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Watershed Notes
Watershed Notes
  • Home
  • About me
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  • Freelance Work
    • Book Reviews
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    • Interviews
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    • Science Communication
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Vancouver Island

Yes, Winter Drought is a Thing

March 13, 2019

Water levels are low in the Cowichan River this spring. Snowmelt may help, but will it be enough? This past week, officials notified Cowichan Valley … Read more

Tags Cowichan, Cowichan Valley, drought, Lake Cowichan, precipitation, rain, snow, Vancouver Island, Warmland, water conservation, water resources

No Drought in Sight (yet)

June 17, 2017

It’s amazing how much impact the weather has on your state of mind. It’s June and the land is green, lush and verdant after a … Read more

Tags drought, Flood, gardening, hydrology, spring, Vancouver Island, vegetation, veggie garden, weather

Listening to winter in a land of extremes

November 17, 2016

This summer I was worried about drought. About the ability of the greatly diminished Cowichan River to support the fall Chinook salmon run. These worries … Read more

Tags Cowichan, drought, extreme, Flood, fungi, salmon, seasons, summer, Vancouver Island, weather, winter

Celebrating the Ordinary

November 5, 2016

Writers and other artists are often exhorted to cram their lives with a range of experiences to create fertile ground for generating creative ideas. These … Read more

Tags Creativity, extraordinary, ordinary, photography, Vancouver Island, west coast, winter, writing

Wishing for Snow

January 22, 2016

I’ve just returned from another soggy dog walk. My rain pants and jacket are dripping on the floor, and the baseball cap I wear to … Read more

Tags books, drought, memoir, rain, skiing, snow, snowshoeing, Vancouver Island, weather, west coast, winter

The Cowichan Garry Oak preserve

May 13, 2015

I’ve been wanting to visit the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC) Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve since we moved here, but as an endangered ecosystem it’s … Read more

Tags Cowichan, ecosystems, flowers, garry oak, grasses, landscape, meadows, nature, photography, trees, Vancouver Island, west coast

New season, more streamflow?

September 23, 2014

The first of the West Coast’s seasonal storms has blown in on the first day of fall, and Vancouver Islanders may almost be glad to … Read more

Tags Cowichan, drought, hydrology, salmon, streamflow, Vancouver Island, water conservation, water use

I see spring

March 22, 2014

Living in a landscape as dynamic as the West Coast, you can’t avoid the heady drama of the region’s seasonal cycles. On this the third … Read more

Tags Brant geese, ecology, flowers, herring, nature, ocean, pacific northwest, seasons, spring, Trumpeter swans, Vancouver Island, west coast

May the Rivers Never Sleep

February 4, 2013

I first read a review of this book in early January. Published by Frank Amato Press, the father/son team of Bill & John McMillan have … Read more

Tags environment, fly fishing, pacific northwest, rivers, salmon, Vancouver Island

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