John Roscoe

A neatly decorated human skull, right 3/4.

A neatly decorated human skull, left profile.

Happy Dia de los Muertos to all who celebrate!
Below, a stunningly decorated skull gifted us by a dear friend years ago.

A toast! To absent friends.

Precisely.
Thinking Doug Ford would put Canadian national interests ahead of his own political ambitions is just foolish.

That ad stirred up a hornet's nest and put his name on the lips of millions of center and right-leaning Canadians. That it may cost many of them their jobs? Collateral damage.

"Tonight on Cross Country Checkup: what is Pierre Poilievre hiding? His refusal to submit to an audit other parliamentarians completed as a matter of course raises questions — is it money laundering? Human trafficking? Drugs? Have *your* say."

Just kidding! They'll be talking about Ford's tv ad.

Let's see what the staff at Stornoway think...

A stock photo of a newscaster backgrounded by a graphic showing Pierre Poilievre chewing an apple with some dalmation puppies and a school bus in the background.

IF CANADIAN PRESS COVERED POILIEVRE LIKE THEY DO CARNEY

"Did Pierre Poilievre kidnap a school bus full of Dalmation puppies and eat them one at a time, crunching through their tiny fragile heads like bushels of crisp red apples? If only he were security cleared, we wouldn't have to wonder."

Tomorrow's the deadline!

Where's all that enthusiastic speculation go when the subject is the conspicuous reluctance of the leader of the opposition to allow a security audit?

Where's the "what if?" op-eds? Where's all the "just asking questions" thinkpieces?

How come no idle spitballing for Mr. Poilievre?

[Star_Trek_Fight_Theme.mp3]

[Hinterland Who's Who theme]
Narrator: the Blue Jay, a tenacious over-wintering can of hair-trigger kick-ass, waits like a coiled spring for prey to reveal itself before descending upon it like a biblical catastrophe.
[Hinterland Who's Who closing theme]
#Jays #BlueJays #GoJaysGo #WantItAll #Bird

A particularly saucy Blue Jay.

WHUDDAYALOOKINAT?

#BlueJays #WantItAll #Bird

a man in a suit and vest is sitting in a chair in front of a wall . Alt: Father Jack from Father Ted.

Drink!

"What's the safest seat in Canada?"
"Battle River—Crowfoot, sir. But Mr. Kurek wants it back."
"Oh. What's the 2nd safest seat then?"
"Sir, with respect, you can't just... tour Alberta, knocking established MPs out of their constit-"
"YOU'RE FIRED! Get me somebody who knows about clinging to power."

"No thanks, Ossifer — your breathalooper would only impede my freeze peaches."
"Sir, if you refuse the roadside breathalyzer test, you will be subject to the same penalty for having flunked a roadside breatha-"
"Tell him you can't because it would expose how drunk you are!"
"Shut up, Michael Chong!"

A pretty intense Jay staring right down the camera.

This Blue Jay has had enough fannying about.
#GoJaysGo #BlueJays #NaturePhotographer #Nature

I don't pretend to be an expert on carceral logic, but I *am* sure petty blowhards who reach for the notwithstanding clause like its a bag of trail mix on a leisurely hike aren't either.

Whether one agrees with a decision or not is one thing; determining to overrule the courts is quite another.

And being Canadian, we'd probably use base-10 for calendrical measurement and still count cooking time in minutes and degrees Fahrenheit.

As a way to maximize Canadian interests during trade negotiations with an irascible, whimsically mendacious US President?
• The ad was no help at all.

As a means to elevate opinions of Doug Ford in preparation for his campaign to lead the Conservative party?
• The ad functioned exactly as intended.

DOWNSTAIRS, STORNOWAY

"Seen the papers, Mrs. Bridges?"
"I have not, Mr. Hudson."
"Seems the master might find 'imself in a bit of a sticky wicket: he's angling for an election."
"Pah! I doubt that very much, Mr. Hudson."
"Oh?"
"'E likes it here, Mr. Hudson — the way eels like warm beer batter."

See this? This is a molting Blue Jay on my bird feeder; almost all of the feathers on his wee head have fallen out.

But don't worry: he'll grow 'em back bigger and brighter than they were before — because that's how Blue Jays roll. #GoJaysGo #BlueJays

A base 10 analogue clock face.

"[chanting] MET RIC TIME! MET RIC TIME!"
#DST

A September 2025 poll showing 45% of Conservatives support Trump.

The party affiliation distinction gets even sharper when you focus not on the nation generally, but its current president...

A bee on some decaying flora.

Maybe you don't want to leave those leaves all over the lawn, but don't bag 'em yet — pick a spot out-of-the-way and pile 'em up there.

There's lots of bees and bugs and assorted wee critters that would *love* to use your detritus as their winter home.

Found this chap in my backyard leaf pile.

Is there a snappy Greek term for "Government by Self-Righteous Howling Gorilla?" It'd be a [something]-ocracy.

Whatever. There's a good example of Mr. Poilievre's style of politics in Planet of the Apes (1968).

A scowling mackerel-pattern tabby.

"Lodged ball? LODGED BALL?"
~ Mrs. Peel, #Caturday #BlueJays

Reminds me of this old saw....

Zipper #Spiders get their name from the zig-zag embellishments they add to their webs, called stabilimenta.

Nobody knows for sure why they do it, though evidence points toward the structures acting as a sort of location-amplifier to tell the weaver where a tasty morsel may have become entwined!

A creepy closeup of a Zipper spider.

Zipper Spider I found in the garden last summer says, "Happy Halloween, everybody!"

Ain't she a beauty? And she brought lunch: an unlucky housefly. Bon appétit, ma grand-mère!
#MacroPhoto #Arachnid #Nature #NaturePhotographer