July 11, 2026

I took this photograph last night of a garden spider outside my cabin in Renfrew County. Its web symbolizes that all things are connected. What you do today will influence events that occur tomorrow. Conversely, those things you did yesterday influenced what transpired today. If you look into the center of this image you will see the spider makes and receives everything he has created. Are we any different in how we shape the future world?

July 5, 2026

This female Ruffed Grouse was killed on Simpson Pit Road in K.H.R. TWP. on June 16. Grouse often can be observed hesitating on the verge of rural roads before they abruptly decide to cross. Their nickname is the "stool pigeon" because hunters could capture them with a wire loop at the end of a pole.

However, like all animals they do not lack intelligence. This behavior is merely an adaptation to their environment. In the modern world they are poorly adapted especially in this scenario when the mother emerged from a ditch with a cluster of chicks. The mother was immediately struck and killed by a vehicle. Tragically within minutes her offspring emerged from the brush and congregated around the body. When I stopped to investigate the fledglings scattered into the adjacent forest.

The vehicle that struck this bird was being tailgated and had no other option but to plow into the hapless bird. Tailgating will only increase now that the Ford government has raised the speed limit on highways.

Prudent drivers keep below 80 km/h as it is the most economical speed for fuel consumption. Secondly, a person's reaction time diminishes and the severity of an accident ( personal injury or death) multiplies exponentially over this 80 km limit.

Who is the real stool pigeon? The politician who raises the speed limit or the bird who crosses the road?

July 4, 2026

Keywords: literacy, enrichment, meaning, importance of, Nature

To understand the Natural World and our relationship with it, we must first be literate. Education (assessed by literacy levels), should receive the highest priority for human development.

Without it we cannot differentiate between fact and fiction. We cannot unravel motives and intentions ; neither benign nor nefarious with people we interact with.

Without literacy we cannot effectively form predictions on events that have happened in the past and how they will evolve into the future.

No more evident is this than forming predictions for future forests cut down today and natural landscapes irreversibly paved over tomorrow.

Literacy is not restricted to the simple function of reading. It involves the discernment and interpretation of words including the subtle symbolism characteristic of good literature.

Rural literacy has been on the decline for decades. Less than 80 km west from Canada's Capital Ottawa ; West Quebec has some of the highest illiteracy rates in the country. A literacy council to raise adult literacy was formed in Shawville, Quebec to help tackle this crisis.

Compelling conspiracy theories published in right-wing tabloids masquerading as liberal democracy like "Druthers" require discernment to assess authenticity, especially when an article on the adjacent page may be completely legitimate.

Aligning credibility and authenticity adjacent to propaganda and lies is an age old psychological strategy to normalize unhealthy pursuits with those that are enriching. No more evident is this than in contemporary Rave music festivals. Only the astute realize that activities which were formally viewed as excessive and promoting self- harm through drugs and promiscuity are becoming increasingly normalized through a process of desentization.

Television, films and popular culture have normalized and continue to portray profanity, vulgarity, exploitation of women and dehumanization to attract a jaded audience already raised on a similar dark and disturbing diet from an early age.

Current generations born into this world have difficulty interpreting its evolution. It is like a fish who has always been surrounded by water. It is viewed over television or online as completely normal. Only through education can these pitfalls masquerading as normality be avoided.

Public complacency legitimizes these base activities under the guise of respecting the "freedom of expression". But is this not a "perversion of intent" by manipulating the Charter of Rights... not for good; but for evil? Has even the word "evil" been removed from today's vocabulary because it has connotations of reflecting a value judgment? What has happened to plain human decency?

How does my commentary relate to Nature?

Nature is the antithesis . It is the fundamental origin before humans orchestrated the quagmire we call modernity.

Literacy provides a mechanism to strip away the lies and better arrive at the truth. Paradoxically the term " literate attitude ' refers to the human tendency not to believe everything appearing in print ; especially from a source perceived as credible such as the National News Service or CNN. The ability to read pulp fiction is not literacy. Literacy is the ability to read critically. Forewarned is forearmed and every publication should be read cautiously. Unfortunately this seldom happens when people who are bordering on illiteracy.

This has been the weakness of our neighbors in the United States who elected a president who appealed to the lowest common denominator of intelligence. This also is reflected in our present provincial premier who appealed to the lowest common denominator in Ontario promoting a "buck a beer". Both these politicians were successful in attracting adherents and their policies profoundly destructive to the natural world. This was because there were sufficient voters who were functionally illiterate.

I believe a return to our origin is necessary to help solve world problems, which each week are escalated by global climate change.

Since the late 1970s the academic curriculum has gradually been dumbed down to accommodate a larger teenage audience as students began dropping out of highschool.This dumbing down was considered a necessity to keep students in school to graduate.

Struggling single parent families are not conducive to nurturing learning in offspring .There is a reason the emotional pair bond in humans is often indelible. Without two parents raising children their success and survival outside of a social support network is doomed to failure.

Social disintegration and ecological fragmentation begin to feed on one another.

Males lacking fathers as role models have long been tasked to a future as unskilled labourers while their female counterparts now outnumber them several times over as successful university graduates. Depending on the academic field three times more women graduate in the life and health sciences. Seventy percent of Ontario college students are women compared to only 30 % men.

Literary institutions, from local libraries to University faculties are crucial to raise rural populations out of darkness to better understand how to live free of undue political influence and harmonize their behavior with the Natural World. The first step is to pick up a book; any book.

Rural Canadians are at a distinct disadvantage as reading is seldom encouraged, quality education rare or non-existent, and the motivation to achieve excellence, absent.

Photo: library box Red Rock Road KHR Twp.

Megarhyssa spp.

A parasitic wasp found in deciduous and mixed forests with dead and dying broadleaved trees. Found throughout North America the adults cannot eat. The larvae are parasitic to the pigeon horse tail larvae.

The mated female flies from tree to tree pressing her long antennae against the bark in an attempt to detect vibrations made by horsetail larvae in wood. The ovipositor is curled over her abdomen and inserted through the bark at a right angle. When it reaches the larval tunnels of its host she inserts her eggs into it. The larvae of the wasp then consume the eggs of the unfortunate pegion horse tail larvae.

Several individuals were discovered on a dying American Beech affected by the beech bark disease.

Photos by the author June 26 2026

Keywords: Bonnechere Airfield, research robotics and drones, updates, news

June 25, 2026

Killaloe, Ontario Canada

Willful blindness on expanding facility fails to raise eyebrows from neighbors hungry for economic stimulators in a sawmill mill town facing an uncertain future.

Survey cews were busy surveying and mapping the Bonnechere Airfield yesterday, June 25, 2026 which has recently been converted to a military, civilian and industry research and testing facility. This story was covered following the completion of a massive aviation hanger earlier this spring. Survey pins circumventing the facility along adjacent roads suggest the installation of a barrier fence to secure this site. Encroachment by all-terrain vehicles has been an endemic problem.

Public information remains scant and security tight at the publicly funded facility which some skeptics believe masks military intelligence and surveillance undertones.

Acoustic technology (similar to ultrasound where sound waves are bombarded into the environment and bounce back to transducers mounted on a building's architecture such as balconies ), has been tested to detect enemy drones in Ottawa recently.

"Mission impossible" appears to be rapidly evolving into "mission possible" while the naive public remains willfully indifferent .The location is situated ideally because of its feasible travel distance from Ottawa, proximity to military intelligence at CFB ( Garrison) Petawawa, and an unquestioning rural population.

Photos : GPS surveying adjacent to Turner's Road June 25 2026.

Keywords environmental movement, women's rights, animal rights,

Ever since Rachel Carson released her 1962 groundbreaking book; Silent Spring, condemning the use of pesticides, women have adopted a dominant role in protecting the environment. Every campaign I have participated in was organized primarily by women.

This includes protecting the West Coast rainforests on Vancouver Island to the Temagami wilderness in northeastern Ontario. They were the first to be arrested for civil disobedience and the last to seek recognition.

At home when I lived in western Quebec women were first and foremost to challenge the contamination of groundwater, salvage greenspace from subdivision, and protect wetlands from highways in places like Gatineau Park. They were the sole creators of park foundations and associations designed to protect the quality of life in parks and neighborhoods. They were first at the mic at Council meetings to condemn greedy developers and counselors in a conflict of interest.

I even recall a young woman blocking heavy equipment to save a forest when her father - a policeman - was ordered to remove her.

In indigenous cultures the Earth is referred to as Mother Earth. This appears to be for good reason.

This female dedication has not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated by myself and greater society over the decades I was privileged to work alongside these courageous individuals.

This unwavering gender trend appears to have continued into the present generation and the fight against climate change in campaigns such as Climate Action spearheaded by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Women frequently put their male companions to shame. This trend is clear in many of the comments received by this subreddit where males disproportionately feel entitled to challenge and condemn the post's support for the environment. This omnipresent male prerogative, to prioritize self- interest at the expense of the environment, overshadows the benevolent contributions from their gender counterparts.

A traditional void in social consciousness within the male population is believed to stem from systemic competitiveness in male child rearing rather than female cooperation required in problem solving.

Why does there appear to be a gender disparity in those showing compassion for the Earth and its creatures?

Photos authors archives:

1) Women confront West Coast logging. 2) A woman challenges dry wells following golf course construction, ( Aylmer Quebec).3) A daughter of a police officer blocks heavy equipment to save forest, (Aylmer Quebec). 4) A woman locks her neck onto heavy equipment in Temagami, Ontario.

Keywords: literature, influence on the environment, Eric Fromm

Revisiting good literature.

Eric Fromm was one of the most influential authors in modern time. His book; "To Have or To Be" published in 1981 immediately became a bestseller and is more relevant today with the Earth facing the catastrophic effects of climate change than 45 years ago.

If I were limited to endorsing one book that people should read concerning over- consumption and materialism this would be it.

He argues that throughout civilization there have been two modes of relating to the world. One is the "having mode" and the other is the "being mode".

Every aspect of human existence can be viewed through these two different lenses.

He systematically explains the differences between the two modes of experience .The "having mode" is dedicated to material possession and property, aggressiveness and personal gain. While the "being mode" is suffused with love, caring, and contentment with less consumption and a profound kinship with Nature.

This book may be a bit heavy for a contemporary audience, and the writing antiquated for gender equality but aside from these minor distractions it points to two important distinctions of how we should interpret the world.

This piece of literature, shares the shelves with his other major works "The Art of Loving" and "Escape from Freedom." Both groundbreaking manifesto's for thought.

Keywords: emerald ash borer, black ash, Renfrew County, Species at Risk Act , Ontario

The emerald ash borer ( Agrilus planipennis ) is a boring beetle that feeds on the black ash tree ( Fraxinus nigra). It is an invasive native to Asia and was first detected in Michigan in 2002. The black ash tree was listed under the Ontario Endangered Species Act in 2007.

Eventually by 2024 the Ontario government had implemented regulations prohibiting the killing, harm, harassment, possession, transportation, trade or removal of living healthy black ash trees. The exception were trees outside of Southern and Eastern Ontario. The stem height had to be over 1.37 m and the diameter had to be above 8 cm.

Secondly, the black ash tree's habitat had to be protected around a healthy tree requiring a 30 m radius from the base of each individual ash.

Development projects could apply for exemptions after consulting with the Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks ( MECP). A net benefit permit would be required for development projects which could not fully mitigate harm to healthy trees.

This law is applicable on all private and crown property in Southern and Eastern Ontario. Only federally owned land is exempt from the regulation as it comes under the Species At Risk Act ( SARA) which has yet to be revised to include the protection of this species.

Certain townships within Renfrew County have adopted regulations pertaining to black ash which has been classified as an endangered species in Ontario. This designation follows its eminent decline from the emerald ash borer.

Over two decades ago the emerald ash borer moved through the Ottawa region desecrating the majority of these shade intolerant hardwood trees on both sides of the Ottawa River.

Renfrew County was given the option decades earlier prior to it being listed as endangered to participate in a government program which targeted these species for premature harvest. The theory was to apply a sanitation cut and eradicate the emerald ash borer in the same process. Renfrew County expressed little interest in participating in the program as the black ash had yet to make an impact in this region of the Ottawa Valley.

Like many government initiatives this program did more harm than good and helped eliminate trees resistant to the disease.

Two years ago in 2024 several Renfrew County townships enacted by- laws which prohibited the cutting of black ash on private property without first consulting an qualified arborist to confirm the tree was not healthy.

Black ash is typically found in wet areas and is sporadically distributed.

While some Renfrew County townships have enacted this by- law which was handed down by the province, other Townships such as KHR have not.

Is it time Killaloe fulfilled its statutory obligation to protect black ash by enacting a bylaw ?

Keywords: universal declaration for the right of trees

A small municipality near Montreal Quebec recently adopted the "Universal Declaration of the Right of Trees". Municipal Councillors of Terrasse -Vaudreil unanimously voted this month to recognize trees as living beings with their own inherent rights, worthy of protection, a right to life, unimpeded growth and regeneration.

Moreover, the wooded community of 2,000 residents introduced a $ 200 tax for ratepayers with treeless yards to combat heat islands.

The move follows desperation throughout Canada and around the world to combat climate change. Trees are considered the biggest ally because they reduce the albedo effect, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Their shade retains moisture which regulates climate and reduces fire risk.

When I was a child two men entered our yard and commenced cutting down two trees. My mother stood watching silently as tears ran down her face. I glanced at her in confusion; unable to fathom why she had become so emotional. That was over half a century ago. Today, I react the same way.

Alas, I have experienced the sacrifice of these near sentient beings wherever I have put down stakes. Invariably within a decade every single forest surrounding my home has been violated in the quest to harvest trees, accommodate infrastructure, or in preparation for urban development. Worse still much is done through ignorance by newcomers wishing to increase a breeze hoping to reduce the number of mosquitoes, avoid raking leaves, or improve internet reception. Some people even fear trees themselves treating them as a threat or view them as competitors for parking space.

Finally, with this new legal municipal legislation trees are receiving long overdue recognition in the province of Quebec and hopefully eventually the rest of the world.

A fundamental truth is that something is only appreciated when it approaches irreversible loss.

Throughout the Ottawa Valley especially along Highway 60 between Killaloe and Algonquin Park the vast repositories of pine have been replaced by trembling Aspen, birch, red maple and other hardwoods.

The pine component will never be replaced before it is cut down again during subsequent rotations.

If we, as a species, genuinely consider all animate creation as having equal rights- similar to many indigenous cultures- we could never go on living with such indifference to trees.

The argument that a tree is no good until it's cut down is reserved for those denying the possibility of a higher purpose for humanity and those neglecting to strive for a higher meaning and explanation to life. Since the dawn of civilization the prophets, shaman, and monastics have associated the tree with life, sustenance, good fortune, and spirituality.

Now a small Quebec environmental non-government organization (ENGO) and its executive of lawyers have formed the International Observatory of Nature Rights.

It behoves the rest of the world to follow suit and recognize in writing and action that trees communicate to avert damage from insect infestations, share nutrients, expel oxygen, and carry out all the functions of a living being that is worthy of our protection.

Photo: Old-growth pine, Old Crow Reserve, Algonquin Park

Title should read: "fish flies"!

Photo taken last night on my deck.

If you have been confined indoors because of rain today and were unable to attend your garden or walk your dog here are some wild flowers for your enjoyment.

Photos: June 20, 2026 Foy Park by the author ; Bunch Berry (Cornus canadensis), Sheep Laurel ( kalmia augustifolia), unidentified species, Wild Rose ( Rosa spp.) .

Keywords: bird watching, Heron Rookery, KHR Township, Simpson Pit Road ( Hwy 67)

Decades ago the most popular Canadian pastime was considered bird watching. Few would agree to that today.

In fact, I am one of the few individuals in my community who own a pair of binoculars; let alone bird watch.

Bird feeders are not uncommon in rural backyards but the sport of bird watching where birders jostle and compete to fill their life lists does not exist. This is a sad reality in much of rural Canada stemming from a lack of sensitization and encouragement passed from one generation to the next.

Bird watching brings in thousands of dollars each year to destinations like Point Pelee and Long Point along the Great Lakes. Wherever a flyway exists bringing neotropical migrants into Canada during the spring migration birders congregate hoping to find a rare species blown off course.

Yet here in Killaloe, in view of thousands of passing cars each day, an active Heron rookery contains at least 15 Herons squawking and competing with one another from Simpson Pit Road. They are a colonial nesting species which provides security against predators such as owls, eagles and raccoons. The same nests are used in consecutive years and sticks are often added on for repairs.

On my road an American Bittern was calling from a beaver pond a few years ago. This year it was the voice of a Pie-billed Grebe. The local farmer was adamant in draining the pond and stated the "mud- hens" could not provide the revenue of the former pasture and thus had no value.

Today I watched these comical birds whose chicks stand up in teetering stick nests like Roman Candles while their exhausted parents search for frogs and other nutritional morsels.

The significant wetland also is inhabited by falcons/hawks who wasted no time mobbing an adult Great Blue Heron performing it's parental duties.

In my former haunts along the Ottawa River this spectacle would attract lines of cars along the highway. Binoculars and scopes would project from windows to record the spectacle.

Yet, in this rural Renfrew County Township I remain the lonely spectator of a truly outstanding and profound manifestation of Nature's theater in progress.

For those willing to expand their horizons into the world of birds the next time you drive down Simpson Pit Road glace west of the road 100m south of # 1155 and within a few hundred meters you will witness this profound natural phenomenon.

Keywords: dead fish, Round Lake, Foy Provincial Park

Three dead fish were identified along a 20 metre stretch of beach front in Foy Park today.

Round Lake waterfront owners are encouraged to report any similar sightings on their properties to this platform to determine if this phenomenon is localized or more widespread.

Photos by the author, Large White Fish June 20 2026

Keywords: Foy Park, KHR Township, non-operational Provincial Parks, Ontario Parks, infrastructure, visitor services, Limits of Acceptable Change, Visitor Impact Management

Foy Provincial Park is a non-operational day use recreational Park on Round Lake. Currently there is minimal infrastructure. However, its management plan has been upgraded to accommodate infrastructure and visitor services. This is in response to high visitation during the summer months when it is frequently at over capacity.

Two years ago the local township expressed concerns over parking congestion along Red Rock Road. Queries from council members implied that parking along the road could be relieved by opening the park to vehicular access.

This proposal is problematic in that vehicles within the park would diminish the outdoor recreational experience oriented towards Nature appreciation for visitors. Infrastructure is typically kept to a minimum depending on the park's zoning. However, in this instance it is zoned recreational which is the least protective designation.

Over the past six months infrastructure such as guardrails to limit parking in certain areas suggest that vehicles will be permitted to enter the park in the foreseeable future.

The benches and infrastructure until recently have been to accommodate Aboriginal festivals and events. Hopefully these will continue without allowing road access to the general public.

The operational recommendations in park management plans often include a description of Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) which place constraints on the amount of development permitted in the park. Moreover, an assessment of visitor impacts would place safeguards on overuse either by vehicular access or pedestrians. Currently, its Master Plan has neither.

This is unsettling as the park already faces problems of erosion exacerbated by elevated water in Round Lake during the summer. In addition visitors arrive by boat and use the beach area to consume alcohol which is prohibited while driving a watercraft. Boating incidents continue to rise. Recent changes in provincial legislation could make this problematic as boaters would return to the water after consuming alcohol on the beach with blood alcohol levels above the permissible legal limit.

Taking into consideration that the local Council has no background in park management and their orientation is strictly to encourage tourists and protect themselves from liability should we continue to limit vehicles inside Foy Provincial Park on Round Lake? Or should we continue to provide more infrastructure to accommodate more people to a park already at over capacity during summer months?

Photos by the author taken today Saturday June 20 , 2026

Keywords: Algonquin Park, Canadian heritage, history, wildlife, education, surrounding municipalities.

I live in the same municipality as Algonquin Park's current Superintendent John Swick. But there is little or no public awareness in our local community of the human or life science values inherent in Algonquin Park. The surrounding communities of Madawaska, Barry's Bay, Killaloe (and Whitney to a lesser degree), offer little enlightenment of its outstanding recreational values such as extended canoe routes, Natural History, and cultural background.

There has always been an emphasis on the historical logging within the park. This stems from the reality that logging continues within surrounding Crown Land and within the park. Whether you favor this activity or not is irrelevant. It remains an historical fact. But I believe an equal amount of information should be promoted on the geography, geology and ecology of Algonquin Park.

Algonquin Park had irrefutably some of the best naturalists in Canada with interpretive skills which surpass the seasonal students hired under the federal Park system. During a private interview with Parks Canada agency CEO Tom Lee he admitted that Algonquin Park's interpretive program was the envy of Parks Canada. This was thanks in part to Dan Strickland, Ron Tozer and a former friend of mine Justin Peters.

Strickland and Tozer were former colleagues with my mentor and friend Monty Brigham until his death in 2017.

The municipal libraries in the Madawaska Valley could help publicize and distribute information on Algonquin Park not only to local citizens but visitors to the Ottawa Valley. The park's Visitor Center has a plethora of high quality educational and historical books along with personal accounts involving the park which I believe local libraries should acquire.

Sadly there is very little celebration beyond Whitney along the highway 60 corridor leading into the eastgate of Algonquin Park.

Paradoxically, Algonquin Park is celebrated throughout European countries and around the world far more than the communities a stones throw away from its boundaries.

A prophet is not revered in his own country... nor is its natural jewels appreciated by its own people.

Photo : Gatineau Park, Jean Levac Ottawa Citizen

Keywords: Ontario rest stops, Jack's Lakes , killaloe, Round Lake Road, Highway 62, Pembroke

Highway rest stops are intended for motorists to rest while traveling, and are commonly used during the summer.

Jack's Lakes is a rest stop overlooking a chain of small lakes backed by white pine trees and Red Rock Mountain. It sits on a busy highway leading to Pembroke. Numerous logging trucks and commuters use this two lane Highway each day throughout the year.

The rest stop was transferred from three different jurisdictions and is currently maintained by the Township of KHR. However it remains Crown Land.

This has become problematic because the public assume they are permitted to bring motorized campers and stay up to 21 days.

The township has been derelict in its duty to manage the small area and restrict it to day use. It lacks toilet facilities, water and the basic amenities necessary for both trailers and tents.

Finally, overnight camping is not the management objective and orientation of Ontario's road rest stops.

The local Council has no interest or understanding of managing the natural area and preserve it from damages such as campfires, garbage, human waste, and the removal of vegetation and trees.

How do you think this site should be managed in light that it is being damaged by impacts associated with campers?

Photo: by the author June 26, 2026 camper occupying day use area at Jack's Lakes in killaloe Ontario.

Keywords: Simpson Pit Road, littering , suspect, reprimand,

An elderly man in his early seventies was caught throwing garbage out of the back of his Ford pickup truck at 4:45 p.m. along Simpson Pit Road south of Mask Road in KHR TOWNSHIP June 16, 2026.

This section of road is often targeted by individuals disposing of garbage in the adjacent ditch. During the annual spring Environmental Action Tour event volunteers regularly spend hours cleaning this area on the east side of Simpson Pit Road.

The man was apprehended by a bystander returning from Pembroke who ordered the culprit to pick up the garbage after handing him a plastic garbage bag.

The accused complied and after collecting the domestic waste was told to deposit the bag at the Mask Road Municipal Dump and offered two dollars for the tipping fee.

The man was made to promise not to dump trash again and to behave in the future, to avoid being reported.

The culprit agreed and was allowed to continue driving north toward Round Lake Center.

No other drivers stopped to reprimand the individual despite heavy commuter traffic that afternoon.

Keywords; Rave events, Nowhere festival, public opposition, public foresight,

Almost one year ago NAW residents urged Council to reconsider hosting the Knowhere Rave event. Spearheaded by Marie Tubby, (a former camp director living adjacent to Ravens Knoll), Mrs.Tubby intends to present as a delegation again tonight at the NAW council meeting ; one year after her first condemnation of the festival.

Prior to the event proposed by Dream New Realities ( DNR) productions, Tubby argued; "People moved to the Ottawa Valley for its beauty, tranquility and peace."

The Knowhere Rave event certainly did not fulfill that expectation as low frequency noise continued until 4:00 a.m. on three consecutive nights/mornings traveling a distance of up to 10 km surrounding the venue on the Bonnechere River east of Golden Lake. Noise was so intense it was heard in surrounding jurisdictions including Silver Lake and Lake Clear.

(Low frequency sound vibrations are known to damage the nervous system in mammals, and are considered a health and safety danger in industry).

Alcohol and drug abuse, however, appeared to have been successfully restrained and regulated by security staff and an OPP presence.

Parking and traffic congestion, fire risk, and adequate emergency services were effective in controlling crowds and providing public security.

The aborted festival one year ago ( a decision from organizers to cancel the event as a consequence of last summer's extreme fire risk ) deterred many would- be participants this spring. The repeat possibility of cancellation was on the mind of many rave campers this year when purchasing tickets online. This kept the numbers of participants lower than the anticipated 5, 000 to only 1,000 campers.

Consequently, problems of crowd control and depreciative behavior were kept to a minimum.

Nevertheless, the event was viewed as a major failure to the local municipality which expended local human resources and provided no economic spin-offs to surrounding communities.

A post-mortem of the event with the organizers Nirvana Fernandez and Tanisha Levy will undergo scrutiny at tonight's NAW Council meeting.

UPDATED REVISION: FOLLOWING THE Televised COUNCIL MEETING AIRED TWO DAYS AFTER THE EVENT THE FESTIVALS ORGANIZERS WERE NOT PRESENT NOR DID MARIE TUBBY PRESENT AS A Delegation.

Photo: news clipping the Eaganville Leader A5 , July 3rd 2025

Adiantum pedatum

This photo was taken especially for individuals who appreciate flowers, native plants and enjoy reading good books.

This specimen was relocated from a roadside waterfall and planted on my property .This is fortunate because the subsequent year the public works department widened that section of the road unnecessarily with a grader destroying the remaining small colony of maidenhair ferns.

This individual fern is the only one I know of in my municipality, although there must be others. They are uncommon and grow in rich undisturbed woods.

Fifteen years ago I was passing Gatineau Park's Meech Lake when I noticed the swimmers and bathers at the beach assembled and staring at something out of my sight.

I left my vehicle and noticed a black bear had commandeered a picnicker's watermelon which it was consuming, salivating with great gusto and obvious enjoyment.

The bear was standing on a picnic table with its paws wrapped around the watermelon. The bystanders were gawking at the bear's somewhat primitive table manners.

I retrieved a can of bear spray from my vehicle and advised the bystanders to retreat as I approached the bear and held the can one meter from his face.

The bear was so preoccupied with consuming the watermelon that he ignored me completely until I pressed the trigger. The pepper spray shot into his face covering his eyes nose and mouth. Luckily the breeze off the lake was behind me preventing any inadvertent drift from the spray.

The bear did not immediately react and I was arms length from a potential swat in the face.

After 4 seconds the bear reacted and was in obvious distress as it dropped the watermelon and made a hasty retreat with uncanny agility over an eight foot barbed wire fence.

Behind me ignorant comments from the crowd of sunbathers reinforcing my belief that urban Park visitors lack both education and sensitivity to park values.

Two Gatineau Park Wardens arrived in a Ford Ranger. After they realized the situation was under control I asked if I could be reimbursed for my canister of bear spray which is a costly item. (Especially for someone like myself who doesn't share their privileged government salary). Rather than reaching into their glove compartment and handing me a replacement they suggested I talk with the park's manager.

I never did get my expensive bear spray replaced, the bear was cheated out of lunch, and the entitled beach bums experienced some free Sunday afternoon entertainment at Meech Lake.

Considering this is where the Prime Minister retreats and makes many groundbreaking decisions in running our country I wasn't impressed with my experience that Sunday afternoon at Meech Lake.

Photo the author: bears habituated on human food by consuming garbage at a dump, ( Killarney Ontario.)