Giants of the forest: My father's discovery of Ontario's tallest white spruce
White spruce bark (Photo by Rob Duval, Wikimedia Commons)
When I was young we lived in Cochrane and Dad worked for the Department of Lands and Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources) as a forester. Around 1958 or 1959, he was cruising a lease for Abitibi somewhere in the Hudson’s Bay...
An inordinate fondness for weasels
Fisher, Clear Creek, Riding Mountain Aspen Parkland Natural Area, Manitoba (Photo by NCC)
I suppose I’ve always been a cheerleader for the underdog so it’s only logical that I am a fan of the Fisher (Mustela pennanti). Weighing between seven and 13 pounds, fishers are the second-largest of North American weasels. Like their...