The world is full of horrors, but yesterday I got to learn about DNA testing for microscopic worms and today I am going to learn about how blueberry farmers can make better nesting opportunities for bumblebees, so it’s not all bad

Live your life so security guards mistake you for a teenager (sitting cross legged on the floor of the library reading a local history reference book)

Cow tools from the study author. Delightful thread. Plus! video of the talented Veronika, using her tools.

Cool cool cool cool cool

It’s A LOT right now. I needed to take a breath, maybe you do too? Perhaps with some of my favorite fishes, right here in Minnesota:

CBC News is adding 33 local journalists and creating 11 new bureaus, increasing its Canadian footprint from 66 to 77 locations. Many of the new positions are based in Central and Western Canada:

After being sick for four weeks straight, I am finally ready to share some *professional updates* First, remember that Sumas flood? I wrote about it for Country Life in BC’s January edition. You can find it wherever fine agricultural news is sold. (The Mill Store in Chilliwack for example.)

This unsettling blog from @christhompson.bsky.social had me thinking: Would editors at the NYT or WaPo also sit on leaks about a planned attack on, say, Greenland, to protect US military members while they killed Danish citizens?

Pro tip: if you are feeling disgruntled at the state of the world, you can read Simon Garfield’s ALL THE KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD. A good read, although I now have a suspicious urge to buy another set of encyclopedias.

Manifesting the energy I want to see in 2026 by watching Barad Dur collapse at midnight.

As some of you may know, I left @fvcurrent.bsky.social last June — but I didn’t abandon journalism! My first freelance article for @thetyee.ca was published today, and you can check it out below.

On 19 December 1937: J.R.R. #Tolkien writes in a letter to C.A. Furth of Allen and Unwin: "I have written the first chapter of a new story about Hobbits – 'A long expected party'. A merry Christmas." This was the start of The Lord of the Rings. Merry Christmas indeed! #BookSky

⚠️ The Town of Princeton has issued an Evacuation Alert for properties between the Similkameen River and HWY 3, including ‘Tunnel Area’, Burton Ave, & Waterfront Ave ⚠️ Residents on Evacuation Alert should be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. 👉 princeton.municipalwebsites.ca/ckfinder/con...

Right now the Nooksack isn't expected to hit levels that would send more water north — though things can change.

Abbotsford flood update: • Floodwaters continue to recede • Nooksack overflow still coming north but decreasing • City lifted evacuation alerts, downgraded some evac orders • Rapid damage assessments continue • Hwy 1 thru Abby opened westbound last night, eastbound expected this morning

Interesting that the federal government hasn’t reached out to B.C. or Abbotsford re: floods this week. This was the front of the paper today, btw.

B.C. gov providing flood update: • approx 450 properties on evac orders, 1700 evac alert • 68 farms registered under evac order, 98 evac alert • floodwaters made it into barns last night • lost "couple" poultry barns last night • additional birds, hogs, cows being relocated

In related news, Chilliwack schools (and some daycares, including ours) are closed tomorrow due to the Abbotsford flooding.

Update from the city of Abbotsford — flood waters expected to reach Highway 1 late this evening, with the flood expecting to peak early tomorrow morning.

Floodwaters breached the dike at Vye Road (which is also the SRY rail track) about two hours ago. Residents took video of the water pouring over the edge. (Video on Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bji...)

Indeed, the Fraser has already retreated close to typical low-fall levels. Should allow the Barrowtown gates to be opened and for water to pass through, albeit slower than water is entering the prairie.

STORY: A recap of what has been done and what hasn't to address the flood threat posed by the Nooksack. thetyee.ca/News/2025/12...

BREAKING: Over the last hour floodwaters have inundated Sumas, Wash. Flooding will soon be starting in Sumas Prairie.

NOOKSACK THREAD: As dawn breaks, western Sumas Prairie is on evacuation order. The lakebed is on alert. From border cams you can see Sumas, Wash., immediately south of Abbotsford is not flooded. Which is good.

It's worth noting that size of sound does not equate to size of slide. A friend in Squamish heard what he thought was an immense rockfall off Slhany a couple weeks ago, which ended up being caused by a single boulder falling

A very rare ending on a positive note by @tyolsen.bsky.social. But also, facts is facts. Hopefully the prediction is correct.

There are many people posting information about evacuations on Facebook that is actually from, and only applies to, 2021. Make sure that the things you are reading and sharing relate to this event, and not the 2021 event.

On a Hope facebook group, residents of Hope say they have heard a massive sound coming down "t sounded like the mountain was coming down." Others say they have heard the same noise. The dark is likely to obscure any landslides taking place.

Officials now speaking. Basically all highways between the Lower Mainland and the Interior are closing. That includes Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon and, soon, the Highway 99 toward Pemberton.

People looking for information on the 2025 edition of the Fraser Valley floods can find it here. BC’s “urgent” update is set to begin soon. www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/event/flood-...

Because of a risk of flooding, avoid travel in the Fraser Valley unless necessary until the atmospheric river passes and water levels subside. Highway 1 and other provincial roadways could close with little or no notice. Follow DriveBC.ca for the latest info. #BCFlood

If you’re not already following @tyolsen.bsky.social for Fraser Valley flood updates, now would be the time to do so.

BREAKING: Officials in Sumas, Wash., immediately south of Abbotsford will be sounding their flood siren that warns residents to evacuate. This is a sign of likely flooding in Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford. www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...

Feeling nothing but sympathy for whoever was trying to solve the live stream issues at CBC today.

Some substantial flooding is very possible in rivers near the U.S. Canada border. The Nooksack, for its part, is forecast to hit moderate flood stage, which probably wouldn't heavily impact Canada. But a lot will ride on the weather.

I have literally been thinking about this all day. How unbelievably depressing.

It's ... alive! After hours of work on the words from me and on the images from @midnightoilalex.bsky.social, my first book is starting to come together! CANADA'S ENDANGERED ANIMALS (@nimbuspub.bsky.social) will be out Spring 2026 -- and rumour has it you can preorder early in the new year.

One of my dreams is to write a romcom about a female journalist in which her job is integral to the plot, but the plot does not require her to compromise her journalistic integrity in any way. You know, the way most of us female journos live every day.

If any former @fvcurrent.bsky.social readers are missing a @tyolsen.bsky.social rehash of the FV floods and the current state of disaster prevention in BC, you can find it over at @thetyee.ca

really excited to launch the newest residency at Upstart & Crow, which is specifically for parent-writers and includes a childcare stipend in addition to a residency grant and space to work. the residency I have dreamed of! applications open this weekend: upstartandcrow.com/programs/par...

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

This bandwagon is too stressful, I would like to get off now.

Thanks to this tool, I just listened to a city official say "there will still be marmots breeding in the cemetery."

Today we launch Civic Searchlight, a tool for searching local government meeting transcripts across 550 municipalities in Canada. Access is open for researchers and journalists: civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com

Happy #HobbitDay to those who celebrate! Pics from the weekend’s bi-annual Hobbit Party.

I had a dream I was a reporter working in an intergalactic news agency writing an investigative story on alien poaching and now I need @matthewclaxton.bsky.social to write the story please and thanks.

There are folks who like to take "sides" in local media, cheering for or against organizations or journalists like they're heroes or villains in the ongoing struggle for truth. But in B.C., it's more like an ecosystem. There are places you might like less or more, but they all contribute.