Columns
"What's this?" George Mackenzie asked Molly Whiteside as he perused the menu at Mabel's Grill the other morning. "You've changed the price of my pancakes and maple syrup again," he noted, looking at the price crossed out and increased...
There's nothing like Thanksgiving with the family to see how we deal with conflict. I guess you'll be reading this a few weeks after the fact, but it is Thanksgiving weekend as I write this.
And what great timing! I just finished four days of ...
I got up early to watch the Queen's funeral to pay respects for her stoic life of service. I respect the monarchy and the role they play in public office.
It was a somber, grand ceremony and I reflected on the Queen after I left the telly to don my ...
One of the things that adds to the serenity of my neighbourhood is that three of my closest neighbours have cattle quietly pasturing in the fields.Yet I read that this scene is really supposed to make me worry for the fate of the planet...
In my mind, Thanksgiving always comes a bit too early here in our part of the world. We are usually just getting started at harvest, and while definitely thankful to have made it that far, there is still a lot of work to do to get past that harvest...
Strolling through the industrial park, I asked around, and took the first job offered.
Hank -- his last name was of Swedish origin -- ran a small fleet of truck-mounted, industrial steamers used to remove the stink of unrefined oil from...
George Mackenzie and Dave Winston were already sitting at a window table at Mabel's Grill the other morning when the old pick-up pulled into the parking lot.
"Look at that!" said Dave. "I bet I could use my old music tapes if I had a truck that old...
The 4R principles promoted by Fertilizer Canada are increasingly accepted and practiced by farmers across Canada. It makes sense to apply nutrients from the Right source, at the Right time, in the Right place and at the Right rate...
"Well, well" said Cliff Murray as Molly Whiteside distributed menus for breakfast at Mabel's Grill the other morning, "things must be looking up. Mabel has new menus."
"Looks like she can afford them," grumbled George Mackenzie. "My ham and eggs...
Moonless midnight winter in Canada's north isn't necessarily about darkness. There are pockets where the artificial light is reflected upwards and then down again, a kind of deeper twilight to which your eyes adjust.
For a week I'd been ...
We live in an increasingly complex world, and it seems humans have never-ending expectations. While technology has vastly improved our lives in many ways, it has also led to some down sides -- everyone is an expert in everything now ...
I was struck by the calls, in two of the township Federation newsletters last month, for people to run for the board of directors in upcoming elections. I've been around long enough to remember when you didn't need to beg people to be involved....
he smell of fries from the fry truck at Thames River Melons near Innerkip was too hard to resist. These two served up my order and asked for a photo...how could I resist? Affable young men, Shannon McMahon (left) and Scott Salmon (right) prove ...
Editor Lisa B. Pot's column last month on the future of farming as seen through the eyes of food "experts" who don't believe in farmers, got me thinking about a lifetime of providing the latest updates to farmers.
Lisa was writing about the speakers...
After two summers of staying close to home and not being with other people much, we decided to take a little trip to appreciate Canada Day by exploring areas we had not visited before. It is always very interesting to visit other countries, but ...
"It's the story my aunt Leone told me, Pinkie, the arrival to the Carter farm of relatives from Georgia in the 1920s, including the president-to-be, just a babe in arms then."
Pinkie, I can tell, has some skepticism about the tale and so I ...