Natural World Promotes Good Health

NATURAL WORLD PROMOTES GOOD HEALTH AND LONGEVITY  June/July, 2013 issue  I seldom use insect repellent on any guided hikes that I lead as I find the fog of toxins enveloping me more annoying than the insects they are designed to repel. On the rare…

Warblers – Butterflies of Bird World

WOOD WARBLERS – THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BIRD WORLD  April/May, 2013 issue    It is early morning during the second week of May at Prince Edward Point, the southeastern tip of Prince Edward County. The trees along the groomed Point Traverse trails are wet…

Wildlife Not Welcome In Our Town

WILDLIFE NOT WELCOME IN OUR TOWN  February/March, 2013 issue  There is a village near where I live that boasts a large mill pond. Now, one would think that would be a bonus, especially to anyone wishing to locate along its banks.  However, the presence…

Watching Wildlife To Reduce Stress

WATCHING WILDLIFE CAN AND DOES REDUCE STRESS  December, 2012/January, 2013 issue  Two years ago, with my wife’s blessing, I spent just under a thousand dollars, erecting an aluminium garden shed, complete with wooden foundation and a small deck at its approach. The building wasn’t…

First Encounters of the lasting Kind

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF THE LASTING KIND  October/November, 2012 issue  We no longer get to read Barry McCullagh’s great offerings in the Belleville Intelligencer. The man whose columns I always enjoyed, passed away about five years ago. The restaurant north of Brighton where we first…

Jurassic Park in Our Backyard

A JURASSIC PARK RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD  August/September, 2012 issue  Popular legend says that Satan routinely visited this spot which might account for the name of the rugged terrain just a few minutes south of Tamworth. The sign identifies one cavern as the…

Responsibility ion the Backyard

RESPONSIBILITY IN THE BACKYARD  June/July, 2012 issue  Last year, I had the pleasure of speaking to a horticultural conference on backyard naturalization at Peterborough’s Trent University. It is a subject that I have groomed and nurtured over the years and is also one which…

How To Recharge One’s Soul

HOW TO RECHARGE ONE’S SOUL  April/May, 2012 issue We came upon it suddenly along the Salmon River as we rounded a corner in the trail. There was no doubt it was as much startled as we were that morning. It was a fairly large…

Learning About Birds From the Tractor Seat

LEARNING ABOUT BIRDS FROM THE TRACTOR SEAT  February/March, 2012 issue  I saw my very first pipit about 40 years ago while ploughing down a corn field one fall on our farm in Prince Edward County where I live. I was barely in my 20s…

Up Before Five – the Family Farm

UP BEFORE FIVE – THE FAMILY FARM  December 2011/January, 2012 issue  My wife has often accused me of taking an interminable length of time to complete projects. Such was the case with a book I just had published two months ago.   My mother…