Footnotes to a Conversation, July 11, 2022
“Be like a peacock and dance with all of your beauty.” – Debasish Mridha
Wildlife in the City
The Oak Bay branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library had an unexpected but extremely attractive visitor this past week as you can see in the photograph below. I was leaving an apartment building parking lot on busy Cadboro Bay Road on Saturday and had to slow down to let mama deer and her two spotted fawns go past. There are always mixed reactions to wildlife in the city. It’s fun at first, but as the number of deer (or peacocks) accumulate, they are viewed less favourably. The deer are thin from not enough food and they’re destroying people’s gardens. The solution in Oak Bay and now Esquimalt is birth control and the numbers are going down. Naramata had a similar problem with peacocks in the past. The birds were a good fit at first with Naramata’s quirky community culture but not so much nowadays. [The Walrus]
Photo credit: Greater Victoria Public Library
Cats on Twitter
I use Twitter to pick up a smattering of information from a wide variety of sources on stuff like politics, Covid, wildfires, and election results. But all that gloom and doom needs a leavening agent and for that I turn to the Twitter cats. Larry has been in residence at Number 10 Downing Street for 10 years – far longer than any of the human residents. You’ll see Larry chasing a pigeon, expecting treats from journalists, and getting the bobby on duty to open the door. There are often snide political tweets, and loyal followers are convinced he’d make a better prime minister than the current contenders [Gizmodo]. Then there is George, the Stourbridge Junction Station Cat. He posts uplifting messages morning and evening, but there are also photos of George patrolling the parking lot (aka snoozing) and asking for treats. Oscar is in charge at Holmfirth Police Station where he is a “FULL TIME PAWliceCat -Station dweller West Yorkshire Police Claw and Order”. He does a fine job of guarding the evidence (as in sleeping on top of it). Finally, there are the Birmingham allotment cats who’ve been very active to ensure that their humans could visit and feed them during the Commonwealth Games.
High-Brow – Low Brow
I went on a walking tour of 3 short theatrical performances on Friday evening. The tour was part of SKAMpede, a popular local event with performances at their hub as well as along several walking and cycling trails. It wasn’t great theatre, but it was fun and occasionally magical. The first performance was by a dancer and a cellist on a promontory overlooking the Inner Harbour. The music was evocative, particularly as we watched 3 otters swimming by in unison and a string of geese heading straight towards us. The third piece involved 3 aliens (see photo) landing on earth and making contact with humans. It was profoundly silly – and fun. I enjoyed being outside in a small (8 people) group for a trio of short performances. This wasn’t Shakespeare or Molière. It was low-key, casual, close to home, and I’ll participate again another year.
Photo credit: SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles
Saskatoon Heritage
If you live in Saskatoon, I highly recommend participating in one of the Saskatoon Heritage Society’s summer walking tours. [Saskatoon Heritage Society]
July 17 – College Drive and edge of the University Campus
July 24 – Forestry Farm Park
Aug. 14 – Old Nutana
Aug. 28 – Forestry Farm Park
Sept. 18 – Moose Jaw Trail
“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.” – Frida Kahlo
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.