By Jim Poling Sr. From Shaman's Rock We’re all scanning the dark clouds of COVID-19 for a silver lining – a silvery puff to float us above the anguish of this nightmare disease and the…
That other pandemic
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock There’s another pandemic infecting Canadians, and millions of others around the world. It’s a pandemic-within-the-pandemic and medical experts say it will continue long after COVID-19 is brought under control.…
The problems of economic growth
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock I’ve been struggling with a problem that many older cottage owners are facing. Cottages used to be family heritage items passed from one generation to the next. Passing them…
End the eye care dispute now!
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock We live in a world of negotiations. When you need a new auto, house or a better TV service you negotiate an agreement. The purpose of negotiations is to…
Returning to a brighter future
By Darren LumReporter If the pandemic has taught me anything, it’s to be thankful for what we have because we know from living during this time that what we know can be taken away with…
Have you arranged snow clearing yet?
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock If you managed to find regular snowploughing for the coming winter, it likely wasn’t easy and you likely are paying more for it. Snowplough operators big and small have…
Remembering stories
By Sue Tiffin It is such an honour to speak with people and hear their stories. This is true every day for people who work in journalism, but all the more so around this time…
The battery revolution
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock Now that the gas-powered lawn mowers, grass trimmers and leaf blowers are being tucked away for winter, I’m wondering how many will be back out next spring. A revolution…
Do good things
By Sue Tiffin Throughout this edition of your paper, you’ll see a multitude of stories that are intrinsically about people doing good things to help others. Those who sit on the Haliburton Highlands Art Centre…
Into the darkness
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock The clock ‘falls back’ one hour Sunday Nov. 7 when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is suspended for the winter months. I’m not unhappy about that, but some people are.…
Thatta boy, Will!
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock Suddenly, the Royal family no longer bores me to tears. I’ve yawned through years of watching the Queen deliver stultifying television addresses with her cut-glass upper-class accent. And, one…
Taking over the world
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock They are everywhere. In the 70 acres of bush that I call home in Haliburton County, I estimate there are nearly 300 of them, and many more just beyond…
Guns and autumn
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock This is the golden time; the best days of the year. Sparkling sunbeams spill from a brilliant blue sky. Golden bronze and crimson leaves catch them, then lose their…
Shapeshifting for the future
By Jim Poling Sr.From Shaman's Rock While we humans continue to fret and argue about climate change, animals have already started to adapt to it. That’s really no surprise because some folks, me included, believe…
Spitting during the pandemic
By Jim Poling Sr. You gotta love autumn baseball, especially when the Blue Jays are providing such dramatic late-season entertainment.Toronto’s team has given Major League Baseball (MLB) - the entire sport in fact - a…
A summer to remember
By Grace Oborne As I reflect on how my summer has gone thus far, from the hammock in which I sit in, I look out only to see the sun beaming onto Canning Lake. I…
Showering in my undershorts
By Jim Poling Sr. Have the feeling that someone is listening and watching?I have that feeling more often these days. It’s more than a feeling. It has become a belief.The other night the television went…
Accept sacrifices: save the future
By Jim Poling Sr. Mother Nature is no longer simply disappointed in us; she is blazing angry.Her anger is evident throughout the world this month. Killer mudslides in Japan. Parts of Germany devasted by unprecedented…
Mind your own business
By Jim Poling Sr. An interesting anniversary passed virtually unnoticed last Sunday: the 204th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death.Austen, in the two centuries after her passing, became world famous for her novels interpreting and critiquing…
Did Neanderthals have more fun?
By Jim Poling Sr. You have to wonder whether the Neanderthals of 50,000 years ago lived better lives than we genius Homo Sapiens of the super tech 21st century.The Neanderthals lived in caves and had…
Wet bulb temperatures
By Laurie Sweig I read an interesting article this week about wet bulb temperatures. according to the CBC article, a wet-bulb temperature is a theoretical measurement that combines temperature and humidity. As we all know,…