iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 2h

Walking around in the bush with my head down again this morning. I’m absolutely in love with the gills on this mushroom. I think it might be a type of oysterling. 🍄🌿

Looking at the underside of a frilly oyster mushroom. The different lobes overlap, each other kind of like a nudibranch, it’s tan gills form, beautiful, ripping patterns.

920130

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 5h

Sunrise over Weenipagamiksaguygun on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Reflecting, as a settler, on how much better things would be if more people adopted an Indigenous World View and treated the lake and all around us as our relatives.

314623

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23h

My morning paddle. Damp and gloomy, but always fun to spend time with my wild neighbours. #mammals 🌿

41178

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I started this drawing months ago as part of a course I was teaching and I finally got around to finishing it this afternoon. I’m still refining my coloured pencil skills so I’m very pleased with this one. Also, I’m now a big fan of coloured paper. #SciArt

A coloured pencil, drawing of a raccoon peeking around the side of a tree.

551549150

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It was such a treat to find these gorgeous little green cup mushrooms in the forest this morning. Usually all I can ever find is the bright turquoise mycelia in the rotting wood. Finding the thumbnail size fruiting bodies is pretty rare for me. Their colour is unreal. 🍄🌿

Bright turquoise green little fingernail shaped mushrooms, growing out of a rotting log

22736129

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Spent a fun morning mucking about in the forest before the rain, enjoying all of the mushrooms that are popping up all over the place. Found some gorgeous Amanita mushrooms. Hours tend to be more yellow than red, but they are still majestic. 🌿🍄

Two beautiful Amanita mushrooms, growing side-by-side. Both caps are yellow around the outside with an orange Centre and dotted with white speckles. The stems are white coming out of a round bowl and they have a little skirt on them just under the cap.

A beautiful yellow Amanita mushroom growing out of the forest floor. It’s white stem has a little skirt around it just underneath the cap.

312713

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Finishing up breakfast. - One of the many coyote photos I've taken over the last few weeks. They just keep giving me opportunities. #mammals 🌿

A healthy coyote licks its lips as it looks over at the photographer who is floating in the water in a kayak. The early morning sun sets its fur and the slabs of limestone behind it aglow. Mist rises off of the water in the foreground.

319116

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

For the last 15 years, I've worked on dozens of interpretive media projects and I've learned a few things along the way. If you have a site that would benefit from interpretive signage, why not join me online on October 13th to learn about best practices? It's free! 3common.com/event/6ab591...

A flyer advertising a free webinar on the steps to making effective interpretive signage. It's available on Tuesday, October 13th at 2:00 on Zoom.

Join interpretive specialist, Heather Hinam for a free one-hour webinar that will take you through the basics of planning, designing and creating good interpretive signage, including:

The principles of good interpretation
The benefits of a good interpretive plan to save time and money
How does interpretive planning work?
Types of interpretive media
What does it cost?
When to engage professional help

She will answer your questions and will give you the guidance to get started telling your stories in an interesting and timeless way.

25817

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

American white pelicans at sunrise. Lake Winnipeg is home to thousands of these enormous birds who nest in large colonies on isolated rock outcrops in the lake. #birds

A squadron of 12 pelicans are silhouetted against the orange sky as they fly through the misty air from right to left over the lake. The dark silhouette of a treed island looms below them on the horizon.

816514

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For polar bears, fat is fit. Hudson Bay polar bears spend over 5 months on land, not eating. So when ice is present and seals are accessible, they go into hyperphagia, eating as much as they can, to pack on the fat and counter a loss of 1 kg/day in the summer months. #FatBearWeek

A male polar bear is quite good condition for mid-November walks atop the thin layer of snow dusting the grasses of the tundra. His body is still pretty plump after many months of fasting.

012423

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm looking forward to getting back up to the tundra in a month. Being able to spend time with these amazing creatures and share them with others is such an privilege. #mammals 🐻‍❄️🌿

A momma polar bear stands in the sun with her 9-month old cub. A wall of bare willows separate them from the lake in the background. The cub has very muddy legs from playing on the not-yet-snowy tundra.

31558

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

They can be beautiful and even derpy, but never forget that coyotes are wild predators and can be very dangerous. This is why I'm photographing them from my kayak in the water with a long lens. #mammals 🌿

One coyotes snarls menacingly at its pack-mate who is standing in the water with its back to the camera as the two of them scuffle on a rocky shoreline in the golden glow of sunrise.

41377

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A magical moment watching coyotes from the kayak at sunrise. #mammals 🌿

Two coyotes stand side by side on a piece of limestone that is on an incline next to the shore of Lake Winnipeg. The water is glowing a peach colour from the rising sun and mist covers the shore. Two more coyotes sniff the rocks at the base of the slab closer to the water. The cliffs and trees are golden in the early morning light.

416714

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An unexpected find on the road home the other day. We don't have anywhere for peregrine falcons to nest. This one must have been on its way south.

A peregrine falcon perches on a hydro wire, its steel grey feathers shining in the sun.

11489

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Some fun fungi from the forest floor. I love it when the coral fungi and lion's mane. I love their intricate structures. 🌿

Close up of a coral light ochre-coloured coral fungus. It's a mushroom that grows like a branched coral and it's sitting among some dark brown dead poplar leaves.

Close up of a coral light ochre-coloured coral fungus. It's a mushroom that grows like a branched coral.

A ivory-coloured tuft of lion's mane fungus growing out of the side of a rotting aspen log. It's a shaggy mushroom with hundreds of dangling bits that look like hairs.

A smaller ivory-coloured tuft of lion's mane fungus growing out of the top of a rotting aspen log. It's a shaggy mushroom with hundreds of dangling bits that look like hairs.

28913

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Bonaparte's gull at sunrise. I love these dainty little gulls who let me photograph them from the kayak. #birds

A small dainty gull floats on the golden water of a lake at sunrise.

415618

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The water was absolutely magical yesterday morning. I could have sat here bobbing in the ripples all day.

1134832

Reposted by Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sunrise song. You'll want the volume up for this one, but not too high. Every coyote within a half kilometre radius decided to make themselves known this morning while I was enjoying the sunrise from the kayak. A truly magical moment. #mammals 🌿

42556151

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

42556151

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Another shot from last night’s sunset. This old freighter has been sitting on land for decades. It was recently restored, and sits as a reminder of days past when they used to be the only way to get up and down Lake Winnipeg.

An old lake freighter sits in the tall grasses on the shore of a river, its bulk reflected in the water below. The sky is ablaze with dark, red and orange as the sunset disappears over the horizon. The water is a mirror, reflecting, both the fiery sky and the boat.

115111

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Took the kayak down the Icelandic river to where it hits Lake Winnipeg. Most of the evening, the sky was quite dull, and then it exploded.

A brilliant red and deep orange sunset streaks across the sky behind the silhouettes of a small clump of trees in the middle of a field. All of this is reflected, almost perfectly in the water in the foreground. Taken from a kayak.

241221136

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A comfy sitting spot on cool morning. I'm pretty sure I've sat in the same place at some point. #mammals 🌿

A fluffy coyote sits comfortably in the moss on top of a layered limestone cliff. It's surrounded by leafy green shrubs as it gazes down on the photographer.

627034

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Gorgeous morning for a paddle with my friend who took these photos of me doing one of my favourite things.

Looking over the bow of a light blue kayak at a woman in a larger blue kayak wearing a re life jacket. The sky is orange with the rising sun lighting up the puffy clouds overhead.

Looking over the bow of a light blue kayak at a woman in a larger blue kayak wearing a re life jacket. The sky is blue with the rising sun lighting up the puffy clouds overhead and water below.

425220

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This one and half year-old bald eagle flew right over me while I bobbed in the kayak, watching the coyotes. This coyote was just as taken by the spectacle as I was. 🌿🪶🦊

A large juvenile bald eagle flies in front of a forest. The eagle has a dark brown head and eyes, white underwing feathers and black feather tips.

A large coyote stands on a leaning limestone boulder and looks off to the right with great interest, tracking the flight of a bald eagle that was photographed in the previous image.

219432

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Bonaparte's gull appreciation post. I love these dainty, little gulls that sound more like terns. #birds

A small Bonaparte's gull in winter plumage (white, grey back, black beak and small black spot behind the eye) bobs in pale blue water that distorts its reflection a bit.

A small Bonaparte's gull in winter plumage (white, grey back, black beak and small black spot behind the eye) takes off from the water, leaving a splash behind. Another BOGU is floating in front of it, slightly out of focus.

A small Bonaparte's gull in winter plumage (white, grey back, black beak and small black spot behind the eye) turns in the air, arching its black-tipped wings and fanning its white tail.

A small Bonaparte's gull in winter plumage (white, grey back, black beak and small black spot behind the eye) flies through the air, arching its black-tipped wings and fanning its white tail.

5958

Reposted by Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦

Cri 🕊🐝🐜📝🎭⚽😷 @crawlieswithcri.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Someone forgot I *also* had my 6 mo. car insurance bill due this month. (me, the someone is me) Still haven't even gotten Binx's first shots yet! 😭 Cat Distribution System has a sense of humor. This *was* for Kiff's surgery - now for Binx's initial tests/care Any bit helps! I adjusted total!

22213

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This coyote and I were both interested in the same rock, but not for the same reason :) Can you see what I see? *Taken with a long lens from a kayak off shore.

A coyote sniffs at a piece of limestone along a rocky shoreline that matches the tan of its coat. In the rock is the fossil of a snail.

51084

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I spent some time last morning watching the local pack of coyotes who lives on the cliffs near the marina. They're unfortunately pretty used to seeing people so I could sit in the kayak offshore and watch them go about their morning. It's a pretty amazing experience. #mammals 🌿

A coyote stands atop a limestone cliff in the glow of the early morning sun. Its head is cocked quizzically at it watches the photographer, who is way below them, from its perch among the yellow grasses and green spruce trees.

617814

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Bonaparte's gull at sunrise. They're my favourite gulls. #birds 🌿

A small white gull with a small black dot behind its eye floats in the the rippling water dotted with orange and purple light.

413812

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I got to enjoy both sunrise and sunset today. Both were beautiful.

The orange glow of the sun just breaking the horizon lights up the wispy clouds above. The light is reflected in the rippled lake water and bounces off the wet bow of a blue kayak at sunrise.

The setting sun lights up the clouds above in a blaze of orange and red behind the tall spires of spruce trees that line a long gravel road that trails off to the far left of the photo.

130829

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

When you get the feeling that you’re being watched, you probably are. 🌿🦊

A coyote looks down from its perch a top a sharp edged, limestone, cliff, surrounded by forest. The rising morning sun makes the left side of everything glow orange.

1128328

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It was only a degree or two above freezing this morning, but it was worth bundling up and getting out on the lake.

721529

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Spent a great class teaching my students the basics of drawing conifers. It’s always fun to watch it turn from a bunch of scribbles into something that actually looks like a tree. #SciArt

A pencil drawing of a tall, thin, white spruce tree. It’s fairly sparse, because it’s based on a tree growing up in Churchill at the edge of the tundra.

520717

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Joining in on the #Finches love. Our pine grosbeaks aren't back yet, but I'm looking forward to them brightening up our winter forest. #BirdOfTheDay

A ruby red, male pine grosbeak is frozen in the downbeat of his wings as he takes off from a thin branch against a white background.

1723

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Looking back on this day last year on what is currently a cold and rainy night. Hoping for a few aurora shows in the next few months.

Aurora borealis sweep across the sky in a green ribbon of, light, half-obscured by thin clouds. The green glow is reflected in the water of a pond surrounded by the towering spires of spruce trees.

01267

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

There is still time to register. Class starts tomorrow evening. #SciArt

0299

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The only time I've ever been seasick was taking photos of this polar bear. We were in a zodiac on rough seas. Every second image was either sky or water before I eventually managed snap a couple of this bear in focus for my guests. 🌿 🐻‍❄️🦊

A polar bear snuggles into the brown-grey rocks on the shore of Hudson Bay on a very windy day.

A polar bear stretches out their neck as they snuggle into a the brown-grey rocks on the shore of Hudson Bay.

1027729

Reposted by Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Finally had time to work on a passion project that's been gathering dust for a while. I've finished the snapping turtle for this map of Manitoba wildlife. I'm hoping I can pick up speed with this over the next month. #SciArt

A digital painting of a snapping turtle's front end on a white background.

The same snapping turtle in situ in a larger illustration of Manitoba wildlife. The turtle sits on the southern border near where Turtle Mountain is. An unfinished beaver sits to the right and a monarch butterfly on top. To the left are a tiger salamader, northern shrike and bison along the western edge of the province. A yellow-headed blackbird and American white pelican is in the middle and an unfinished great gray owl along the eastern border.

An unfinished digital poster of Manitoba wildlife in a map of the province. It features a bison peeking around the western border along with a loggerhead shrike, black bear, elk, marten and caribou. In the northeast corner along the coast are a polar bear, beluga, Arctic fox, ptarmigan and geese. A wolf, snowshoe hare, raven, moose, lynx, and wood frog are in the north. A bald eagle, great gray owl and beaver make up the eastern border. The south centre features a little brown bat, garter snakes, yellow-headed blackbird, pelican, fish, white-tailed deer, and the snapping turtle.

913613

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

913613

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A little bit about how I spend my falls. I love working with these guys and I feel very privileged to be part of this team. Can't wait to get back up there in October. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjo...

youtube.com

Meet Our Tundra Buggy® Drivers

YouTube video by Frontiers North Adventures

1464

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

They'll be heading north to overwinter in northern Hudson Bay soon. I'm going to miss seeing the belugas until next summer.

A bright white adult beluga's head just barely clears the choppy, grey surface of the mouth of the Churchill river.

The bright white head and back of a beluga pushes through the blue-grey choppy water of the mouth of the Churchill river on a foggy day.

71439

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Prairie mother - a bison and her calf in the early morning light. #mammals

A female bison with large, black curved horns nurses her calf, which is only barely visible behind her body. The warm light of the morning sun paints her brown coat in a warm glow.

724320

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Tonight’s sunset was pretty dramatic, complete with thunder, lightning, and rain.

The cloudy sky and lake below are lit up, bright orange. The dark black silhouette of the forested shoreline separates the two.

536539

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It may still be officially summer, but autumn is approaching.

510813

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It was such a gorgeous paddle that my friend and I were very reluctant to get off the lake last night. However, once all the harbour lights came on we knew it was time to go in.

Looking over the bow of a dark blue kayak as it enters a small harbor. The still water is midnight blue, the same colour as the sky, while bright white lights illuminate the boats berthed on either side.

11372

Reposted by Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦

Dr. Heather Hinam 🍁 🇨🇦 @secondnaturemb.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Are you interested in learning to draw trees? There are still spaces available in my Drawing Conifers online course starting Tuesday, September 15th, 7 pm CDT. Join me for three two-hour sessions drawing different trees both from far away and close-up. Register here: www.mcnallyrobinson.com/classes

A quick pencil sketch showing the different shapes of common North American conifers. Left to right: white spruce, tamarack, black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, red pine, white pine.

A pencil drawing showing the steps involved in drawing a spruce cone. At the top is a oval divided into spaces by overlapping spirals that create the spaces for the scales. Below is a finished drawing of the cone and needles on the branch.

A quick pencil sketch of a white spruce flag tree common on the tundra. All of the branches are on the left of the tree.

311432