Kish-Kaduk In the early 1970s I was hired by the newly renamed MNR – previously Lands and Forests – to head up the District’s Junior Ranger program at Cashel Lake. As it so happened one of my colleagues had been involved with the camp when it was water access only and he had been there […]
PIERRE BERTON Like many I have turned to my library looking to re-read, or read, books that I have acquired over time. One such that popped out was by Pierre Berton called “Fast Fast Fast Relief”. I believe at one time I had collected and read most, if not all, of Berton’s books. As a […]
THE DULL MEN’S CLUB Has the COVID-19 virus rendered the DMC relevant? Were the two made for each other? After all how many ways can you spell ‘boring’? I used to say “Welcome to my world” when reflecting upon the ‘lock-down’ protocols that affected most of us which involved mostly staying a home and only […]
CAMPING WITH MICE The year was 1968 and we had put in at Sturgeon Falls in northern Ontario. We were heading out on a 15 day canoe trip that would eventually take us to an inlet on Georgian Bay called Naiscoot, near Point au Baril. I was guiding for Y.M.C.A. Camp Pine Crest. We had […]
HUNTER ORANGE Now that it is officially Spring we can look forward to Wild Turkey Season. Except Mother Nature has either missed that memo or chosen to ignore it for there is still a lot of snow cover and even once Turkey season commences don’t be surprised that you will need to dress warmly; often […]
A Bare Tail Shannon Stevens won’t soon forget her recent snowmobile trip to the family yurt at Chilkat Lake in Alaska. They had finished cooking sausages over an open fire and retired to the yurt when Mother Nature beckoned necessitating a trip to the necessarium, aka the outhouse. No sooner had she sat upon the […]
COLD ALLERGY Cold Urticaria is an allergy to the cold. Not good if you are Canadian. According to Karen Binkley, a Toronto allergist and clinical immunologist at St. Michael’s and Sunnybrook hospitals cold Urticaria is a condition where people will get hives when exposed to the cold. However, she adds, “It’s not really that common. […]
WILD PIGS Authorities are advising against hunting wild pigs, should you see any, as their removal is only effective if an entire group is eliminated. Any pigs that escape quickly learn to evade humans and become more difficult to eradicate. Ontario is asking you to report any wild pig sightings to wildpigs@ontario.ca or goto the […]
CANADA’S NATIONAL BIRD We may have a number of national animals but as yet no national bird. Researchers such as Dan Strickland, former Algonquin Park naturalist, biologist….have long promoted the Whiskey Jack. Also known as the Grey Jay (Canadian spelling) Strickland was part of a successful campaign that convinced the American Ornithological Society to officially […]
WHAT BIG TEETH YOU HAVE So said Little Red Riding Hood to the big, bad wolf. Wolves are smart. Ask any trapper. If you want to trap a wolf you have to be smarter. Well a five-year summertime of research has taught some American researchers what trappers already know. But it’s nice to have the […]
