Ralph Mills PhD

@ralphmills

Historical archaeologist, oboe and tenor saxophone player, photographer, runner (slow), 35 years vegan, gardener. Researches nineteenth century miniatures, working class mantelpieces, figurinai, and old railway wagons. Four cats. Saanich, BC 🇨🇦

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Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· 3d

An illustration in an 1856 article in The Builder by George Godwin, its editor, inspired my 2017 PhD research. Godwin was writing about how the objects on this mantelpiece demonstrated "the love of art" amongst the poorest slum dwellers.

An illustration of a mantelpiece crowded with ornaments, including a parrot, two bowls of fruit, a cat, a "nodder" (a ceramic animal whose head nods up and down) and an urn. Also on the mantelpiece are two mysterious figurines, a clay pipe and a candlestick. On the wall are a crucifix, a rosary, two small portraits and two religious tracts. Entitled "A Chimney-piece in Plumtree-court, Holborn" the drawing illustrated an article by George Godwin in The Builder Magazine, 1856.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· 19d

This bee has taken a liking to one of my seed trays. It spends a lot of time in this pot, and returns to it after every trip away. So in order not to inconvenience it, I’m going to have to leave that seedling undisturbed!

A honey bee rests in a seed pot. A seedling grows in the opposite corner.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· 26d

Found an owl pellet on the back garden fence yesterday, presumably regurgitated by a local owl as it perched there. It contained the fur and bones of a small rodent. I've always wanted to find an owl pellet, and now I have!

An owl pellet, about 4 cm long. Visible are a number of small rodent bones, including half the pelvis, a femur, two fragments of lower jaw and a yellow incisor, embedded in fur.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Apr 2

That tree hasn’t grown much in the 35 years since we were excavating milecastle 39!

Archaeologists working amongst a tumble of masonry inside Milecastle 39, with Hadrian’s Wall and a small tree in the background.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Mar 15

So much for a little pottering in the garden. I was digging a hole to plant something when I struck a small stone, which got bigger and bigger! I might start a rockery…#gardening

A mud-covered boulder that I managed to extricate from the border without giving myself a hernia.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Mar 9

Today's heron:

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Mar 9

Rock imitating seal...or vice versa!

A seal lying on a rock, mirrored by a seal-shaped rock in the background.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Mar 7

Friday evening

A chalet at dusk, lights shining through its windows, smoke drifting from its chimney, seen across a tumble of storm-tossed logs, against a background of dark trees.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Mar 6

Far from the madding crowd: View from the back porch this evening! Staying at The Alders, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, north of Courtenay.

A patch of grass, and a path leading down to a sandy shore, with the British Columbia mainland in the distance.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Feb 19

>50 years ago I was working on an urban archaeological site where our accommodation was an old school slated for demolition. A passing oboist who had had to give up for heath reasons heard me practicing and very kindly gifted me a wonderful pile of #oboe music It included this piece by Longmire. 1/2

The cover of a piece of music for oboe and piano: "Reverie" by John Longmire, published in 1962 by Boosey and Hawkes. The music is a little battered around its edges, and has been repaired with tape.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Feb 15

Spent this sunny and warm morning helping to remove invasive Scotch Broom from sensitive sand habitats at Island View Beach, Vancouver Island. Hidden by the Broom, a fine collection of Birdsnest fungi. #fungifriends.

A small decaying log covered in Birdsnest fungi, one of my favourites.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Jan 27

Welcome home Dad! #cats

Three cats, their eyes glowing, looking out through a window.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Jan 12

A morning spent happily removing invasive Scotch Broom at Whitty’s Spit, Metchosin, Vancouver Island with other CRD Parks volunteers.

Looking across the Georgia Straight past Haystock Islets toward the Washington coast from Whitty’s Spit, with a split rail fence in the foreground.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Dec 1

Playing with the magnifier feature on my iPhone in between removing invasive Scotch Broom in Francis/King Regional Park yesterday. The mosses are wonderful at the moment, and amongst them are tiny toadstools! #fungifriends

A tiny orange-pink toadstool poking out of deep moss.

A yellow-brown toadstool amongst at least two types of mosses.

Birds Nest fungus almost hidden in moss.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 28

#fungusfriday #fungifriends

A cluster of tiny toadstools beside the Tod Inlet trail, Vancouver Island.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 28

#ForestFriday

Forest trees surrounding and reflected in a small pool

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 21

Changed/improved the scenery a little up in Mill Hill Regional Park this morning by removing invasive Scotch Broom, plus a twig of the day! #fungifriends #Saanich #habitatrestoration

A Gary Oak meadow with invasive Broom growing between the trees, before removal.

The same view after a couple of hours spent removing the Broom.

Tiny fungi happily growing on a lichen-covered twig.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 20

A long time ago I attended Enfield Primary School, in Adelaide, South Australia. I'm in the centre of the back row of this 1960 photograph of my class, all of whom are in the latter half of their 70s now, but who in those days had dreams to look forward to. #south_australia #enfield

A class of 11-year-old primary school children photographed in 1960 in front of the buildings of Enfield Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia. The boys are dressed fairly uniformly in shorts and a sweater, while the girls are dressed much more variously, though all have white socks.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 4

A few more #fungifriends in the rain.

A group of tiny toadstools growing out of moss on a twig.

Two minute toadstools...wait there's an even tinier third!

A toadstool growing in a crevice on the bark of a tree.

Fungus that resembles tiny yellow fingers growing out of a rotting tree trunk, with some polypores growing below.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 4

In the gloom of the forests beside Lake Cowichan it was pouring with rain. On a group fungus foray you can't linger too long over photos otherwise you get left behind! And of course I make trouble for myself by wanting to capture the smallest fungi using my iPhone! #fungifriends

A tiny, yellowish toadstool growing out of moss.

A tiny wine-red toadstool with a frilly edge.

An almost sinister, alien photo of a polypore fungus drooling droplets of water beside to a tiny reddish toadstool!

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Nov 4

Working on my photos from the fungus foray the other weekend. The heavy rain and lack of light meant that my results are even more amateurish than usual. But in the meantime, I found these just down the garden... #fungifriends

Two tiny toadstools almost hidden by surrounding grass blades.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 27

It’s black cat day. There are three in this photo.

Three black cats and a grey cat sharing the sunshine. Two are on the floor, the others on a settee.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 26

Cowichan Lake Fungus Foray day 2. The specimens on display. 165 species identified. Quite the haul. I haven’t had time to look at my photos yet but will post one or two soon…#FungusFriends

Fungi displayed on tables in a large room.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 13

Went for a stroll around Osoyoos this afternoon, in the breezy #Okanagan valley, looking across the lake to Nk'mip Desert, the so-called "Pocket Desert" (i.e. all that is left), home to, amongst other rare plants and animals, Burrowing Owls and Pallid Bats (a splendid name).

View across a choppy lake towards dusty hills above an area of arid sage-covered valley bottom.

View from a sandy beach across a choppy lake towards arid hills.

A rusty abandoned cherry picker lies beside a sun-bleached shed, with an orchard in the background.

A view across Osoyoos Lake southwards across the 49th parallel, with vegetation in the foreground and arid hills in the distance.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 11

Jerusalem artichoke showing off in my vegetable patch this afternoon. It’s about 3 m tall!

A very tall plant with half a dozen stems and yellow, daisy-like flowers.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 11

“Farewell to Spring” (Clarkia amoena) a little confused in a corner of my garden today, bidding farewell to late summer!

A white, five petalled flower with bright pink details.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 8

This is my revenge for being called “carrot top” (amongst other pejorative terms) when a child (I had red hair in those far-off days when I had hair!). #gardening

A 20 inch long carrot with a measuring tape alongside

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Oct 3

Fungus foray this morning. Not many specimens as it’s been so dry. But found some of my little favourites!

A tiny pinkish toadstool growing from a twig.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Sep 16

My monster! #gardening Never managed to grow a carrot this hefty before.

A carrot alongside a ruler that shows that it is about 14” long.

Ralph Mills PhD@ralphmills· Sep 11

Obligatory vacation sunset pic…