Uncategorized – Naturalist on Earth

Cross-country skating

For the first time in my life, I wish the winter wouldn’t end so soon. Also for the first time in my life, I am going to write about sports. You see, I am not a sports person. I hate spectator sports. I get bored with competitive sports after one hour tops, usually much sooner.Continue reading “Cross-country skating”

Why do Ukrainians call Russians “orcs”?

The answer to this question seems obvious. The entire Russian invasion of Ukraine looks like a screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. An empire built on fear, hatred and slavery is trying to conquer, enslave and destroy the free peoples of the world. There are hordes of dumb, ugly, and profoundly evil human-likeContinue reading “Why do Ukrainians call Russians “orcs”?”

Venezuela

Venezuela is currently used as America’s main distraction from the Trump-Epstein files, but it turns out many people have very little idea what kind of country it is, so let me tell a bit about it. I’ve been in Venezuela three times (in 1995, 2007 and 2008) and traveled over pretty much all of it,Continue reading “Venezuela”

The Great Loop

Many years ago I drove once to Labrador (in September) and once around Newfoundland (in July), but that was before the road connection between Goose Bay and Blanc Sablon was completed, making it possible to travel around all of Canada’s eastern provinces in one long loop. I wanted to do it for many years, butContinue reading “The Great Loop”

Zootopia 2

Last night I took my family to see Zootopia 2. We all absolutely loved it! I virtually never watch movies twice, but this one has to be seen on big screen and then at home where you can pause and re-watch, because there are lots of hilarious micro-jokes impossible to catch otherwise. The plot isContinue reading “Zootopia 2”

Anchovies

Last Friday I went diving and found myself in a humongous aggregation of tiny anchovies. There were millions of them, they made it nearly impossible to see anything. But my troubles didn’t end there. On Saturday I dried my diving gear and hung in a closet. It happened to be the same closet where myContinue reading “Anchovies”

Back to Japan

I spent two months traveling around Japan in 2008, lived there for two years in 2017-19, and this summer came back for a month. It felt, surprisingly, like coming home. I still remember the intricacies of navigating the immense three-dimensional maze of Tokyo and the best choices in vending machines. I still feel intellectual pleasureContinue reading “Back to Japan”

Birding up

This year I did a lot of birdwatching. I haven’t done it much since moving to New Jersey nine years ago. By that time I had seen almost all regularly occurring birds of the continent, and the handful I was missing never show up in New Jersey anyway. I am not particularly into chasing rareContinue reading “Birding up”

New Jersey

In our wonderful state of New Jersey, the main airport is all but paralyzed, bus/train system is on strike, and two main freeways are blocked by sinkholes. But life here is not all gloom and doom. This morning I escaped to a nearby park for two hours of birding and it was a near-tropical experience:Continue reading “New Jersey”

Canadian dreams

We’ve just spent a few beautiful days in Canada, a country we all love. One night there I had a weird dream. In my dream, Trump invaded Canada, claiming that Americans and Canadians were the same people, that Nova Scotia had special sacred meaning for Americans, that Canada was on the verge of joining theContinue reading “Canadian dreams”