Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
WALKING IN THE RAIN November 29 & December 01 One of the biggest hits in the 1950s by the late Johnny Ray was a song called, “Just Walking In the Rain.” While his song told of a lost lover, and the singer’s effort to drown his…
PLANTS PREPARE FOR WINTER’S CHILL November 22 & November 24 As a child growing up on the family farm on Big Island, I always found wheat kind of cool. I would relish the taste of it right out of the bin of the combine and would…
SURVIVING THE BIG FREEZE November 15 & November 17 There was a chipmunk calling last weekend at Sandbanks Provincial Park. Just for a moment, I was camping again in the Woodlands Campground where the emphatic chip of this energetic denizen of the woods is a familiar…
HISTORY ABOUNDS IN LOCAL CONSERVATION AREAS November 08 & November 10 When Quinte Conservation began its program of outdoor interpretive events in 1996, it seemed important right from the start to offer a blend of both natural and human history. Without this peek into the past…
LATE SPLURGE NO EFFECT ON WILDLIFE November 01 & November 03 I had the pleasure recently in Belleville of doing a Power Point presentation for an auditorium of Retired Teachers of Ontario members. Titled, “Surviving The Big Freeze,” it was an in depth look at…
LAST CHANCE TO VIEW INSECTS October 25 & October 27 We were toasty warm in our living room despite the outside temperature being minus three degrees, according to the weather report I had just downloaded onto the computer. A “killing frost,” they called it, as they expressed…
THE PARK FOR ALL SEASONS October 18 & October 20 Nature film makers John and Janet Foster tell me they spend as much time in Algonquin Provincial Park as they can. It is a special place to them. When I told them that my wife and I…
JEWEL OF EASTERN ONTARIO October 11 & October 13 It was an impressive gathering of Salmon River supporters – at least 200, as they celebrated the launching of a new book, “The Salmon River Watershed.” The book didn’t need to describe it as “the jewel of…
VIEW FROM A CAMPSITE October 04 & October 06 When a flock of grackles accumulated noisily in a black cherry tree behind us, it was the first sign of life at our campsite in almost a day, except for a chipmunk who chattered from somewhere…
IDENTIFICATION COURSE COMING TO NAPANEE September 27 & September 29 The last time I conducted a bird identification course in the Napanee area, it was at a private residence south of town. There were about 10 of us crowded in the kitchen area of the house,…