By Jim Poling Sr. The lights dim. The audience turns to other spectacles.Nature’s annual autumn show is over. It was a spectacular one. Certainly one of the most vibrant in years. Crimson and golden hillsides…
Waiting for the ‘big one’
By Jim Poling Sr. Thunder Bay, Ontario – I’m sitting on the Hillcrest Park stone wall overlooking the city where I was born and raised. The view of Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant is…
Living with beaver
By Jim Poling Sr. Thinking about putting the dock away for winter brings painful memories. And, nasty thoughts about Canada’s favourite rodent – Castor canadensis, commonly known as the beaver.Every fall I tow my dock…
Summer: going, going …
That voice is in my head again. It sneaks in every August; a throbbing, melancholy voice sighing sad words about loss and change.“All the rainbows in the skyStart to weep and say goodbyeYou won’t be…
Growing food, not lawns
By Jim Poling Sr. My lawnmower has been put away for the winter. I doubt if I’ll bring it out next spring.This year I didn’t cut the grass until well into June. It grew to…
Good advice from Norman
By Jim Poling Sr. The best advice given the way the world is recently came from a man celebrating his 100th birthday.Norman Lear, who produced the famous 1970s Archie Bunker show titled All in the…
Give them our respect
By Jim Poling Sr. A friend is ill and not doing well. I’m watching her closely and, if the illness looks incurable, I will end her life.The friend is not a human, of course. She…
Learning to live in the future
By Jim Poling Sr. From Shaman's Rock The kids are back in school, which is a good thing. Excellent education without COVID-19 infections is the hope of all. Canada has good education systems with teachers…
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…