Richard Karon Biography Soon!

TAKING A HIATUS FOR A RESEARCH PROJECT - THE BIOGRAPHY OF A MUSKOKA ARTIST

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

It is a gentle, not-so-cold day, with very light snow falling, (on cedars) and the forecast is for much milder weather, and even rain, by late in the week. It is not hard to live with, and the winter season, was particularly moderate, which should have saved folks money on home heating and snow removal. It is worrisome if the warmer winter was the result of global warming issues.

I am taking a hiatus from making regular submissions to this blogsite for the time-being, as I have just now entered the first phase of writing the biography of former Muskoka artist, Richard Karon. I've been working on this for the past two months, but in reality, it's a project I've been touching-upon for about twenty years. I've written about Karon's work many times in the recent past, and as an antique dealer, I've been giving information on his paintings and valuations for just as long. He was a prolific painter and in the last five years, hundreds of his art pieces have become available, most often in antique shops and small galleries across Canada. I can get several requests for information every month. Purchased from his Baysville studio, customers took the paintings across the continent, and to Europe.

Richard, as I've written about before, had a studio in the Township of Lake of Bays, in the District of Muskoka, not far from the village of Baysville. His son, also named Richard, asked recently, if I'd be interested in putting together his father's biography, and I jumped at the chance. The finished biography will be published on my Gravenhurst blogsite beginning at the end of March. The finished biography will then be submitted to the archives collection of both the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the National Gallery, to assist researchers in the future.

My Gravenhurst site will continue to be updated daily.

Get out an enjoy this beautiful late winter day in Muskoka.

March in Like A Lamb, So Was The Winter of 2012

A DAY TO NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR - WILL MARCH ARRIVE AS A LION? WINTER LIVED LIKE A LAMB!

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

AFTER ABOUT A HALF HOUR OF FIDDLING WITH MY TWO DESK-TOP OIL LAMPS, TOPPING THEM UP WITH COAL OIL, TRIMMING THE WICKS AND CLEANING THE SHADES, I'M JUST GOING TO SIT HERE FOR AWHILE, FEELING THE WARM GLOW. I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED THE SCENT OF A BURNING OIL LAMP, AND THAT'S MOST LIKELY FROM THE MANY HISTORIC SITES I'VE HAUNTED OVER A LIFETIME. MY PARENTS STARTED TAKING ME TO OLD FORTS IN ONTARIO, BEFORE I WAS MUCH MORE THAN A TODDLER. I GUESS THEY FIGURED I MIGHT BECOME AN HISTORIAN ONE DAY, AND MAKE THEM PROUD. FUNNY THING, THEY NEVER ONCE SAID, IN LATER YEARS, "GEEZ TED, WE'RE DELIGHTED YOU BECAME AN HISTORIAN…..SHOWING THE MONEY WE SPENT ON MUSUEM ADMISSIONS WAS WASTED." I'M NOT SURE MY MOTHER, WHO BRAGGED A LOT ABOUT HER GRAND-KIDS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, EVER ONCE POINTED OUT TO A FRIEND OR NEIGHBOR, THAT "BY THE WAY, MY SON IS AN INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN, VERY FAMOUS HISTORIAN." OF COURSE I'M NOT. BUT I'M NOT REALLY SURE SHE WOULD HAVE EVEN SAID, AS MUCH AS, "MY SON, HE WRITES ABOUT OLD THINGS." THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN NICE. SUFFICE TO SAY, NO MATTER WHAT MERLE, OR MY FATHER ED, MIGHT HAVE SAID ABOUT THEIR SON'S TOIL IN THE HISTORY GAME, I OWE THEM GREATLY FOR GIVING ME THE EARLY OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY HISTORY BY IMMERSION. THE REST, AS THEY SAY, "IS HISTORY."

SHORTLY AFTER IGNITING THESE OLD FARM LAMPS, THE AROMA TAKES ME BACK TO HISTORIC SITES LIKE FORT YORK AND FORT HENRY……UPPER CANADA VILLAGE, BLACK CREEK PIONEER VILLAGE, STE. MARIE AMONGST THE HURONS, MACKENZIE HOUSE AND GIBSON HOUSE IN TORONTO. AND OH YES, WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM……THE HISTORIC SITE IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO, I GOT TO RUN AS A SITE MANAGER FOR A FEW YEARS IN THE 1980'S. I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL "HISTORICALLY INCLINED," WITH THE SCENT FROM A FIRED-UP OIL LAMP. SUZANNE WILL COME DOWN TO MY OFFICE, AND RUN HER FINGERS ALONG MY DESK, OR A NEARBY CUPBOARD, AND SHOW ME THE SOOT ON HER OUTSTRETCHED FINGERS. "SEE WHAT THOSE OIL LAMPS DO TO MY HOUSE?" I GET IT. I MUST TRIM THE WICKS TO STOP THEM FROM SMOKING, THUS THE FILMY LAYER OF FINE SOOT. I THINK SHE LIKES OIL LAMPS JUST ONES THAT ARE NOT ILLUMINATED.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING LIKE A MADMAN LATELY, TRYING TO KEEP UP REGULAR BLOG CONTRIBUTIONS, PLUS MONTHLY COLUMNS FOR TWO REGIONAL ONTARIO PUBLICATIONS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PREPARING FOR THE LAUNCH OF RICHARD KARON'S BIOGRAPHY, COMING LATER IN MARCH. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, AS I HAVE BEEN A LONGTIME ADMIRER OF MR. KARON'S LANDSCAPES, MANY INSPIRED BY THE LAKE OF BAYS REGION, OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA. AS WELL, A BLOG ON COLLECTING, NOW ON MY GRAVENHURST-SITE, CONNECTED TO A COLUMN IN "CURIOUS: THE TOURIST GUIDE," IS GETTING SOME EXTRA ATTENTION FROM COLLECTOR ASSOCIATIONS, AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL ONCE AGAIN EXPAND READERSHIP. WHICH BY THE WAY, HAS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY SINCE EARLY NOVEMBER, WHEN I BEGAN WRITING DAILY PIECES, INSTEAD OF SEVERAL EACH WEEK. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WINTER-WRITING, FOR SUMMER PUBLICATIONS, I'VE NEVER GONE THIS LONG WRITING DAILY COLUMNS. I LOVE WRITING, AND IT'S NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM COMING UP WITH NEW IDEAS TO EXPLORE, BUT THE HUDDLING OVER THE KEYBOARD IS REALLY BEATING-UP THE OLD BACK AND NECK. AS I HAVE MENTIONED, BEING A SUFFERER OF TMJ, A DAMAGED CONDIAL IN MY JAW, THE "WRITER'S CLENCH"…..THAT I DON'T EVEN REALIZE I'M DOING, MAKES IT A STIFFENING ENTERPRISE, FROM NECK, TO THUMBS, TO HIP AND KNEES. NOW CONSIDERING I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SAME THING FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS, IT'S TO BE EXPECTED I HAVE A FEW WAR WOUNDS. I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO TURN MY NECK IN TEN YEARS….SO DON'T SNEAK UP BEHIND ME.

THIS IS MY RELIEF VALVE SITE. IT'S THE BLOG I MOST ENJOY SETTLING DOWN TO, SOMEWHAT AS A CONFESSIONAL. IT'S A BIT LIKE "WRITING-RECREATION," WITH NO CLEAR AGENDA, NO HARD AND FAST RULE OF CONDUCT…..OTHER THAN, LIKE THOREAU, TO INCORPORATE THE NATURE THAT SURROUNDS ME……THE BEAUTY OF THE NATURAL SCENE MY OFFICE WINDOW FRAMES, THAT CAN INSPIRE ME AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. I REMEMBER BACK TO MY FINAL DAYS AS A REPORTER, FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, HERE IN GRAVENHURST. I WORKED FROM THIS HOME OFFICE, NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE TIME. I WOULD COVER TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND BECAUSE I GOT HOME SO LATE, AND NEEDED SOME DOWN TIME, I'D GET UP INSTEAD, AT ABOUT 4:00 A.M., AND LIGHT THESE SAME OIL LAMPS. I'D ALWAYS PAUSE TO ENJOY THE MOOD-SETTING SCENT OF THE LAMPS, AND THE SLOWLY LIGHTENING MORNING SKY, AND THE CHEERFUL RACKET OF BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS, HOPPING ABOUT, IN THE FRONT YARD SHRUBS. THE ASSIGNMENTS WERE TOUGH, AND WRITING COUNCIL NEWS INTO MEANINGFUL, INFORMATIVE ARTICLES, CHALLENGED EVERY WRITING CAPABILITY I POSSESSED. THESE WERE THE MOST BORING TASKS A REPORTER COULD BE ASKED TO PRODUCE. IT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I KNEW THE END WAS NEAR….BECAUSE I JUST COULDN'T JUSTIFY WASTING SO MUCH TIME, ON STORIES THAT WEREN'T MUCH MORE THAN FILLER-PIECES, TO "INK" THE WHITE SPACES OF THE NEWSPAPER, BETWEEN THE ADS AND THE PHOTOGRAPHS. NO ONE WAS GOING TO BE DISADVANTAGED IF A MAJORITY OF THESE STORIES HAD NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED. SO WHAT THE HELL WAS A I DOING? WRITING FOR A PAY CHEQUE. THERE WAS CERTAINLY NO ENTHUSIASM.

POSSIBLY IT DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU…..UNLESS OF COURSE YOU LIKE TO WRITE YOURSELF, BUT COMPOSING BECAUSE YOU WANT TO, IS A THOUSAND TIMES MORE MERCIFUL ON A WRITING CAREER, THAN WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DISLIKE…..OR FIND UNCHALLENGING. I'D READ THE STORIES BACK, DURING THE DREADED "PROOFREADING STAGE," AND AS PIECES OF POTENTIAL FRONT-PAGE JOURNALISM, THEY HAD ALL THE COMPONENTS REQUIRED, TO SATISFY THE PUBLISHER AND PRESUMABLY THE READERS…..THOUGH I WAS PRETTY SURE MOST READERS JUST SKIPPED TO THE CLASSIFIED SECTION ANYWAY…..UNLESS MY STORY HAD TO DO WITH AN IMMINENT TAX INCREASE.

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN IS WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS TURNED TO, EVEN IN THOSE DAYS WITH THE LOCAL PRESS, TO ALLOW MYSELF THE PRIVILEGE OF ENJOYING THE PROCESS OF WRITING. THIS OUTLET SAVED MY JOB IN THOSE YEARS, WHEN WE REALLY NEEDED THE MONEY. I COULD BE AS MAD AS HELL, FRUSTRATED BY WORK RELATED TASKS, AND STUPID ASSIGNMENTS, AND ARRIVE DOWN HERE, AMONGST MY BOOKS AND PAINTINGS, AND FIND SOLACE AT THIS HUMBLY APPOINTED, AND MODESTLY ILLUMINATED DESK. I MIGHT SIT HERE FOR AN HOUR OR TWO, OR POSSIBLY LESS, DEPENDING ON FAMILY MATTERS, BUT NEVER HAS A SECOND BEEN INVESTED THIS WAY, THAT HASN'T BEEN, IN SOME FASHION, HEARTFULLY BENEFICIAL. IF NOTHING ELSE, IT HAS BEEN A CREATIVE WAY OF JUMPING HURDLES, SORTING PERSONAL CONUNDRUMS, AND CHANNELING MY ENTHUSIASM TOWARD WHAT NATURE HAS SO KINDLY AND GENEROUSLY PROVIDED. I CAN SO EASILY EXPLORE THE PANORAMA OF THE BOG, ACROSS THE LANE, FROM THIS SAME PORTAL ONTO THE LANDSCAPE. I HAVE SAVED MYSELF MANY TIMES, FROM WRITER'S REDUNDANCY. I CAN'T POSSIBLY COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I'VE QUIT THE WRITING PROFESSION OUT OF ANGER AND DISILLUSIONMENT, ONLY TO FIND MYSELF, WITHOUT ANY INTENT, GETTING DRAWN BACK TO THIS ROOM….THIS VANTAGE POINT, TO ONCE AGAIN LAY FINGERS ON THIS KEYBOARD.

EACH TIME I WRITE ONE OF THESE BLOGS, ON THIS PARTICULAR SITE, IT IS BOTH A STARTING POINT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY'S WRITING, OR AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNBURDEN MYSELF OF FRUSTRATIONS ACQUIRED SOMEWHERE ELSE, SOME OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE. YET IT IS THE ONE BIOGRAPHICAL PIECE I AM MOST PROUD OF, BECAUSE IT IS STRIKINGLY, AND RESPONSIBLY HONEST, WHICH I MOST WISH TO ACHIEVE…..IF NOT A PULITZER. I HAVE SUGGESTED TO SEVERAL WRITERS I KNOW, TO CHECK THIS BLOG OUT, BECAUSE IT IS MY PARALLEL TO A HAROLD TOWN, OR JACKSON POLLOCK ART PANEL. A LITTLE CRAZY. A TAD HELTER SKELTER. COLORFUL, SENTIMENTAL, ANGRY, RESOLVED, AND ALL THE HUES OF THE EMOTIONAL TURMOIL OF A WRITER IN RESIDENCE…..WHO REALLY DOES LOVE HIS CHOSEN PROFESSION; DESPITE FREQUENT DIATRIBES ABOUT ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING IT TAKES, TO GET A PUBLISHABLE PIECE. MY BOYS WILL INHERIT THIS MATERIAL ONE DAY, AND I'M SURE, READING THROUGH THE BLOGS, THEY WILL AGREE ABOUT ONE THING……."IT IS A SELF PORTRAIT OF OUR WILDLY ECCENTRIC DAD!" MUSKOKA, AS WALDEN, IS THE MOST SETTLING ENTERPRISE OF EACH DAY, AND IT IS VERY MUCH THE BLOTTER FOR MY OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATION. I COULDN'T DO MY OTHER BLOGS, WITHOUT THIS PEACE-MAKING OUTLET.

THE CAT ON MY LAP. THE ONE ON THE WINDOW LEDGE. THE DOG ON MY FEET. THE CRICKET? ONLY ONE CHIRP IN THE LAST HOUR. I LOVE THIS PLACE.

Mining on The Moon, A City For Gravenhurst

SAVING MANKIND OR EXPLOITING A RESOURCE - MINING THE MOON - WHY THE HELL NOT

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

IT IS A DULL BUT MODERATE WINTER MORNING. IT IS FREE OF FRIGHTENING COLD. THERE ISN'T A BLIZZARD RAGING. NOTHING INCLEMENT ABOUT IT. AND I COULD SIT HERE FOR HOURS, ROMANTICIZING ABOUT ITS SUBTLE PLEASURES. DESPITE THE DULLNESS, THE LACK OF ANYTHING EXCITING HAPPENING WEATHERWISE, I CAN CONTENT MYSELF, BY JUST WATCHING THE BIRDS IN THE LILAC BRANCHES, AND THE MANY SQUIRRELS RUNNING ACROSS THE SNOW OVER IN THE BOG. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SCENE REGARDLESS OF THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE MORNING, OR THE FACT IT DOESN'T HAVE A STORM-FRONT MOVING ACROSS…..JUST TO TANTALIZE THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE. I FIND SOLITUDE A RATHER ENDEARING QUALITY THESE DAYS…..A RARITY IN FACT. FINDING A TIME HERE THAT ISN'T FULL OF URBAN SOUNDS AND INTRUSIONS. BEFORE THIS MORNING IS OVER, I WILL HEAR THE ECHO OF A CHAINSAW. THERE WILL BE SOME HEAVY EQUIPMENT RUMBLE DOWN THE LANE. A SNOW REMOVAL PROJECT THAT WILL VIBRATE THIS HOUSE…..WHICH IS BUILT ON A PAD BY THE WAY.

IT IS A NOISEY LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD, EVEN WITH THE ACREAGE OF THE BOG, MUFFLING SOME OF THE URBAN-INSPIRED DIN. WHAT I HAVE DESCRIBED ABOVE IS SUCH A TRIVIAL EXAMPLE OF MINOR INTRUSION….., WELL, IT'S MOOT, I KNOW…..TO EVEN MENTION IT TODAY. CONSIDERING THAT SOMEWHERE THIS SAME MORNING, OTHER RESIDENTS OF URBAN AREAS ARE BEING BOMBARDED WITH PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, AND EXCAVATIONS OF THE "MORE IS BETTER" GANG. OF COURSE I'M LUCKY HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. IT IS MY MORTAL FAILING, I'M AFRAID, THAT I SIMPLY COULDN'T WORK IN A CONDOMINIUM, OR A TENTH FLOOR OFFICE, OR LOOKING OUT OVER TARMAC AND RESIDENCES STRETCHING TO THE HORIZON. NOT AFTER THESE YEARS OF WATCHING OVER THIS URBAN WILD, AND BEING INSPIRED BY THE GRACES OF NATURE…..NOT THE HALLMARKS OF SPRAWLING DEVELOPMENT.

THIS MORNING, I LEARNED SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOON, I DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE. APPARENTLY, WE HAVE SCREWED UP EARTH'S RESOURCES SO BADLY, AND EXHAUSTED WHAT SHOULD HAVE LASTED ANOTHER COUPLE OF CENTURIES, OR LONGER, THAT WE ARE NOW GOING SCREW UP THE MOON AS WELL. MINING ON THE MOON. TO ME IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT COUNTRY DESIRES THIS….IT'S CERTAINLY TIME WE LOOKED AT OURSELVES AS OVER-CONSUMING, GREEDY, NON-STEWARDS, AND MADE SOME LIFE-SAVING ATTITUDE CHANGES…….TO CONTROL OUR USE OF THE RESOURCES WE DO POSSESS……ON OUR OWN PLANET. THINK OF IT. THE MESS WE'VE MADE OF EARTH, WE INTEND TO DO THE SAME TO ANOTHER…..CAUSE IT'S THERE……AND CAUSE WE WANT IT. WELL THEN, THAT'S ALL THE REASON TO GOUGE IT INTO A SLIVER MOON, SO WE CAN HAVE MORE ADVANTAGES ON EARTH.

IF EVER I HAVE EXPERIENCED A STARK, HONEST ADMISSION, CIVILIZATION IS IN GREAT PERIL, IT'S HEARING SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON THE MORNING NEWS. WELL SIR, I KNOW HOW TOUGH IT WAS TO SAVE THE BOG, FROM A MUNICIPAL, SEEK AND DESTROY PLAN, TO BULLDOZE THE WETLAND INTO RESIDENTIAL LOTS, SO IMAGINE THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE MOON. HOW ABOUT WORLD PEACE……RELIGIOUS TOLERATION……ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION……RESOURCE STABILITY……..REDUCED POPULATION GROWTH, BEFORE WE TAKE OUR WARS, RELIGIOUS STRIFE, CAPABILITY TO POLLUTE AND KILL EVERYTHING ON EARTH, TO THE MOON. LEARNING HOW NOT TO WASTE RESOURCES ON STUPID PROJECTS, AND CONTINUE TO OVER-POPULATE THE WORLD, UNTIL WE HAVE TO BUNDLE THE SURPLUS OFF TO THE MOON. "TO THE MOON ALICE," SAID RALPH CRAMDEN TO HIS WIFE, "TO THE MOON."

THE WAY OUR SUPER POWERS ARE TALKING TODAY, AND THE AMBITIONS OF COUNTRIES TO BUILD-BACK NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AND THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS STRIFE RAGING UNCONTROLLED, IN THE WORLD, I THINK I'D LIKE TO GO TO THE MOON AS WELL. NOT TO MINE ANYTHING EXCEPT REST AND RECREATION. TO ESCAPE FROM THE MADNESS OF "GOT TO HAVE," "MUST POSSESS," "MUST BE BIGGER, STRONGER, BETTER ARMED." THE SHOWDOWN FOR THE CANADIAN NORTH. IT'S COMING. IF ONE SHOULD BELIEVE, EVEN A PORTION OF THE LATEST COMMENTS FROM RUSSIA, WELL, I THINK WE HAVE, IN A WEE BLINK OF TIME, FALLEN BACK TO THE 1950'S TO REPEAT AGAIN…….WHAT WAS SO PRECARIOUS BETWEEN OUR CONTINENTS……. AS FAR AS NUCLEAR ARMS AND BAD ATTITUDE. SO THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE MISSILE SILOS ON THE MOON. THE MOON WILL HIT YOUR EYE…..NOT LIKE A PIZZA PIE.

THERE ARE TIMES HERE, AT BIRCH HOLLOW, LIKE THE SCENE WITH PETER FINCH, IN THE MOVIE "NETWORK," THAT YOU WANT TO TOSS THE NEWS OF THE DAY, OUT THE WINDOW, WHILE YELLING FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMPLACENT NEIGHBORS….."I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE." (I THINK THIS IS THE LINE FINCH BELOWS FROM AN OFFICE BUILDING WINDOW). I KNOW THAT ONE DAY, A DEVELOPER WILL ARRIVE IN MUSKOKA, WHO WILL HAVE A PLAN FOR THIS LOWLAND, AND WILL BE WILLING TO SPEND LOTS OF MONEY TO CONVINCE TOWN IT SHOULD SELL-OFF THIS IMPORTANT URBAN OPEN SPACE. THE DEVELOPER WILL HAVE A PLAN, YOU SEE, FOR RUNNING OFF THE WATER THROUGH A CONNECTED SERIES OF CULVERTS, AND MAKE SOME PROPOSAL TO HELP MECHANICALLY FILTER THE WATER BEFORE IT HITS MUSKOKA BAY. SOME COUNCIL DOWN THE ROAD A DECADE OR TWO, WON'T SEE THINGS AS THE PRESENT COUNCIL, AND WITH MORE OF THE SOUTHERN ONTARIO POPULATION, OPTING TO LIVE FURTHER NORTH TO DO THEIR BUSINESS, THE STRESSES ON THIS LITTLE BURG WILL BE ENORMOUS. IT IS COMING. NO MATTER HOW FIRM WE THINK WE ARE, AND HAVE ENTRENCHED IN RESPECTIVE OFFICIAL PLANS, THE REALITY IS…….IF THEY CAN MINE THE MOON, THEY CAN INFILL A BOG, AND BUILT CONDOS ON TOP. IT'S DONE ALL OVER THE WORLD EVERY YEAR.

WHILE THE PRESENT STATE OF THE ECONOMY ISN'T ALL THAT POSITIVE, AS WE COMPLAIN ABOUT LOCALLY, THAT IS JUST SOMETHING FOR THE MEMORY BOOK. THERE ARE SOME LOCAL ECONOMIC KNOW-IT-ALLS, WHO MIGHT HAVE YOU BELIEVE GRAVENHURST IS ONE CRISIS AWAY FROM REPOSSESSION, AND COMPLETE CLOSURE AS A COMMUNITY. I HAVE BEEN SHOCKED, AT TIMES, TO HEAR THE DOOM AND GLOOM PREDICTIONS….SUCH THAT WE MIGHT WISH TO ABANDON THE SHIP ENTIRELY. EVEN THE MOON IS LOOKING LIKE A BETTER PLACE TO BE THESE DAYS. THE TRUTH IS, AS LONG AS TORONTO, BARRIE AND ORILLIA CONTINUE TO EXPAND, AND GAIN POPULATION, THE NEXT TOWN, IN THE PARADISE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA, IS GOING TO BE THE RECIPIENT, GOOD OR BAD, OF INTENSE DEVELOPMENT SCRUTINY. IT MAY TAKE TEN OR TWENTY YEARS, BUT YOU CAN SEE IT NOW. WHILE THE TOWN AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE CHANGES PROPOSED FOR THE HIGHWAY 11 CORRIDOR SOUTH OF THE GRAVENHURST URBAN AREA, THE REALITY IS……THE PROVINCE, ACCORDING TO THEIR STUDIES, AND TRACKING OF TRENDS, APPRECIATE FULLY, JUST HOW MUCH TRAFFIC IS GOING TO REACH OUR AREA IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS. WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS AND CONVENIENCE OF AIR COMMUTING, NEW HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION, RAIL LINK, AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, GRAVENHURST, AND MUSKOKA GENERALLY, ARE GOING TO SEE MORE AND MORE URBAN INTRUSIONS. IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT WAY NOW…….BUT IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. WE NEED VISIONARIES ON FUTURE COUNCILS, WHO CAN PREPARE FOR THESE NEW INTERESTS IN URBANIZING THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE ON EARTH.

FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT THINK ME DERANGED…….I CAN TELL YOU, HONESTLY, THE BOG WOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD-OFF AND DEVELOPED, IF NOT FOR THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE TO CONSERVE IT. NOW TRY TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH OTHER LAND, IN THE PAST DECADE, HAS BEEN GOBBLED UP BY URBAN SPRAWL IN THREE TOWNS. THE DEVELOPMENT COMING WON'T BE TO SERVE THE POPULATION OF THE DISTRICT AS IT NUMBERS TODAY. DEVELOPERS WILL BE LOOKING FOR THE NEW GROWTH OF POPULATION THAT WILL BE MIGRATING NORTH FROM HEAVILY POPULATED CENTRES IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO. FOR THOSE WHO SAY IN WON'T HAPPEN, BECAUSE WE HAVE REACHED THE SATURATION POINT FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROFITABILITY, THIS EXCLUDES GROWTH PATTERNS EXPECTED…….IN THE NORTH, AND THE HIGHWAY RE-DEVELOPMENT IS A CLEAR SIGN THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT IS WELL AWARE WHAT THESE FUTURE STRESSES WILL MEAN…….AND THE OPPORTUNITIES AN IMPROVED HIGHWAY WILL MEAN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF OUR REGION.

SOMETIMES WHEN WE ARGUE ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES, AND FEEL HARD-DONE BY HERE IN MUSKOKA, WELL, THERE NEEDS TO BE A REALITY CHECK……IT'S ON THE VERGE OF GREAT CHANGE……AND JUST LIKE MINING ON THE MOON, WE'VE GOT SOME PLANNING TO DO FIRST.

I CAN TELL YOU HONESTLY, OUR FAMILY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE MOVED FROM GRAVENHURST, IF COUNCIL HADN'T BACKED DOWN FROM THEIR PLAN TO SELL OFF THIS WETLAND. IT WOULD HAVE PROVEN TO US THAT THEY WOULD BE RECKLESS ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THEIR JURISDICTION. I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN PLEASANT AT ALL ABOUT THEIR INDISCRETIONS…….AND UNLESS SUZANNE RELENTED FROM A CEMENTED POLICY OF NEVER ALLOWING ME TO ENTER POLITICS, I'D HAVE TAKEN A SHOT AT MAYOR IN THE LAST MUNICIPAL ELECTION.

COMMON SENSE PREVAILED ON ALL SIDES. THE BOG WAS SPARED, AND SO WAS MY WIFE, FROM BEING ASSOCIATED WITH A POLITICIAN AND A WRITER IN THE SAME HOUSE.

AS FOR A MINING OPERATION ON THE MOON. A CITY BEING BUILT HERE, WHERE GRAVENHURST SITS SO HUMBLY, QUIETLY TODAY? I EXPECT IT WILL HAPPEN. I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE BEING HAPPY ABOUT IT.

Outdoors For The Good of The Planet

GOOD TO SEE FAMILIES OUTDOORS OVER THE WEEKEND

KIDS NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO NATURE - FOR THE GOOD OF THE PLANET

WHEN I SEE YOUNGSTERS WALKING DOWN THE STREET TEXTING, TEENAGERS IN GROUPS, A PHONE IN EACH HAND, AND WATCH ADULTS WHO KNOW BETTER, DRIVING THROUGH BUSY TRAFFIC CORRIDORS, TALKING ON THEIR CELL PHONES, I WONDER WHAT MY OLD OUTDOOR EDUCATOR FRIEND, DAVE BROWN WOULD THINK OF IT ALL. HE PASSED AWAY IN THE LATE 1990'S BEFORE CELL PHONE USE BECAME AS PREVALENT, IN GROCERY STORE LINES, MOVIE THEATRES, CLASSROOMS, RESTAURANTS AND EVEN ON PLAYGROUNDS….. THE SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATING KIDS ON THE PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT. SLIDE AND TEXT. SWING AND CALL. IT APPEARS TODAY WE HAVE OUTRIGHTLY, WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST RESERVATION, SUCCUMBED TO THIS COMMUNICATION CRAZINESS. DAVE WOULD NOT APPRECIATE THE PROLIFERATION AT ALL, AND WOULD NOT SEE THIS AS AN IMPROVEMENT FOR MANKIND, TRYING TO SURVIVE IN A FAILING ENVIRONMENT. FOR THE ADVANTAGES THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS PROVIDED US, IT HAS BEEN A DAMNATION ON MANY OTHER FRONTS. I'M APPALLED AT THE NUMBER OF PARENTS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR YOUNGSTERS, THE UNDER TWELVE AGE GROUP, THESE OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION, EXPENSE AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCE BE DAMNED. I DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE BY THE WAY. I LAND-LINE WHEN I NEED TO. YES, I'M A DINOSAUR, WHO STILL THANKFULLY KNOWS HOW TO PADDLE A CANOE AND USE A GARDEN RAKE, WITHOUT HAVING TO TEXT ANY ONE FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

DAVE BELIEVED IN PUTTING KIDS…..TEENAGERS, AND ADULTS, IN CANOES, ON A MAGNIFICENT LAKE, FOR A PADDLE TO NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR, TO GET AWAY FROM THE CONTAMINATION OF THE URBAN DIN. AWAY FROM THE DISTRACTIONS OF THE CITY STRESSES, TO ENJOY THE SOLITUDE AND HEALING CAPABILITY OF NATURE. BY HIS OWN ADMISSION, AND I'VE GONE ON HIS NATURE WALKS, IT TAKES THESE MODERN DAY, DISTRACTED, STRESSED-OUT KIDS A LONG TIME TO NORMALIZE TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I'VE WATCHED CITY-BASED STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO HEAR THE SOUNDS OF NATURE, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T ADJUST TO THE SUBTLENESS OF A FOREST OR LAKESHORE. THEY HAVE COME FROM ENVIRONMENTS JAMMED TO OVERFLOWING WITH LOUD AND INTRUSIVE SOUNDS, FROM SIRENS AND JACKHAMMERS, TO OVERHEAD JETS, ROADWAYS JAMMED WITH TRANSPORTS AND BUSES, AND SO MANY LIGHTS, FLASHING AND INTENSE. TO SIT AT LAKESHORE, TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF WAVES LAPPING AGAINST THE ROCKS, OR THE CHIRP OF CRICKETS, IS NOT EASILY ACCOMMODATED. WHEN DAVE RAN HIS OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS, HE ADMITTEDLY HAD TO HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE WITH THESE INNER CITY KIDS, TO ALLOW THEN TO SETTLE INTO THE REALITY OF WOODLAND AND MEADOW, WHERE NO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, OR BLASTING OPERATIONS WERE EMPLOYED. I THINK DAVE WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH ALARMED, TAKING TODAY'S STUDENTS ON SIMILAR NATURE WALKS, AND HEARING PHONE RINGS, WHILE TRYING TO PROMOTE LIFE WITHOUT THE COMPROMISES OF TECHNOLOGY……EVERY WAKING MOMENT, AND THEN SOME. YOUNG PEOPLE, EVEN IN THE RURAL AREAS OF OUR PROVINCE, OUR COUNTRY, ARE BEING STRESSFULLY URBANIZED WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING IN THE CITY. DE-SENSITIZED! EVERY DAY. THIS RIDICULOUSLY FABRICATED, GREED-INSPIRED PHONE CULTURE IS STRESSING EVERYONE…..ESPECIALLY THOSE WEAK SOULS WHO FIND A CELL PHONE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BODY PARTS, AND ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO STAY CONNECTED. IT IS NOTHING SHORT OF A TRAGEDY UNFOLDING, BUT BECAUSE SHUTTING THE BARN DOOR NOW, WON'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE, IT'S THAT "WAIT AND SEE" SCENARIO…..THAT'S PRETTY DARN EASY TO PREDICT.

WE HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE MOST PARENTS TODAY, DON'T WANT THEIR OFFSPRING TO FEEL DIFFERENT THAN THEIR CLASSMATES…..AN OBVIOUSLY TERRIBLE SITUATION TO SOCIAL STANDING. SOCIAL STANDING APPARENTLY, IS EVERMORE IMPORTANT THESE DAYS, THAN IT EVER WAS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S. THAT WAS STILL A TIME WHEN A CANOE IN HAND, A WATERWAY, AND A WAITING CANOE, PROVIDED ALL THE RUSH WE NEEDED. A BALL AND GLOVE, AN OPEN BASEBALL DIAMOND…., A FOOTBALL, HOCKEY STICK, SKATES, A STACK OF OUR FAVORITE RECORDS…..THE SOCK HOP. THESE THINGS WOULD STILL BE RELEVANT IF PARENTS INSISTED ON THEM BEING SO. INSTEAD OF ALLOWING YOUNGSTERS TO GET THEIR RECREATION WITH A PHONE THEY MIGHT AS WELL GLUE TO THEIR HAND FOR SAFE KEEPING. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT THESE PARENTS SPEND ON CELL PHONES EVERY MONTH, SO THAT THEIR KIDS CAN FIT IT IN. IF THERE ARE ECONOMIC WOES HEADING OUR WAY, I'M GOING TO BE INTERESTED TO SEE IF CELL PHONE OWNERSHIP TRUMPS FOOD ON THE TABLE. THE SAD THING IS, AND THE IRRESPONSIBILITY OF IT ALL, IS THAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ADDICTED TO THEIR PHONES, AND PARENTS HAVE BEEN THEIR SUPPLIERS. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN, BY ECONOMIC DOWN-TURN, THESE CHILD-LOVING PHONES HAVE TO BE SHUT-DOWN? HAVE THEY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS WILL DO…….WHAT KIND OF TANTRUMS MIGHT WE EXPECT FROM THE NEWLY DE-PHONED. NEW REALITY SHOWS LIKE "CELL PHONE REHAB."

SUZANNE AND I WERE IN THE GROCERY STORE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, JUST FOR A FEW ITEMS. THERE WERE TWO WOMEN BEING QUITE INTRUSIVE, AS FAR AS MY OWN SHOPPING PLEASURE GOES. I DON'T LIKE BEING BUMPED WHEN I'M IN A FOOTBALL FIELD SIZED STORE. I WILL ALWAYS YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY, AND IF SOMEONE WAS TO SAY "EXCUSE ME," I WOULD GLADLY OBLIGE. BOTH OF THESE LADIES SEEMED TO BE ATTACHED TO MY SWEATER. EVERYWHERE, EVERY ADVANCE I MADE IN THE STORE, SEEM TO INCLUDE THEM. "THEY'RE TAKING PICTURES," SUZANNE INFORMED ME. "TAKING PICTURES OF WHAT," THINKING THAT MY CELEBRITY WAS ATTRACTING ATTENTION FROM FANS. "NO STUPID. THEY'RE TAKING PICTURES OF THE FOOD," SHE ADDED, POINTING TO THE CELL PHONES CAMERAS AIMED AT VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE MEAT COUNTER. "THEY'RE PROBABLY WITH THE STORE," SHE SAID. "WHY WOULD THE STORE PUT THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE NOW, WHEN CUSTOMERS ARE TRYING TO DO THEIR SHOPPING," I INQUIRED OF MY OBSERVANT WIFE? "I DON'T KNOW," SHE REPLIED. "BUT THEY JUST STACKED THOSE PACKAGES (OF MEAT), SO THEY COULD GET THE PHOTOGRAPH THEY WANTED." SHE WAS RIGHT OF COURSE. BOTH OF THEM WERE STRAIGHTENING PILES OF FROZEN GOODS AND THE MEAT PACKAGES. HOW ODD.

WELL, I DON'T THINK THEY WERE FROM THAT STORE, AND IF THEY WERE, IT WAS RUDE OF MANAGEMENT TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN DURING THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE DAY. BY THE WAY. WHEN THEY WEREN'T TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS, THEY WERE EITHER TALKING ON THE PHONE, OR TEXTING. I FINALLY JUST STOOD MY GROUND, AND LET THEM GO ON TO THE NEXT PHOTO-OP WITHOUT ME. ALMOST RELUCTANTLY, THEY DID MOVE ON, AND FOUND THEMSELVES ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE TO PIGGYBACK. I WONDERED IT THEY WERE USING THESE GROUPS FOR SOME PURPOSE…..OF COVER. "THEY'VE GOT CAMERAS ALL OVER THE PLACE IN HERE," SUZANNE SCOLDED ME…..AS SHE DOES FREQUENTLY. "WHY WOULD THEY THINK GETTING CLOSE TO PEOPLE WOULD STOP THE CAMERA FROM FILMING THEM?" I DON'T KNOW IF THESE LADIES WERE FROM ANOTHER STORE, SPIES, OR WHAT, OTHER THAN THEY WERE INTRUSIVE AND OBVIOUSLY COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS, WHETHER THEY WERE SEEN THIS WAY. THE CELL PHONE IS A POWERFUL ITEM THESE DAYS, AND HAD I CONFRONTED THEM ABOUT THEIR RUDE BEHAVIOR, I UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD HAVE BEEN APPEARING ON YOU-TUBE FOR CYBER SPACE ENTERTAINMENT.

WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT FROM IMMINENT DESTRUCTION. WE NEED PEOPLE TO APPRECIATE THE PRECARIOUS SITUATION WE'RE IN, AND CREATE A NEW AND IMPROVED GENERATION, WHO WILL MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER, CLEANER PLACE. HERE'S THE TRAGEDY. WE'RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. THE YOUNG GENERATION WON'T GIVE UP THEIR "ME" TIME, ON THEIR CELL PHONES, JUST TO HELP SAVE THE PLANET. IF I WAS TO IMAGINE THE LAST DAYS OF PLANET EARTH, IN ONE TRADEMARK SCENE, IT WOULD INVOLVE A PARK BENCH OF YOUNG CITIZENS, CHOKING THEIR FINAL BREATHS, GASPING FOR AIR, TRYING DESPERATELY TO FINISH ONE LAST TEXT, TO THEIR SIMILARLY CHOKING, NEAR-DEATH MATE, ON THE BENCH ACROSS THE ROAD…….AS THE OXYGEN IS FINALLY DEPLETED. TRAGIC? SEEMS LIKE THAT. BUT IF YOU WERE TO RUN THIS SCENARIO, PAST A CLASSROOM OF CELL-PHONE ADDICTED TEENAGERS, WHAT WOULD THEY ASK THE TEACHER, ABOUT THE FINAL DETAILS OF LIFE EXPENDED. "WHAT WERE THEY TEXTING TO EACH OTHER?" NOT, "WHY DID THEY DIE," OR "HOW COME THERE WAS NO OXYGEN LEFT…..WHO FORGOT TO FILL THE TANKS."

THE BOTTOM LINE. CELL PHONES ARE NOT GOING TO SAVE THE PLANET. THE PEOPLE USING THE CELL PHONES, HAVE A SHOT AT IT. NO MATTER WHAT THE CELL-PHONE INDUSTRY WANTS TO CLAIM, OR BRAINWASH HUMANITY WITH, THEY ARE NOT SOURCES OF OXYGEN……NO APP FOR THAT! CELL PHONES ARE A PRIORITY. HOW CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT THEM? WELL, AS DAVE BROWN WOULD HAVE SAID, "NATURE WILL PROVIDE." THIS OF COURSE HINGES, ON THE WELFARE OF OUR NATURE…..AND THINGS AREN'T LOOKING GOOD.

THIS PAST WEEKEND, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE SO MANY FAMILIES AND YOUNGSTERS, OUTDOORS FOR THE ANNUAL GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL. THIS WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING…..IN A LITERAL WINTER WONDERLAND, WHERE NATURE….NOT THE CELL PHONE, PREVAILED WITH THE MOST INTEGRITY OF ALL. AND EVERYONE WHO SHUT DOWN THEIR PHONES, JOINED THEIR KIDS FOR THE FESTIVITIES, BENEFITTED IMMENSELY FROM THE LACK OF COMPROMISE…..THE MINIMIZATION OF INTRUSION. MAYBE THEY EVEN HEARD THE BLUE JAYS CALLING OUT, THE WIND RUSHING THROUGH THE PINE BOUGHS, THE WOODPECKER TAPPING AT AN OLD STUMP, LAUGHTER OF CHILDREN AT PLAY…..ONE OF THE NICEST SOUNDS OF ALL.

Gravenhurst Winter Carnival, Muskoka Stewardship

STEWARDSHIP OF MUSKOKA, GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL, SNOWY WEATHER

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

LONG BEFORE THE SNOWY, BLUSTERY WEATHER, PREDICTED FOR LATER TODAY, HIT SOUTH MUSKOKA, I COULD FEEL IT IN MY JOINTS. WHEN I USED TO HEAR OLDTIMERS SAYING THINGS LIKE THIS, I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEANT. AS A SUFFERER OF WHAT IS KNOWN AS TEMPORAL MANDIBULAR JOINT DYSFUNCTION, AND A LOT OF INJURIES FROM MY YEARS AS A GOALTENDER IN HOCKEY, FROM THE AGE OF SEVEN, THE PREAMBLE DAMP AND STORMY WEATHER STARTS BEATING UP MY BODY WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE FIRST RAIN OR SNOW TO HIT THE GROUND. I DON'T HAVE ARTHRITIS AS SUCH, BUT THE TMJ DISORDER, WHICH MEANS I HAVE DAMAGED JAW HINGES, CAUSES MAJOR MUSCLE AND JOINT ISSUES LITERALLY FROM THE BALD SPOT ON MY HEAD, TO THE TIP OF MY CALLOUSED BIG TOE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE TMJ, AND QUITE A FEW OF THESE FOLKS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. IT CAN BE THE RESULT OF A LIFETIME'S STRESS, OF LITERALLY CLENCHING AND GRINDING YOUR TEETH, SUCH THAT THE SMALL, FRAGILE CONDIAL OF THE HINGE, DEVELOPS UNEVEN CHARACTERISITICS. IT WILL CLICK AND CLACK, AND IF YOU PUT A FINGER IN EACH EAR, AND MOVE THE JAW, UP AND DOWN, YOU'LL FEEL THE DEFORMITY. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SMOOTH MOVEMENT. NOT LIKE ROLLING SOMETHING THAT SEEMS AS IF IT'S SQUARE, OR FLAT-SIDED. THERE ARE A MYRIAD OF NERVES AND BLOOD VESSELS IN THIS AREA, THAT CAN BE COMPROMISED (INJURED) BY CONTINUAL, DAY TO DAY GRINDING (EVEN DURING SLEEP), AND IT CONTRIBUTES TO A LOT OF OTHER MALADIES, SUCH AS PROLONGED MUSCLE SPASMS. MY NECK HAS BEEN STIFF SINCE I WAS TWENTY-FOUR. YOU CAN ALWAYS SNEAK UP ON ME. I PLAN ON WRITING MORE ABOUT THIS IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE MANY SUFFERERS LIVE WITH THIS AFFLICTION, THINKING IT'S MENTAL / EMOTIONAL, WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE PHYSICAL. BUT THAT'S MATERIAL FOR A FUTURE BLOG. DON'T HESITATE TO EMAIL IF YOU'RE ALSO A TMJ'ER.

SO WHEN A STORM MOVES ACROSS OUR AREA, I'M PRETTY MUCH CONSUMED BY IT, AND I JUST EXPECT TO HAVE STIFFER THAN USUAL JOINTS, LESS TURNING CAPABILITY WITH MY NECK, AND THE KIND OF GENERAL MALAISE I USED TO FEEL AFTER A NIGHT OF HEAVY DRINKING. IT WAS MOST LIKELY THE STRESS OF THE REPORTING JOB, IN MY YOUNGER DAYS, THAT KEPT MY JAW CLENCHED CONSTANTLY…..AS IF IT WAS THE WAY I COULD AVOID SELF-IMPLOSION. WORKING AT THIS KEYBOARD ISN'T ALLL THAT HELPFUL EITHER, AS I DO CATCH MYSELF CLENCHING FROM TIME TO TIME. BUT GENERALLY, IT IS AS MUCH A STRESS RELIEVER, ESPECIALLY THIS BLOG-SITE, THAT IS MY "PAINTING" OR "LANDSCAPE" ALTERNATIVE TO POLITICAL OR NEWS OPINING. I JUST ENJOY THE CALM OF MY OFFICE, OVERLOOKING THE BEAUTIFUL BOG, AND THE CREATURE COMFORTS OF A WEE CRICKET (THAT USED TO ANNOY ME, BUT NOT ANYMORE), THREE CATS IN VARIOUS POSITIONS, AROUND AND ABOVE MY DESK, AND THE HOT CUP OF TEA THAT FEELS GOOD NOW AGAINST MY ACHING HAND. SUZANNE SAYS I HAVE BAD POSTURE, AS SHE POINTS TO THE CAT IN MY LAP, SUGGESTING OLD SMOKEY, AS WE CALL HIM, IS MUCH TOO BIG, AND HEAVY, TO HAVE ON MY LAP WHILE WORKING AT THE KEYBOARD. HE'S SO DARN WARM AND THE PURRING ALMOST PUTS ME TO SLEEP.

TONIGHT MARKS THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE EVENTS, FOR THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL. SONS ROBERT AND ANDREW HAVE BEEN ANXIOUS ABOUT THE OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS, AFTER BEING ASKED BY THE CARNIVAL CHAIRMAN, TO PERFORM THEIR "SKOKIE" SONG TO START THE BALL ROLLING FOR THE THREE DAY COMMUNITY FETE. THEY ARE TWO OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP "PRESSURE POINT," PERFORMING THE SPECIALLY WRITTEN WINTER CARNIVAL THEME-SONG. THE OTHER TWO PERFORMERS ARE AARON BINDER AND LEAD SINGER DANI O'CONNOR. BACK UP SINGERS ON THE MUSIC VIDEO, ARE RAY PARSONS AND JON O'CONNOR. THE GROUP WROTE AND PERFORMED THE SONG, TO ACCOMPANY A VIDEO TAKEN OF THE GROUP PLAYING-AROUND IN GRAVENHURST'S BEAUTIFUL GULL LAKE PARK, AS A DONATION TO THE HARD WORKING WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE. THEY DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE ASKED TO PERFORM THE SONG LIVE. SO THEY WERE DELIGHTED BY THE HONOR, BUT NERVOUS ABOUT THE WEATHER. THEN CAME THE SEVERE NERVOUSNESS, WHEN THEY HEARD ABOUT AN APPROACHING STORM-FRONT. AS THE BAND, FOR THE CARNIVAL SONG, USES ELECTRIC GUITARS AND A FAIR AMOUNT OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, THE OUTDOOR VENUE AT THE LOCAL OPERA HOUSE, IS GOING TO PRESENT SOME TECHNICAL CHALLENGES. THEY'RE ACTUALLY PERFORMING THREE SONGS THIS EVENING, SO WE HAVE TO MOUNT A STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH THIS WEE STORM SYSTEM, JUST ABOUT TO PUSH ACROSS THE DISTRICT. THE SNOW IS ONE OBSTACLE TO OVERCOME. THE WINDBLOWN SNOW IS QUITE ANOTHER. YUP, IT'S A STIFF JAW AND NECK KIND OF DAY. BUT IT'S WORTH IT, TO BE PART OF THIS GREAT LITTLE THREE DAY FESTIVAL……CELEBRATING THE NATURE OF OUR REGION. WITH SOME FRESH SNOW…..WE'LL GET THAT WINTER WONDERLAND LOOK AGAIN. IT'S BEEN A PRETTY DRY WINTER SO FAR, AND THE TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN UNUSUALLY MODERATE THROUGH JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.

MUSKOKA IS AN AMAZING BACKDROP……HOST, AND PARTNER TO THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL. IT IS THE PLACE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WANT TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE EVERY YEAR. IT IS A HUGE RESOURCE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES, AND THE REASON WE HAVE A TOURISM BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I ADORE OUTDOOR FETES, LIKE THE THREE DAY WINTER CARNIVAL, BECAUSE IT UTILIZES AND PUBLICIZES THE NATURE OF OUR REGION. HOPEFULLY, IT ALSO MAKES FOLKS MORE AWARE, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LOOK AFTER ITS HEALTH AND CONSERVATION. IF ANY ONE WAS TO ASK THIS OLD SCRIBE, WHAT IS THE MOST TAKEN FOR GRANTED ASPECT OF OUR LIVES HERE IN THE HINTERLAND OF ONTARIO, I WOULD SAY "THE HINTERLAND" ITSELF. WHEN OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE AND THE BUREAUCRACY BANDY-ABOUT ISSUES FACING THE WELL-BEING OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND ITS BROADENING DYNAMIC IN THE FUTURE, I GET SO ANNOYED AT THE WAY THE ENVIRONMENT BECOMES NOTHING MORE THAN A THEATRE STAGE WITH TEARS IN ITS CURTAINS.

I HAVE NEVER YET FOUND ANY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS OR BUSINESS INSTALLATIONS, THAT HAVE EVER BEEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN AN AVERAGE DAY, HERE IN THIS POWERFUL EMBRACE OF NATURE. WE CAN NOT IMPROVE UPON WHAT IS ALREADY PERFECTION. IN THE COMING DECADES, OUR LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS ARE GOING TO HAVE NATURE'S FATE IN THEIR HANDS…..MORESO THAN EVER BEFORE. THE STRESSES OF THE CITY ON THE HINTERLAND, HAS ALREADY MADE A HUGE IMPACT, AND GREED AND SPECULATION HAVE COST US DEARLY. DEVELOPERS WHO MAY WISH TO TRANSFORM MUSKOKA FOR PROFIT, ARE OFTEN SEEN AS SAVIORS OF OUR LESSER ECONOMY. YET IT HAS NEVER BEEN PROVEN TO ME, OVER A LIFETIME OF REPRESENTING AND PROMOTING THIS REGION, THAT VISITORS COME TO MUSKOKA JUST TO SHOP. QUITE THE OPPOSITE HOLDS TRUE. OUR TOURISM BUSINESS HAS ALWAYS BENEFITTED FROM THIS ESCAPISM, THOUGH SOME DEVELOPERS AND COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES BELIEVE BOX STORES, STRIP MALLS AND SPRAWLING SUBDIVISIONS ARE COMPELLING VISUALS, THAT KEEP VISITORS COMING BACK, YEAR AFTER YEAR. THIS DISCONNECT FROM THE TRUTH, HAS BEEN HARMFUL IN THE PAST, AS MANY COUNCILLORS THROUGHOUT OUR REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY, HAVE BOUGHT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT-MEANS-PROSPERITY CONCEPT, AND WE'VE ACCEPTED URBAN SPRAWL AND BOX STORE DEVELOPMENT THAT MIRRORS THE CITY…..NOT THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND.

THERE WILL BE MANY VISITORS FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO, WHO DRIVE TO GRAVENHURST THIS WEEKEND, TO ENJOY THE CARNIVAL ACTIVITIES. THEY WILL GET A LATE FEBRUARY TASTE OF WINTER, AND ENJOY EVENTS ON BOTH GULL LAKE, AND MUSKOKA BAY, (LAKE MUSKOKA) AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAIN STREET, OUTSIDE THE GRAND GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. IT WILL BE A CELEBRATION OF SMALL TOWN TRADITION, A MUSKOKA WINTER, THE GREAT OUTDOORS, AND LET'S NOT FORGET COMMUNITY. WE THINK WE PLAY THE HOST-ROLE PRETTY WELL…….SEEING AS WE'VE BEEN PERFECTING IT SINCE THE 1860'S. IT HAD A ROUGH START WITHOUT A LOT OF CREATURE COMFORTS. WE'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THEN.

BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE, WILL TELL YOU HONESTLY, THEY'RE TRYING THE BEST THEY CAN, WITH THE MANPOWER AND THE BUDGET AVAILABLE, TO GIVE EVERYONE A GOOD TIME. THEY WANT TO CELEBRATE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE HERE IN BEAUTIFUL MUSKOKA. THEY'RE VERY PROUD OF THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THEIR DISTRICT, AND THIS IS THEIR WAY OF SHOWING IT TO ANYONE…..FROM ANYWHERE…..THAT WE ARE MUSKOKANS, AND WE LIKE OUR PANCAKES AND MAPLE SYRUP…..AND LOG CUTTING, SKATING, HOCKEY, DONUT-EATING FROM STRINGS, AND POLAR BEAR DIPPING. HOW ABOUT YOU? PLEASE SUPPORT THESE KIND VOLUNTEERS, WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, TO REJUVENATE A WINTER CARNIVAL EVENT THAT BEGAN IN THE WINTER OF 1971. AFTER FALLING ON HARD TIMES, AND BEING CANCELLED QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO, THIS GROUP OF STALWART CITIZENS, DECIDED THAT GRAVENHURST NEEDED ITS WINTER FETE BACK IN WORKING ORDER. WHEN YOU SEE THE CARNIVAL MASCOT, SKOKE…..THE MUSKOKA OTTER, GIVE IT A PAT ON THE BACK, FOR HANGING IN THERE FOR ALL OF US. JUST NOT TO HARD THOUGH. I KNOW THE GUY INSIDE.

Woodchester Villa Lawns and Trees

SO MANY HOURS SPENT ON THE HILLSIDE LAWNS OF BRACEBRIDGE'S WOODCHESTER VILLA

IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A MUSEUM - IT WAS AN OASIS

IN THE LATE 1980'S, WHEN I BECAME SITE MANAGER OF WOODCHESTER VILLA, AND MUSEUM, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I WAS ALSO A "MR. MOM." ANDREW AND ROBERT WERE PRE-SCHOOL, AND SUZANNE HAD GONE BACK TO HER TEACHING JOB AFTER A YEAR'S MATERNITY LEAVE. I WAS ALSO AN ASSISTANT EDITOR OF THE MUSKOKA SUN, AND MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS GENERALLY, SO I HAD TO PIGGY-BACK JOBS. I WAS ALSO A MUSKOKA CORRESPONDENT FOR CHAY FM, IN BARRIE. I HAD A LOT OF WRITING TO DO, WHILE LOOKING AFTER THE WEE BAIRNS.

WOODCHESTER VILLA WAS A HIGHLY ACCOMMODATING PLACE TO WRITE. THE CHORES OF MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE SPRING AND FALL SEASONS, WERE PRETTY LIGHT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF RUNNING SCHOOL AND BUS TOURS. I DID THIS MANY TIMES WITH ROBERT IN MY ARMS, AND ANDREW HALF-HOLDING MY HAND. IT SURE MADE VISITORS COMFORTABLE, SEEING THIS FAMILY CONNECTION TO THE OLD VICTORIAN, OCTAGONALLY DESIGNED HOUSE, OF FORMER WOOLLEN MILL OWNER, HENRY BIRD. VISITORS AT FIRST THOUGHT IT WAS A HOUSEHOLD RE-ENACTMENT OF VICTORIAN PARENT-HOOD. I CAN REMEMBER, AT A CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT, SUZANNE DOING A BUTTER-MAKING DEMONSTRATION, WHILE HOLDING ONTO ROBERT…..BECAUSE HE WAS HAVING A BAD DAY. BUT MOST OF THE TIME, THE BOYS LOVED PLAYING BALL ON THE WOODCHESTER LAWNS. IT WAS TERRACED SO THAT IT MADE HIDE 'N SEEK MUCH MORE INTERESTING.

I USED TO, ON OCCASION, SET OUT SOME OLDER (NOT VALUABLE) TOYS IN THE FRONT ENTRANCE, OF THE HOUSE, FOR THE BOYS TO PLAY WITH, IN BETWEEN TOURS AND GUESTS, WHILE I WOULD USE MR. BIRD'S RESTORED OFFICE TO WORK ON SOME OF MY EDITORIAL COPY FOR THE MUSKOKA SUN. I DID THE SAME THING IN THE MUSEUM ANNEX, NOW THE CHAPEL GALLERY, WHERE I HAD A PLAY-PEN FOR ROBERT, WHICH I USED WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER. THE BOYS GREW UP IN A MUSEUM. THEN THEY CAME HOME TO ONE. IS IT ANY WONDER BOTH BOYS HAVE THEIR OWN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE ENTERPRISE, (MUSIC) HERE IN GRAVENHURST? THEIR PAST HAS DEFINITELY BECOME THEIR FUTURE.

IN THE SPRING, SUZANNE AND I WOULD BRING THE WEE LADS FOR A DAY OUTDOORS. WE WOULD RAKE AND CLEAN-UP THE PROPERTY, WHILE THEY PLAYED IN THE LEFTOVER SNOWBANKS FROM WINTER LANE-CLEARING. IT WAS A BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED PROPERTY, IN THOSE YEARS, WITH GARDENS AND THE LARGE IRON FOUNTAIN, WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN MOVED TO MEMORIAL PARK, ON MANITOBA STREET. I'D BRING A COUPLE OF FOLDING CHAIRS OUT FROM THE OFFICE, AND WE'D HAVE A PICNIC, LOOKING DOWN THROUGH THE CATHEDRAL EVERGREENS, ABUTTING THE MUSKOKA RIVER, ABOVE THE BRACEBRIDGE FALLS. YOU COULD HEAR THE DISTANT ROAR OF THE FALLS, BUT IT WAS THE BIRDS AROUND "THE BIRD HOUSE" (WHAT WOODCHESTER WAS CALLED), THAT FILLED THE ATMOSPHERE WITH THE CHEERFUL SOUNDS OF EARLY SPRING. AH, THE CROWS. WE HAD A LARGE NUMBER OF CROWS THAT NESTED IN THE TALL PINES. THEY'D GATHER AROUND THE YARD, PICKING AT THE LAWN, OR SIT UP ON THE FOUNTAIN, WATCHING THE HUMANS DOING THEIR THING.

SUZANNE AND I UTILIZED THE GROUNDS OF WOODCHESTER FREQUENTLY, FOR MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND SOCIALS. ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PRESENTATIONS, WAS THE "THEATRE IN THE ROUND" PEFORMANCE OF THE PLAY, "PAPER WHEAT," BY THE TOURING COMPANY FROM MUSKOKA FESTIVAL, BASED AT THE OPERA HOUSE IN GRAVENHURST. WE SET THE LARGE AUDIENCE IN A CIRCLE ON THE LAWN, BETWEEN WOODCHESTER AND THE PRESENT CHAPEL GALLERY, AND THE PERFORMERS WORKED THEIR MAGIC IN THE MIDDLE. IT WAS DONE TWICE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, AND IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED. THE WEATHER CO-OPERATED, AND THE MAGIC OF VENERABLE OLD HARDWOODS, THE WINDSONG IN THE PINERY, THE SOUND OF THE FALLS, THE CROWS, AND BACKGROUND DIN OF THE DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC, MADE THIS A VERY DRAMATIC PLAY…..AS WAS THE IDEA. WE ALL ENJOYED THE PERFORMANCE, AND I WOULD HAVE ENJOYED MANY MORE, IF THE OPPORTUNITY HAD PREVAILED.

THERE WAS AN OLD WOODEN ARCHWAY AT THE TOP OF A STEEP HILLSIDE PATH, THAT I USED TO SIT BESIDE ON THOSE STILL-CHILLY SPRING DAYS, ENJOYING THE TINY BUDGET OF SUN THAT MADE IT WAY THROUGH THE THICK OVERHEAD BOUGHS. LOOKING DOWN UPON THE SILENT RIVER, JUST BEFORE THE DECLINE INTO BRACEBRIDGE BAY, WAS A POET'S DELIGHT. THE SOUND OF ANDREW AND ROBERT LAUGHING, AND HEARING THEM RUNNING ACROSS THE YARD, BROUGH LIFE BACK TO THIS FAMILY HOME, WHICH DATED BACK TO THE EARLY 1880'S. I THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THE BIRD FAMILY YOUNGSTERS DOING THE SAME THING, OVER THE GENERATIONS, AND THIS THEN WAS VERY MUCH AN HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT. AT TIMES, I DID LOOK BACK FROM MY PLACE ON THE HILL, EXPECTING TO FIND SOMEONE STANDING RIGHT BEHIND MY CHAIR. AT OTHER TIMES, I HEARD VOICES THAT WEREN'T FROM THE BOYS, AND ON MANY OCCASIONS, I'D GLANCE UP TO A SECOND FLOOR WINDOW, AND SWEAR THERE WAS A FACE LOOKING OUT. WOODCHESTER WAS A HAUNTED PLACE. NOT IN A FRIGHTENING SENSE. BUT MANY PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOUSE HAD EXPERIENCED HOUSEHOLD CURIOSITIES…..VOICES WHERE THERE WAS NO ONE PRESENT…..DOGS BARKING, WHEN THERE WASN'T A DOG INSIDE OR OUT, AND FREQUENTLY THE SOUNDS OF CHILDREN CRYING SOMEWHERE CLOSE, WHEN MY YOUNGSTERS WERE PLAYING WITH TOYS AT MY FEET, QUITE CONTENTED AND CERTAINLY NOT TEARFUL. I ALWAYS FELT IT WAS A LONELY HOUSE, MORE THAN ONE THAT WAS HAUNTED.

LATELY WOODCHESTER VILLA HAS BECOME THE SUBJECT OF DEBATE, AS TO WHETHER IT SHOULD BE RESTORED, AND RE-OPENED AS A MUSEUM, OR POSSIBLY EVEN REMOVED FROM THE HILLSIDE ALTOGETHER. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE WRAP-AROUND VERANDAH COLLAPSED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF SUBSTANTIAL SNOW-LOAD, AND THE MUSUEM HAS BEEN CLOSED EVER SINCE. AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS, OF BOTH THE LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THE CREATION OF A MUSUEM IN THE OCTAGONAL ESTATE, I FELT COMPELLED A YEAR AGO, TO OFFER MY ASSISTANCE TO HELP A FRIEND IN NEED. IN THE PAST WEEK, AFTER READING A SUGGESTION THE SITE COULD BE CLOSED FOR GOOD, AND THE HOUSE REMOVED, DUE TO THE EXPENSE OF RESTORATION, I WEIGHED IN ONCE MORE, AND VOLUNTEERED TO HELP ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF WOODCHESTER'S FUTURE. I THOUGHT IT IMPORTANT TO STAND-UP FOR THE MUSEUM THAT I HELPED LAUNCH. WITH THE GENERAL INDIFFERENCE OF THE LOCAL COUNCIL, TO ANYTHING I MIGHT SAY TO THE CONTRARY, OR BE ABLE TO ADVISE ABOUT, SUFFICE THAT AT LEAST THE PUBLIC KNOWS, OF MY SINCERE COMMITMENT TO A TRULY REMARKABLE HOUSE ON THE HILL.

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WOODCHESTER BY VISITING MY BRACEBRIDGE BLOG-SITE, AND TWO BLOGS ON MY GRAVENHURST BLOG-SITE.

Gravenhurst Winter Carnival, Outdoor Fun

ENJOY THE FINAL DAYS OF THE WINTER - THAT WAS SORT OF -

I KNOW AN OTTER YOU SHOULD MEET? GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL

I'M NOT GOING TO LIE ABOUT IT. SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS A COUPLE OF OLD HERALD-GAZETTES, FROM THE EARLY 1980'S, UNDOUBTEDLY CONTAINING ONE OF MY OLD COLUMNS, ABOUT FREEZING HALF-TO-DEATH, STANDING OUT AT A MUSKOKA WINTER CARNIVAL VENUE…..SUCH AS THE POLAR BEAR DIP. SO THERE'S NO POINT MISLEADING YOU WITH ANY NONSENSE, ABOUT HOW EAGER WE ALL WERE, TO SADDLE-UP TO THAT FROSTED SKOKIE, ON THE CROWDED ICE, AROUND AN OMINOUSLY BLACK, STEAMING, OPEN HOLE IN THE MUSKOKA RIVER…..PREPARED BY MEN WITH BIG AXES, FOR THOSE WHACKY DIPPERS TO HIT THE BRINE.

I'M TELLING YOU FRANKLY, OUR REPORTERS WOULD DRAW STRAWS. THE LUCKY AMONGST US, GOT TO COVER THE INSIDE EVENTS, AND THAT MEANT, A JACKET-LESS, MITT-LESS PHOTO ASSIGNMENT, AND THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THE ROVING REPORTER MIGHT GET A WEE PINT, IN THE SPIRIT OF ALL THINGS WINTER. FOR THOSE POOR DEVILS OUT ON THE ICE-FLOW, WITH TEETH CHATTERING, I DIDN'T FEEL SORRY FOR THEM AT ALL. THEY WERE JUST GETTING WHAT I HAD ENDURED, THE YEAR BEFORE…..ALONG WITH THE BED RACE, AND THE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR THE KIDDIES. THE DIFFERENCE TODAY……WELL, I NOW ATTEND WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS BECAUSE I WANT TO……WITH NO PAY CHEQUE-HINGING ON MY EVER-SMILING PERFORMANCE…….OR THE NOTE LEFT ON MY DESK, BY THE PUBLISHER, REMINDING ME, "IT'S YOUR JOB, CURRIE….GET OUT THERE AND FIND US A BIG SCOOP." "AT THE WINTER CARNIVAL," I'D LAUGH TO MYSELF. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THEY TOOK THE EVENT, AND SKOKIE A LITTLE TOO SERIOUSLY BACK THEN, BUT BY GOLLY, THE ADVERTISERS, AND ESPECIALLY THE SPONSORING BREWERIES, WERE OUT IN FORCE……AND THEY WERE COVERING MY PAY CHEQUE. SO I PAINTED A SMILE ON, AND STOOD SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH SKOKIE, FOR A LOT, AND I MEAN A LOT OF WINTER CARNIVAL BED RACES, LOG SAWING, POLAR BEAR DIPPING, AND NAIL HAMMERING. GOOD TIMES.

WE ALL THINK ABOUT THE SAME, ON MATTERS OF WORK AND PLAY. I LIKED THE "PLAY" SIDE OF THE WINTER CARNIVAL, FAR MORE THAN THE "WORK" DETAIL. AFTER I LEFT THE NEWSPAPER, SUZANNE AND I NEVER MISSED A WINTER CARNIVAL WEEKEND, AND WE'VE GOT LOTS OF PICTURES OF SNOW-SUITED CURRIE KIDS AT THE WINTER PARKS. AS YOUNG PARENTS, WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND ON RECREATION, AND WE FOUND THE WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS VERY AFFORDABLE. BETTER STILL, WAS THE FACT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THEM OUTDOORS AND AWAY FROM TELEVISION, AND OUT OF THE STUFFY HOUSE. NOW ALL THESE YEARS LATER, ANDREW AND ROBERT ARE PLEASED TO BE PART OF THE NEWLY RE-INTRODUCED AND IMPROVED GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL. IN LATE DECEMBER, THEY DECIDED TO WRITE A THEME SONG FOR THE 2012 CARNIVAL, WITH THEIR GROUP PRESSURE POINT, AND FOR THE PASTS TWO WEEKS, THEIR MUSIC VIDEO OF THE SKOKIE SONG HAS HAD 1,024 HITS AS OF THIS MORNING. THEY HAVE BEEN ASKED TO PERFORM AT THE OPENING CEREMONIES, ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AND THEN AGAIN ON SUNDAY "IN" THE OPERA HOUSE, WITH OTHER GUEST BANDS…..ALL OF THEM LOCAL, SUCH AS VAN NEWELL AND THE BODENVILLE FLYERS. EVERYBODY'S PRETTY EXCITED, AND I'M QUITE HAPPY ABOUT THIS NEWFOUND TOWN ENTHUSIASM GENERALLY. THE THEME SONG WAS DONATED TO THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE, FOR THEIR USE TO ETERNITY, IF THEY WISH.

NOW THAT I CAN ATTEND THE WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS, WITHOUT THE PUBLISHER'S ORDERS PINNED TO MY JACKET, I WILL HAVE A MUCH BETTER TIME. THE WEATHER IS LIKELY TO BE A LOT WARMER, THAN I REMEMBER FROM THE CARNIVAL DAYS IN THE 1980'S, WHEN JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY OF THE WEEKEND WAS WELL BELOW ZERO. I CAN RECALL HAVING MY FILM BREAK IN THE CAMERA. IN FACT, I CAN REMEMBER, FOR SOME OUTDOOR EVENTS, WATCHING BED RACE COMPETITORS HAVING TO PULL CLUMPS OF ICE FROM THEIR BEARDS. NOW HERE'S THE THING ABOUT THAT……WHILE IT'S EASY TO REMOVE THE ICE, THE FACIAL HAIR OFTEN COMES AS WELL. WHICH IS OKAY, UNTIL THE THAWING OF THE SKIN COMMENCES…..AND THIS IS WHEN THE STINGING SENSATION REQUIRES A LITTLE LIQUID SEDATIVE. I REMEMBER A GUY, WITH A SUBSTANTIAL BEARD, SHOWING ME THE HUGE CLUMP OF ICE, WITH A THIRD OF HIS BEARD ATTACHED……CRADLED IN HIS MITTED-HAND. HE WAS LOOKING AT ME RATHER NERVOUSLY, AS IF TO SAY, "GEEZ, THIS CAN'T BE GOOD." I COULD SEE THE BARE SPOT ON HIS CHEEK, AND I THINK I MAY HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE. THE SAME GUY WAS BROUGHT TO TEARS LATER ON, WHILE AT ONE OF THE INDOOR VENUES, WHEN THAT PATCH OF HAIRLESS SKIN BEGAN TO THAW. I DIDN'T HAVE A BEARD THEN, THANK GOODNESS, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME ICE-BOAT.

PUT DOWN THE CELL PHONES, TABLETS, PADS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES FOR A TAD, AND TAKE A CHANCE ON A NEW CARNIVAL, BASED ON AN OLD PREMISE, THAT WINTER CAN ACTUALLY BE FUN. ORGANIZERS WILL BE GLAD TO SEE YOU. THEY WILL CERTAINLY BE GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU BROUGHT THE KIDS, BECAUSE THESE YOUNG CITIZENS ARE THE FUTURE OF THE EVENT. TAKE OUR LADS FOR EXAMPLE. THEY'RE QUITE ECSTATIC, IN FACT, PREPPING FOR THEIR VERY FIRST WINTER CARNIVAL PERFORMANCE…..OTHER THAN AS DONUT-EATERS. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. BRING OTHERS. THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT……WHAT YOU HEAR YOU MISSED.

Stewards of Muskoka, Councillors All!

THE NEW MUSKOKA STEWARDSHIP - FOR A NEW TIME

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG OUT HERE. IT'S NOT JUST THE WEATHER, THAT HAS FALLEN OUT OF ITS ANNUAL, BRUTAL TRADITION. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE SQUIRRELS. WHILE MY NEIGHBOR WOULDN'T AGREE, AS HE DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF USE FOR THESE RATS WITH BUSHY TAILS, THE POPULATION OF SQUIRRELS, LIVING HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, IS ACTING QUITE STRANGE. IN FACT THIS MORNING, THEY HAVE BEEN RUMMAGING THROUGH AN OUTSIDE SHELF I USE TO STORE NAILS AND SCREWS, AND A COUPLE OF OLD HAMMERS. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK, ONE OR MORE SQUIRRELS HAVE GOTTEN UP TO MISCHIEF HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND KNOCKED THINGS DOWN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING. NOT SURE IF IT'S JUST ABOUT FOOD SOURCE.

FIRST WE NOTICED THAT THE SNOWSCAPE, ALL AROUND THE HOUSE, IS COVERED IN SQUIRREL TRACKS. WE'VE BEEN IN THIS HOUSE SINCE 1989, AND I'VE SEEN SOME WEIRD STUFF GOING ON, MOSTLY WITH THE NEIGHBORS, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN OUR RESIDENT SQUIRRELS SO FRANTIC…..AND I'M ASSUMING THEY'RE HUNGRY. I WONDER IF THEIR STORE OF FOOD HAS BECOME WATER DAMAGED, IN THE RECENT RAIN, OR IF THERE HAD BEEN A MUCH MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHORTAGE OVER THE PAST SUMMER AND AUTUMN SEASON, THAT AFFECTED THEIR ABILITY TO STOCK-PILE PROVISIONS. I KNOW THEY RAIDED OUR BIRD FEEDERS, AS DID THE CHIPMUNKS, IN AUGUST, TO THE POINT WE HAD TO CURTAIL OUR HOSPITALITY. THE DEER FROM THE BOG ARE ALSO VISITING THE YARD FREQUENTLY, ANOTHER REASON WE HAD TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND FEEDING EVEN THE BIRDS. THE PROBLEM WITH OUR PROPERTY, IS THAT IT IS ON THE DOWN-SIDE OF A CURVE ON SEGWUN BOULEVARD, AND MANY RESIDENTS ON THIS STREET, COME AROUND THE CORNER MUCH TO FAST……ALL TIMES OF THE YEAR. IF WE HAD FREQUENT CROSSING OF DEER TO SNACK AT THE FEEDERS, WE COULD WELL CONTRIBUTE TO A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT.

SUZANNE REMINDED ME, THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR IN MEMORY, WE DID NOT HEAR THE SOUND OF ACORNS HITTING THE LANE, JUST ACROSS THE ROAD. SHE NOTICED THE SQUIRRELS UP THE TREE, ON MANY DAYS, WHILE SHE WAS WORKING IN THE GARDENS. SHE WONDERS IF THE SQUIRRELS WERE HARVESTING THEM PREMATURELY, WELL BEFORE THEY WERE READY TO FALL ON THEIR OWN. THE SQUIRRELS WILL EVEN BREAK-OFF CHUNKS OF ACORN-LADEN BRANCHES, TO HARVEST WHAT THEY NEED. THIS YEAR, IT WASN'T HAPPENING. WHETHER THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OR NOT, WE DON'T KNOWN. WE ALSO NOTICED THE FRANTIC WORK OF OUR CHIPMUNK POPULATION, HUSTLING TO CARRY AWAY SEED, AND ANYTHING ELSE THEY COULD INCLUDE AS A WINTER STORE. IT'S NOT THAT WE HAVE MORE SQUIRRELS OR CHIPMUNKS THAN USUAL. I DON'T BELIEVE THE POPULATION HAS INCREASED, OR DECREASED FOR THAT MATTER, BUT WE'VE NEVER SEEN THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR FROM FOUR OUR OF SIX SQUIRRELS WE KNOW RESIDE IN OUR TREES.

WE HAVE HEARD A STORY, THAT FOUR ROBINS HAVE BEEN SEEN ON PROPERTY IN ORILLIA. WE CAN'T PROVE THIS, BUT THAT SEEMS A LITTLE TROUBLING. WE SPOTTED SOME TINY BIRDS, FLITTING IN AND ABOUT THE SHOPPING CARRIAGES, IN THE GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT YESTERDAY, THAT SUZANNE BELIEVED WERE OUT OF PLACE (SHOULD HAVE MIGRATED)…..AND ALSO ACTING STRANGE ON TOP OF THAT. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A FOOD SOURCE SOMEWHERE THERE, OR SOME MATING RITUAL IN PROGRESS. I HAD TO STOP AND TAKE A LOOK IN THE CART STORAGE STRUCTURE, BECAUSE OF THE WILD AMOUNT OF CHIRPING…..MUCH AS YOU WOULD HEAR ON WARM SPRING EVENINGS…..NOT IN MID FEBRUARY. WHEN I LOOKED UP TO SEE IF THEY WERE IN THE ROOF CAVITY, ONE TINY BIRD….NOT A CHICKADEE, JUMPED UP THROUGH THE WHEELS AND METAL OF THE SHOPPING CARTS, AND I SAW SIX OR MORE BELOW THIS ONE. WE'RE NOT AVID BIRDERS, SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO IDENTIFY THEM……AND POSSIBLY, TO THEIR SPECIES, THEIR BEHAVIOR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ODD AT ALL. WE SHOP HERE DAILY, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN THIS CLUSTER OF BIRDS.

THEN THERE IS THE "WINTER THAT WASN'T!" CLIMATOLOGISTS WILL POINT TO OCEAN CURRENTS AS INSTIGATORS OF THIS WEATHER PHENOMENON. INSTEAD OF A TYPICAL MUSKOKA WINTER, STARTING IN MID-NOVEMBER, AND POUNDING US TO THE CUSP OF APRIL, IT HAS BEEN WITH MINOR EXCEPTIONS, A PRETTY EASY PERIOD TO NAVIGATE…….AND A BLESSING FOR THOSE WITH TRADITIONALLY HIGH HEATING COSTS. WHILE EUROPE HAS BEEN BRUTALIZED WITH DEADLY COLD TEMPERATURES, WE HAVE BEEN BASKING IN A MODERATE CLIME. GOOD FOR US BUT MAYBE NOT SO MUCH FOR SQUIRRELS, CHIPMUNKS AND WEE BIRDS.

I HAVE BEEN WRITING A LOT THESE DAYS ABOUT CLIMATE, GLOBAL WARMING AND COMPROMISES TO THE ENVIRONMENT. I HAVE BEEN WRITING MOST RECENTLY ABOUT STEWARDSHIP, AND THE ROLE GOVERNMENT MUST PLAY IN ITS IMPLEMENTATION……WHETHER SOME LIKE IT OR NOT. AND THIS WILL BECOME A MAJOR ISSUE IN THE FUTURE, ESPECIALLY WITH LANDOWNER RIGHTS SO VIGOROUSLY ARGUED THESE DAYS IN MUSKOKA. WHILE WE MAY AGREE, GOVERNMENT INEPTITUDE GENERALLY, IS MORE TO BLAME FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CARNAGE, THAN THE AVERAGE RANK AND FILE CITIZENRY, THERE WILL COME A TIME, WHEN OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL BE PUT IN OFFICE, TO GUARD OUR NATURAL RESOURCES……NOT SIMPLY EXPLOIT THEM.

WHEN I OPINE, THESE DAYS, ABOUT STEWARDSHIP, AS IT RELATES TO MUSKOKA, AND MY HOME BASE HERE IN GRAVENHURST, IT'S USUALLY ABOUT PARKLAND ALLOCATIONS, AND THE CONSERVATION OF CRITICAL URBAN OPEN SPACE, WETLANDS, AND OF COURSE OUR LAKES AND RIVERS. WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTOCOLS, AND AWARENESS IN THE PAST THIRTY YEARS, IT ISN'T ENOUGH. AND EVEN TODAY, WHILE OUR FEDERAL DEBACLE CONTINUES TO UNFOLD, ALMOST EVERY DAY, THERE IS A GREAT NEED OF ELECTED OFFICIALS, TO STEP OVER PARTY LINES, AND POLITICAL AGENDAS, PERSONAL PROJECTS AND SUNDRY OTHER SELF-SERVING INTERESTS, AND GO GREEN. SERIOUSLY. AN I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JOINING THE GREEN PARTY…..THOUGH I WOULDN'T DISCOURAGE IT BECAUSE I THINK VERY HIGHLY OF ELIZABETH MAY, AND THE GREEN MOVEMENT GENERALLY. BUT THIS IS MORE THAN BELONGING TO A PARTY, OR RECYCLING, OR DISPOSING OF HAZARDOUS WASTE SAFELY AT AREA DISPOSAL SITES. IT REQUIRES OUR STEWARDS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE. THE EXAMPLE OF CITIZENS WHO KNOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE HAS TO DO WITH ABUSE…..IT HAS TO DO WITH NEGLECT…..IT HAS TO DO WITH OVER-DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION EXPLOSION, UNCONTROLLED POLLUTION…….OODLES OF CONTAMINATION, STILL MAKING IT INTO OUR WATERWAYS. AND YES, HERE IN MUSKOKA.

THE PRE-OCCUPATION WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS NECESSARY. THE PROCEDURAL WORK FOR A WORKING COUNCIL, IS WHAT THEY'RE PAID TO PERFORM. THE ROUTINE STUFF, LIKE RUNNING PUBLIC WORKS OPERATIONS, MAINTAINING SERVICES, AND KEEPING THE CYCLE OF MUNICIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES CLICKING EFFECTIVELY AND SAFELY, ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY……ALL THE DAYS, OF ALL THE YEARS. BUT THERE IS AN OBSTACLE, THAT MIGHT WELL FALL INTO THE COGS OF THIS MECHANISM OF BUSINESS AS USUAL. MAYBE IT IS TIED INTO THE STRANGE BEHAVIOR OF THE SQUIRRELS AND BIRDS……I DON'T KNOW. BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE. THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES WILL EFFECT US ALL……NOT JUST THE SQUIRRELS.

I WOULD LOVE TO INVITE COUNCILLORS, EVEN ONE, TO A GENTLE TRAVERSE OF A MUSKOKA WATERWAY BY CANOE, TO EXPLORE THE AMAZING NATURAL RESOURCES STILL FLOURISHING IN THIS REGION. I WOULD VERY MUCH ENJOY A COUNTRYSIDE MOTOR-TRIP, TO EXAMINE MORE CLOSELY, WHAT THIS REGION HAS, THAT MAY SOON BE LOST. I WOULD ADORE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WALK THROUGH THE WOODLANDS, ON A SPARKLING SPRING AFTERNOON, TO SEE WHAT REJUVENATED PLANT LIFE, HAS BEGUN TO RISE UP FROM THE COVER OF LEAVES, OF A PAST AUTUMN SEASON. I WOULD LIKE TO STAND WITH THEM, TO ENJOY AN INSPIRING SUNRISE OVER A MUSKOKA LAKE, AND THEN, WATCH TOGETHER, OUR CANOE'S REFLECTION RACES BESIDE, AS IF WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE SPIRIT-KIND, THE LEGENDS OF THE LAKELAND. I KNOW OF WHAT I WRITE. THERE ARE TOO MANY DE-SENSITIZED FOLKS TODAY……JUST AS OUR OWN REPRESENTATIVES, HAVE FOUND LITTLE TIME TO RE-CONNECT WITH THE NATURE OF MUSKOKA. STEWARDSHIP WILL FAIL OTHERWISE, AND SO ULTIMATELY WILL THIS VULNERABLE, SENSITIVE REGION.

I HAVE USED THIS EXAMPLE MANY TIMES, BECAUSE IT IS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE, TO DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY…..ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO HAD NO IDEA JUST HOW DISCONNECTED, THEY HAVE BECOME WITH THE PLANET, THEY REQUIRE FOR LIFE. MY OWN REGENERATION CAME WHEN I ATTENDED AN OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM, FOR INNER CITY STUDENTS FROM HAMILTON SCHOOLS. I WAS AT CAMP KWASIND, ON SKELETON LAKE, TO DO A FEATURE ARTICLE ON THE ARTS AND NATURE PROGRAM, BEING OFFERED TO THESE CITY DWELLERS, IN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RETREATS I'VE SEEN……ON ONE OF OUR TRULY MAGNIFICENT LAKES. DAVE BROWN, ONE OF THE TRUE INNOVATORS OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION, IN THE PROVINCE, INVITED ME TO JOIN A GROUP OF STUDENTS ON A NATURE HIKE. HE DIDN'T TELL ME IN ADVANCE WHAT THE PROTOCOL WAS, OR THE PURPOSE, GENERALLY, OTHER THAN TO ENJOY THE NATURE ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE WAY.

AFTER A SHORT LAKESIDE HIKE, WITH DAVE POINTING OUT MANY SPECIES OF FLORA AND FAUNA, TREES AND VISIBLE INSECTS, HE ASKED THE YOUNGSTERS TO SIT ON A LOG, AT THE SIDE OF THE TRAIL. AFTER A LITTLE REST, AND SOME MINOR PUSHING AND SHOVING, AS COULD BE EXPECTED OF BORED STUDENTS, DAVE ASKED THEM TO IDENTIFY THE SOUNDS AROUND THEM. HE DIDN'T SPECIFY ANY PARTICULAR SOUND. ANY SOUNDS. MAN MADE OR OTHER. THE STUDENTS IDENTIFIED A DISTANT CHAIN SAW, A MOTOR BOAT OUT ON THE LAKE, A HAMMER FROM A CONSTRUCTION SITE FURTHER UP THE SHORE, AND AN AIRCRAFT PASSING OVERHEAD. IT TOOK THEM A LONG WHILE, AND MANY MORE STEPS DOWN THAT TRAIL, TO IDENTIFY ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEIR NATURAL SURROUNDINGS. THEY COULDN'T HEAR THE SOUND OF LEAVES RUSTLING FROM A CHIPMUNK, OR THE NOISY APPROACH OF BUGS BUZZING ABOUT THEIR EARS. THEY COULDN'T EVEN IDENTIFY THE LAPPING OF WAVES ON THE SHORE. THIS SENSITIZING TO THE REALITIES OF NATURE, WOULD TAKE PLACE ALL THAT WEEK. DAVE TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT THREE DAYS OF INTENSE CONCENTRATION, AND SHARPENED AWARENESS, FOR THOSE KIDS TO IDENTIFY THE SOUNDS OF NATURE, OVER AND ABOVE THE INTRUSIVE RACKET OF MAN-MADE DIN. THE POINT, FOR THESE BUDDING ART STUDENTS, WAS THAT THEY REQUIRE THE FULL ENTERPRISE OF SENSORY PERCEPTION, TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AROUND THEM…..TO APPRECIATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS WELL BEING.

THESE SAME YOUNGSTERS, WERE FROM AN URBAN ENVIRONS. THEY WERE USED TO SIRENS, JACK-HAMMERS, AIR TRAFFIC, RUMBLING TRUCKS AND TRAFFIC ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. THEY WERE DE-SENSITIZED TO THE NATURE AROUND THEM.

THE PROBLEM IS, WE HAVE STEWARDS OF OUR RESOURCES, EVEN HERE IN THE GLORIOUS HINTERLAND, WHO ARE EQUALLY DE-SENSITIZED TO THE ENVIRONMENT……AND SPEND THEIR TIME READING DOCUMENTS AND DIRECTIVES, INHALING THE AIR OF A COUNCIL CHAMBER…..AND SELDOM BEING IMMERSED, BY JOB RESPONSIBILITY, IN THE MIDST OF WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF THIS REGION…..THE GOOD OLD WORLD. AS I SAID EARLIER, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE COMPANY ON THESE NATURE WALKS, BECAUSE ENLIGHTENMENT IS NINE TENTHS OF OUR BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL.

WHEN I WRITE ABOUT STEWARDSHIP…..WELL, NATURE COMES FIRST.

WHEN I READ QUESTIONS ASKED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT…….ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MUSKOKAN……WELL THAT'S EASY. "TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC CONSERVERS OF ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH."

I AM YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT. A CANOE AWAITS.

Gull Lake, A Muskoka Jewel

SIMPLY MUSKOKA - ISN'T IT WONDERFUL - BUT CAN WE MAKE IT BETTER? SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS THINK THEY CAN!

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN-

EARLIER TODAY, I BROKE A PROMISE TO MY WIFE…..THE SAME DEAR WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN ABUNDANTLY PATIENT WITH THE WRITER-KIND FOR SO LONG, WITH SO MANY OATHS GIVEN ON BENDED KNEE, AND CROSSED HEART, THAT I WOULD STOP INVOLVING MYSELF IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLITICS. I AM A CAD! A LIAR! TWO FACED! A JUDAS! I WILL APOLOGIZE TO HER AS I HAVE HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE. BUT I WILL NOT DO THE SAME TO MY CONSCIENCE, FOR DRAGGING IT OUT OF SEMI-IMPOSED RETIREMENT. SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SAID….AND IN THIS CASE, WRITTEN.

TIME AND AGAIN, AN ISSUE WILL ARISE, THAT NECESSITATES THE POOR WOMAN, HAVING TO YANK MY HEAD OUT, FROM THE SKULL-SHAPED HOLE, I JUST MADE IN THE CEILING ABOVE MY CHAIR. "YOU'VE BEEN READING THE PAPER AGAIN, HAVEN'T YOU," SHE ASKS, KINDLY WIPING THE PLASTER OFF MY FOREHEAD, AND BANDAGING MY BATTERED NERVES WITH A HUG. THAT'S NOT WHERE IT ENDS HOWEVER, AND IT'S PRECISELY WHAT I'VE SWORN-OFF ABOUT A HUNDRED TIMES, JUST IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS. IT'S WHAT I REALLY DON'T WANT TO INVOLVE MYSELF WITH, BUT I AM POWERLESS TO STOP. WHEN SUZANNE ISN'T HERE, I MAKE A BEE-LINE FOR THE COMPUTER, TO WRITE A COUNTERPOINT TO SOMETHING I HAVE JUST THEN CONSUMED FROM THE WEEKLY PRESS. TODAY IT WAS ABOUT BIG PLANS FOR A SMALL, WONDERFUL LAKESIDE PARK, AND AN HISTORIC ENTERTAINMENT VENUE KNOWN AS "THE BARGE."

YOU CAN VIEW MY HONEST APPRAISAL OF THE MOST RECENT PROPOSALS FOR PARK UPGRADES, AND BARGE ENHANCEMENTS, ON MY GRAVENHURST; HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE BLOG-SITE. THIS HAS BEEN A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE FOR SOME TIME, BECAUSE OF WHAT OUR TOWN HASN'T DONE, THAT WAS THEIR STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITY. TO MAKE SURE ANNUALLY, THAT THE BARGE, WHICH IS A WOODEN ISLAND ON IRON SUPPORTS, A FEW METERS FROM THE SHORE, IS STRUCTURALLY SOUND. THE TOWN OWNS IT…..AS DO WE, THE CONSTITUENTS OF THIS TOWN, AND THEY DIDN'T FOLLOW THROUGH, AS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ROUTINE. NOT THE OCCASIONAL GLANCE, OR THE RE-SURFACING OF A FEW BOARDS…. OF WHICH QUITE A FEW HOLD MORE WATER THAN WOOD FIBRE. SO NOW THAT THE TOWN REALIZES THE BACKTRACKING IS EXPENSIVE, AND THE UPGRADES WILL COST A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY DON'T HAVE, WE FIND THE OLD WAYS COMING BACK TO HAUNT US ALL OVER AGAIN…….THE SEEKING OF THE GRANTS TRICK, TO IMPROVE NOT ONLY THE BARGE, BUT THE PARK AS AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE…..BY GOUGING OUT THE SHORELINE, AND PUTTING IN SOME SORT OF CONCRETE BUNKER WITH SEATS. THE PROVINCE JUST CLOSED ONTARIO PLACE, RIGHT? DID I MENTION, THE NEWLY PROPOSED ROOF TO GO ON THE SAGGING BARGE. WHAT BEGAN AS A REPAIR JOB….LONG, LONG OVERDUE, HAS BECOME A MUCH BIGGER CONSIDERATION, AND THE MONEY WILL HAVE TO COME AS A GRANT……MONEY FROM THE CANADIAN TAXPAYERS, OR JUST THE ONTARIO TAXPAYERS, HELPING US IMPROVE A PARK THAT FRANKLY IS PRETTY DARN GOOD ALREADY. THE SMOKE AND MIRRORS AROUND HERE, LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S ENOUGH TO PROPEL A TAXPAYER RIGHT THROUGH THE CEILING, THE TRUSSES AND PAST THE PLYWOOD AND SHINGLES.

GULL LAKE PARK HAS EVERYTHING IT NEEDS. OF COURSE IT COULD ALWAYS BENEFIT FROM BETTER WASHROOM FACILITIES, AND CHANGE ROOMS FOR THE BEACHFRONT, AND AN ENHANCED PLAYGROUND WOULD MAKE SENSE. THE BARGE IS PERFECTLY CENTERED ON THE LAKE, AND THERE IS AMPLE ROOM FOR MORE BENCHES, AND EVEN SOME BLEACHER SEATING, WITHOUT DISTURBING ONE SHOVEL-FULL OF SHORELINE EARTH. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR CONCERN ABOUT BUILDING UP TO THE EDGE OF OUR WATERWAYS? ISN'T THAT SOMETHING THE MUNICIPALITY IS CONCERNED ABOUT…..SET BACKS FROM EXISTING WATERWAYS. ALLOWING THE FILTERING OF RUN-OFF WATER……THROUGH EARTH AND VEGEGATION. CONCRETE ISN'T GREAT AT FILTERING RUN-OFF.

THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT A "GRAND PLAN" GETS ATTACHED TO SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T NEED A "GRAND" ANYTHING…..JUST COMMON SENSE, BASIC, YEAR TO YEAR MAINTENANCE. WE DON'T NEED ALL THE ATTACHMENTS THE GRAND PLANNERS THINK WE SHOULD HAVE….TO MAKE THE PARK A BETTER PLACE TO BE. WITH ITS LOW BUDGET OFFERINGS, AND ITS HIGH RATE OF RETURN, WHY START SCREWING ABOUT, TO IMPROVE WHAT IS ALREADY GOOD ENOUGH. WHAT STARTED OUT AS A PLEA TO OUR TOWN COUNCIL, TO FIX WHAT THEY HAVE STEWARDSHIP OF, HAS BECOME AN EPISODE OF THE SIMPSONS…..WHERE THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE GETTING A MONO-RAIL, BECAUSE SHELBYVILLE HAS ONE. THE BARGE NEEDS REPAIRS. IN ORDER TO SUPPORT A ROOF STRUCTURE, IT NEEDS AN UPGRADE SUPPORT SYSTEM. THE KIND OF IMPROVEMENTS COUNCIL IS ENTERTAINING, TO IMPROVE SOUND CAPABILITIES AND ACOUSTICS, SEEMS THE KIND OF LARGE SCALE MODIFICATIONS, WELL BEYOND WHAT BARGE MANAGER FRED SCHULZ PRODUCES SUNDAY NIGHTS, THROUGH THE SUMMER SEASON. WHAT WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF HERE, IS AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE FOR MUCH ENHANCED PROGRAMS TO BE RUN BY WHO…….WELL, THEY MUST HAVE AN IDEA BECAUSE WHY ELSE WOULD THEY GO TO THIS EXTENT OF RE-DEPLOYMENT WITHOUT A MANAGERIAL OVERVIEW….OR IS THE TOWN OFFICIALLY ENTERING THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS? IT HASN'T WORKED SO WELL AT OUR OPERA HOUSE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDER-UTILIZED BUILDINGS IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP. THERE IS A PLAN HERE THAT IS WELL BEYOND WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS ON THE TABLE, WHEN MANY OF US REQUESTED THE TOWN UPHOLD THEIR END OF THE STEWARDSHIP THING……AND INSTEAD OF GETTING SECURITY REPAIRS, TO KEEP ON PRODUCING ON A SAFELY ANCHORED PLATFORM, A FEW COUNCILLORS HAVE APPARENTLY TAKEN THE REPAIRS TO MEAN A TOTAL OVER-HAUL, WITH SERIOUS MODIFICATIONS TO THE SHORELINE….RIGHT BESIDE THE PUBLIC BEACH. A CITY PLAN. NOT A TOWN PLAN, IN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, NATURAL AREAS OF THE PROVINCE.

UNDOUBTEDLY THERE WERE OPPONENTS OF THE BARGE, WHEN IT WAS INITIALLY PROPOSED, AND I TRUST THOSE SENTIMENTS WERE ADDRESSED. POSSIBLY I WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THEM BACK IN THE 1950'S, CONCERNED ABOUT MESSING UP A PERFECT LAKE SCENE. ARGUABLY, EVERY DEVELOPMENT HAS ITS DETRACTORS. OBJECTORS TO THE WAY IT WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT THE PICTURESQUE QUALITIES, THE SERENITY AND ECOLOGY OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY. THERE WERE THOSE WHO WORRIED THEN, AND NOW, ABOUT WHAT THE ENHANCED VENUE WILL DO TO THE NATURE OF THE PARK, AND HOW IT WILL COMPROMISE THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THERE IS NO WAY OF AVOIDING POINT, COUNTER-POINT. WHAT MAKES ME SO NERVOUS, IS WHEN THE TOWN STARTS MOUTHING OFF ABOUT "SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS, LIKE THE GULL LAKE PARK MODIFICATIONS, WELL BEFORE MAKING IT CLEAR THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE THEIR SAY, AS WILL VARIOUS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, WHETHER THE PROJECT IS TRULY "SHOVEL- ANYTHING." I HAVE READ THIS NUMEROUS TIMES ALREADY IN THE LOCAL PRESS, GIVING THE IMPRESSION TO READERS, THE SHOVEL COMES FIRST…….AND THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION, "DO WE HAVE TO?" AH, THE "FAST TRACK" APPROACH. YOU KNOW, FAST TRACKING WOULD HAVE BEEN SO BLOODY APPROPRIATE ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO, WHEN MUCH OF THE DAMAGE TO THE BARGE COULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH, BEFORE THE CRISIS STAGE, WE FIND OURSELVES AT PRESENT.

AS CRAFTY A WORDSMITH AS I FANCY MYSELF, (MOST LIKELY A CLUB OF ONE) BEING A BLOGGER AND ALL, I CAN NOT REASON WITH TOWN GOVERNANCE, AND WHAT THEY WANT IS WHAT THEY WANT……AND UNLESS FOLKS IN OUR TOWN, ARE WILLING TO REAR-UP, AND START SENDING IN THEIR PROTESTS, THIS COULD WELL BE THE OUTCOME……THAT A REALLY NICE PARK, WITH THE MOST BASIC MAN-MADE ATTRIBUTES OF ENTERTAINMENT, RECREATION AND COMFORT SERVICES, WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A COMMERCIALLY BURDENED ONTARIO PLACE NORTH…..THAT WILL START LOOKING A LOT LIKE THE WHARF, AND A LOT LESS LIKE A TRULY REFLECTIVE, ICONIC MUSKOKA PARKLAND, FOR THE CITIZENRY AND GUESTS.

THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH A BLOGGER CAN DO. WELL THERE IS THE GULLIVER'S TRAVELS THING….WHERE WE STRAP OURSELVES TO THE SHORELINE….THE SHOVELS BE DAMNED! THERE'S MUCH MORE TO COME ON THIS STORY.

Life in Muskoka with Suzanne

MY FAREWELL TO THE CITY, A FAMILY, A LIFE OF ONCE

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

IT IS ANOTHER BRIGHT WINTER DAY, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. EVERYONE HAS GONE OFF TO DO "THEIR THING" THIS MORNING, AND I'M HERE WITH SOME VERY ANIMATED CATS, AN OLD DOG AT MY SIDE, AND A CRICKET WHO HAS ALL OF A SUDDEN DECIDED TO CHIRP, POSSIBLY TO SPEED UP THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING. I AM SATISFIED, AS USUAL, TO LOOK OUT THIS OFFICE WINDOW, AND SEE THE SAME SPLENDID SCENERY AS YESTERDAY AND THE DAY BEFORE…..BUT FEEL AT HOME…..AS THIS IS MY PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE, FOR HOWEVER LONG GOD MIGHT WISH ME TO REMAIN. IT IS ALL VERY CONTENTING YOU SEE, AND THE CRICKET IS PART OF THE CHORUS, WITH SCRATCHING FROM THE DOG AND PURRING OF THE CATS. THE TAPPING AT THIS KEYBOARD BINDS IT ALL TOGETHER.

I RECALL THE PRECISE MOMENT I FOUND MY DIRECTION AT THE PROVERBIAL, PHILOSOPHICAL CROSSROADS. I WAS STAYING AT A WORK COLLEAGUE'S DOWNTOWN TORONTO APARTMENT, LOOKING OUT THE DOOR TO THE BALCONY, ONTO THAT EVENING'S TRAFFIC; THE ENDLESS, SILENT SNAKING OF RED AND WHITE LIGHTS, AND THE MYRIAD LIGHTS OF ADJACENT APARTMENTS AND OFFICES, STORE SIGNS AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS AGAINST WHAT APPEARED THE JET BLACK OF NIGHT…….AS IF IT WAS A WRAP OF THEATRE CURTAINS AROUND THIS PANORAMA OF CITY EXISTENCE. I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THE CITY AND I WERE POLAR OPPOSITES, EVEN THOUGH MY FAMILY HERITAGE IS ETCHED HERE……WITH EVEN A STREET NAME HONORING MY GRANDFATHER, A BUILDER OF HOMES, BY THE NAME OF STANLEY JACKSON. "JACKSON AVENUE." I SHOULD WANT TO LIVE HERE. BUT I DON'T.

THE THREE REPORTERS WERE GUZZLING BEER, TALKING ABOUT OUR FUTURES IN THE NEWS MEDIA, WHAT MIGHT COME NEXT, NEW ASSIGNMENTS, BETTER JOB OFFERS, ADVENTURE…..OR JUST MORE OF THE SAME. BOOZE. BIG PLANS. STATUS QUO. WE ALWAYS GOT MORE CREATIVE WITH OUR LIVES WHEN ALCOHOL WAS INVOLVED.

EVERY MORNING IT WAS THE SAME EMOTIONAL RESCUE, TRYING TO SCULPT BACK THE NORMALCY WE COULD COMFORTABLY RELATE. IT WAS THE LAST NIGHT WE WOULD BE TOGETHER, AS REPORTERS, DOING THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD. IT WAS FINALLY THE TIME TO ACT ON SOME OF THOSE LIFE AND WORK CHANGES. WE HAD ALL BEEN WORKING IN MUSKOKA ONLY A FEW MONTHS BEFORE, AND ONE OF US HAD EVEN CLAIMED A MAJOR WRITING AWARD. NOT ME. ONE HAD FOUND A MEDIA JOB IN THE CITY, AND THE OTHER WASN'T LONG FROM ABANDONING THE NEWS BUSINESS ALTOGETHER. I KNEW MY OPTIONS. I COULD HAVE MOVED TO THE CITY AND FOUND WORK. I HAD JOB OFFERS. NOT GREAT ONES, BUT WITH MY YEARS AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I COULD HAVE GONE TO ALMOST ANY WEEKLY IN THE PROVINCE, AND PERFORMED ADEQUATELY. I COULD HAVE GOT A JOB WITH A DAILY BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SUBSTANTIAL DOWNGRADE FROM WRITING, TO FETCHING COFFEE FOR THE FRONT-LINE STAFF WRITERS. DID I MENTION, ALSO GETTING THEIR MAIL.

AS I HAD BEEN HAPPY TO RETURN TO MUSKOKA, FOLLOWING UNIVERSITY, THIS WAS THE SECOND MAJOR TEST…..NOT JUST TO A FLEDGLING CAREER, BUT TO THE FINE LINE BETWEEN THRIVING AND FAILING. THE CITY I WAS LOOKING OUT UPON WASN'T FOR ME. MY CONTEMPORARIES TOLD ME SO. BOTH OF MY COLLEAGUES KNEW I WAS OFFICIALLY A COUNTRY BOY, AND THE FACT THAT I HAD SPENT MY EARLY YEARS OF LIFE, IN BURLINGTON, DIDN'T FACTOR IN AT ALL, TO WHAT MY HEART AND SOUL WERE CAPABLE OF THESE DAYS. THEY WERE RIGHT.

LATER THAT NIGHT, I COULDN'T SLEEP, AND WANDERED ABOUT IN THE APARTMENT, LOOKING OUT ONTO THE CITY LIGHTS, AND THE HEAVY TRAFFIC EVEN AT TWO IN THE MORNING, AND I PULLED MY NOTEBOOK FROM THE CAMERA BAG, I'D BROUGHT ALONG. JUST IN CASE, WE CAME UPON ANY BREAKING NEWS BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTRY. I STILL HAVE THE NOTES I MADE THAT NIGHT, SCRATCHED WITH AN ALMOST INK-LESS PEN, WHILE SITTING IN A CHAIR BY THE WINDOW……WRITING ABOUT ANOTHER PLACE, ANOTHER TIME, AND THE HEARTFELT LINK I COULDN'T CUT AWAY……AS I OFTEN THOUGHT I SHOULD. I WAS BEING HELD BACK BY NOSTALGIA. SENTIMENTAL STUFF. BUT I HAD AT LEAST BEEN HONEST WITH MYSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT I HAD WRITTEN IN THE NOTEPAD WAS PROFOUND, FOR SOMEONE WHO HAD DISCOVERED A SUITABLE WAY, A PRECARIOUS BALANCE, TO SIT ON THE FENCE, FACING BOTH WAYS, WITHOUT SETTING FOOT IN ANY DIRECTION. OUT OF FEAR, I MIGHT MAKE A MISTAKE THAT COULDN'T BE CORRECTED. THIS TIME I KNEW THERE COULD BE NO MISTAKE. I COULD NOT LIVE HERE. I COULD NOT WORK HERE. THERE WAS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION I COULD NOT SEVER, AND IT WAS MY SAVING GRACE, THAT WAS MORE DURABLE, THAN WHAT I HAD, BY PERSONAL CONVICTION, TO CUT LOOSE AT LAST.

WHEN I PUT THE PEN DOWN, SET THE PAD ON THE TABLE TO MY SIDE, I FELT STRANGELY LIBERATED BY THIS WEE HOURS VIGIL I HADN'T INTENDED. I LOOKED DOWN ON THE HEAVILY IMPRINTED NOTES, FROM A FAILING PEN, AND THEY WERE POIGNANT AND ACCURATE TO HOW I FELT, IN MY OWN ISOLATION IN THIS URBAN CONUNDRUM.

"TIRELESS, THROBBING CITY LIGHTS OWNED THE NIGHT. FOR ENDLESS HOURS SLEEP EVADED MY CAPTURE. PULSING, THROBBING CITY LIGHTS. STREET-WISE HUMANITY PASSED IN CONFUSION ON THIS BLACK VELVET NIGHT, ALONG THE STRETCHING RIBBON LINES….WE COULD ONLY ESCAPE THE METROPOLIS BY DREAMING AWAY THE NIGHT. IT WAS OUR TIME FOR DREAMING. BLESSED DREAMING. OLD FICTIONS. WE BEGAN OUR ESCAPE."

"I COULD NOT BE DENIED MY VOYAGE TO ANOTHER PLACE, IN A DISTANT WORLD, A PEACEFUL BAY, CRADLED BY A CURING BALANCE OF SUN AND LAKE, A LAKELAND BREEZE OVER THE DOCK WHERE I REST. I DEFIED THE PROPORTION OF SUCCESS, I LUSTED FOR, TO BECOME THE WATERS OF THE PINERY STREAM, TO MAKE LOVE IN THE SUNSCAPE IN ANOTHER WORLD. WE WERE DREAMERS THEN, CARESSED BY THE GENTLE WAVES, TAKING AWAY THE PAIN AND DOUBT, ALLOWING US TO SAIL TOWARD THE SKY. THE WIND FILLED THE CANVAS, HOLDING TIGHT, THE SILVER SPRAY TRAPPING THE SUN WITHIN. THE CONSTANT ROLL OF WAVES ON EARTH, PUSHED US INTO A UNIVERSE OF THE FAMILIAR, AND BROUGHT US BACK AS PROMPTLY, TO REALITIES OF OUR OWN SENSE OF SPIRITUAL DEPENDENCE, LOVINGLY UPON ONE ANOTHER."

THERE WAS HARMONY IN THE LAKELAND DREAM, AS WE WALKED TO THE HORIZON ON A GOLDED CURRENT, PULSING THROUGH EACH HEART. THE LAKE HELD US CLOSE TO THE DREAM WE INSPIRED, BY STRANGE ROMANCE, MY ESCAPE FROM THE CITY. THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC ROAR, THE SMELL OF PINES WAS SHARP, OUR TIME FOR DREAMING, LET US STAY A WHILE LONGER, OUR HEARTS."

WHEN I BEGAN PENNING THIS SHORT, SENTIMENTAL PIECE OF RELATIVE NONSENSE, I WAS PRETTY MUCH TRYING TO PUT MYSELF TO SLEEP. IT REALLY WASN'T INTENDED AS ANYTHING MORE THAN A CALMING, TIRING TOME, THAT WOULD SATISFY MY NEED TO EXPRESS CONFLICTING FEELINGS AT THAT MOMENT. NOTHING MORE. BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, LIFE-CHANGING EDITORIAL PIECES I WOULD EVER WRITE.

IN ONLY A COUPLE OF SENTENCES, I HAD TAKEN MY TURN AT THE CROSSROADS. I KNEW THAT THE CITY LIFE MY MATES HAD CHOSEN, WOULD NOT WORK FOR ME. YOU CAN TELL FROM READING IT, THAT WHILE THE CITY FASCINATED ME, AND I HAD ONCE ENJOYED STUDENT-LIFE HERE, AS A WRITER THERE WAS NOTHING MORE DOMINANT IN MY FUTURE PLANS, THAN LIVING AND WORKING IN MUSKOKA. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I WENT FROM USING "I" IN THE MATERIAL, TO USING "WE" AND "OUR" INSTEAD. THE MOMENT I BEGAN TO DO THIS, IN HARD COPY, WAS WHEN I HAD DECIDED TO ASK MY GIRLFRIEND, AT THE TIME, TO MARRY ME. SOON AFTER ARRIVING HOME TO BRACEBRIDGE, I WROTE A NOTE TO HER SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD SPEND OUR LIVES TOGETHER. I SLID IT UNDER HER APARTMENT DOOR, IN AN OLD VICTORIAN HOUSE A COUPLE OF BLOCKS FROM MY PLACE, ALSO A RESTORED VICTORIAN HOME. SHE WAS ALREADY IN BED, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE HER. I KNEW THEN THERE WAS A BALANCE IN MY UNIVERSE. I HAD FOUND MY WAY, AND HOPEFULLY, SUZANNE WOULD FIND IT IN HER HEART, TO JOIN IN PARTNERSHIP……TO LIVE A FULFILLING LIFE IN THE DISTRICT WE BOTH ADORED.

THIS IS MY VALENTINE MESSAGE TO SUZANNE, MY BRIDE. SO MANY YEARS LATER, A MARRIAGE, A FAMILY RAISED, A RETIREMENT LIFE BEING CONSIDERED, WE ARE STILL HOME IN MUSKOKA…..THE PLACE THAT HAS ALWAYS ENHANCED OUR DAY TO DAY LIVES, AND NURTURED OUR FAMILY IN SO MANY WONDERFUL WAYS.

"THERE WAS HARMONY IN THE LAKELAND DREAM, AS WE STROLLED, HAND IN HAND, ON THAT GOLDEN STREAM OF SUNSET."

MY DECISION AT THE CROSSROADS. COULDN'T HAVE BEEN A BETTER ONE.

Legend of Tall Pines

LEGEND OF TALL PINES - THE SOUND OF THE WIND

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

" TWISTING BALLS OF FIRE, FROZEN STILL IN LIGHT, LOOPS OF WRITHING DRAGONS LEAP FROM THE BOUNDS OF NIGHT. GRASPING CLAWS SLASH AGAINST THE AIR, TO ESCAPE THE ROSSEAU MYTH. IN SEARCH OF MORTAL WARMTH, TO FREEZE IMMORTAL RIGHT; SUN AND LAKE MAKE A PACT, TO END THE DRAGON'S WAKE. TAME IT WITH THE SPANNING LIGHT, EXPLODING ON THE LAKE, A CHILD, I WATCHED THE DRAGON SLAYED AT DUSK." THE LEGEND OF TALL PINES. 1984. INSPIRED BY THE TALL PINES AT THE COTTAGE IN WINDERMERE.

I MUST HAVE APPEARED QUITE A SILLY-MAN, STANDING OUT, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LANE, PONDERING THE UNIVERSE. I DON'T THINK IN RETROSPECT, I WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY SAID THIS, SHOULD I HAVE MET A NEIGHBOR AT THIS SAME TIME OF NIGHT. BUT IT WAS TRUE NONE THE LESS. IT WAS A CLEAR SKY WITH MOON AND STAR-LIGHT, AND AT ONLY A FEW DEGREES BELOW ZERO CELSIUS, STANDING FOR ALMOST A HALF HOUR, DIDN'T INSPIRE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST CHILL. THE HEAVENS HAD OPENED UP, AND IT REMINDED ME WHEN THE BOYS WERE YOUNGER, AND WE'D EVEN LAY BACK IN THE SOFT SNOW, AT BIRCH HOLLOW, TO LOOK UP INTO THE NIGHT SKY. ON WINTER NIGHTS JUST LIKE THIS……CLEAR AND REFRESHING, AND ALTOGETHER UNIVERSAL IN APPEAL. WHEN YOU'D LAY ON THE SNOW, LOOKING UP, WE WOULD START TO FEEL AS IF WE WERE FLOATING IN SPACE, VERSUS ANCHORED TO THIS PLANET. WE IMAGINED THAT WE HAD PROPULSION FROM JET PACKS, AND WE COULD DART SILENTLY FROM STAR TO STAR IN QUEST OF NOTHING IN PARTICULAR…….OTHER THAN THE FREEDOM TO JET THROUGH TIME AND SPACE, INTO FAR OFF GALAXIES. I WAS AS MUCH A KID AS THEY WERE, IN THOSE CHERISHED DAYS, WHEN IMAGINATION MADE UP MOST OF ANY PLAY-DAY.

BEFORE THE BOYS CAME INTO OUR LIVES, I COMPOSED TWO SMALL BOOKS, LARGELY COMPOSED OF SHORT STORIES, AND SOME POETRY I HAD WORKED ON WHILE AT UNIVERSITY. THERE WERE HOWEVER, SOME PIECES IN THE BOOK, THAT WERE BASED ON ACTUALITY AND MY OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES. THESE ARE MY BIOGRAPHICAL PIECES, AND THEY WERE FROM A PERIOD IN MY CREATIVE ENTERPRISE, WHEN I SPENT MOST OF MY DAYS OUTDOORS LOOKING, I SUPPOSE, FOR THE MEANING OF LIFE. A LOT OF WHAT I WAS WRITING ABOUT, HAD ORIGINS IN THE MUSKOKA WILDS. I WOULD, FOR EXAMPLE, SPEND A DAY BOTTLE DIGGING, AROUND OLD MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS. I STARTED IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, COLLECTING OLD CANADIAN GLASS, GLASS OIL LAMPS, AND BOTH MEDICINE AND SODA BOTTLES. I REAL WINNER WAS FINDING A TORPEDO-SHAPED SODA BOTTLE IN THAT HOMESTEAD SOIL. I MIGHT DIG FOR TWO OR THREE HOURS, BEFORE TAKING MY FIRST BREAK. IF I HAD A GOOD START TO THE DIG, I COULD WORK THROUGH UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON BEFORE REALIZING I HADN'T SNUCK INTO MY PICNIC LUNCH. ONE GOOD FIND MEANT ANOTHER WAS JUST A FEW INCHES AWAY. OF COURSE, THIS WAS TRUE ABOUT ONE PERCENT OF THE TIME, BUT AS TREASURE HUNTERS KNOW, ONCE THE ADRENALIN IS PUMPING HARD, THERE'S NO WAY OF STOPPING WITHOUT BEING COMPELLED TO DO SO……BY SAY, AN IRRITATED BEAR. OLD DUMPSITES SEEMED TO ATTRACT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RASPBERRY CANES, SO I ALWAYS HAD TO BE WARY OF GUESTS FOR LUNCH.

I WORKED ON BOTTLE DIGS, ON AND OFF, FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS. WHEN SUZANNE AND I MARRIED, I WAS ABLE TO FIND THREE BURIED SITES ON THE COTTAGE PROPERTY, AND MUCH LATER, ONE AT THE FAMILY HOME IN WINDERMERE. I WAS IN MY ELEMENT, SPADE IN HAND, FOUND BOTTLES AT MY FEET. YET AT THE SAME TIME, I WAS THOROUGHLY ENJOYING THE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE. AS THE COTTAGE PROPERTY, ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU, WAS LOADED WITH TALL PINES, OVER TIME, I BECAME VERY MUCH INFLUENCED, BY THE SOUND OF THE AIR CURRENTS PASSING THROUGH THE MASS OF NEEDLED-BOUGHS. IT WAS A HAUNTING SOUND THAT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT, NOT ONLY MY ATTENTION, BUT SEEMED TO INFLUENCE EVEN MY IMAGINATION. AS I'D BE DIGGING THROUGH THE DEBRIS OF OLD CANS AND BROKEN GLASS, OF A CENTURY EARLIER, THE OVERHEAD SOUNDS WERE, BY SHEER EXPOSURE, INSPIRING STORY-LINES AND MY WHOLE CREATIVE DEMEANOR. I HAD DONE A MAJORITY OF MY WRITING IN URBAN SETTINGS, IN TORONTO AND BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE MY ATTIC OFFICE, LOOKED OVER THE BUSY LANES OF THE MAIN STREET. I WAS WRITING ABOUT NATURE BUT AT THE SAME TIME, BEING LARGELY INFLUENCED BY THE URBAN CONUNDRUM THAT I DIDN'T REALLY LIKE. I HAD NICE OFFICES IN THOSE YEARS, AND I WAS PROLIFIC. OF THAT THERE IS NO DOUBT. MY FIRST CREATIVE JAG WAS PRODUCING A BOOK WITH AWARD WINNING MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER, TIM DUVERNET, A COLLEAGUE AT MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, CALLED "MEMORIES AND IMAGES." IT CAME ENTIRELY FROM MY MANITOBA STREET HOME, AND EVEN THOUGH NATURE WAS THE COMMON THREAD, THROUGH EACH AND EVERY STORY, I WAS STILL WRITING FROM A STUFFY SECOND FLOOR APARTMENT, IN AN OLD BRACEBRIDGE HOUSE.

FOR THE SECOND SHORT-STORY VENTURE, JUST TO SEE IF THIS WAS WHAT I WANTED TO WORK ON, IN THE FUTURE, I LET THOSE TALL PINES HAVE THEIR WAY WITH MY EMOTIONS. EVEN IF I WASN'T WORKING AT "A DIG," I WOULD SIT ON THE HIGH ROCK SHELF ABOVE THE CHANNEL OF LAKE ROSSEAU, AND LET THE WIND IN THOSE PINE TOPS INSPIRE THE MOOD OF THE DAY. I MADE COPIOUS NOTES, AND I MUST ADMIT FEELING VERY MELANCHOLY AT TIMES, WHEN THE LIGHT OF DAY, SKY, AND HUE OF THE WATER, CREATED STRANGE MOURNFUL THOUGHTS THAT FRANKLY FRIGHTENED ME AS A WRITER. I WASN'T USED TO THIS "HAUNTED" FEELING. EVEN WHEN IT WAS BRIGHT AND THE WATER WAS SPARKLING WITH DIAMOND LIGHT, THE SKY SO LIMITLESS AND CLEAR, IF THE WIND WAS TO SUDDENLY PICK UP, WITHOUT A STORM CLOUD ON ANY HORIZON, IT WOULD SOUND AS IF SPIRITS WERE SPEAKING TO ME, ABOUT SOMETHING I SHOULD THINK ABOUT……WRITE IN THE JOURNAL I KEPT WITH ME, SITTING ALONG THE SHORELINE. I MADE MANY NOTES. IT WAS, AT FIRST, A CONFUSING CONFLUENCE THAT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. JUST BY THE SOUND OF THE WIND RUSHING THROUGH THE PINE NEEDLES, MADE ME FEEL VERY MORTAL AND FRAGILE, AS IF HEAVEN AND EARTH WERE THEN LINKED BY THIS NATURAL OCCURRENCE…..THAT SEEMED VERY SUPERNATURAL. SO MUCH SO THAT I'D FEEL I WASN'T ALONE……, AS IF ALL OF A SUDDEN, THRUST INTO THE WREATHING PRESENCE OF DESCENDING SPIRITS, ANGELS, AND I'D START TO FEEL THE HAIR ON MY NECK STANDING ON END, AS IF I HAD TRULY SEEN A GHOST.

WHEN I DECIDED TO WRITE THIS SECOND BOOK OF SHORT STORIES, I INVITED SUZANNE'S MOTHER TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROJECT. AT THE TIME, SHE WAS QUITE ILL, AND THIS LITTLE PROJECT KEPT HER BUSY THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME. SHE HAD BEEN WRITING SHORT STORIES, AND POEMS FOR YEARS, BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THEY WERE PUT IN BOOK FORM, WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER, JOHN BLACK, OF GRAVENHURST. WE ENTITLED THE BOOK, "THE LEGEND OF TALL PINES." HARRIET WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE BOOK SIGNING, AND WE SOLD OUT OF THE BOOK IN JUST OVER A MONTH. SUZANNE HAS KEPT A FEW COPIES FOR THE BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, WHO NEVER GOT TO MEET THEIR GRANDMOTHER. SHE DIED SHORTLY AFTER THE BOOK WAS PUBLISHED.

THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE FRONT COVER, IS A SHOT STRAIGHT UP INTO THE PINES AT THE COTTAGE, JUST ABOUT WHERE I'D SIT AND WRITE ON SUMMER AFTERNOONS, WHEN SUZANNE AND I RESIDED THERE, OVER A FEW SUMMERS BEFORE THE BOYS WERE BORN. LAST EVENING, STANDING OUT ON THE LANE, ENJOYING THE DAZZLING NIGHT SKY, I HEARD THE WINDSONG IN THOSE TALL PINES ON THE EMBANKMENT OF THE BOG, AND THE SEVERAL LARGE EVERGREENS AT THE REAR OF BIRCH HOLLOW. THE SOUND OF THE WIND IN THE PINE NEEDLES, STOPS ME IN MY TRACKS. IT IS THE SAME FEELING OF MELANCHOLY, I KNEW AS A MUCH YOUNG WRITER, SITTING IN THE MEADOWS OF LONG ABANDONED MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS, LISTENING TO THE DRY SPRING WIND THRUSTING THROUGH THICK PINE WOODLOTS, WITH THAT EERIE, MOURNFUL SOUND. THE CONFLUENCE OF NATURAL SOUNDS THAT ALWAYS SEEMED SO COMPELLING AND ALLURING AT THE SAME TIME, AS IT WAS HAUNTING AND INTRUSIVE, AND MADE ME FEEL QUITE ALONE IN THE WORLD. IT WAS THE SAME WIND I COULD HEAR THIS EVERNING, WHEN I STOOD OUT BENEATH THESE WONDERFUL STATELY PINES. IT WAS THE REASON SUZANNE HAD TO COME OUT AFTER ME, TO SEE IF I WAS ALL RIGHT. I WAS. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN ALRIGHT, IN THE COMPANY OF NATURE. COMFORTABLE IN THE INSPIRING EMBRACE OF MUSKOKA….MY WALDEN.

Accident in Paradise

WHEN WINTER KNOCKS AND SHOWS A GENTLER SIDE, IT'S TIME TO TRAVEL - BUT THE NEWS PREVAILS SADNESS ONCE AGAIN

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

WE ENJOYED A RATHER MERRY TIME, YESTERDAY, TRAVELING ALONG THE WINDING, UPS AND DOWNS OF THE SUNNY TRAILS, THROUGH THE DIAMOND SNOWSCAPE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA. WE WERE SORRY TO HEAR, OVER THE RADIO, NEWS OF THE TRAGIC SNOWMOBILE ACCIDENT, NEAR MILFORD BAY.

LOOKING OUT OVER THE SUN-DRENCHED LANDSCAPE, PAINTING IN SUCH DRAMATIC LIGHT AND SHADOW, DOWN ACROSS THE FARM PASTURES, SPARKLING THROUGH THE OVERHEAD BOUGHS OF OLD MAPLES, IT SEEMS SO IMPOSSIBLE ANYTHING BAD COULD HAPPEN ON SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY. BUT IT HAS. DREADFULLY SO.

I'M NO LONGER A NEWS-CHASING REPORTER. I AM THANKFUL FOR THAT REALITY. I COULDN'T FACE THIS TRAGEDY, STARING THROUGH A CAMERA LENS AT SOMEONE ELSE'S MISERY. I DID THAT, AND HATED EVERY MOMENT. WHEN I LEFT THE NEWS PROFESSION, I TUCKED MY CAMERA BACK IN THE BAG, STUFFED AWAY THOSE WEATHER-WORN NOTEPADS, AND SET THE CASE ASIDE FOR WHAT NOW REPRESENTS MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS. AND YET I STILL THINK IT IS BEHIND THE SEAT IN THE VAN, AND THAT I SHOULD PUT MY HAND ON IT, JUST NOW, WHILE TRAVELING TO THE SCENE OF YET ANOTHER ACCIDENT……TO GET PREPARED FOR THE CARNAGE AHEAD. SUZANNE WATCHES MY REACTIONS. WHEN I TOLD HER I WAS LEAVING THE NEWS PROFESSION, SHE NEVER SAID A WORD. NEVER HAS. SHE KNEW I WOULD HAVE THIS ONGOING DEBATE WITH CONSCIENCE, AND THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO PLAY OUT ON ITS OWN. THERE WAS NOTHING SHE COULD DO. SHE CERTAINLY COULDN'T ERASE WHAT I WAS FORCED, BY EMPLOYMENT, TO SEE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

WE CARRIED-ON DOWN THIS ROAD, AND TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF SIMILARLY TRAGIC EVENTS, IN THE PAST, CLAIMING LIVES ON THESE LIGHTLY TRAVELLED ROADS, AND CROSS COUNTRY TRAILS. AS A REPORTER I'D BEEN FORCED TO CONTEND WITH BREAKING NEWS EVENTS, AND FREQUENTLY THOSE IN THE PRINT MEDIA, WERE ALSO ASKED TO DO WHAT WE CALLED "VOICERS" FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION NEWS PROGRAMS. WE ALL HATED THAT GIG, EVEN THOUGH WE GOT A FEW EXTRA BUCKS FOR OUR TROUBLE. REPORTING ON TRAGEDY WAS NEVER SOMETHING I WANTED TO NOTCH, IN ORDER TO GET A PAY CHEQUE AT THE END OF THE WEEK. I WONDERED WHO WOULD BE OUT THERE, THIS AFTERNOON, STANDING ON THAT COLD ABUTTING PASTURE….I KNOW WELL, ASSESSING THE ACCIDENT SCENE, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW RECREATION COULD TURN DEADLY IN ONLY A SPLIT SECOND.

SUZANNE KNOWS WHEN I START CLENCHING MY JAW, AND GRABBING THE STEERING WHEEL AS A TRANSFERENCE OF EMOTION, FROM DRIVER TO MACHINE, AND I'M SURE SHE APPRECIATES THE KIND OF SCENES I HAD TO COVER…..SOMETIMES ONLY MINUTES FROM COVERING A 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, OR THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW PROVINCIAL OR FEDERAL GRANT, TO HELP PURCHASE NEW HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT; OR BRAND NEW EMERGENCY RESCUE EQUIPMENT, FOR ONE OF THE LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS. A PHONE CALL CHANGED IT ALL. IT'S WHY I DON'T LIKE ANSWERING THE PHONE AT HOME. THERE WAS A LOT OF BAD NEWS THAT CAME OVER THAT LAND-LINE, I HATED TO HEAR. THIS NEWS WAS ONE OF THOSE REMINDERS, OF HOW AN OUTLOOK CAN CHANGE SO QUICKLY. THE THOUGHT OF US ENJOYING THIS INCREDIBLY GLOWING WINTER DAY, DURING A MODESTLY COLD FEBRUARY, AND TRAVELING WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD….TO NOWHERE, NO PLACE IN PARTICULAR; TO THEN ADJUST TO THAT NEW REALITY PREVAILING UPON OUR DISTRICT. AS HARD AS I MIGHT TRY, I CAN NEVER GET TOO DISTANT, OR MINDFULLY REMOVED, FROM THOSE DAYS WHEN IT WAS MY FOOTFALL ON PATHS LIKE THIS, HUDDLING WITH OTHER REPORTERS, TALKING WITH EMERGENCY PERSONNEL, WITNESSES, IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE SOME SENSE OF MISADVENTURE, WHEN AT THE VERY BEST, IT WOULD READ WITH THE SAME SADNESS AS ANY OBITUARY, AND "IN MEMORIUM." NO MATTER HOW COMPETENT WE REPORTERS WERE, AT WORDSMITHING THE STORY, IT WAS GOING TO BE A MISERY TO WRITE. AS MUCH AS WE MIGHT FEEL IT IMPORTANT, FOR OUR CAREERS, TO COVER BREAKING NEWS, NO MATTER WHAT THE EXTENT, OR DIMENSION OF THE EVENT, WHEN IT CAME TO APPLYING OUR EMOTIONS TO THE TASK, FINGERS UPON THE KEYBOARD, TRUTHFULLY, WE'D RATHER HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE, THAN REPORTING ON A TRAGEDY.

I COULD LOOK THROUGH THE CATHEDRAL MAPLES, AND EVERGREEN MIX, ON A SLOW MOTOR-TRIP NORTH ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, AND THINK ABOUT THE SAP PAILS THAT WILL SOON BE OUT, AND THE CONSTANT, WONDERFUL DRIP OF THE SAP…..IN PREPARATION FOR THE FIRING UP OF STOVES, IN THE SUGAR SHACKS ACROSS MUSKOKA. I CAN ALMOST TASTE THE WOODSMOKE AND BOILING SAP, JUST LOOKING THROUGH THIS GLORIOUSLY APPOINTED, WINTER LANDSCAPE, SPARKLING FROM THE OVERHEAD SUN. IT WAS AS IF, I COULD HAVE GOT OUT OF THE CAR, AND TAKEN A FEW STEPS DOWN THE VALLEY, AND OPENED THE OLD WOOD DOOR, ON ONE OF THOSE SHACKS, AND BREATHED-IN DEEPLY, THE VAPOR OF THICKENING SYRUP……AS I KNOW WELL, THERE IS A SUGAR SHACK IN ONE OF THESE HOLLOWS OF TOPOGRAPHY, IN THE MAPLE GROVE, THAT BELONGS TO AN ACQUAINTANCE. I JUST DON'T KNOW ITS PRECISE LOCATION. I'VE BEEN INVITED THERE, BUT NEVER ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH A VISIT. MAYBE THIS YEAR. I SUPPOSE SUZANNE KNOWS OF MY DAYDREAM, AND REMINDS ME TO WATCH THE ROAD, AS THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE ICE BUILT-UP AROUND THE CORNERS. IT IS EASY TO BE DISTRACTED BY THIS EMBRACE OF THE HINTERLAND. IN THE CASE OF THE DAILY NEWS, IT IS A SHORT-LIVED RESPITE OF GENTLY IMPOSING IMAGINATION, UNTIL THE MUSIC BEGINS AGAIN.

WE ARRIVED HOME CONTENTED, AS USUAL, AND PLAN A SIMILAR MOTOR TRIP TODAY, IF THE WEATHER HOLDS. IN MY YOUTH, I THOUGHT NOTHING OF HEADING OUT IN A STORM, TRAVELLING OFTEN IN NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS, ON THE WEEKLY RUNS TO TORONTO…… TO HONOR COMMITMENTS. I WAS LUCKY TO SURVIVE. ALL WHO TRAVELLED WITH ME, ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SURVIVED. IT WAS A GAME OF CHANCE, EACH TIME WE DEFIED NATURE, JUST TO SAY WE HAD WHIPPED THROUGH YET ANOTHER BLIZZARD. I AM MUCH TOO CAUTIOUS TODAY, TO EVEN TRAVEL BETWEEN SOUTH MUSKOKA TOWNS, LET ALONE HEAD OUT ONTO THE MAIN HIGHWAY ARTERY NORTH AND SOUTH. I'VE SEEN TOO MUCH BREAKING NEWS TO BE ANY OTHER WAY.

THIS MORNING IS FULL OF PROMISE. A CALM, CHILLY DAY, WITH JUST A TRACE OF SNOW IN THE AIR. THE ROADS HAVE BEEN CLEARED AND SANDED, AND IT APPEARS CONDITIONS ARE ADEQUATE FOR A WEE OUTING. SUZANNE PLANS TO BRING SOME CD'S FOR THE CAR STEREO….SUCH THAT WE MIGHT SHUT OFF THE NEWS OF THE DAY…..FOR AWHILE AT LEAST. SHE WILL KNIT AND SING ALONG WITH HER IRISH ROVERS CD, AND I WILL THRIVE AGAIN, ON THE ALLURE OF TRAVEL THROUGH THIS AMAZING WINTER LANDSCAPE, AND BE THANKFUL FOR OUR WELL BEING.

HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY YOURSELF. PLEASE!