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Ralph Mills PhD

@ralphmills.bsky.social
715 followers 524 following 277 posts

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.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
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.  A honey bee rests on the soil surface.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
We have a visit this afternoon from a cat adoption agency volunteer to check us out: we are thinking of a couple more rescue cats. Of course, one of our current cats is immediately sick several times, just to demonstrate what terrible cat parents we are!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
It is the time of year when I am surrounded by a small cloud of Drosophila (fruit flies) that have presumably followed me indoors from the compost barrel. They make drinking hazardous: they regularly commit suicide in my whisky and I have to cover my wine glass.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I have achieved my main goal in coming all the way from Vancouver Island to London: a new £15 oboe mop from Howarth’s! Worth every penny…
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Apparently cats aren’t particularly intelligent, but as soon as I get out a suitcase ours know that something’s up. They either become clingy or sit glumly in the open case. Yet they love our cat sitter, who spoils them rotten.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Just improved the oboe 2 part of Brahms’ German Requiem by omitting a couple of notes, changing a few sharps and flats (I discovered the hard way that he wrote far too many of both) and inserting an extra twiddly bit. All free of charge!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
A peaceful Monday afternoon tea break in the garden with just the sound of birdsong and a cat loudly vomiting in the background.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Playing tenor saxophone in a small concert band means constantly being told that one is too loud. Apparently mf means pp! My only comfort is that the baritone sax sitting next to me is apparently also too loud. We mutter and groan as quietly as we can, our reeds complaining bitterly.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Recovering from plantar fasciitis is bad enough without all these posts from runners and hikers enjoying themselves. I grimly carry on doing the exercises and curse a lot…
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
My #oboe teacher has given me another reed to try, American scrape rather than the European scrape I’m used to. This, along with her insisting I should use the left banana key instead of forked F fingering I’ve always used means I have lots to practice.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
A fine day pottering around the garden before the next atmospheric river dumps a week of rain on Vancouver Island (according to the forecasts). But that means I am prompted to sort out the greenhouse (much overdue) in the next few days. #gardening
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Today's heron:
A heron stands on a rocky beach.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Rock imitating seal...or vice versa!
A seal lying on a rock, mirrored by a seal-shaped rock in the background.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
>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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
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. Close up of some birdsnest fungi.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Oboe day at UVIC yesterday = >20 #oboes and 6 cors anglais. What an amazing collective sound! Plus a masterclass and many words of wisdom. Great fun!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Ran 7km today despite oboe day (good fun) yesterday and too much rum last night. Progressing cm by cm!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I need motivation to run, so I've signed up for a 10k race at the end of April. It's several years since I last ran in a race, six months since I last ran, so I'm going to have to work hard to get back into form. My goal is to finish in under an hour, but I'm older and creakier than before.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Rescued the first lizard of the year today! #cats
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
So this morning the annual tradition of sitting in a queue of 20,000 people on the Parks Canada web site at exactly 8:00 and not being able to reserve a camp site at Pacific Rim. Ho hum… It would have probably rained!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Welcome home Dad! #cats
Three cats, their eyes glowing, looking out through a window.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Trifle for breakfast!
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
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. A tiny toadstool almost hidden by moss.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
#fungusfriday #fungifriends
A cluster of tiny toadstools beside the Tod Inlet trail, Vancouver Island.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
#ForestFriday
Forest trees surrounding and reflected in a small pool
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
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!A group of tiny white toadstools.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Evening 1 of the Cowichan Fungus Foray. We wandered in the dark damp forest shining our UV flashlights at various unsuspecting fungi and lichens. Being an archaeologist rather than a mycologist I oohed and aahed and then found some plastic beads (21st century) that fluoresced nicely! #fungifriends
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
“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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
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
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Fungus foray this morning. Not many specimens as it’s been so dry. But found some of my little favourites!
An overgrown trail in a conifer forest. Tiny fungi growing from a pine cone. A tiny pinkish toadstool growing from a twig. A newt posing on a pink polypore.
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Reposted by Ralph Mills PhD
Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
RIP Jane Goodall. I feel like it's shortchanging her legacy to focus only on her work with chimpanzees when her compassion extended to ALL animals. One of the best ways you can honor & continue her legacy is to incorporate more plant based meals into your life. ❤️ news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
news.janegoodall.org
Why I Went Plant-Based (And Why We Should All Eat Less Meat)
Dr. Goodall went plant-based after confronting what that meat represents: pain. Since, she learned more reasons why the work to #eatmeatless is important.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
I wonder how many of those who are celebrating the life of Jane Goodall today were also inspired by her veganism. She professed that it is paradoxical and unethical to declare a love for animals while abusing, killing and eating them. It is also unsustainable and environmentally disastrous.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
For the first time in several years I remembered to buy a birthday card for my sister in time to mail it to her in the UK. I had written in it and addressed the envelope when the Canadian postal workers went on strike. Will she believe my excuse this time?
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
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.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Obligatory vacation sunset pic…
BC mainland mountains silhouetted against an orange-red sky reflected in the Strait of Georgia.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Last stayed at the Alders Beach Resort on Vancouver Island some 30 years ago. The chalet is still here. Looks like the same chair is still here also! And some of the same paintwork…
A young woman is siting in the sunshine in a yellow-painted wooden chair in front of a chalet with blue detailed paintwork. A wooden chalet with blue painted details at Alders Beach Resort. There’s a yellow chair to its right, perhaps the same one as the previous by photo
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
The view for the next few days!
Misty blue mountains on the BC mainland, seen across the Strait of Georgia from the Alders Beach Resort on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
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Ralph Mills PhD @ralphmills.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
From my archive: why are there two identical privies in the middle of nowhere? #mystery #Okanagan
A pair of sun-bleached wooden privies stand mysteriously amongst sage brush and conifers far from habitation in an Okanagan landscape.
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