iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Today is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada, which is also Orange Shirt Day. I stopped by the Bryce grave at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa. There was a steady stream of children and teachers in orange shirts visiting. Let's commit to do our best to make up for past wrongs, and prevent new ones.

A gray gravestone with the name "BRYCE" carved into it sits at the center of a flowers, lanterns, as well as an "Every Child Matters" sign and other small artifacts such as painted stones and a pair of shoes. The grave is surrounded by cut grass and there are mature trees in the background. The trees have mostly green leaves, but also plenty of yellow and some orange.

094

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This cube all lit up and suspended by a huge crane ascended overhead on York St. in the Byward Market in Ottawa last night, carrying a troupe of four rappelling dancers, accompanied by mostly electronic music. The show was called Venti Verticali: CUBO, and was part of the Nuit Blanche event.

120

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This looks interesting. If they're going to have those powwow-style tacos I am there.

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Some bees have green heads! This one was working a cluster of purple asters today at noon.

A cluster of three or more purple flowers with many long thin petals is in the foreground. The flowers have yellow- orange centers. An insect with a yellow and black striped abdomen and green head and thorax climbs on the largest flower, bottom right.

020

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

You people on here are always saying open the streets for people, not just cars. But do you ever think of the real consequences? People milling about could attract a giant abominable snowman rampage, like this! Is that what you really want? Seen at BeechFest on Beechwood St. in Ottawa this evening.

A two story white furry snow monster is seen in the middle of a crowd on a street full of people.

120

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The late-season lavender asters are coming into bloom now in Ottawa. There are better flowers available, and the asters are still small and just at the beginning, but the bumblebees are all over them. The only flower I've seen them being more enthusiastic about is bee balm, but that is gone now.

A single bumblebee feeds on a small lavender flower with many paddle-like petals. The bee is hunched over with its wings out in a delta formation - it is too big for the tiny flower. There are several more of these flowers in the frame, connected by wiry green stems. The background is a blurry, leafy green.

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It was a comfortably cool this morning and I caught this bee waking up to the sun striking the false sunflowers. You know how when you get up you stretch one arm out and tilt your head the other way? The bee was doing that. Except, for a bee, doing six limbs sequentially means a lot more stretching.

A bumblebee lies in the shade near the middle of false sunflower, which is has long yellow petals backlit by the morning sun. There are a couple of flowers in the frame, and the stem of another on the right. The bee is just waking up and is stretching its middle right leg out. I don't know if bees can yawn, but if they do, I am sure that is what this bee is doing.

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

YVR airport in Vancouver is filled with art, most of it Indigenous.There's great monumental West Coast art, but also there are temporary displays. I liked this one, Robin Woman, by artist Savannah Meideros. Bravo to the artist, and to YVR for showcasing the artists from the area. Do this everywhere!

A wooden sculpture, I think cedar, of a woman wearing a shawl with a robin on her head, stands in a display case at an airport gate. The sculpture is illuminated by warm light from above. There are many seats for passengers behind.

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Google WTF!? It is Lake Ontario. What ever happened to "Do no evil." and "Do the right thing."? I thought that was in your DNA. Now you are just falling in line. Very disappointing.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Downgrade a movie: It's a Satisfactory Life

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

They say you should post Canadian culture. The show North of North is fun while hitting serious themes. Set in the arctic, Inuit experience is central, but anyone can relate. Season 2 comes out this fall. It is available on CBC, Netflix and other places. www.imdb.com/title/tt2737...

imdb.com

240

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I really enjoyed this video about spoken Québec French. It covers a lot that can be mysterious and spells it out. Like why Céline "Dzyon"!? How many swears "sacré" can you string together and what's the correct way? Bonus for a passing reference to the great Willy Waller 2006! youtu.be/ZnCyqeSSWI8

youtu.be

An English Speaker's Guide To Quebec French

YouTube video by Conor Nickerson

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

People in Ottawa who want a better city should take a look at the Wateridge development on the former Rockcliffe air base. It is really filling in. 2 big playgrounds. Bike lanes throughout. Apartments. Houses. Nature on all sides. New bus service. A town square. Some shops...

160

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Did you know there are many different kinds of bumblebees? I didn’t learn that until not so, so long ago. This bumblebee, on goldenrod in the sun and heat at noon today, is very stylish, having two orange stripes and one yellow stripe. I'm no expert, but I think this kind is called Bombus ternarius.

A bumble bee with wings folded stands on a cluster of goldenrod flowers, which, zoomed in, look a bit like a bunch of little dandelions. The bee is facing upward and we see it partly from the side. Its abdomen is black with a yellow stripe near the bottom and two orange stripes further up. It has a black head, and a yellow fringed black midsection.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Despite drizzle the bumblebees were out this morning. They are still fixated on the ever-more-ragged bee balm, but they are now taking an interest in the coneflowers. They circle around the flower, step and drill. They almost always go around clockwise! Are they left-footed? Are coneflowers chiral?

This photo zooms in on the central part of a cone flower, which has red-orange tipped spikes and a few flecks of yellow. The many slender pink petals arc down and outwards. A bumblebee on the right is walking around around the central area, step by step. The background is blurry green.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Goldenrod is coming into bloom now. Here, a bumblebee works a patch in the full sun and heat we had here on Thursday afternoon.

A single bumblebee, with its wings folded in walks on a tuft of tiny bright yellow-orange flowers. There are slender green leaves behind the bunches of yellow flowers.

021

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Mood. (This picture is from early Thurs. evening, just ahead of the long weekend, in Ottawa.)

A racoon rest, lying stretched out across a short length of cedar fence, with a foot on one corner and head on the cross beam. There are some maple leaves overhead.

082

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The bee balm is looking ragged these days, but the bumblebees can’t seem to get enough. They’ll fly flower to flower, sometimes knocking fading florets off. Coneflowers are coming into their own, but they ignore them to fly and climb all over the bee balm. Check out this bee's huge pollen baskets!

You are looking at a ragged, fading pink flower with lots of tiny, slender pink florets. The background is leafy green. At the bottom of the picture a quite large bumblebee clings to the lower side of the flower and drinks from one of the florets. This bumblebee has two orange pollen baskets bigger than its head by its hind legs!

151

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Recently these mirrored monoliths appeared next to the Supreme Court on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I am guessing this means we will soon be evolving to a higher plane. I have been throwing bones in the air in the hope that I will get upgraded, but it doesn’t seem to work like it does in the movies.

You are looking towards a grassy park with a walkway with a few small trees. The sky is blue with puffy cumulus clouds here and there. Two curvy mirrored monoliths stand side by side, reflecting the sky and buildings nearby.

You are looking directly at a tall, slightly convex mirrored monolith. You see the reflection of several puffy cumulus clouds, the blue sky, and city buildings at the base.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Clear sky yesterday, so we went to Stittsville to bike the Ottawa-Carleton Trailway, a former railway now part of the Trans-Canada Trail. There, signs represent the planets placed according to the size of their orbits. Here is a video from the trail of a Jupiter gravity-assist "slingshot" flyby.

120

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

New weather conditions unlocked: rainy AND smokey.

000

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Some call this flower bee balm, others say wild bergamot. It is in full bloom in Ottawa now. Bumblebees are all over them this evening. They have to work, shoving their tiny beaks into each little floret and working their way around before flying to the next flower, but it seems to energize them.

A single pink flower-head is in the middle of the photo, with maybe a dozen slender pink florets in a crown shape. One bumblebee hangs down in front. Another bumblebee is on the far side. The background is mostly leafy green, with several more similar flower-heads nearby, but just out of focus.

040

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Is Thunder Bay (and places around there) okay? Here in Ottawa I think we are inhaling what until recently was forest over there.

030

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Wildflower season is on in Ottawa and you don’t have to go far to see it. Here’s a cluster of 5-petaled pink flowers (“sweet William catchfly”) each pinky-sized, and even smaller 4-petaled yellow ones (“yellowcress”). The pink flowers are finely outlined in purple which really makes them stand out.

Clusters of young wildflowers on a leafy green background. In the center right of the frame a dozen five-petaled pink flowers are in full bloom. The petals are outlined in fine purple lines. They also have a vase shaped base with pink and purple pinstripes. There are a few more of these flowers, some not yet open, at the bottom left. At the top left, a cluster of four-petaled yellow flowers have formed at the very a long green stem, with many little kinked flowerless stems branching out from the main stem.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Cicadas are just ramping up their trilling in Ottawa now.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Lots of fireflies out tonight in Ottawa despite the rain. They are the yellowy orange ones that flash and trail on just ever so slightly.

020

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

A bumblebee works a tower of white flowers ("white jolanda speedwell") yesterday in the Sensory Garden at The Leaf in Winnipeg www.assiniboinepark.ca/leaf/about-t...

Thin cone-shaped spires of tiny white flowers tower in the foreground. A single bumblebee works the most mature flowers in the middle of the biggest spire, in the center of the frame. Behind a gap of green another patch of white flowers is visible in the distance.

020

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Yesterday I biked the Osgoode Link Pathway. Although it was hot, there was some shade. The trail is hard packed with fine crushed stone. It is flat, treed and very straight. You pass forest, farm and mansions. You see chipmunks, robins, butterflies... A good trail to relax, breathe and just pedal.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I'm puzzled by people parking their cars and trucks off the side of the pavement and on grass. Today, at a huge parking lot, two separate people drove there to walk their dogs on adjacent cut grass. Why did they park their vehicles halfway on the lawn? There were dozens of parking spaces. Peculiar.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

These tiny flowers are showing up in the grass around here these days. They are each about the size of your pinky fingertip. Nice!

This is a close up on a tiny flower with five pink petals that have toothed ends. The flower is white in the center. There is a a thin jagged purple ring around the center of flower. The petals have a faint lighter purplish line in the middle making a kind of five pointed star. You can see some very small round white spots near the purple ring.

0201

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Strawberries are in now at the Orleans Fruit Farm! They also have rhubarb, radishes, and garlic scapes! Yum. Also swiss chard if you are a rabbit. Do humans eat that stuff, too? I doubt it.

Rows of square and rectangular baskets full of fresh, bright red strawberries are laid out on a table. Signs in English and French give the prices by the pint, quart or 2L quantity. The small baskets are green cardboard. The 2L baskets are white plastic. There are a few more baskets on a table in behind which will be put out soon.

110

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

It is bonkers that instead of the main train (line 2) going to the airport, it bypasses the airport to go to a field. Now the line 4 "stub" from the airport to the train will go once per half hour? So wait 20 minutes for line 4, wait to connect to line 2, wait to connect to line 1 and you are there.

292

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Green. (this evening, after the rain, in Ottawa)

Looking straight at the moss-covered trunk of a maple tree beside a gravel path. The tree is surrounded by long grass and plants. There are large trees in the background. The sun is low, with the light coming in from the right casting long shadows to the left. The leaves cast shadows on the tree trunk, which first opens up into several huge branches and then into many leaves, moving upward. The sky is clear and blue, but water has pooled on the path from recent thunderstorms.

1121

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Saturday we biked the New York Central Recreational Trail which is actually in eastern Ontario, named for the railroad it replaced that used to run to NY. The 8.5 km long, level, paved trail connects the towns of Russell and Embrun. It was hot at 27°C, but the trail was shady and pleasant. So nice!

140

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

We're not quite there yet but the Ottawa River was seemed pretty solstice-y just before sunset on Friday night. The edges of the trails were covered with white fluff that carries seeds from trees (not shown) - you could easily scoop up enough to make a pillow.

Looking into the sun across the Ottawa River a little before sunset. The surface of the river has horizontal rippling waves that the sun is reflecting off making a line. The river is mostly blue. The sky above is light mostly, transitioning to red on the horizon. There are trees framing the sun on the left and shrubs below and to the right. You see forest across the water.

042

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I biked over to the RCMP stables where the horses were calmly lunching on grass and hay. Suddenly it started pouring. The horses jumped, stomped and did this wild stampede around the yard. I ducked under the awning of the farm store. The rain stopped within a minute and all went back to how it was.

120

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Mino Anishinaabe Giizhigad! Happy Anishinaabe Day!

020

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

When they say "Your call is important to us" given the length of time I have to stay on the line I feel it kinda isn't that important to them.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

It is June 1st already. In Ottawa that means it is the start of Let's Bike Month. Sign up as an individual or join a team. You can win some nice prizes. It is also really nice biking this time of year, so even if you don't win a prize, it is still a win. Full info and sign-up forms at: letsbike.ca

letsbike.ca

Let's Bike Ottawa

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Big waterfowl drama late Tuesday afternoon at the new Biindaasige Park in Toronto! I saw a Canada Goose family walking and I thought I might just get a quick video of the goslings going by…

020

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

There were signs up for Turtle Protectors (Mishiikehn Gizhaasowin in Anishinaabe language) at the new Biidaasige Park in Toronto. Here's a link to some info about them: turtleprotectors.com. Ambe Mishiikehn Gizhaasowin! Go Turtle Protectors!

A sign on a post with an Ojibwe-stylized turtle image and text that says "Turtle Protectors - Mishiikehn Gizhaasowin". It gives contact information for the Turtle Protectors in Toronto.

031

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

In Toronto, they like raccoons so much they made a picnic terrace for them at the new Biidaasige Park. I just saw some kids playing there, though, no raccoons.

A play area and picnic tables are mostly obscured by newly planted trees and a sign that says "Welcome to Raccoon Picnic Terrace". The sky overhead is blue with some wispy white cloud.

110

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Late afternoon Tuesday I finally made it to Toronto’s Biidaasige Park, the newly re-naturalized former industrial area where the Don River meets Lake Ontario. It is already great! Many birds, especially red-winged blackbirds. It will get better and better as the new trees mature! Wonderful!

131

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

It was interesting to see this fern grow from a tiny fiddlehead sprout to fully fanned-out fronds in just one week. I took a photo each day over a week’s time and laid them out to make this collage. The last one was today. From thumb-sized to knee-high in a week, they grow so quickly!

A sequence of seven photos of the same fern, each taken a day apart, running left-to-right. The fern has five stocks and a nice green color. It is surrounded by brown leaf litter, mainly oak and maple leaves. On the smallest panel at the far left, you just see several tightly curled little fiddleheads. Each day the straight stock lengthen, and little leaflets form, but the curled fiddlehead shape remains at the top. On the far right, on day seven, the fronds have mostly completely unfurled. A narrow sunbeam shines down on some of the leaves on the last day.

130

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

There are signs of spring everywhere in the Ottawa area. One sign: trilliums are in bloom in the forested areas of Ottawa! They aren't in bloom for long, so if you are anywhere near the area, keep an eye out. (Don’t pick them, though, they say that tends to kill the whole plant.)

A white flower with three petals and an orange center is in the middle of the frame facing you. It is surrounded by lush green leaves. Behind is another facing away from you. The forest floor surrounding the flowers is covered in brown, decaying leaves, making quite a contrast with the flower. There are some fallen branches in the background.

030

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Spring is a great time of year for waterfalls, and the Ottawa River is high this year. Although there's a dam there, Chaudière Falls are still spectacular, and they were at full power today. The falls were thundering, and although it was a sunny and warm 19°C, you could feel their cooling power.

010

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Here's a garter snake out for a swim at the newly restored Macoun Marsh in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa. It was 14°C and sunny at the time. That's good enough for snakes, I guess! (No turtles though.) The restoration work looks finished but plants around the water will need a season to grow back.

031

Paul Finnie @1canoe2paddles.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

I hadn’t seen a turtle out in Ottawa yet this year, but it was 14°C and fairly sunny so I went to Mud Lake, one of the nicest urban wetlands here, where many painted turtles were out sunning themselves. (So this will be my last #FirstTurtle post of 2026, and also a 2nd, 3rd, …NthTurtle post.)

A wide log floating in a lightly rippled lake arcs from the front right to the back left of the picture. Many painted turtles lie single file all along the log, even on top of each other in places, except where branches and debris are in their way. The turtles are mostly dark green and sun is reflecting from their shells. The water on the left bottom side is flat and reflects trees and white lightly clouded sky. The water on the top right is rippled with light and dark horizontal stripes.

050