With the many varieties of plants for the garden available on the market today, many gardeners are often confused between the term, annuals and perennials, and which plants belong in each category. Life-cycle is used to determine if a plant is an annual or a perennial. The life-cycle of an […]
Columnists
One of my favourite books of the last ten years is The Secret Life of Bees, written by Sue Monk Kidd. Many of you will know of it, have read it, or saw the film adaptation of the book. It is the story of a child rising from loss and […]
My younger son, Mark, aka Oreo used to write for the Times. Here are some excerpts from the Xmas letter he sent me this year. …. In a word, Christmas this year was… different. Spend a month studying curses from the Old Testament, and you’ll find COVID-19 fits right in […]
Devlin correspondent
Here’s wishing everyone in the Rainy River District a happy New Year. Despite growing issues with COVID-19 and all the concern and changes this pandemic has made in our lives may, 2021 bless you with good health, family and all your needs fully met. Congratulations to Jeff and Rhianna Angus […]
We have learned a great many new things this year. Almost a year ago, I wrote a column about flu and the need for people to be vaccinated. It focused on the regular flu that occurs regularly each year. At that time news was just reaching us about a new […]
The last Monday of 2020 has arrived. What a year! I think we can all agree on that. I hope that everyone had a nice, quiet Christmas. Our Christmas was quiet and calm, but I still feel sad that my dad missed it all. My dad loved giving, but he […]
When we turn the calendar over to 2021 later this week it will be reason for all of us to have some kind of renewed optimism I hope. After what has been a tough year for everybody, hopefully the end of the pandemic is in sight and we start to […]
An unsatisfying visit to a franchise restaurant, has compelled me to write this column on nachos. With fierce competition in the restaurant industry, it surprises me that there are any menu options that lack flavour, let alone something as simple as nachos. For approximately ten dollars (plus the cost of […]
I am thinking today of those struggling with mental health, perhaps feeling an increase in the weight of life at this time of year. Sometimes we think Christmas comes with a guarantee and maybe even an obligation to be joyful, as if hearing music around us and seeing images of […]
I originally wrote this in 2007. It is worth a reprint. Some of our most vivid memories are of childhood events. We old codgers may not be able to remember what we had for breakfast, but can recall every detail of our first Christmas concert. At my first, I was […]
One can’t but feel a little hope across the world today. Television, radio, newspapers, and social media have broadcast the arrival of jets bringing the vaccine to North America and then we watched as trucks rolled out to cities to deliver their life saving vaccines. In Canada we began distributing […]
Oh, my it’s the middle of December! I really thought that I had picked up a few gifts here and I might be in good shape but as I sorted out my spare room, I felt kind of sick that I am missing out on gifts for some special people. […]






