Marlee’s heifer from Manitoba calved on Saturday and gave us a nice little heifer. Sometimes finding names are challenging but she thought “Addie” (after her BFF) would be a good choice. We have quite a few cows that are getting pretty close now, and so the fun begins of picking […]
Columnists
Two weeks ago, I was very humbled and honoured to have been appointed the NDP critic for pensions by our leader, Tom Mulcair. It is a heavy responsibility and one that dovetails with the local concerns of many constituents in Thunder Bay-Rainy River. The starting point for my work as […]
It’s more than 20 years since I began writing “This Side of 60” and now I know which column topics are the most popular. No question about it: “clutter” is number-one. I get more e-mails and comments after a clutter column than any other topic. It seems everyone has the […]
Growing up around Lake of the Woods, I’ve been fortunate to experience nearly all of the outdoor activities available to us around Sunset Country over the years. I’ve spent many hours fishing, hunting, looking for shed deer and moose antlers, hiking, and camping. But one activity that I haven’t been […]
While many were watching the Super Bowl or the Puppy Bowl on Sunday evening, I was watching the Barn Bowl! Two of the heifers I purchased last fall were calving. Three of the 5 were artificially inseminated, and two were due on Feb. 1. They made their date! The other […]
I walked out of the Canada Games Complex in Thunder Bay at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday—the last day of January—and it was still daylight. It was a distinct sign that there is light in the tunnel that winter is ending. On Monday morning, Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willie were split […]
A wise man who lived more than 200 years ago once wrote, “The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.” What an odd way to define success or failure! Most of us count a day well spent if we do all the tasks on […]
Linden MacIntyre was in town a few nights ago, giving a reading from his new novel, “Punishment.” I bought a copy of his book; he signed it, smiled at me as I thanked him. We’re friends now. I’m pretty sure that’s all it takes. Mr. MacIntyre has been a journalist […]
Despite some cold weather, 68 anglers showed up for the 23rd-annual Crystal Harbour Resort Lake Trout Derby on Saturday in Sioux Narrows. I wrote about this one-day, catch-and-release event in my column last week and figured I would share the results with everybody this week. A group of eight of […]
Last week’s column was not exactly uplifting and cheery, but I think it was an accurate assessment of what Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have done to destabilize our national economy. With that being said, all is not lost. This week, I would like to share some thoughts on what our federal […]
It sounds like this spell of mild January weather is nearing the end. You might want to get out in the next few days since I’m hearing colder temperatures are in store by week’s end. The positive thing about this? We have this long month behind us and it brings […]
I have nothing to say—at least that is what I’m typing at this very moment. A wise editor once said to me, “Write about the most important thing first.” I heed his wisdom. I have nothing important to write about. My excuses for said nothingness, pathetic at best, are piled […]
