to know the land

The Eramosa River Valley is the place where I live, play and work. Having spent roughly the last 20 years along the banks of the river, sitting, running, riding, and learning about the lives lived along the shores and walls, there are many days where I just sit back and realize how much I love this place. When I heard about a group of folks who were working to conserve the land

This past weekend I got to participate in my second track and sign evaluation with Tracker Certification North America and one of the most interesting things I learned was some new Earthworm sign which triggered the thought… I really don’t know much about Earthworms (class Oligochaeta), but I want to start digging in. I ended up crawling through all of my books to see what I

I have been thinking a lot about the diversity of sexuality and gender in nature. Wondering about how different animals, plants, and fungi present sexually. How do different species mate? What characteristics are considered belonging to one sex, but in reality, may be shared by many sexes? Many sexes? How many are there? Why do some species have thousands of sexes, and some species

When I look into the authors who wrote most of the naturalist, ecology, natural history books on my shelves, I mostly see white people, especially the older books. When I do interviews with folks in the field, I still find a majority of those who I am talking with are white folks. I wholly recognize that is on me in a lot of ways, but I also recognize that historically, access to t

Ok, so this is weird, but I love death. Dying, decay, decomposition, breakdown.. synonyms that sort of warm my heart in a strange kinda way. When I think of death I think of nutrients breaking down into small parts, making it easier for other things to consume and to continue to grow and live. I think of how death makes all life possible. How without consuming things like veggies,

This passed weekend I was able to go out tracking with folks at Wiijindamaan where I once again notice the Poplar Vagabond Aphid Gall. And last week, I was having another conversation with folks about the Spruce Pineapple Adelgid Gall. Galls persist through the Winter and into Spring when many of the insects which have created them will begin to emerge. Since now is the time to be

Did you know that birds are more closely related to turtles, than turtles are to snakes? I just learned that. Did you know that the scutes on a turtle’s back are made from keratin, the same stuff as our fingernails and Rhinoceros horns? Just learned that one too. Even better, do you know what cloacal breathing is? I bet you do… but how does it work? That’s some of the interes

I just got home from Algonquin Park. I got the privilege to spend the past week tracking Wolves, Moose, Martens, Grouse, Flying Squirrels, and so many other creatures throughout the length of the park. We woke up at 6am every morning and were out by 7, scouting for new trails. When were were through with our day we came back to hit the books and share stories of all that we’d se

It’s that time of year again, when the animals are getting out and getting down. While driving home the other day I drove past a forest where I had once trailed a part of courting Coyotes (Canis latrans) and realized that now is the time we will be seeing these courting behaviours. I had written about them before, but it was worth revisiting as it will likely be coming up on th

We had just crossed over from the thick White Cedar forest into a little more spacious deciduous forest, when, in a very unassuming tone, a friend called us over to check out some tracks. I don’t know if he realized at first how cool the trail he had just found was, but as we stepped off of the path and looked down at the tracks everyone leaned in a little closer, and our voices