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  #41  
Old Posted Oct 28, 2018, 1:04 AM
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I live in a built up urban area near Lougheed Town Centre and about 10 years ago or so a bear got onto someones patio and was eating out of the birdfeeder. It had to have crossed busy roads, and peoples houses to get there.

But Bears are a common sight in Coquitlam.

Seen at Coq Centre






At the commuter train station in coquitlam


bear & Coyote at a golf course
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  #42  
Old Posted Oct 28, 2018, 3:03 PM
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On a more micro level a postive trend I have noticed, and I hope more people pick up on, is to remove some or all of their grass and plant things instead. Grass is a mono-culture that doesn't really do much for anything, especially the 1950s style perfect lawn, superior to hard surfaces sure but that's about it.

Some examples from Cobourg. All of these front yards could support a vast array of different things.











Obviously that all requires maintenance but so does grass.

Last edited by TownGuy; Oct 28, 2018 at 4:51 PM.
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  #43  
Old Posted Oct 28, 2018, 3:10 PM
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Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN View Post
According to the book "American Serengeti" by Dan Flores is that there were cheetah like animals on the plains that hunted the Pronghorns. That's why they are so fast!

https://www.amazon.com/American-Sere.../dp/B01EM0YTUU
https://pleistoscenery.com/2014/12/1...ast-pronghorn/
The theory that Cheetahs migrated from North America to Africa is now widely accepted & documented in recent science publications.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1208204222.htm

Cheetahs descended from a relative of American pumas and their fossil record extends across the Americas, Europe and Asia. There have been at least a couple population bottlenecks in the last 100,000 which brought about the disappearance of cheetahs from North America (these bottlenecks also caused the remaining cheetah gene pool to be so small with so little variation between each cat of the species, that individuals can accept skin grafts from unrelated cheetahs). The Cheetahs in Africa had an easier time picking off the less speedy prey in African savannahs & were able to survive there.

Having evolved with Cheetahs, the Pronghorn in The Great Plains of North America still survive, carrying the adaptations of long distance eye sight, great lung & blood capacity, improved muscle performance, for fast land speed that they needed to evolve to survive, but the Pronghorns nightmares of being pursued by predators like the now distant Cheetah still haunt this Saskatchewan antelope to this day.


https://pleistoscenery.com/2014/12/1...ast-pronghorn/
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  #44  
Old Posted Oct 28, 2018, 4:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TownGuy View Post
On a more macro level a postive trend I have noticed, and I hope more people pick up on, is to remove some or all of their grass and plant things instead. Grass is a mono-culture that doesn't really do much for anything, especially the 1950s style perfect lawn, superior to hard surfaces sure but that's about it.

Some examples from Cobourg. All of these front yards could support a vast array of different things.

[images]

Obviously that all requires maintenance but so does grass.
I general despise seeing grass in an urban and suburban setting because most of it is just wasted space and not really used for anything, and most requires more maintenance than many alternatives. If you have landscaping that consists of plants native to the area, you can often avoid having to do much of anything other than a little trimming or fertilizing since they're adapted to regional precipitation levels. And I personally find grass to be ugly. It isn't really natural since it's not only a monoculture but kept at an artificial length, but it also isn't interesting or vibrant like an unnatural element such as chairs, art, water features, rock gardens, etc. might be.
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  #45  
Old Posted Oct 28, 2018, 9:21 PM
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The crazy thing about grass is how much cities pay to maintain it. Like why build so much dead space around buildings and things and fill it in with grass.

Tighten up the buildings and use that space that would have been useless grass to make a nice useful park.
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  #46  
Old Posted Oct 29, 2018, 3:06 AM
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Vancouver has a few streets where they have been replacing real grass with fake grass. People seem split on it as to whether they like it or not.


news1130.com


shawglobalnews
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  #47  
Old Posted Oct 29, 2018, 3:18 AM
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a lot of areas and in the suburbs have been replacing plain grass or cement areas with rain management gardens like these in North Van


waterbucket.ca


waterbucket.ca
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  #48  
Old Posted Oct 29, 2018, 4:19 PM
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I think that that looks 10x better and does wonders for storm water drainage as well.
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  #49  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 1:10 AM
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When I was a little kid, my friend's backyard had a scraggly tree with ugly yellow fruits on it. We called it a quincy tree and his mom told us not to eat the fruit. As kids, we assumed it was poison.

Now that I'm back in SW Ontario, I went to look for the tree, and unfortunately it's gone (and so is my friend's old house). Yesterday I went to one of the orchards down the road from where I currently live and they were selling this fruit, which I immediately recognized. It is actually called a quince. I now believe the old lady that owned the house used the fruit to make jam.



These trees are actually native to Turkey and Iran. The trees grow almost anywhere but do well in southern ontario's climate as they require a long summer for the fruit to fully ripen. I read that older apple and pear orchards often planted a few quince trees. They are used to make marmelade and jams, and can be thrown into apple pies to enhance the flavour. The fruit is a bit bigger than an apple.

The fruit smells like when you cut into an apple, but very perfumey. It can't be eaten raw, but tastes good when cooked. I sliced them up and simmered them for about half an hour. It's kind of like a pear crossed with a peach but with a rose-like aroma. It's pretty good, I'm gonna grab a few more.

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  #50  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 1:19 AM
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I've always wondered whether quince wouldn't grow in SOntario, so now I know. Most often used for jams and jellies, I believe.

Now you need to go on the hunt for paw-paw, which is native to your neck of the woods. I've never tried it or seen it in markets, but I'm told the fruit looks like a mango and tastes like banana with a soft custard-like texture.
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  #51  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 1:28 AM
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Originally Posted by kwoldtimer View Post
I've always wondered whether quince wouldn't grow in SOntario, so now I know. Most often used for jams and jellies, I believe.

Now you need to go on the hunt for paw-paw, which is native to your neck of the woods. I've never tried it or seen it in markets, but I'm told the fruit looks like a mango and tastes like banana with a soft custard-like texture.
Funny you should mention that, I've heard of paw-paws and searched hard a few weeks ago. I managed to find some trees, but no sign of the actual fruit. I might have to go down to Ohio, where they are having a resurgence in the last few years.
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  #52  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 1:29 AM
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I think that that looks 10x better and does wonders for storm water drainage as well.
For sure. I'd love to see it in widespread application.
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  #53  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 1:13 PM
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Originally Posted by flar View Post
Funny you should mention that, I've heard of paw-paws and searched hard a few weeks ago. I managed to find some trees, but no sign of the actual fruit. I might have to go down to Ohio, where they are having a resurgence in the last few years.
Paw paws grow in quite a few natural areas here in Essex County, there’s a huge one growing just outside of the nature centre main building at Ojibway Park in the city’s west end.
I had one growing at my house when I lived in Lasalle. Unfortunately, I sold the house before I could get the tree to fruit!

Also I’ve been noticing some Quince trees lately right here in some DT neighbourhoods. I love how they smell when you pick them from the tree.
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  #54  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 3:06 PM
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Paw paws grow in quite a few natural areas here in Essex County, there’s a huge one growing just outside of the nature centre main building at Ojibway Park in the city’s west end.
I had one growing at my house when I lived in Lasalle. Unfortunately, I sold the house before I could get the tree to fruit!

Also I’ve been noticing some Quince trees lately right here in some DT neighbourhoods. I love how they smell when you pick them from the tree.
There are efforts to re-establish paw paw trees in Essex and Chatham-Kent

http://www.naturalizedhabitat.org/content/view/22/57/

http://sydenhamfieldnaturalists.ca/w...paw-paw-woods/

Those links look old, I hope they've had some success. But I imagine it's difficult given the lack of good habitat in Kent and Essex. I know that forest in Wallaceburg and it was always a popular spot for bmx biking and teenagers to have parties.
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  #55  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 3:13 PM
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I've always wanted to try the fruit since first hearing about it during a visit to (natch) Paw Paw, Michigan. I understand that it has little or no commercial potential as it is very prone to bruising and spoilage, so I guess you really have to get it at the source.
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  #56  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 3:26 PM
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Originally Posted by kwoldtimer View Post
I've always wanted to try the fruit since first hearing about it during a visit to (natch) Paw Paw, Michigan. I understand that it has little or no commercial potential as it is very prone to bruising and spoilage, so I guess you really have to get it at the source.

The lack of commercial potentiel may be why the fruit has been nearly forgotten.

"Michigan Banana"
https://fox17online.com/2016/09/22/e...chigan-banana/
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  #57  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 4:20 PM
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That Douglas fir trail is amazing. The first time I went there I almost stepped on a 3 foot garter snake.

Other animals I’ve seen in the city include bald eagles, hawks, osprey, falcons, great horned owls, mule deer, white tailed deer, a red fox, coyotes, jackrabbits, white pelicans, cormorants, bats, beavers, prairie chickens, a muskrat, a pheasant, and I actually saw that cougar that was killed by the south hospital 4 years ago.
Saw a 2' garter snake on the bike path just below the D.F. trail last week, really surprised me since it was so cold a couple weeks ago, figured they would all be deep in their dens already. I'm really hoping I can see a Bobcat one day, though I just got a puppy, so maybe in a few months lol.
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  #58  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 7:39 PM
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Saw a 2' garter snake on the bike path just below the D.F. trail last week, really surprised me since it was so cold a couple weeks ago, figured they would all be deep in their dens already. I'm really hoping I can see a Bobcat one day, though I just got a puppy, so maybe in a few months lol.
Crazy. I’d assume after the early snowstorms they’d be in hibernation too.
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  #59  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 7:59 PM
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The bugs are all back too, rode my bike through a cloud of mosquitoes on the way home from work yesterday, actually got mad about that lol.
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  #60  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2018, 3:32 AM
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The bugs are all back too, rode my bike through a cloud of mosquitoes on the way home from work yesterday, actually got mad about that lol.
That’s weird.
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