Couple of issues back I entitled a column Geese and Loons, and then I found out I had a lot to say about geese, and never did get around to saying anything about loons. It is nice to see any of the birds back in the spring, even the crows. For some reason or other […]
The year of 1975 will be remembered by many as the year we did not have any real spring in East Parry Sound. It was cold, ice very slow and late in going, and then a heat wave, hotter than we have had most of the last quarter century of summers. Now, and this is […]
1975 MOSTLY GEESE I do not suppose there is anything that is more widely watched and talked about in the spring and fall than the migration flights of the wild geese. There are many more and perhaps larger flocks in the fall. The fall flights, while we are pleased to see them, have […]
MAPLE SYRUP Many years ago at school, we were told that the early explorers and settlers first discovered that the natives were making syrup from the sap of maple trees. There have been several suggestions as to how they discovered they could make a sweet substance by continuously boiling the sap until it thickened a […]
THE SUMMER THAT NEVER WAS – Part 2 Part 1 introduced the challenges – and possible benefits – of the summer that never was in 1816. It wasn’t so dramatic to all regions of Ontario but the North West was particularly hard hit. Of the 7 basic food resources required by the Ojibwa and Hudson […]
THE SUMMER THAT NEVER WAS When guest columnist Ralph Bice wrote about the summer that never was of 1826 my subconscious subtly went into overdrive. Ralph, as he commented, was relying on what he remembered reading in a newspaper. My subconscious simmered until it overflowed to my conscious thought and I contacted Environment Canada who […]
1975 To Steal a Turkey Recently I was in a gathering where one or two old-timers were telling about times they had raided chicken coops for a private boiled chicken party. Seems like it was quite a few years ago. One of the things to do was to invite the owner of the chickens to […]
1975 SPRING If we go by the calendar, spring arrives just a soon as the sun crosses the line on the way north. This time and date is usually considered to be March 21st, but due to the few minutes difference in time each year there are times when it is a few hours away […]
1975 Snowshoes I read an article wherein the writer stated that the art of making snowshoes had been brought to North America when the first men crossed over into the continent from Asia. Too, the writer mentioned that they also brought the knowledge of skiing, but this had been discarded in favour of snowshoes, as […]
1975 Trappers’ Workshops in NW Ontario The flight from Toronto to Dryden was uneventful. We drove to Ignace for the first course. There was not a large crowd, due to a heavy snowfall that made travelling very bad. Back in Dryden there was a big turn out. There was much interest in fur handling though […]
