By Jim Poling Published June 8 2017 Finally the mystery is solved. It took considerable poking and prodding of the federal bureaucracy but we have found Hal 3. It is a weather site in fact…

By Jim Poling Published June 1 2017 Machines and I don’t get along. I have never done them any bad but they have never liked me. Whenever we meet they treat me like an idiot.…

By Jim Poling Published May 25 2017 We live in an increasingly peevish society. Smartphones tablets and social media have made it much easier for us to share thoughts and create immediate debate on anything…

By Jim Poling Published May 18 2017 Sloughs marshes and ditches along the roads are brimming and finally getting some warm sun. So it won’t be long now before thousands of amphibians begin their annual…

Published May 11 2017 Back scratchers do not have video screens so I was surprised when my 10-year-old grandson Anderson asked me to make him a wooden back scratcher. Kids do make odd requests so…

Published May 4 2017 Judging the first 100 days in office is ridiculous artificial and something invented by the news media. That’s how U.S. President Forrest Trump sees it. I feel it is important however…

By Sue Tiffin Published April 27 2017 Ah the joys of becoming parents. Here it is Ingrams. You’ve imagined it maybe even planned for it. You’ve got that baby in your hands and you’re home…

By Jim Poling Published April 27 2017 The cattle are prowlin’ the coyotes are howlin’ Way out where the doggies bawl Woo-hoo-woo-ooo-ti-de Woo-hoo-woo-ooo-ti-de-de Woo-hoo-woo-ooo-ti-de Yodel-odel -lo-ti-de Singin’ his cattle call Anyone remember that catchy but…

Published April 20 2017 S pring is a season of mysteries. For instance: How do plants know when to start growing? How do hibernators such as bears know when to wake up? Why do mosquitoes…

By Laurie Sweig Published April 20 2017 Spring feels like the time of year  to exhale. After being wrapped up and shut in for the winter  everything is uncurling  stretching and getting ready for new…

By Lee Ross Published April 13 2017 It's spring in Muskoka which means that pretty soon we're going to start seeing bears.  If you encounter a bear remember to stay calm because bears want to…

By Jim Poling Sr. Published April 13 2017 A long-awaited walk in the spring woods is like stepping through a looking glass and entering a remarkably different world. Before me is life as it was…

By Laurie Sweig Special to the Times Published April 13 2017 A little while ago I saw this post on a social media site of a guy attempting to touch his toes. It took him…

By Laurie Carmount Special to the Times Published April 13 2017 Climate Change is a hot topic heard daily in our media. There is much concern and debate about it. For this reason the programming…

By Jim Poling Published April 6 2017 I can’t delay any longer. It is April and it has to get done so I’ll just have to screw up my nerve and get on with it…

By Jim Poling Published March 30 3017 The New York Times ’ columnist Paul Krugman wrote recently that the Republican party now governing the U.S. is not ready to govern. I would add this: There…

By Jim Poling Published March 23 2017 I woke this morning with a head like a fermenting pumpkin ready to explode. No I do not have a late winter cold. It’s just that I’m stuffed…

Erin's Editions By Erin Kernohan-Berning Published in County Life March 9 2017 I recently had the opportunity to attend a talk by André Alexis author of the Giller Prize winning Fifteen Dogs . His third…

By Jim Poling Published March 16 2017 Richard Wagamese completed his life journey last week leaving behind the only thing any of us leave: his story. It is a brilliant inspiring story. A homeless street…

By Jim Poling Published March 7 2017 There is good news and not-so-good news about the weather for Haliburton County over the next three months. The not-so-good news: What we saw this week is likely…