Okay, okay. So yours truly didn’t exact have a crystal clear crystal ball last year in trying to predict what lay ahead for 1997. No, Conrad Black did not seek–and win–the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative party, nor did Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard get appointed as Canada’s new ambassador […]
Columnists
My white dog, Phoebe, taught me a lot about living last week. About living and loving. And about suffering the loss of the thing or person you love through no fault of your own. Phoebe is a sweet, gentle creature, and she attaches easily. She’s known a lot of loving […]
Here is something to ponder for New Year’s resolutions. When to say “yes” and when to say “no.” In general, “yes” is considered “positive” and “no” is “negative.” But whether either is true really depends on the consequences. In fact, the outcomes can be very different in corporate and family […]
“Rosie the Riveter” is gone. She died earlier this year at age 77 in Clarksville, Ind. I am both saddened and surprised. Saddened because Rosie stood for so much. And surprised because I didn’t know there was a real Rosie. To begin with, Rose Will Monroe was just a riveter […]
The Snowy, or Arctic Owl, is not a native of our part of Northern Ontario but is a fairly regular visitor, about every four years or so. This is a big bird, as large as the Horned Owl, with a wingspan of five feet or more. The male bird, smaller […]
Here in the dead of winter, it’s hard to imagine a garden. A garden with soft, warm soil–soil you can sift through your hands while the warm breezes tickle your neck and the sun threatens sunburn. It’s hard to imagine little radish leaves peaking out on Friday when you only […]
Cliff McIntosh
Look about your home. What are you going to give up so Canada meets its greenhouse gas commitments? If you are like me, you didn’t think much about the 11-day talkathon in Kyoto, Japan. I knew there was a controversy. Eminent scientists said global warming will melt the polar ice […]
In Northern Ontario, we have a number of native owls. These range in size from the Great Horned Owl, with a wingspan of five feet, to the robin-sized Saw-whet Owl. Here are two which are medium-sized, actually about the size of a crow. But they are different in appearance, habits, […]
In a previous article, I spoke about two of our most common bats. One of the others which is quite common and is much like the first two is Keen’s Bat. All three of these (Little Brown, Big Brown and Keen’s) have quite a bit in common. One thing is […]
Sometimes the best life wisdom comes from the most unexpected places. And today mine came from K-Mart. Rushing as I was to grab a few items and check out fast, it’s a wonder my ears were even working. And I still don’t know who wrote the first song or who […]
Have you grown plants from slips, used “eyes” to grow potatoes, or cuttings to plant trees? If so, you were cloning. Cloning is making a copy of an original. Genetic engineering is different. It’s transferring genes to make a new original. Here’s why both are important to you and me. […]
Ruth Ann was just a tiny girl at the time and I was about 10 years older. But I’ll never forget what fun it was when all the relatives came to visit! This time Aunt Naomi had baked one of her wonderful cream pies. It was enough to make your […]
