Rose R

@rinrat86

Every day cyclist - its how I get around, not a statement but I don't have a death wish so fight for safer spaces for anybody not in a car. Volunteer in Fish Creek and other conservation orgs because I love nature. Maker of Dinoramas. Fiercely Canadian

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Rose R@rinrat86· 20h

My helmet - really? Not going to help much when an enormous pickup runs me over cuz they didn't see me. As for the rest - sharing the path, adjusting to conditions - valid, but those are the issues that injure cyclists. How about more separated lanes for cyclists instead of "thoughts and prayers"

Text of post that accompanied the prior image. It says : and don't forget your helmet, it could make the difference when the unexpected happens.
Ride smart. Share the path. Respect the pace.
Learn more at calgary.ca/besafe

Rose R@rinrat86· 20h

That's a big number. Where does it come from? How many of these injuries were on pathways (which is what the first post applies to) versus how many were the results of motor vehicles andnthe actions of their drivers?

Image stating 1703 cyclists over the past 10 years and 7 lives lost.
Then a tag line saying everyone deserves a safe journey. You can help make cycling safer in Calgary

Rose R@rinrat86· 20h

@calgary.ca @jeromyyyc.bsky.social Ya, these posts are going to get some feedback. So here's mine. Good start. Yes cyclists do need to adjust to conditions and ride safely formthe environment they are riding through- especially considering the unpredictability of others.

Screen shot of a post from city of calgary. It says : Ride to the conditions. Not just the limit.
Crowds, corners, hills and low visibility areas all require extra caution. Be predictable and give others space to move safely

Rose R@rinrat86· 1d

Waiting patiently for the tap to magically pour forth water... while I soak away some aches of the weekend bike camp trip

A dark grey long hair tabby cat sits with its eyes closed beside a sink

Rose R@rinrat86· 10d

How do I say no, fuck no and no fucking way?

Screen shot of email from Google Workspace saying I've been selected to try new AI features.

Rose R@rinrat86· 12d

We actually caught photos of our garage bumblebees! iNaturalist isn't helping us be sure of which bombus it is, perhaps red-belted (rufocinctus), or great basin (centralis)? @ratliw.bsky.social @loriweidenhammer.ca

A bumblebee is seen flying into a corner. The bumblebee is mostly yellow with a black thorax and tip, and reddish-orange stripes separarated by black. on the right of centre is a white garage door, left of centre white painted door framing, and foreground is old concrete with a crack in the middle. There is a small hole between the bottom of the garage door and the concrete.

This time the bumblebee is seen flying out of the corner corner so its head is mostly visible and doesn't show the reddish strips on the abdomen. On the right of centre is a white garage door, left of centre white painted door framing, and foreground is old concrete with a crack in the middle. There is a small hole between the bottom of the garage door and the concrete.

A lower view of a bumblebee flying to a gap below a garage door. Most of the photo is of old concrete with a crack going diagonally left top to right bottom. The bumblebee's wings show as a grey blur, its yellow head, black and yellow thoracic section show well as does the abdomen with black and red strips alternating to a black tip.

Another view of the cracked concrete and bottom of garage door. The bumblebee is faintly seen as a black spot entering the gap under the door. Its full orange pollen baskets are clearly visible almost like orange eyes.

Rose R@rinrat86· 21d

Well this provided excellent inspiration for our latest #dinorama. @ratliw.bsky.social

3 metal skeletal dinosaur sculptures are arranged on green lawn. The brontosaurus on the left holds a pancake flipper. A small t-rex stands before an old green Coleman campstove that has a frying pan with fake pancakes on it. There is a plate of 'pancakes' (slices of wood) between these dinos and the views. The pancakes are topped with a swirl of tar (think a dollop of whipped cream but black) . On the right a pteranadon holds up a big tree slice pancake that says Bite this Dani. In the background is a red and white lawn sign that says "forever Canadian" and has a maple leaf on it. Above it all is a small Pride flag.

Rose R@rinrat86· 24d

It has taken a long time to personalise my new* bike, but Betty is looking pretty good. Thanks to calad.ca for the beautiful handlebar bag. *got in the fall to replace stolen bike then spent winter in storage.

Photo shows a black bicycle (mountain bike style) with "Marin" in bright green letters with neon green pedals, water bottle holder and a small neon pink and green bag on the handlebar

A the front half of a black bicycle showing off a black, neon pink & green bag on the handlebar, and a neon pink fender covered in stickers (a trout, a deer face and "ckua")

A top tube bag on a bicycle..the bag is made of cream coloured fabrick, a red zipper and had a painting of a cyclist in a nature scene on the side.

Rose R@rinrat86· Jul 8

Grasslands had so many other treats for us - burrowing owls and night hawks were favourites, but the best was sitting in our campsite watching the comings and goings of loggerhead shrikes to their nest (often chased by angry swallows). Look at Alt for last photo.

A loggerhead shrike perched on a dead branch in a green poplar tree. The shrike has a white neck and belly, black robbers mask and a grey cap on its head; wings are grey on top black on the bottom with a white stripe between.

Loggerhead shrike seen from the back. Its black tail, wingtips and eye stripe are bold against its grey back and head. Its black beak has a vicious hook.

The grey cap and black eye stripe and a single black tail feather are all of a loggerhead shrike that shows from a nest hidden amongst poplar leaves.

A loggerhead shrike is shown partially obscured by bare branches with something long and green hanging from its beak.
This is the final portion of a smooth green snake that it is about to deliver to the nest. The snake had been hung up in the tree 10 minutes earlier, then the bird used its beak to cut it into 3 sections that it delivered to the nest.

Rose R@rinrat86· Jul 8

but then on the last day of our visit - as we were loading our bikes to leave, we saw something even cuter than a killdeer - a "killfawn" What a cute fuzzy mini killdeer on such long legs!

A killdeer chick stands on a gravel path with grassy area behind.

A killdeer and its chick stand on the edge of a gravel path. The adult is on the left of the image and has her tail spread and facing the camera and the white belly showing. The chick is dashing off to the right, looking like a perfect miniature replica of the adult, but a quarter the size

Rose R@rinrat86· Jul 8

We had great viewing of Killdeer at Rock Creek campground in Grasslands NP last week. Pairs chasing and competing over a puddle (or something, I don't really know what they were doing, it could be mating rituals but seemed late in the year) #birds

A killdeer (small shorebird with white belly, brownish-grey back, vibrant black and white strips on neck and a brownish-grey cap) stands on a gravel pathway. The background is a mixture of greens from grey-green of sage to bright greens of various grasses and other plants

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 23

These bollards dont seem excessive at all... husband for scale on the path...

4 yellow bollards block a pathway that is barely 1 meter wode

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 22

@saskajanet.bsky.social are you the one who has posted about bumblebee nests. We suspect one in the corner of our garage and are wondering if we should do anything other than flag the corner as a reminder to not mess with that stuff for now.

A jumble of stuff and junk in the corner of our garage behind a fluorescent pink cross made of duct tape. The metal frame of the garage door is on the left, with various sized pieces of lumber and a couple metal poles leaning into the corner of the concrete coloured walls. Orange and blue bags hang from jooks on the wall on the right of the corner

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 21

Hello #yycbike Does anybody known if it is possible to get onto 178Ave SE from 88St down in Mahogany? I recall there being guardrail/fence between the lanes on 88st, but dont know if there is any barrier to getting from NB 88 to 178th

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 19

Hello, you know that's a bird feeder and you are not a bird, right?

A red squirrel is visible inside a clear sided, wooden bird feeder.

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 19

Well, that's a cute little tail... must be a very interesting bird in that feeder. #birds #notabird

A hanging wooden bird feeder has a brown, fuzzy, furry tail sticking out of one of the bird entry holes.

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 18

Summer session of Good Grief walking is now available for registration. Please check it out and pass it on to folks who might like some company for a while on their grief journey.

Image of a poster advertising a program called Good Grief Nature Walking Through Grief and Loss. The program runs Wednesday evenings 7-8:30 pm in Fish Creek Provincial Park fir 8 weeks. For more information email info@friendsoffishcreek.org, visit the website www.friendsoffishcreek.org/goodgrief/ or call 4032383841

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 17

Does the female Wood Duck wake up after breeding and go, "whoa, who are you?" Because this is not a pretty boy

A post breeding male wood duck stands on a log which appears to be onnthe edge of water. The duck's bill is orange and eye is red. His plumage is a mottled mess of irridescent blue-green and mottled browns, with pale white chin stripe. It is a marked change from crisp bright colours of its breeding plumage

Rose R@rinrat86· Jun 7

Saw these only because I stopped to pick up some garbage by the creek today.

Two wildnrose blossoms with a muddy creek and bridge in the background.
The flowers have bright pink petals with a sunny yellow center. There are rain drops glistening on the petals and the flowers are bright against the backdrop of green leaves. Slate grey rocks mark the shore where a muddy brown creek rushes past. A gently arched concrete and metal pedestrian bridge frames the top of the photo with a cloud grey sky showing below and above the bridge

Rose R@rinrat86· May 30

Some great signs in Calgary at the #FightBackNow gathering

Collage of programs sighs.
"You name it theUCP have screwed it up", "the arc if history favours competence", "thisnsign isnt big enough for all the reasons I am here", "you cant spell fucked without U C P", "Unaccountable, Cruel, Proud if it. Dictator Danielle" with a picture of Danielle Smith with horns, and "Nicoliar" with a painting of Nicolaides

Rose R@rinrat86· May 29

That's an amazingly obvious one. How about my photo of a yellow throat...

A mass of bright green leaves and grey-green branches help camouflage a bird called a Common Yellowthroat. It has a black band across the beak and under the chin with a thin white line along the top ofmthe band and a grey-green back. It's yellow chest and belly is mostly hidden by a branch

Rose R@rinrat86· May 29

Meet George. George likes our dandelions and clover... George is a mountain cottontail rabbit, one of many in our neighborhood. It is possible George is actually Georgette

A grey-brown rabbit with small ears lies in a the grass of a lawn

A small grey rabbit with light brown highlights on shoulders and forelegs has its face in an bunch of clover

Rose R@rinrat86· May 27

Thanks for the inspiration...we went paddlinng today. The reservoir has been drawn down very low both to accommodate erosion control work on the shore and to make room for spring runoff. There are lots of mud flats and we saw about 3 dozen white faced ibis and half a dozen American Avocets.

Two kayaks paddling on a narrow bit of lake under a blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds. Only the nose of my orange kayak shows in the bottome right foreground. A man in a light green kayak with a red life fest is ahead. To the left of the kayak is calm water with small ripples. A narrow band of grass like green topped with a fringe of dista t spruce trees separates the view of water from the sky

A man in a green kayak paddles through calm water reflecting the greens of the forest on shore. A dirt shoreline separates water from green forest. Along the shoreline are a yellow tracked dump truck and an orange excavator

Rose R@rinrat86· May 24

Sigh. Sure makes me feel like my business is valued...

On the left, a metal shelving unit is loaded with baskets of flowering plants. On the right a similar shelving unit has 4 shelves of flowering baskets. Between the 2 shelving units the rear tire of a bicycle is barely visible as the units block access to the bike rack.

Rose R@rinrat86· May 5

They should not be sold.

Rose R@rinrat86· May 4

OMG my daughter took us to see wandering garter snakes at a hibernaculum today!

A cluster of Wandering Garter snakes. There are 4 or 5 or more grey green snakes twined together. Some are olive green on top with paler grey green below, some have pale yellow stripes lengthwise. They are on grey ground of clay and round grey river rocks

A single wandering garter snake on a grey boulder on the rivers edge.

Rose R@rinrat86· Apr 28

Double bagging it 😁 Bought new panniers today then biked to the grocery store - took the new bags in and loaded them with groceries, then loaded the panniers inside the panniers!

A black Axiom bike bag is inside a red and black ortlieb pannier.

Rose R@rinrat86· Apr 27

Some more photos over our chilly, snowy weekend

A prairie crocus blossom. It rises from the ground at a 40 degree angle after being pushed down by snow. The purple petals are fuzzy and closed tight and pointing like a cone tonthe left. The bracts that support the flower are green and fuzzy with a couple beads of water resting on top.

A prairie crocus flower points towards the camera. The fuzzy, purple petals are barely open giving a peek at the yellow stamens insdie. A tiny black and red fly rests on the top. The green supporting bracts are behind the flower.

Rose R@rinrat86· Apr 27

#yycbike Good news - the lower path between the sailing club and Glenmore Landing is clear of snow and ice. Bad news is there is a tree down. I reported it to 311. Also there are closed signs on the path near Glenmore Landing but you can still get through

A large tree trunk lays across a paved pathway. On the left is water of the reservoir, on the right is other standing trees.

Rose R@rinrat86· Apr 24

#bloomscrolling The emergence of a prairie crocus (Pulsatilla nuttallia) blossom took 10 days. This is from a plant rescued last summer and the first prairie crocus in my yard (presumably since the prairie I am located on was developed as a suburb innthe 1960s)