Reviews
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The GSI Javagrind revisited.
In May I reviewed the GSI Javagrind and was quite enthusiastic about it. Unfortunately it only took one more use of it to change my mind. The other night I took the Javagrind and (reluctantly) GSI's french press over to Leah's parent's tent at Victor Bay, determined to have a good cup of coffee while
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Coffee to go
For an update on the Javagrind, which failed on its second use, please go here. Earlier this winter I bemoaned (to no one in particular) "what this country needs is a hand operated coffee mill for camping." What I didn't realize at the time was that one already existed. The GSI Javagrind ($17.50 at Mountain
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Eureka K2 XT Tent – First Impressions
Earlier this month my K2 XT tent arrived from Eureka Tents. It is probably going to be a while before I actually get a chance to use it, and thus really review it, but here are a couple of early impressions. The Eureka K2 XT is one of Eureka's four season expedition tents, a four
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Mmm… Coffee…
For someone who really isn't supposed to have caffeine I sure enjoy my coffee. And while I'm not yet a full blown coffeeophile I'm probably too far down that road not to end up there. Right now I'm enjoying a wonderful dark roast Ethiopian Yergacheffe (my current favourite) from Equator Coffee, along with some of
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Happy Birthday Mr. Peterson
Today marks what would have been the hundredth birthday of Roger Tory Peterson. It can be argued, quite easily I think, that no one is more responsible for the success of birdwatching as a hobby, avocation, or compulsion than him. He figures quite significantly in my development as a bird lover, for like many people
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Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds
I don't think it is possible to have too many Field Guides. It is almost the same as having too many tools, it just doesn't seem like there could be an theoretical limit. Harper Collins has just published an excellent new one, for those of us who like to get as many as possible, or
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Franklin,
It is always interesting to read of the modern popular take of Sir John Franklin as “unimaginative” incompetent and the author of his final Arctic Expeditions demise (see the comments in this CBC article). Franklin was chosen, partly because of lobbying, but partly because he was the British Officer with the most Arctic experience. His
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The writing is on the wall
Okay Windows people, this seems obvious to those of us who use a Mac, but perhaps now is a good time to come over to the light side.
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The Young Birder’s Guide
One of the challenges to introducing youth to watching birds is the lack of age appropriate reference materials, such as field guides. That has just changed with the release of The Young Birder’s Guide: to the birds of eastern North America, the latest in the Peterson Field Guide series. Written by Bill Thompson III, he
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Finding Your Wings
Like many people who like to observe birds, I’m largely self-taught. Identifying birds takes a rather complex skill set, and it is the rare individual who grasps them in the first instance. Often bird watching or birding grows from encounters with birds, be it at a feeder or on a walk, and the question "Hmm,