in my garden.

    We ought to challenge superstitious beliefs.

    /cc @plants | | | | ]

    Four year old mistletoe seedling growing on a young willow tree

    cohanf,
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    @kas @gardening @plants cool!

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