iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Hi! We just cleaned out the corner where we had a bumblebee nest. Came apart as we extricated and inspected it but we also found a dead bee inside so it looks like they were bombus centralis. Very cool! @loriweidenhammer.ca

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Aw, the kids are all right... 2 boys with bikes down on sidewalk. Stopped to check. One had had his foot slip off his pedal, ended up with a minor wound on his ankle. 1 buddy keeping him company, a 2nd gone home tonget a bandaid and a 3rd pulling up and asking if ok...

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Whatcha lookin at buddy? Beaver active in broad daylight is unusual for me. Multiple beaver in the colony were crossing a path to harvest an aspen and take it to their cache. I was watching one drag a branch about 10m away when this one came out of the water less than 2m away.

Close view of a beaver. It is standing up on its hind legs. It's fur is wet and shades of brown.it is directly facing g the camera. It has small round ears, tiny black eyes, a big black nose abd prominent orange teeth. It holds its front paws in front of its chest, with long pink/brown claws showing.
The background is a variety of green vegetation

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Not good, but could be worse. You could be a youth in Alberta.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Frustrating, but I think I would take the $800 if it were offered in Fredericton tomorrow. That's enough to cover a delightful seafood dinner. Also we had a couple lifers on our trip, including this elegant one...

A red throated loon in the ocean. The ocean is silver grey. The loon swims low in the water, it's back a mottled grey-white. It's neck rises straight up with a slightly uplifted dark, narrow beak. The back of the neck is dark grey, the front base shows white and the rest is pale grey

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Moonrise over Gagetown, NB

A full moon centres the sky illiminating a small crescent shaped cloud beside it. A couple contrails glow white across a blueblack sky. The windows of a house glow amber and cast light across a driveway, beyond the house a lawn shows bright green from the light of a streetlamp which also lights up a tree.

The glow of a full moon highlights a line of hardwood trees near the horizo . The moonlight illuminates some hazy clouds. The windows of a house glow amber and cast light across a driveway, beyond the house a lawn shows bright green from the light of a streetlamp which also lights up a tree.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I don't post for most of the hashtags I see, but #BlueskyMonday fits for this morning's view.

A small pleasure boat sits mid frame moored to a buoy. A dark line of distant shore marks the horizon across the mid point of the photo. The lake is glassy still shading from pale white-blue at the horizon to dark blue-black in the foreground. The sky is blue with a long narrow white cloud above the horizon on the right half of the image. The cloud is reflected in the water and the sun is a white spot in the top right corner.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Had the coolest experience of watching Autumn meadowhawks mating yesterday

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Heads up - Alberta Parks is repaying the pathway in Fish Creek PP. Currently it is not possible to travel from Votiers to Glennfield (i.e. under the railway and Macleod Tr bridges). The detour coming from Votiers takes you on a nice scenic loop back to Votiers 😄 #yycbike #yycwalk #yyc #calgary

A tree lined paved pathway with a barricade and sign stating PATHWAY CLOSED and detour pointing right.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Check out this little nugget of cuteness. iNaturalist suggests a meadow vole, but pictures they offer show critters with noses... so we have decided it is the Soon To Meet It's Demise Vole as 4 people and a dog observed it closely for a couple minutes and it did not stop eating its snack

A small roundish mouse-like critter on a ground with blades of grass and small snotes. It is covered in grayish brown fur. An ear is flat and a small black eye shows. A paw is visible with tiny claws holding a single clover leaf about the same size as the paw. The

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

How about a different kind of moment of zen? With sound you can hear them gnawing. #beavers

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Not a good photo but enjoyed listening to this juvenile Swainsons hawk while the dark morph adult ignored it.

2 dark bird shapes on bare dead tree branches are silhouetted against a grey sky.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

@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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Aurora started showing just after sunset at our campsite in Saskatchewan landing park but we dismissed them as just wispy clouds catching the last light... wrong. Was a spectacular show.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

@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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

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

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

#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.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

#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)

Side view of the earliest bud of our prairie crocus. The bud is a collection of fuzzy grey-green bracts clustered together and curled to the left.

A week old bud of a prairie crocus. Thu bud consists of numerous grey-green bracts are fuzzy upright held a few centimeters above the ground by a straight fuzzy stalk.

Now the bud has started to open and the bracts surrounding the flower appear as individual green spears with grey fuzz. Pale purple petals are starting to show.

Side view of a prairie crocus blossom. Now fully open the petals are pale purple on the outside and white on the inner side. The petals rice above the supporting brackets which remain fuzzy and spear shaped

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

This may be the prettiest bit of dead thing I have found. I suspect a sharp-shinned hawk got lucky while the flocks of Bohemian waxwings were around.

Photo of a bird's wing on a wood background. The feathers are predominately grey but 5 feathers have a yellow stripe on the left and a narrow white band on the tip. To the left and right of the main section are 2 individual feathers with a larger white patch on the left and a small bright red tip protruding from the end - the eponymous wax of the waxwing

A close view of the end 2cm of dark grey feathers on a wooden tabletop. Each feather has a white spot on the tip of one side of the shaft, and a brilliant red protrusion extending from the shaft beyond the rest of the feather - this the "wax" tip that led to the name waxwing. There is a tiny patch of yellow at the base of the red.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

It's National Volunteer Week. I know lots of volunteers and and am grateful for everyone who gives their time and expertise. Whenever I hear "someone should do something" I like to remind people that you are somebody. So do something. And if you want ideas - Calgary Volunteer Fair is Thursday.

Poster image from the Calgary Volunteer Fa8r stating that it is Thursday, Aprilm23 from 10:30am to 4:00pm at the downtown U of C campus.
It then lists all the organisations that will be participating. Please see their website www.volunteerfair.ca

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Saw this interesting take on the wave bike rack yesterday. Made me laugh.

A so-called wave shape (think like a rounded m - wide curves at the top, down near the ground then back up again) bike rack has been bent so the 2 top loops overlap and the bottom loop is more like a twist

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Heart full... love my community.

A campfire in the night. The fire glows with red coals and yellow flames, the logs are black the foreground and background

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I am rolling in dough... that means I'm rich, right?

Eight large , round balls of pizza dough rest on a grey counter.

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Heads up #yycbike - construction fencing was dropped off in the are just west of Glenmore Landing and south of the reservoir. Not sure when / how it will impact the pathway. Keep the new 90th Ave bike path in mind if there are closures.

Image is a map of the SE portion of Glenmore Reservoir in Calgary showing potential pathway closure. An info window indicates there is a closure from April 13 to July 9 while they do erosion mitigation work along the shore of the reservoir

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Rose R @rinrat86.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

I was thinking its weird that I dont do it on the bike paths but do elsewhere. I'm going to try to do it more. As for your other point of something to signal friendliness... I have an octopus, but maybe rubber duckies would be better/more universal

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