to know the land

Ep. 289 : Wild Cranberry Harvest

I am in love with Cranberries. I have loved them for a long time. When I ended up in a bog full of Wild Large Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) last year, I knew I had

Ep. 288 : Appreciating Apples

In this wonderful season of harvest and plenty I wanted to share some gratitude for my favorite fruit. Like most everyone, I have long appreciated Apples (Malus domestica

Ep. 287 : Considering Crayfish

Crayfish have fascinated me all my life. My mother told me stories of finding bright blue crayfish in streams as she was growing up. I see them now everyday in the river

Ep. 286 : Considering Plantain

When we see certain things everyday, we start to encounter them with routine and we can sometimes begin to overlook them. They become mundane and the magic is forgotten.

Ep. 285 : Migration of Vegetation Post Glaciation in Southern Ontario

I have been out with my students a lot in the past month and a half and it seems that every time we go out we are looking to the trees and shrubs that are growing in dist

Ep. 284 : Annika Wilcox, Salamanbro

After my recent jaunt to go visit some migrating salamanders, I had so many questions. For years I have been making my pilgrimage to visit the salamanders as they make th

Ep. 283 : Hibernacula and Brown Snakes

The other day, while out with my students, we came across four basking snakes on the side of a gravel access road cutting through an Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidental

Ep. 282 : Spotted Salamander Migration

Two friends and I got in my car on a stormy night to drive 35 minutes through the thick rain to sneak around the woods looking for migrating Salamanders. This wasn’t the

Ep. 281 : Red-winged Blackbird Nest in Algonquin Park

On a very cold day in February, while trailing a Algonquin Wolves (Canis lycaon) across the frozen Lake of Two Rivers, South of highway 60 running through Algonquin Provi

Ep. 280 : Holiday Tracking Stories

It’s always nice to have a few days off during this time of year. While a lot of folks are busy with family, or having cozy times at home, I can wander through the snowy

Ep. 279 : Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice has returned. Technically it’s in a few days but with the longer nights, it’s certainly being felt. This year I have been out tracking, indoor climbing an

Ep. 278 : Getting to know the Southern Flying Squirrel

While out tracking in the new snow the other day I came across some relatively small tracks, reminiscent of a Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) or Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hud

Ep. 277 : Signs of the White-tailed Deer Rut

While tracking White-tailed Deer at Mono Cliffs with the Earth Tracks apprenticeship, we saw lots of signs of the rut and the subtle ways deer communicate. We studied thr

Ep. 276 : Chinook Salmon along the Credit River

I have missed a few of the notable migrations this year; Salamanders, raptors, and until yesterday, the Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The salmon are a unique

Ep. 275 : Once Upon a Bear Scat

It isn’t often that I get to see bear scat down here in Guelph, but in Parry Sound, there are many Black Bears, and while visiting the Sound for a trailing workshop, we c

Ep. 274 : Black Walnut, again.

I am in love with Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) and I want shout all about it throughout the late Summer, early Autumn season. They are big, beautiful, and bountiful with

Ep. 273 : Canada Goldenrod

Recently I was talking with one of my adult programs about successional and keystone species. Successional species are those early plants which come into disturbed landsc

Ep. 272 : Minnow Magazine

Sisters Alex and Tasha Sawatzky’s knowledge of and growing appreciation for the land they lived on was tangible and real, so how could they tell the stories of the specie

Ep. 271 : Sensual engagement with the land

Sight is the dominant sense in humans, followed close behind by hearing and perhaps touch. Many of us have cut ourselves off from the natural world by “gating” our senses

Ep. 270 : Rough Horsetail

An ancient plant of the genus Equisetum, (the only extent genera of the family Equisetaceae, and only living member of the order Equisetales), Horsetails are some of the