Having fallen and pinched a nerve over five months ago, I’m enjoying an early taste (it tastes bitter) of one aspect of old age, at least as it’s appeared to me: A constant, dragging achiness mixed unwholesomely with chronic poor sleep. This unhappy nerve has made both sitting and laying down truly terrible experiences; I’ve…

I ride my bike a lot. To say I ride my bike a lot doesn’t really cover it, actually, because that statement refers only to the frequency of my cycling adventures. It doesn’t refer at all to the fact that cycling is one of the great loves of my life; it’s up there with my…

I don’t think I knew the difference between squirrels and chipmunks until I moved to southeastern Ontario. I grew up in Nova Scotia where the only urban wildlife on my radar were seagulls, rats, mice, crows, and spiders bigger than God’s boots. What a joy to move here and discover all of the above as…

I am very much a fan of watching urban wildlife in action. That there is so much wildlife in a city of 2.5 million makes me both hopeful and nervous. That beasties of all sorts can continue to make lives for themselves in such over-peopled areas is encouraging. But, of course, bad things also happen…