At first glance, I am not a fan of August. In fact, August may be my least favourite month, though February may run a close second. August feels like a month of shifting; the heat seems less intense, the bugs less vigorous, the days begin to shrink more noticeably, and […]
Columnists
The Emo Fair week has arrived much quicker than I would prefer! I am still much unprepared and am hoping for some good cattle behaving days this week. I really can’t blame it on the cattle; with still trying to make hay I haven’t spent nearly enough time with them. […]
Since the legislature rose in June and MPPs were sent back to our ridings, I have been focussed on meeting with people in communities across the riding. Whether on the doorstep, at trade shows or at other events, speaking with you is not only the most important part of my […]
Newspapers across North America are grappling with a decline in revenue and all major daily newspapers are suffering from a decline in the number of readers they reach. It is a troubling problem in the industry. At the same time, studies are showing that more North American people are following […]
“This is life, not a funeral service,” Melody Beattie writes. That’s the truth. Beginning in July I heeded a wise friend’s advice. I put down my pen, closed the lid on my laptop and took a break from writing my column. Save the one column that showed up for the […]
The 26th-annual Kenora Bass International tournament took place over the weekend on Lake of the Woods with 130 teams participating in this year’s event. Though my first tournament was way back in 1993, fishing my Dad, since 2000 I have been partnered up with my good friend, Chris Savage. We […]
I was having a bad day—the kind of bad day that you know is going to settle in like an all-day rain, with not a single chance of sunshine; the sky all dark and grey and pressing in. The day started out with a bad tone and chances were it […]
I hope everyone was able to enjoy the long weekend—even though I just cannot believe it already is August! This was the first weekend in forever that I was home and was able to just be a farmer for the entire three days. Unfortunately, the weather changed for Monday and […]
On Aug. 1, byelections were held in five ridings in southern Ontario as a result of the resignation of four former Liberal cabinet ministers and former premier Dalton McGuinty. When byelections are held, they generally are considered a gauge of the government’s performance, and an opportunity for communities and regions […]
Sometimes you don’t realize how fortunate you are until someone shows you. As I sat by our chimera on Sunday evening and the logs burned to red-hot coals, I had forgotten the pleasure a fire can bring in the waning daylight hours. For those gathered around the fire, our next […]
For relaxation, I love to watch old sitcoms, such as “I Dream of Jeannie.” And Sunday, I was thinking about one of Jeannie’s episodes. In case you don’t remember, Jeannie was, in fact, a real “genie” in a bottle, which her master, astronaut Tony Nelson, found on a beach. And […]
Credit unions are not your typical financial institution. They are democratic, membership-based, and not-for-profit financial institutions that are an important part of northern and rural communities. Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives have chosen to raise the income tax for credit unions and ultimately will punish their members. Credit unions are financial […]
