Ant Macro

Ok, this is my second try posting this image - last time it showed up fine on my computer, but apparently didn't show up an anyone else's computer.

Yesterday I was building a rock wall in the garden, as I moved rocks I kept finding red ants warming their larvae under the rocks heated by the sun. As I disturbed them they would rush around to put the larvae in the shade, either under another rock or down a hole.Watching these I remembered my reversed lens and decided to have another go with it. The working distance is only a few cm and the depth of field is very shallow, but the price was right!

Torbay to Raglan

I have posted this map to clarify the location Raglan in relation to Newfoundland. While Raglan is not a lot further north than Northern Labrador it is significantly further North than most of the province, including the island of Newfoundland. Raglan is also at an elevation of about 600m so the climate is quite a bit harsher than that of Newfoundland.

This map was stolen from Google Maps

Pingualuit Crater Mystery solved

1.3 Million years ago a chunk of rock flying through space hit Northern Quebec with the force of 8,500 Hiroshima atomic bombs, Since then things have cooled down a bit and the crater has filled with water, there is no water flowing in or out of this crater, it has been catching rain for the last 1.3 million years. Along with the rain water it has also trapped pollen, from plants in the region, and dust from the atmosphere. These sediments have been keeping a record of our climate for at least 120000 years.
An international team led by Laval University in Quebec City has recently returned from the Pingualuit Crater and hopes to unlock 120,000 years worth of secrets about climate change. For more information on the research going on at this crater have a look at this article, recently published in the globe and mail. This article was published on may 25th - which is when my original post started to receive so much attention.

Melting

This was the View from my window a few days ago.

Snow Bunting

About 3 weeks ago these little birds started to appear up here in Raglan, now there are loads of them. They are apparently snow buntings. When they first showed up there was nothing but snow up here, I have no idea what they were eating - I guess they were probably just waiting for the snow to melt. Well now the snow is going fast, the snow outside my window had dropped about 5 feet, only another 10 feet to go!