Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦

It's a magpie. I think it was just ignoring everything :)

Too funny!

New graphic for Doc's vet bills. Please consider buying art of anything at all! My little dude needs surgery asap. Feel free to share this graphic far and wide!

There's one (different look) at the corner of Sherbrook and Notre Dame in Winnipeg. I've only been there once in grade 11 and it's still there 33 years later. I'm not sure when it opened.

This is so cool! Wish I'd had one when I was teaching Chordate Zoology.

I'm so sorry. I know how hard this is.

One coyote snarls at another one which rears back with a look of 'dude! chill!' against the backdrop of limestone cliffs. A black-billed magpie ignores the scene.

When someone reaches for the last bread stick 😉

Photographed from my kayak. #mammals 🌿

Great reflection!

Thanks. There are several more signs, but I couldn't post them all.

A blueish interpretive sign that says Hallo! Velkomin Til Mikley - Hello, welcome to Big Island - the original name for Hecla. The sign is written as though you are being welcomed by a local in the 1930s who is going to walk you through the village on the way to the boarding house.

A blue-topped interpretive sign is mounted on two wooden posts across from an old, white boarding house with a two-story wrap-around veranda and. It is titled Rest at Lake Winnipeg's Crossroads.

A blue topped interpretive sign titled 'What's in a Name?' tells the story of the patronymic naming system used by Icelanders and how it evolved over time in the new world. It also mentions how they named their homesteads and how the post office was named Hecla, after Mt Hekla in Iceland.

A blue-topped interpretive panel titled - Plying the Water and Ice sits in front of an old wooded whitefish boat protected by the elements by a large roofed structure. The sign tells the story of the start of the commercial fishing industry on Lake Winnipeg.

I rarely work on interpretive sign projects without having input in the design, but I just researched, planned, and wrote these ones in Hecla Village. Despite not being Icelandic, I have a deep connection with this place, so it was an honour to use my voice to share it's story.

I only go when the lake is pretty still and I'm very careful. I also have an insurance rider on it, just in case.

I'm glad you're enjoying them. You should try kayaking sometime! It's so much fun.

Their howls definitely get your hair standing on end, but having gotten to know them over the last few years, I really appreciate how intelligent and individual they are. Also, indoor cats are the best for so many reasons.

Thanks! It was an incredible experience.

A gorgeous portrait.

Two brown sparrows with prominent dark brown caps perch on a tangle of dead willow branches on a sunny afternoon.

A couple of white-crowned sparrows without their white crowns stopping along the beach on their way south. #birds 🌿

Yeah. That was pretty much running in a loop in my head the whole time I was floating there :)

Thank you :)

Thanks, Glen. I'll be riding that high for a while, yet :)

I'd rather you not use my nature posts for random political digs. I'm Canadian and don't need to get dragged into your mess any more than I am.

A rusty-yellow mushroom with cream-coloured scales and white stem pops prominently out of the forest floor. A yellow poplar leaf lies on the ground in front of it.

Found a beautiful Amanita (fly agaric) mushroom this morning. I have to remember to go back tomorrow to see how much the cap has opened up. 🌿🍄

There will be more.

It'll likely be an evening trip, which is not the prime time. Nets are checked in the morning.

Thanks, guys. There were so many amazing moments, that I keep wanting to share :)

I'm hoping to get back out there this week if the weather allows.

It was so amazing to just float there and watch them be coyotes. And, yes, the lighting was incredible :)

I know, right? :)

Friend shaped, but very much not friend :)

Four of a family of coyotes stand in the golden light of the morning sun along a rocky, shore against an wall of fallen limestone cliffs. The coyote in the middle is staring off into the distance while two other feed on the remains of fish. The fourth coyote is looking over the shoulder of the one on the right, hoping to get a taste.

Two coyotes in the golden light of the morning sun along a rocky, shore against an wall of fallen limestone cliffs. You can't see the head of the one on the right, who is presumably feeding on fish carcasses. The one next to it has it paw on the other's back, trying to get its attention.

Three coyotes in the golden light of the morning sun along a rocky, shore against an wall of fallen limestone cliffs. The one on the left looks off into the distance, ignoring the other two. You can't see the head of the one on the right, who is presumably feeding on fish carcasses. The one next to it has it paw on the other's back and is snarling, trying to get its attention, annoyed that it's not getting to share in that particular fish.

A few more photos from my morning with the coyotes from my kayak. The sun had cleared the horizon at this point and the fish left by the commercial fishermen were running out, leading to some scuffles among family members. #mammals 🌿

That’s a cool find, but it might not be what you think it is. Holes like that form in the middle where some of the stone has worn away. Look up ‘Lucky stones’ in relation to Lake Winnipeg, and you can find more information.