Learning to be Human
Our earliest ancestors learned by observation how to survive and thrive across the vast landscape of our evolving planet. So close were their ties to the land and the plants…
Journey to Lebret: New Beginnings
If you travel west from Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Trans- Canada highway you traverse a relatively flat expanse of Canada’s prairie landscape; mile after mile of vibrant fields growing wheat,…
The Importance of Every Breath I Take
I am writing this while lying in bed attempting to get over a virus that has flattened me. It is probably the seasonal flu bug but this one has packed…
My Arctic Adventures: Yellowknife
When I was twenty-one I left my childhood home to embark on my first big adventure. Fresh from university I set off for the Arctic, specifically for Yellowknife, the capital…
Goodbye: Reflecting on the Death of a Friend
I have been friends with Karin for more than thirty years. She lives in the corner house at the end of my block with a lovely English garden and a…
Unbearable: My Lifelong Experience with Bears
In a way I feel I have grown up with bears. Ever since early childhood, they have been somewhere in my life. The first time I saw a bear was…
My Encounter with a Gray Whale
Not too long ago the local newspaper featured the ongoing saga of a young female Orca stranded in a lagoon on the west coast of Canada. The two year old…
Patrick and the Whale: A PBS Nature Documentary
The other evening my favourite television channel PBS broadcast a documentary called Patrick and the Whale. The documentary follows marine videographer Patrick Dykstra as he searches for a particular whale…
A Sad Note: A Letter to My Friends
I am writing to tell you that we had to say goodbye to our beloved dog Luca yesterday. It happened so suddenly that we are in shock. He was his…
The Whale of Emotions
I listened to an interview the other day about animals and emotions. The scientist stated that for decades researchers had been discouraged and sometimes ridiculed if there was any mention…