Stephen Heard

Evolutionary ecologist, entomologist, and Boggle aficionado. Author: The Scientist's Guide to Writing; Charles Darwin's Barnacle & David Bowie's Spider. He/him.

#ScientificWriting #Ecology #Evolution #Entomology #fedi22

Blog: Scientist Sees Squirrel: https://wordpress.com/view/scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
The Scientist's Guide to Writing: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/the-scientists-guide-to-writing/
Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/charles-darwins-barnacle/
And for now, still on the bird app: https://twitter.com/StephenBHeard

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stephenbheard_at_fediscience.org@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2026-03-31 18:58:47 UTC

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So today I gave a workshop for my fellow faculty.
8 signed up.
2 replied to my morning reminder with "sorry, can't make it"
3 more didn't show up at all.
I ran a workshop with 3 people. (And all three were great, and enjoyed it!)
We do the same things we complain about our students doing.
2/2

2026-03-31 18:58:41 UTC

As an instructor, I was always frustrated about students missing class. Sure, it's their choice! But frustrating to work hard to prep lectures, then students don't come.
I know my colleagues agree. We all wish students would show up; we don't understand why they don't.
1/2

2026-03-30 16:55:57 UTC

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Second batch for #BackYardSugarBush2026! This is 5.9 litres (and there's another 100 mL or so of "dirty syrup" in the filter, I'll ladle it out later). So the ratio is 23.6:1 - which is EXACTLY the same as my first batch!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/319/166/273/855/936/original/944fcf455dfd696f.jpg

2026-03-30 14:53:54 UTC

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At this stage I have to watch it very carefully, otherwise THIS happens. And a few moments later, it froths over and there's burnt sticky syrup all over the stovetop.
Happens once every year no matter how much I promise myself I won't let it happen again!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/318/688/272/943/334/original/b9a9067478cc8bb5.jpg

2026-03-30 14:30:21 UTC

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Here it goes.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/318/597/316/158/898/original/4bdfb0de22322731.mp4

2026-03-30 13:14:13 UTC

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And we're ready for another finishing boil. This is 142 litres of sap, boiled down over the last 5 days or so to about 8 litres of almost-syrup. If I get the same ~23:1 as the first batch, this will be about 6 litres of syrup. We'll see!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/318/294/424/750/644/original/bf2eef8fbddd1826.jpg

2026-03-27 20:51:34 UTC

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Epic boil today for #BackYardSugarBush2026: 54 litres of sap have gone into these two pots since 6 a.m. (The little one is supper.) By bedtime I'll have it down to ~7 litres.
But: collected 55 litres of sap today (including some from yesterday). So guess what my plans are for tomorrow🤣
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/303/104/333/731/747/original/97211eecdea13644.jpg

2026-03-25 14:42:49 UTC

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To give you a feel for this: with my stovetop setup I can boil off about 2 litres per hour, per pot. And I can really only manage 2 pots at once. So 85 L of sap is about 20 hours of boiling... by which time I'll likely have another 60 L!

2026-03-25 14:39:00 UTC

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Looks like the floodgates have opened for #BackYardSugarBush2026. After a *terrible* start to the season, the sap is really gushing now. Since yesterday morning, I've collected ~85 litres of sap (from 10 taps) - and today's run is just starting!

2026-03-25 10:07:39 UTC

And here we go again. Large language models are good at many things. Offering accurate information is not one of them. So, of course, my province unveils a "tourist AI chatbot" that tells visitors all kinds of wrong things - and folks will act surprised. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-tourism-ai-chatbot-explora-9.7139199

2026-03-24 17:13:40 UTC

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And this doesn't account for a bit of syrup lost in a boil-over (oops), and a bit remaining in the filter that I'll wash out and recover with the next collection of sap. So 23.6-to-1 is conservative, it was probably a bit lower. (Large sugarbushes figure on ~40:1, but open-grown city trees often run sweeter)

2026-03-24 17:12:19 UTC

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That's the lowest ratio I've ever had - #BackYardSugarBush2026 is running VERY sweet. I assume that's a result of our ongoing drought...

2026-03-24 17:11:01 UTC

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Bottled! And it's a lot. This is 5.6 litres, and the "dirty syrup" I pulled from the filter was another 0.25 litres. This from either (curse my recordkeeping skills) 128 or 138 litres of sap. If 138 is correct: 139 ÷ 5.85 is a 23.6-to-1 ratio!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/285/236/131/248/694/original/6bf2273c7fc18acd.jpg

2026-03-24 17:04:40 UTC

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After filtering, back onto the stove for a very short final boil - and here, this is done. The hot test line is floating at the surface - this is syrup! (OK, I took the shot as it bobbed slightly above the surface, for a better photo)
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/285/226/633/013/675/original/98d7718571f4f77f.jpg

2026-03-24 16:32:10 UTC

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The sediment, by the way, is mostly "sugar sand": precipitated calcium malate. Harmless but aesthetically undesirable (hey, Aesthetically Undesirable would be a good band name!)

2026-03-24 16:30:36 UTC

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Here's my workaround - the last cup or so just won't go through on a timeline my brain will accept. So I ladle it out - sediment and all. I call this "dirty syrup". In the fridge, it will gradually settle, and I can decant off the top for use in cooking.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/285/094/195/297/221/original/31ac190e63cee040.jpg

2026-03-24 15:57:59 UTC

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I love everything about the process EXCEPT this step: waiting for the last of the syrup to go through the filter. As the filter clogs with sediment, it gets slower and slower...I am not a patient man!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/968/580/722/710/original/49a9bc335ae982ae.jpg

2026-03-24 15:55:17 UTC

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Into the filter!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/957/297/372/309/original/efb0aef10e0037f3.mp4

2026-03-24 15:15:51 UTC

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Meanwhile, I need to get my filter setup ready, and scrounge up my motley assortment of fancy jars!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/796/673/134/028/original/5cdb1a439bd53e38.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/796/740/916/828/original/1391371ae5da6ac4.jpg

2026-03-24 15:02:27 UTC

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So #BackYardSugarBush2026 is a lot closer than I thought to its first batch... and maybe the drought made my sap much sweeter than usual? Will find out before long!

2026-03-24 15:01:33 UTC

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OK, I did NOT expect this. I thought my 7+ litres were a fairly long way from being syrup (based on expected sap:syrup ratio). But on left, the hydrometer floating at about 57 - on the right, lifting it to see the target 59.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/738/677/348/455/original/2db0068613298d15.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/738/683/680/021/original/3db89e2d088b1b5c.jpg

2026-03-24 14:39:03 UTC

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This is the key device! A hydrometer, for measuring liquid density. As the syrup boils down, its %sugar and thus density increase. At about 66% sugar, the syrup is done. The "Brix" scale is roughly % sugar, but with a correction for temperature - hence the "hot" and "cold" test lines.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/650/527/368/071/original/0d6c0bc3d0617109.jpg

2026-03-24 14:31:29 UTC

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Into the pot - now to bring to a boil and check density.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/631/588/612/333/original/4609f03b248ebae6.jpg

2026-03-24 14:30:54 UTC

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Time to finish some syrup! Here's what I have: the 128 L of sap, boiled down in a few different batches to about 7 L. The bottles vary a bit in colour because I boiled some down farther than others.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/284/618/410/301/961/original/be55a3f7b4af680b.jpg

2026-03-22 13:57:59 UTC

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I'm curious about the amount, actually. While people usually say sap:syrup is 40:1, open-grown trees like mine often run sweeter, and I get ~29:1. But that varies a bit year to year - and we've had drought. Is the sap sweeter this year (less water, better ratio)? Stay tuned as I find out...

2026-03-22 13:54:45 UTC

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I'm up to 128 litres of sap boiled down (or possibly 138 litres, due to a lapse in recordkeeping). I'm holding it in this cooler until I have time to do the finishing boil. About 7 litres here; it should make about 4-5 litres of syrup.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/273/154/347/674/676/original/f7fc58536b029822.jpg

2026-03-20 22:09:11 UTC

Reading Agatha Christie's 'The Seven Dials Mystery' - it's a passable but not great mystery. Published in 1929. At one point a character can't attend a dinner party because her children have mumps. Nobody thinks much of this...you can probably guess where I'm going.
1/2

2026-03-20 12:46:41 UTC

Jeff Houlahan has posted an interesting manuscript about how to do good science. I think parts of it are wrong - but in productive ways, so it's worth reading. My take: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/friday-link-how-to-do-good-science/

2026-03-19 14:31:44 UTC

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This is 57 litres of sap, now boiled down to about 3.5 litres. It's getting close to being syrup - you can see it's boiling with substantial froth, and with sound on, there's kind of a fragile bubble-popping sound to it.
I'll let this cool, and hold it until I'm ready to do a finishing boil for the first syrup batch of #BackYardSugarBush2026. It's easier to make around 4 litres of syrup at once - I'm not there yet!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/256/308/118/759/431/original/4136460c1239993b.mp4

2026-03-18 15:07:41 UTC

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Two pots going today! I'd like to work through all the sap I have on hand, which will take a while. I can boil off about 2 L water per hour per pot - so it will be an all-day project.
By the way, if you're interested in trying this yourself: you can ONLY boil inside the house if you have a strong range hood fan that vents OUTSIDE. You're producing a very large amount of steam and it has to escape.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/250/787/421/926/327/original/a6f65336285d6714.mp4

2026-03-18 15:02:48 UTC

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I now have 11 taps total (with the 3 I added at the neighbour's). And so far since yesterday morning, about 75 litres of sap. The only problem? My snowbank is melting!!
Cold last night and today (-10 overnight, high -5 today) so it won't run at all until Thursday. Just as well, I need to do some boiling!

2026-03-17 19:31:37 UTC

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Finally! #BackYardSugarBush is producing sap by the bucketful. Two warm days and low atmospheric pressure; the sap ran all day yesterday, all through the night, and is only just now stopping.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/246/161/886/927/933/original/4aff6dbc74f41288.jpg

2026-03-15 18:43:30 UTC

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Expanded #BackYardSugarBush2026! A neighbour has a tree that is the champion of all trees. She's not planning to make syrup this year - but she's allowing me to tap it. This is just a moment after drilling - look at that sap run!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/234/653/158/500/292/original/bd51918361d9e434.mp4

2026-03-15 18:40:23 UTC

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First time I've done THIS: in hopes of maintaining a snowbank to store sap in, I SHOVELED MY LAWN.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/234/642/798/911/111/original/fb7c89ff5773d879.jpg

2026-03-14 14:34:19 UTC

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No sap for a couple of days now. First too warm, then too cold... but at least there's some lovely snow right now to help me relax about that. Here's your moment of #BackYardSugarBush2026 zen.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/228/016/836/943/923/original/9942f04f176a48d7.mp4

2026-03-13 14:07:32 UTC

I should use this slide in my talk, right? Because it's hilarious, right?
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/222/253/594/289/900/original/c2d460c53cb80c22.png

2026-03-12 13:44:21 UTC

Your occasional reminder that if you teach Scientific Writing, or you're going to - so do I, and my syllabus and class materials are available here: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/steal-this-updated-syllabus-for-scientific-writing/

2026-03-11 16:17:11 UTC

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Just a little more sap yesterday, so reboiled; this is now 14 L of sap boiled down to a little under 1 L of pre-syrup. (That amount of sap should make ~0.5 L syrup.) It's noticeably more viscous than sap and it smells heavenly. If only there were more of it!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/211/431/538/353/183/original/5d60dcf9681ef5b6.jpg

2026-03-10 14:23:03 UTC

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The first pic, by the way, shows pre-filtration through a jelly bag. That takes out any twigs or insects that have wound up in the sap. Not much of that, this early in the season, but later on this is more necessary!

2026-03-10 11:11:51 UTC

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First boil today. Not because I have very much sap - only ten litres so far! But it will eventually spoil, even sitting in my high-tech SASSS (snowbank-assisted sap storage system). Especially as it will reach +17 C today...
I won't finish any syrup, of course - this would make only about 300 mL. But I'll boil it down to a litre or so and then store that in the fridge. Fingers crossed for better sap weather this weekend! #BackYardSugarBush2026
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/204/553/132/543/310/original/d6456f963b81bad8.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/204/552/988/884/711/original/d090cdf42ebff790.jpg

2026-03-08 13:39:08 UTC

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(You can tell because "sap" in buckets is yellowish. We call it 'squirrel pee' when we're being 12.)

2026-03-08 13:37:53 UTC

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Also had to discard two buckets due to stemflow from yesterday's rain. I can never predict when the geometry of the trunk and the spile will conspire to direct stemflow into the bucket, argh...

2026-03-08 13:36:53 UTC

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Rather unsatisfying update: just 4 L of sap stashed away this morning - nearly all of it ran overnight. It's running now, but slowly; and forecast doesn't have it freezing overnight until at least Tues/Weds. We need cold nights, not just warm days! #BackYardSugarBush2026
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/193/815/634/407/338/original/e2e2d52cd87e245a.png

2026-03-06 17:05:22 UTC

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I've tasted syrup from Norway maple (very similar) but not the others. Anyone want to give flavour notes? But all other trees have much less sweetness to the sap - so you need to boil much more sap to make syrup. #BackYardSugarBush2026 will stick to sugar maple!

2026-03-06 17:03:47 UTC

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No sign of sap today, as expected. Meanwhile, a note on the trees. I'm tapping sugar maple (Acer saccharum), which is the canonical tree for syrup. You can tap other species, though: pretty much any maple (Acer), birch, walnut, and I'm told hickory, butternut, and pecan.

2026-03-05 11:53:25 UTC

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Just four litres of sap, collected and nestled into my SASSS (Snowbank-Assisted Sap Storage System - I'm a scientist, I have to sound very fancy). Probably won't run again until the weekend, as temps are low today and tomorrow.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/176/415/528/584/808/original/d05998a54faffb1a.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/176/415/473/763/704/original/401d00289a15a2cc.jpg

2026-03-05 11:49:34 UTC

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Big sugarbushes use tubing and vacuum pumps to bring sap back to be boiled. For #BackYardSugarbush2026, I have a bucket of pop bottles. Very sophisticated!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/176/403/249/055/585/original/a820240f16fa2744.jpg

2026-03-04 20:53:54 UTC

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Not much accumulated today - a couple of cm in each bucket. And it will be cold tomorrow. But it's a start, and the weekend looks promising! #BackYardSugarBush2026
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/172/886/942/892/690/original/44d3738f5f9d34bf.jpg

2026-03-04 20:51:26 UTC

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FIRST SAP!!!!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/172/879/616/408/633/original/95646ae7c0ad618c.mp4

2026-03-04 13:06:56 UTC

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Too early today to know if the sap will run - but a light dusting of snow overnight has the sugar bush looking lovely!
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/171/052/649/724/330/original/27bd8d5d18037e34.jpg

2026-03-03 22:10:14 UTC

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But: not a single drop of sap today. The last couple of days have been very cold; perhaps it will take more than a single day above freezing to wake up the trees! Tonight, -3 C; tomorrow +7. Promising! #BackYardSugarBush2026

2026-03-03 22:08:31 UTC

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All buckets in place. I have 8 taps total - how many can you spot? Three on the nearest tree (one is out of sight behind the trunk); one on the next tree, which is small; and two each on the two in the background.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/518/272/228/930/original/e92b4ec182d48bb0.jpg

2026-03-03 22:06:01 UTC

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First bucket in place. But no sap dripping! At least, not yet - time to tap the rest.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/508/703/181/645/original/33488f7533c39a8e.jpg

2026-03-03 22:04:07 UTC

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A good spot is at convenient height, but not underneath anything like a damaged spot, a split or crook in the tree, or a dead limb.

2026-03-03 22:03:04 UTC

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First hole drilled! The new hole is the one at upper right. At centre left is last year's hole, still looking pretty fresh. Bottom is an older hole, hard to spot now.
We move the tapping spot around from year to year, so we aren't trying to pull sap from recently repaired tissue.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/482/629/175/475/original/c1ca154e8314ffde.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/482/628/810/079/original/a4b35f0688e1131b.jpg

2026-03-03 21:57:51 UTC

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Here goes.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/479/126/502/938/original/fe5de0ad987a9733.mp4

2026-03-03 20:34:12 UTC

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I'm not sure if it will run today - it's been cold (-20 at night, -10 during the day) the last couple of days. It may take more than one warmer day to get things going. Only one way to find out...
The gear is ready. Eight buckets, and a spile for each. Time to go drill some holes!
2/2
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/150/863/068/098/original/28f379fbb07d3d1e.jpeg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/150/917/572/686/original/d91d24ab3e479c2c.jpeg

2026-03-03 20:34:05 UTC

It's time! Today we tap for #BackYardSugarBush2026. It's warm (+3C) and sunny, and the trees are calling to me. Here's my little sugar bush: 4 sugar maples in a line along the side of my back yard. Time to tap!
1/2
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/167/150/468/593/105/original/092dc467ede48195.jpeg

2026-02-26 18:30:08 UTC

It's +5 C, and sunny, and I know that inside these maples the sap is running. I want to tap! But I can't until next week... #BackYardSugarBush2026
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/138/351/552/672/645/original/5fa7074ffd96415e.jpeg

2026-02-20 10:39:58 UTC

Got my Public Lending Right payment for the year. If you ever wonder if you're shortchanging an author by getting their book from a library - absolutely not, and this is one of the ways (for countries with a PLR program).
1/2
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/102/528/885/595/692/original/8d162576acaad7db.png

2026-02-13 11:25:29 UTC

Fifth and last day of the latest iteration of my intensive Scientific Writing course! A lot of my title slides have lame visual jokes - I always appreciate it when the students gamely pretend that they're hilarious🤣
https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/writing-course/
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/063/071/706/975/724/original/8b998e72478b168e.png

2026-02-10 13:12:56 UTC

When "Enough, already" is the entire text of a scientific paper. As you'd expect, there's a backstory... https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/02/10/on-a-two-word-scientific-paper-and-a-fascinating-heated-exchange/

2026-02-09 15:42:57 UTC

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Clearer photos (same batch of eggs)
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/041/434/381/353/402/original/48b79090d9d4ce5a.jpg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/041/434/372/471/958/original/6a6e409de14d31d9.jpg

2026-02-09 12:09:01 UTC

Beautiful little cluster of (hatched) eggs on an Anthurium houseplant leaf. Probably stinkbug or something similar? Photos (c) Jim Robertson.
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/040/593/640/134/337/original/81924a0c17018c41.jpeg
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/040/593/637/501/376/original/897849412b3fa4c9.jpeg

2026-02-05 23:11:19 UTC

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Oh, interesting - parallels to the beetles named after Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, same kind of confusion about whether they were insults or tributes.

2026-02-03 14:07:58 UTC

I like a fun Latin name, and a cool bird, and some unexpected etymology, and a ribald Greek myth. They all come together here: the story behind the fun-to-say Latin name Jynx torquilla (the Eurasian wryneck). https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/wonderful-latin-names-jynx-torquilla/

2026-01-27 16:11:02 UTC

"AI can get in the way of learning, and it can promote learning, depending on how it's used." I really like Terry McGlynn's conceptual take on how we might think about student use of AI in courses. https://
scienceforeveryone.science/what-to-do-when-student-turn-in-assignments-generated-by-ai/
1/2

2026-01-27 14:32:57 UTC

Oh! xkcd is on zoology again! Critters doing weird stuff - a deep well and I love to see buckets drawn from it. https://xkcd.com/3199/

2026-01-27 14:27:07 UTC

What ever happened to MOOCs? Remember how they were going to revolutionize education?
Lots of OTHER things that are going to revolutionize education aren't going to either! Mostly because it doesn't need revolutionizing. https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/01/27/whatever-happened-to-moocs-and-why-education-doesnt-need-revolutionizing/

2026-01-26 13:41:20 UTC

Time to (drum roll) reveal the cover for the 3rd edition of 'The Scientist's Guide to Writing'! It's getting real, it's getting close - you can even preorder already! https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/cover-reveal-the-3rd-edition-scientists-guide-to-writing-is-getting-closer/

2026-01-12 11:44:11 UTC

New lab paper alert! Final PhD chapter from Rylee Isitt, on the lack of concordance between spruce beetle pheromone variation and phylogenetic structure. How do we fit this into our ideas about how insect biodiversity evolves? https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70226

2026-01-05 18:43:13 UTC

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And by happy coincidence my own copy just showed up on my doorstep! (https://amzn.to/3N6RwID or from whereever you like to order/buy books)
https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/843/958/895/309/796/original/91370541446a0891.jpg

2026-01-05 13:54:42 UTC

I'm not the only one with a new book released over the holidays! Here's Jeremy Fox's new book, 'The Ecology of Ecologists'. I read it in MS; it's excellent. If you're an ecologist, work with ecologists, or are interested in science studies - this is for you! https://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2026/01/05/spread-the-word-about-the-ecology-of-ecologists-and-get-a-free-signed-bookplate/

2026-01-05 11:57:48 UTC

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If you mentor scientific writers, teach a course with written assignments, or anything similar, you know how much work is involved, and how difficult it can be to provide the guidance developing writers need. This book is for you!
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2026-01-05 11:57:42 UTC

Over the holiday, while folks were on well-deserved breaks, our new book was released!
Mentoring writers is hard - we can make it easier for you. Please help spread the word - repost this, tell your colleagues, etc.
https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/teaching-and-mentoring-writers-in-the-sciences-an-evidence-based-approach/
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2026-01-04 17:14:12 UTC

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(But not the shortest....https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/can-a-scientific-paper-be-too-short-part-ii/)
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2026-01-04 17:14:06 UTC

Putting together slides for a talk on brevity next week and was reminded of this: one of the shortest scientific papers I know of.
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2026-01-03 17:10:36 UTC

My timeline has far too much of things that are not this.
View from family cottage, Round Lake, Ontario.
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2025-12-24 16:44:50 UTC

My wife is a taxonomist.
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2025-12-16 12:52:16 UTC

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IT'S MY NEW BOOK! IT CAME!!
(Advance copy, but I was out of town, so I'm not even the first to hold a copy - if you've got yours, tell me about it!)
Shipping now from the publisher, in a week or so from other sellers. You could get one too: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/teaching-and-mentoring-writers-in-the-sciences-an-evidence-based-approach/
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2025-12-16 12:52:08 UTC

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Very classy wrapping paper!
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2025-12-16 12:51:52 UTC

Ooh, look, a parcel from the University of Chicago Press! Whatever could it be??
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2025-11-21 15:22:20 UTC

Just mentioned in a paper, for the second time, the myxobacterium "Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis".
Yes, I used cut-and-paste. If the likelihood of my misspelling something could exceed 100%, this is one where it would.

2025-11-05 12:47:27 UTC

This looks great - new book, a compilation of long-form essays, from Elizabeth Kolbert. And the cover - chef's kiss! https://amzn.to/43b0AS3
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2025-10-30 16:52:28 UTC

I just learned there's a family of snails called the Sphincterochilidae, and I can assure you that my inner 12-year-old is DELIGHTED.

2025-10-28 13:28:46 UTC

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Leonardo left something like 13,000 pages of notes like this. Many are lost or unpublished. It's just astonishing!

2025-10-28 13:28:41 UTC

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They're densely packed, flit maniacally from topic to topic, and full of Leonardo showing his... let's say "self confidence". In discussing a common idea about fossils that differs from his own, he writes: “Such an opinion cannot exist in brains possessed of any extensive powers of reasoning”. Ouch.

2025-10-28 13:28:35 UTC

One of the (many) rabbitholes I went down doing research for something I'm writing led me into Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks. This is a page from the Leicester Codex (some of Leonardo's notes about fossils). The notebooks are amazing to read (in translation, if you're me)
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2025-10-24 17:16:36 UTC

Clearly fans of Halloween. Overdoing it? Is that even possible?
But look at the headstone in the closeup. 10/10 no notes.
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2025-10-16 10:53:15 UTC

Don't you wish your department/university did more to help grad students learn to write? Teaching writing is hard, but students are eager to learn.
I can help! I can teach a one-week intensive course for you. Details here: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/writing-course/. Get in touch!

2025-10-10 12:57:18 UTC

Had a wonderful tour of the collections at the New Brunswick Museum yesterday. Among many other things there were #SharksNearMe - these are jaws from the blue shark, Prionace glauca.
Saw many treasures - a few I'll post later; some so new and wonderful that I can't post about them here!
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2025-10-07 13:04:15 UTC

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Same! (And I'm not sure if it's an agency-wide policy or one particular panel - hopefully someone who knows will comment on the post)

2025-10-07 12:15:05 UTC

NSF instructs peer reviewers not to use the first person in writing a review. Why on earth? And isn't this terrible advice? https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/theres-no-i-in-peer-review-or-is-there/

2025-10-01 14:41:25 UTC

It's off my desk! I've just sent the manuscript for the 3rd edition of 'The Scientist's Guide to Writing' to the publisher (Princeton U. Press).
"It's just a revision. It will be easy!" - and other lies I tell myself...
https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/the-scientists-guide-to-writing/

2025-09-27 16:50:38 UTC

There's always something new to see. This absolutely wild little thing is the insect-egg slime mould (Leocarpus fragilis). Each fruiting body is about 1.5 mm long.
Bob Orr Pond Trail, Caughey-Taylor Preserve (Nature Trust NB), near St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
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2025-09-25 11:17:47 UTC

Fall colours. Brizley Stream (which, due to our epic drought, is now Brizley Trickle), at the Ledges, north of Central Blissville, New Brunswick.
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2025-09-20 13:18:17 UTC

Finishing up the slides for a talk I'm giving at a nearby garden club next week. The only problem with this topic: where on Earth do I stop???
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2025-09-17 14:06:37 UTC

My undergrad students often think that Latin names are dull. One of my missions in life seems to be to counter this misunderstanding.... and as this week's installment I give you the No Parking Whitebeam: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/09/16/wonderful-latin-names-karpatiosorbus-admonitor/

2025-09-17 13:39:35 UTC

Absolutely bonkers flowers on this night-blooming cereus (Selenicereus undatus) at the Montreal Botanic Garden!
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2025-09-16 14:10:25 UTC

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Here are King and Roland urging scientific writers to use the active voice and the first person - in 1968. Now in 2025, some guy named Heard is working on the 3rd edition of his book urging the same things.
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