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  The B.C. Roadside Naturalist. Richard Cannings and Sydney Cannings. Greystone Books, a division of Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group. $29.95 Cdn.
But I forgot a lot of the details - a fact I’m often reminded of when I’m on the road and one of my kids, or a visiting fisherman, asks: “Hey, what’s with that weird spotted pond?” Or: “What’s that purple flower along the roadside?” I usually come up with a good half answer, or manage to avoid the question by distracting. “Hey, look at that osprey!” Now, no doubt aware that there are a lot of people out there like me, the Cannings produced a book that will allow me to be an expert roadside naturalist. The answer to the spotted pond no longer has to be an inadequate: “Umm, it’s salt deposits, or something.” But a definitive statement. To quote from the book: “That’s Spotted Lake, an outstanding example of a saline lake, with spectacular white salt rings. These epsom salts are mostly magnesium and sodium sulfates, with small amounts of sodium carbonate and calcium sulfate. The rings are thought to be formed through crystallization processes shaped by the alternate flooding and drying of the lake.” And those purple flowers are Spotted knapweed, which are common along the roadside from the Okanagan Valley to Alberta. And while we’re in the Okanagan, on our way to fish the Kettle River, might I point out that Christina Creek, which we’ve just crossed over, is home to the River Jewelwing, an emerald-green damselfly with smoky-black wingtips. It’s the only place in B.C. where you’ll find this beautiful insect. Like it or not, most of us are forced to spend a lot of time driving to the places we want to fish. Fortunately, in British Columbia, that means passing through some fascinating, beautiful and ever changing landscapes. Too often we let it become a big, green blur. I recall one visitor from England commenting about a drive: “So many trees. It’s almost overwhelming.” To him, it was all the same thing, valley after valley. What he didn’t appreciate was that he was passing through a succession of ecosystems, each of which had its own distinct characteristics. Each chapter covers a different major highway route. Chapter One takes you from Horeshoe Bay, near Vancouver, up through the Lower Fraser Valley, into the Coast Range, past Hope and through the Fraser Canyon to the dry grasslands of the Thompson River country. Chapter Two goes from Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, past Campbell River and on to the rain forests of the North Island. And so it goes, with ten chapters in all, providing the roadside, fly fishing naturalist with details on each of the geological terrains and biogeoclimatic zones you will encounter on a trip anywhere in B.C. It’s a neat idea. And the Cannings - Richard is a consulting biologist and Sydney is a zoologist - couldn’t have better qualifications. They know the province, love it, have a broad scientific knowledge and are great teachers. All in all, you couldn’t ask for better traveling companions.
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A few years ago Richard and Sydney Cannings, two remarkable brothers, produced an award winning book - British Columbia: A Natural History - that went a long way to helping me understand the complex landscapes of the great province I live, and fish in.
