Weekly Report: April 21st - April 27th 2025

The Week in Summary:

• With the Calgary Catholic School District on spring break, I had an additional spring break this season, which I am definitely appreciative of. Overall, I had a great time this week. I managed to finish reading Will Rees's Hypochondria, started playing Oblivion Remastered (never played it back in 2006 when it was first released), went on bike rides along the Bow River Pathway, hung out in cafes, and listened to vinyl records at home (including the much anticipated Viagra Boys' dance-punk album viagr aboys).
• For Tuesday lunch, Taylor took me out to Rose Garden Thai Restuarant on Stephen Ave. We often ordered from there on Doordash (we do delivery much less nowadays), but it was really nice to check it out in person. On Wednesday evening, Ang, Katelyn, Taylor, and I went to Taste of Yemen to try some new dishes including moofa fish, chicken madhbi, lamb broth, and wonderfully flavoured rice. Afterwards, we went to Made By Marcus and back to our place to chat.
• During the week, I went to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park twice. On Thursday, James and I went to a birding tour with field guides from Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation and a small group. On Saturday, Alexis, Taylor, and I went to participate in the 2025 City Nature Challenge there as well. Ultimately, I wanted to see blossoming prairies crocuses and I was not disappointed! Additionally, I seen common loons, turkey vultures, horned grebes, American kestrels, and a bunch of different hawks! You can read more about it here.
• On Friday evening, I participated in my first Critical Mass bike ride. Every month, Critical Mass YYC hosts a community-wide bike ride starting in Kensington, meandering through the inner city, until it ends a couple hours later in Stanley Park. The event is both a joyful celebration of biking and a defiant protest against the lack of accessible bike infrastructure to protect cyclists from motorists.
• Additionally, I switched from my Pixel 9 Pro back to my Sunbeam F1 Orchid flip phone. To assist in this transition, since I do enjoy taking photographs in my everyday life, I purchased a red OM System Tough TG-7 at the Camera Store on 11th Ave SW, a fairly rugged point-and-shot digital camera with some great macro capabilities. Additionally, I am using LeechBlock NG, a Firefox add-on, to block webpages I am considering unhelpful when I am online. I am hoping that these changes will make life more joyful, rather than the mindless scrolling that numbs me over time. I have done a lot to reduce screen time since January, but I have a bit more that I want to do to establish a better balance with my screen time.
• Lastly, the federal election is April 28th. Get out and vote! If you are feeling anxious with all the electoral uncertainty, enjoy the smell of spring rain and the returning verdant botanical splendor of our city.

The Week in Images:

The Week in Links:

A city of trees: The story and struggle of Calgary’s urban forest | The Sprawl

Doubling the canopy won’t be easy.

The SprawlMeghan Lett