Early fall is pretty. I’ll savour it now before the trees get all nekkid.
A few shots from yesterday’s run (but not the run itself)
Run 1,082: Cooling down
I talked myself out of doing a short loop at the lake and doing a full loop instead, though still only 5K for the running part.
It was the chilliest run of fall yet, starting at 6°C and rising only one degree by the end. I wore two layers, but swapped out my regular t-shirt for a long-sleeved one. In the end I think I was a bit overdressed–not for the walk to the lake, but for the actual run and then the walk back. Noted for next time. The humidity was high and didn’t budge during the run, which may have also factored in.
Bonus: you don’t have to wait for the water in the fountain to get cold. The fountains are still working.
At the end of the first km, I felt comfy, but my Performance Condition was a mere -1. Also, my pace was 6:05/km. I was running in grandpa mode–and continued to do so for the next two km. Technically it may have been the next three because the watch reported the 4th km as 5:59/km but the post-report rounded it up to 6:00/km. I did some math, which is probably dangerous for me when running, and figured if I put on the gas for the final km, I might manage to still get an overall pace under six minutes–and I did!
I came in at 5:38/km for the last lap, which gave me an overall average of 5:58/km.
I didn’t have any issues at all during the run, so I can’t explain the slow start, other than it was cold and maybe it just took me some time to literally warm up. The run was fine otherwise.
For some reason, nearly every dog owner had their dog (or multiple dogs) off-leash today, which is unusual for Burnaby Lake. Boo to them, I say. The owners, not the dogs, who were relatively well-behaved.
Also, post-run I saw two Douglass squirrels chirping at each, and saw some Steller’s Jays and a nuthatch bouncing about grabbing seed. In all, a good start to the week.
Stats:
Run 1,082
Average pace: 5:58/km
Training status: Maintaining
Performance Condition: -1
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:55 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:02
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 6–7°C
Humidity: 88%
Wind: low
BPM: 147
Weight: 171.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,210 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (190/387/577)
Music: Shuffle play
Birding, October 31, 2026: Chick(adee) or treat
Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 11–14°C
A spooky Halloween day of birding! Except it wasn’t spooky, it was sunny and pleasant.
Reifel Bird Sanctuary
We started at Reifel, where the entrance pond had some Mallards and two small groups of Northern Shovellers doing that weird spiral thing they do, following each other in a tight circle to stir up the muck and enjoy the mucky spoils.
The various ponds were a bounty of colours, ranging from green to very green, brown, kind of yellow and in a few cases, blue! None of the waterfowl seemed to mind, even the very green water.
In the very green water of the London Slough, we noticed a duck with odd black and white colouring. A volunteer suggested it might be a hybrid consisting of part Swedish Blue, a domestic duck, and part Mallard, because Mallards will mate with anything. How it arrived at Reifel is unknown, perhaps a secret portal.
After getting shots of the interloper, we headed up the first trail and a family ahead of us had bird seed, which brought out approximately five million chickadees, plus two Red-breasted Nuthatches. The chickadees were darting past so close we could feel them whipping by. I had met my chickadee quota in the first ten minutes.
In one of the inner ponds, we saw our first Ring-necked Ducks of the season, woo. We still have yet to see any Scaups or Buffleheads, though.
I had a Canada Goose hiss hello at me. I assume they hiss to say hello. It didn’t do anything else. Speaking of geese, we saw flocks of Canada geese flying in formation multiple times–some of them migrating through rather than staying put year-round as most here do. We also saw flocks of Cackling geese and finally, a cacophony of honking informed us that the Snow geese had arrived, landing in their usual spot west of the sanctuary. So many geese, so much pooping potential. We never saw any up close, but that is normal for Reifel.
Along the same Outer Dyke Trail where we saw the Snow geese we also saw a number of herons, both in the marshland and flying overhead. One flew fairly low just over us and let out one of its loud croaks as it passed over. Legit, the only time a bird at Reifel has actually startled me. And especially Nic.
We also saw a solitary Greater Yellowlegs in one of the ponds not far from the viewing platform and lo, it caught a fish! But not just any fish, a stickleback. They are small, but have spiny fins, which make them a bit of a project to consume whole. The Yellowlegs worked on one for a fair bit, but finally got its prickly meal down. This is why I prefer ordering out.
I was a little disappointed with my shots, but I got some good ones here, too.
Tlahutum Regional Park
The community garden did not yield many birds overall, so we made do with a whole lotta crows.
The clear sky yielded some nice scenery shots and we saw a decent variety of birds in the Big Pond™, including a heron doing an excellent statue impression. Also, some kid on a bike with fat wheels rode past us like a million times.
There really wasn’t much else to see here this time, not even a rogue vole. But perhaps next time!
Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake
Yes, people were feeding the birds. The blackbirds were appreciative, as always.
The water level of the lake was up, which meant the landmass was smaller and the shorebirds moved over to the west side of the pier, against the light and farther away, not making for the best shots. Boo.
Instead, we got seagulls grabbing golf balls on the other side, along with a variety of coots pulling up green slimy stuff they love scarfing down, and a lot of Mallards. As previously noted, Mallards will mate with anything, but especially like mating with other Mallards. There were also geese, Wood Ducks and a few others around, but not in great numbers. And still no new migrants here, either.
I wonder if the (reduced) feeding will change their habits over time and ultimately cause many to abandon Piper Spit for other areas of the lake. I guess we’ll see.
In all, the weather was faboo, and I did get a few nice shots, even if my miss (and in many cases, literally a shot with no bird in it) ratio was a lot higher than normal.
The Shots
All photos shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18–150 mm kit lens and 100–400 mm telephoto. Some landscape shots captured with a Samsung Galaxy S26.
Gallery soon™.
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Northern Flicker
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Towhee
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American Coot
- American Wigeon
- Cackling Goose
- Canada Goose
- Gadwall
- Great Blue Heron
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Green-winged Teal
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Mallard
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveller
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Ring-necked Duck
- Sandhill Crane
- Snow Goose
- Wood Duck
Common:
- American Crow
- A few Ring-billed Seagulls
Raptors:
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
Non-birds:
- A black beetle
- A black squirrel
Goodbye to Daylight Saving Time (unless you’re Windows 11)
Last night at 2 a.m. a lot of clocks turned back one hour, going from Daylight Saving Time back to Standard Time. But here in BC, the outgoing NDP government changed that back in March, stating that as of this November–which begins today–the province would switch to permanent DST, or what we would call simply, Pacific Time.
This gave an eight month heads-up to various applications, hardware, and other devices to adopt the change so there would be no shenanigans come November 1st.
But there are shenanigans.
From my own experience:
- My Garmin Forerunner 265 got it right, but still shows the sun rising and setting for Standard Time.
- My old Echo Show 5 got it right.
- My partner’s identical old Echo 5 rolled back an hour for some reason.
- Our microwave and countertop convection oven got it right because they are not connected to the internet, so the lack of change suited them just fine.
- Windows 11 happily rolled the time back an hour. I was wondering if Microsoft might have done some update for this, but I guess they have other priorities, like throwing money into the AI furnace.
- I haven’t tried either Linux install I have running right now (Mint and CachyOS and yes, I know, I really ought to pick one and stick to it and maybe one day I will. Further posts on this to come).
So, a mixed bag, but better than expected, because I would not have been surprised if every clock, digital or otherwise, had rolled back an hour, thinking nothing had changed.
October 2026 weight loss report: Up 1.5 pounds
EDIT, the next day: This is why gauging weight loss on a month per month basis can be tricky. If October had been just one day longer, I would have only been up 0.3 pounds for the month (a rounding error) because I dropped 1.2 pounds overnight (not a rounding error). The overall trend for the year is still minimal weight loss/gain.
It’s not as bad as it looks!
Body fat is down, muscle mass is up, and BMI is only up marginally.
Still, I did go up and I did not eat nearly as well as I should have this past month. It’s been hard, really. I know I can do it, but food is one of the few go-to comforts I have. If only I had an insatiable appetite for celery sticks or something.
But as always, I strive to do better.
Stats:
January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds
Current: 172.6 pounds
Year to date: Up 3.2 pounds
October 1: 171.1 pounds
October 31: 172.6 pounds (up 1.5 pounds)
Body fat:
October 1: 26.1%
October 31: 25.8% (down 0.3%)
Skeletal muscle mass:
October 1: 30.0 kg
October 31: 30.2 kg (up 0.2 kg)
BMI:
October 1: 24.5
October 31: 24.7 (up 0.2)
Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds
Inktober 2026 Prompt 30: Cookie
Mmm, cookie. I am terrible at drawing cookies, but really good at consuming them.
Run 1,081: Pit stop blast off
Conditions today were a bit warmer and less humid than Wednesday. The net effect was not much difference–the real change was post-run when it started to shower and got a bit chilly. The run started out sunny and got increasingly cloudy, but remained nice ‘n dry.
I started out at the dam today, in order to reduce the overall length of the walk back home. The only downside: fewer photos of Still Creek after the run. Worth the trade.
Starting out, I felt a bit sluggish but my pace was actually 5:51/km, and my performance condition was +4, both pretty good! However, I still dipped to 5:58/km for the second lap. Undeterred, but with a pleading bladder, I hit the 2K mark then diverted to the closed-for-the-season Nature House and its washrooms, because the Jiffy John® by my usual starting spot was being serviced. I stopped long enough to hydrate (a drink from the fountain) and, uh, dehydrate (by using the loo). This allowed my heart rate to drop to 116 or so, which somehow allowed me to get a pace of 5:39/km for lap 3. Yowza,
I finished with 5:46/5:44 for the 4th and 5th lap, and an overall pace of 5:48/km, with a BPM of 148. This is my best pace, post-surgery, so yay for that.
October is also the first month where my average pace dropped below 6:00 minutes, to 5:54.
My left knee felt a little hinky for a few minutes, like everything wasn’t quite locked in, but it sorted itself out. I’ll probably have the knee looked at eventually. The knee did not slow me down, obviously, and near the 4K mark I spotted a runner ahead of me. For a few moments I couldn’t tell if they were approaching or moving away, then they started getting closer–but it was because I was catching up, ho ho! I wondered if I might eventually pass then before finishing the run and very nearly did–but the guy stopped his run and started walking back toward me just moments before I would have passed. He looked like he was about 40 years younger. We gave each other a little jogger’s nod as we passed, me running and him walking.
The trail was relatively quiet, otherwise.
And it was a nice way to end the week.
Stats:
Run 1,081
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Maintaining
Performance Condition: +4
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:17 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:09
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 9–11°C
Humidity: 79–72%
Wind: low
BPM: 148
Weight: 172.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,205 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (185/374/559)
Music: Autoamerican, Blondie
Inktober 2026 Prompt 29: TUSK
This is a strange album cover.
Run 1,080: Cool yet hot
I opted for a short loop at the lake today, figuring I’d start the week (I missed Monday’s run due to flu-like side effects from my vaccinations the day before) with less walking.
I ended coming in slightly faster than Friday’s run, with a slightly higher BPM of 149 (but only peaking at 153) and didn’t experience any issues.
Unlike Friday’s run, there were few others on the trail and most of the people I saw were fellow joggers. It was my first single digit temperature run of the fall, peaking at a mere 8°C. I still almost felt overdressed in two (light) layers because it was extremely humid. But generally,conditions were fine. It didn’t feel cold at all, really, likely because there was no breeze.
I had to dodge a few puddles because of earlier showers, but it remained cloudy only for the run. It showered a bit on the walk home, but by the time I entered the complex the sun was poking out. Typical mid-fall weather changing its mind every few minutes.
The river seemed unusually busy and while it’s unrelated to the run, I couldn’t help notice the Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Great Blue Herons and some very old salmon all swimming or stalking about.
In all, a decent midweek effort.
Stats:
Run 1,080
Average pace: 5:53/km
Training status: Maintaining
Performance Condition: 0
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 10:38 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:36
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7–8°C
Humidity: 94–90%
Wind: low
BPM: 149
Weight: 171.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,200 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (180/361/541)
Music: Parallel Lines, Blondie
Inktober 2026 Prompt 27: Dumb
Fun Fact: I almost always mistype the word “prompt” and have to fix it.
This prompt used reference but it still took me forever, so I didn’t add in the other stuff I wanted to put in. I may revisit this one later.
Leaves, 2026
Here they are, fallen and gathered.
Gallery for October 10, 2026 birding is up
The gallery is below.
Highlights:
- Geese, ducks, a towhee and a shoveller all staring directly at you
- A deceased dragonfly
- Harrier close-ups!
- A billion birds, all in the same spot
- A very pretty Dark-eyed Junco
- Assorted bugs that aren’t dragonflies
Anna's Hummingbird at a feeder, wary of an incoming interloper.
Anna's Hummingbird showing off their gorget at a feeder.
A creepy crawly creepy crawling along a railing.
Blackbird perched on two branches.
Blackbird enjoying a seed on a post.
Black-capped Chickadee looking down from above.
Black-capped Chickadee gazing out from its perch.
Golden-crowned Sparrow on a railing at Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
A Canada Goose in profile and looking strangely serene in golden light.
Profile of a Canada Goose with a tuft of feathers on the back on its head.
Canada Goose head-on. Terrifying.
Great Blue Heron en route to elsewhere.
Great Blue Heron hunting, 1/4: Spotting the prey.
Great Blue Heron hunting, 2/4: Going for the catch.
Great Blue heron hunting: 3/4: Fish acquired!
Great Blue Heron hunting, 4/4: Down the hatch!
Anna's Hummingbird all poofed out due to the presence of a nearby rival.
Female Mallard staring directly at the camera.
Female Mallard with a play of light and shadow across her head.
A Northern Pintail stretching out.
An American Wigeon with something presumably yummy hanging from its mouth.
Bird boxes, currently empty, in the marshland outside Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
A Song Sparrow looking over from atop a fence.
House sparrow enjoying a seed, cigar-style.
Close-up of a Spotted Towhee judging you.
A spotted Towhee on the trail in bright, golden light.
A Gadwall gliding through a pond.
Dark-eyed Junco perched on a branch.
A crow scouting the tidal flats for goodies. Dig those gams.
A vast gathering of waterfowl, including American Wigeons, Green-winged Teals and more.
Golden-crowned Sparrow legging it.
An ex-dragonfly, peacefully laid out on the trail.
Something fuzzy this way comes.
A Yellowlegs walking through the shallows, looking for food.
Two Greater Yellowlegs, one doing a weird little hop step.
Northern Shoveller stare.
Northern Harrier 1/4. The wings are a bit blurry, as I was not ready for it to suddenly swing right by.
Northern Harrier 2/4.
Northern Harrier 3/4.
Northern Harrier 4/4.
You can also view the gallery in the original post here: