Smoke from forest fires was thick over the city last week, something becoming increasingly common in our summers. Above, the sunrise from last Friday.

If you’ve not read it, I highly recommend John Vaillant’s Fire Weather, a haunting look into the future we’re heedlessly speeding toward. He’s a gifted writer, and I have no qualms recommending his previous books The Golden Spruce and The Tiger.

Reading

Last week I breezed through Insects: A Very Short Introduction. I love this series of books – they’re eminently useful for getting a foothold on a subject you’re curious about. Something that really stood out to me: silverfish (Lepisma saccharinum) (well, at least their evolutionary lineage) were one of the first families of insects to evolve, originating over 400 million years ago.

That’s before trees existed. Think about that the next time you see one, and give them your respects.

Listening

I know everyone already has 1,001 podcasts on the go, but The Quanta Podcast is one of my recent favourite listens. The latest episode is a discussion with the reporter behind the mind-stretching article entitled Earth’s Core Appears To Be Leaking Up and Out of Earth’s Surface. Come for the isotopes of Helium, stay for the LLSVPs.

Photos

Moth

A moth, possibly in the genus Triphosa that I found on my deck last week.

Daucus carota seeds

Daucus carota (wild carrot) is a common weedy plant you’ve almost certainly seen. Most of them have now gone to seed – and if you pass by one in an abandoned lot I encourage you to look a little closer.

Graffiti

I got my start in photography taking pictures of graffiti around town. I often walk past the train yards and can’t help scope out what’s up on the well cars.

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