From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. And so we enter the time of plenty. Crops ripen in fields. Apple trees hang heavy with fruit. Autumn is the time of plenty of food. The time…
Why do sunflowers droop?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I now know why sunflowers droop. It’s not because they lack water, or because their seed heads have become heavy. When you see sunflowers drooping, instead of standing…
A place on the map
By Emily Stonehouse This past weekend, Whitewater Ontario presented the 2023 Canadian National Whitewater Championships at the Whitewater Preserve on Horseshoe Lake Road. Now this isn’t just any race in the park. We’re talking literal…
Clowns that aren’t funny
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. My laptop computer is driving me crazy. It’s like it has been invaded by those evil clowns you see in television commercials. You know, the ones with white…
Apocalypse Today
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. Scenes of utter devastation from Maui, Hawaii, the Yellowknife, N.W.T. and B.C. wildfire evacuations, plus the Halifax flash flooding bring to mind a single word: Apocalypse. We are living…
Here comes the Brrr?
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. This summer’s weather has in no way been traditional, and neither was the spring that led into it. Heat and drought brought record wildfires in parts of the country,…
Me too
By Emily Stonehouse Content warning: Please note that this editorial will discuss sexual assault, which may be triggering to some readers. If this is upsetting to you, please know that you are not alone. There…
Beauty born in the mud
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. The best thing about mid-summer are the blooms. Orange day lilies stand wild and bold on the roadsides. Pink and white lilliums and purplish-blue hydrangeas bring an explosion…
Is the world getting happier?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Some good news: Despite weather disasters and war the world apparently has become a happier place. The annual Gallup Global Emotions Report shows people around the world generally…
Gone
By Emily Stonehouse We’ve vanished. For our loyal followers on social media, some may have noticed that our online presence has dwindled since last week. While the Minden Times and the Haliburton Echo are print…
A time of skim and scan
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. A very old guy with snow-white hair and snow-white beard fishes the ocean for weeks without catching anything. Finally, he catches a mighty marlin, but sharks eat it before…
Is tourism dead?
By Emily Stonehouse When you work in this line of business, you spend an awful lot of time with your ear to the ground. Following social media pages that do not pertain to your personal…
An animal uprising
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. There are signs that the animal kingdom is fed up with us and beginning to rebel. Two-ton killer whales are ramming yachts and fishing boats. A sea otter…
Finding a way to say thank you
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Thumbs up to my little sister. She can turn mud pies into chocolate cakes. Or, a bad experience into something helpful to others. She was bike riding with…
The high road
By Emily Stonehouse The high road may be lonely, but it’s the only direction to success. Those were my thoughts as I watched 150 people berate acting CEO of HHHS Veronica Nelson at a public…
Smoke gets in your head
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Our spring and summer of smoke is being called abnormal. It’s not. It’s a new normal that scientists predict will become an even more normal part of our…
The primary narrative
By Emily Stonehouse I didn’t always feel cantankerous around Canada Day. Growing up, it was an opportunity to don your best white and red; a chance to watch fireworks and stay up late to drink…
The right to rest in peace
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. While ships searched for the submersible lost while visiting the Titanic gravesite, I visited another gravesite. I was back in northwestern Ontario, where I was born and raised. On…
Five stages of grief
By Emily Stonehouse You’ve probably heard it before. References to the five stages of grief. Maybe you’ve heard it alluded to on a television show, or from a doctor, or maybe you’ve experienced them yourself:denial,…
Only in America
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. No matter what calamity the world suffers, the only really important news in the United States these days is Donald Trump. News networks feverishly report his limo leaving Trump…
Another one gets fried
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. It’s disturbing to see how intelligent people who get close to Justin Trudeau get burned.The latest scorched victim is David Johnston, the former governor general who Trudeau appointed his…