Loved reading this story. I felt like one of the walkers looking for the beautiful trillium while enjoying all the sights and sounds of nature and slapping at mosquitoes.
Thank you for these lively heartfelt lines from your walks with friends in Ottawa . I gladly Discovered the beautiful white and green flower trillium, Ontarian official emblem, and native to eastern North America.
Interesting was reading about Canada’s PM Mac Kenzie King’s house, tamed or untamed nature and different initiatives.
Less gladly I remembered the mosquito swarms since I also experienced the spraying against them, the beech branches and other tries, but read about them facing many changes and remembered the harmful tiger mosquito that is newly invading the southern parts of Switzerland.
You also reported and reminded us about Antarctic’s dramatic ice decline!!
The Ottawa winters being at least 6 months long rang a bell since I lived up at 1700meters in an alpine village or is also real for those living in Nordic countries or in Arctic regions.
I'm glad you liked it. I finished the story in the Netherlands where we also have invasive insects. As if we needed one more reason to regret how we are changing our planet.
You were lucky to have found trilliums on your walk on this "heat-advanced" spring. They normally flower in the company of trout lilies when the canopy (usually maples) is just in bud, so sunlight reaches the forest floor. In 2024, the trees have had fully opened leaves for weeks. Just another challenge for plants to adapt their calendars to a new world.
Thank you, Doug. I didn't know this connection but you're right: another example of nature being out of sync. I am not on the Dutch island (I was catching up on half-finished stories that I still wanted to share) and I see the same here to. Like migrating birds realizing they don't have to continue flying south and do their 'summer holidays' on my island instead of the Mediterranean.
A lovely walk on a former King’s estate, left for the people to enjoy. Lovely photos, alarming news, but we appreciate day by day what is good and nourishing to our souls and that which gives us hope that we can make a difference, albeit a kindly gesture to another or more. We hope for more and live in reality most of the time. 🐝🕊️🐢
Great storytelling. I love how you intertwine different topics and tie them up in a neat package.
Clearly that's too many mosquito species! I'm a mosquito favorite as well. I did hear that buzzing sound in my ears while reading. Maybe that's why I prefer winter. Thanks for taking my mind on a wander in the woods while keeping it aware of what's at stake. Expertly done.
Thank you Evelyne. On this warming planet, I'm increasingly drawn north to Canada and Scandinavia. I doubt if there will ever be an urge to move to the tropics again. Having a MsC in development geography, my professional life started with quite a bit different geogrpahical focus.
A wonderful story perfectly captioned. Finding peace in nature amidst alarming climate change news is an excellent way to balance angst with nature’s calming beauty, dastardly mosquitoes notwithstanding. Your descriptions of this soothing walk with friends is a balm for the reader and beautiful photos bring it to life.
Former PM King blessed his country with his foresight by this extraordinary gift, though 100 years ago he could hardly have envisioned how humans would allow nature to be devastated so cruelly. As always your blending of our sad planetary failures with the sublime that remains is a reminder of what we must do to save it. Thank you.
After more than three years of writing this newsletter, I hope to someday find the time to go back and see how my writing has developed. One of the questions I would have for myself is when I started to combine the beauty of nature and the threats to nature in the same article. Both themes were present from day one, but usually in different articles. So much even that I considered for a long time to write two different newsletters. Perhaps that triggered me to try to combine both approaches. It's for myself a way to keep sane in this mad world, but for my readers it's perhaps a way to be able to consume the bad news on environment while still willing to read the next line in the hope of catching one of those silver linings.
As a subscriber to The Planet since day one, it has been a joy to watch your writing develop and expand in multiple ways, always reaching for higher levels of achievement and excellence. Reviewing those three years would be interesting and also fulfilling for the enlightenment and inspiration you have created in so many of your readers. From day one you’ve nurtured hope as well as education and passion for our planet. Count me as one who has loved every bit and thanks you for every silver lining.
Oh thank you Lizzie, that's so kind. I hope to someday return to the shorter form, I feel that is a lot to explore there. But then again, there is the idea of the other end of the spectrum: a book. Well first things first.
To masterfully weave the positive and the less pretty is inherent with you. In the second issue of The Planet, dated 18.March.2021, you began with an engaging seasonal update of Ottawa's journey from winter into spring including your running schedule. You followed with references to and vignettes of NOAA, camels in the snow, insurance, natural disaster, trash, the changing length of summer and winter, archeology, birdsong, the beautiful ocean, your beautiful island, and a few more. You merge these topics with the seriousness they deserve and with humor. This is in your blood. Oh yeah, mosquitoes :)
This was a fun and informative tour of your beloved Gatineau Park with lively commentary on mosquito drama :) I hear a buzzing in my ear. So happy your party discovered the lovely Trillium, Ontario's emblem. Thank you!
It was one of the last walks I made with my group of friends in Ottawa, and it was a memorable one. One of the joys of writing a story after a walk is that I will remember it more vividly and much longer afterwards.
Beautiful and vulnerable flower this white trillium, it looks like a butterfly... You missed the photo of the blue one, so here is the white in all its splendor! Thank you for the walk, I could feel the cool air and the murmur of the water!
Loved reading this story. I felt like one of the walkers looking for the beautiful trillium while enjoying all the sights and sounds of nature and slapping at mosquitoes.
Climate worries were temporarily pushed aside.
Good to hear it worked to get climate (and other) worries out of our heads :-)
Thank you for these lively heartfelt lines from your walks with friends in Ottawa . I gladly Discovered the beautiful white and green flower trillium, Ontarian official emblem, and native to eastern North America.
Interesting was reading about Canada’s PM Mac Kenzie King’s house, tamed or untamed nature and different initiatives.
Less gladly I remembered the mosquito swarms since I also experienced the spraying against them, the beech branches and other tries, but read about them facing many changes and remembered the harmful tiger mosquito that is newly invading the southern parts of Switzerland.
You also reported and reminded us about Antarctic’s dramatic ice decline!!
The Ottawa winters being at least 6 months long rang a bell since I lived up at 1700meters in an alpine village or is also real for those living in Nordic countries or in Arctic regions.
A nice tour.
I'm glad you liked it. I finished the story in the Netherlands where we also have invasive insects. As if we needed one more reason to regret how we are changing our planet.
You were lucky to have found trilliums on your walk on this "heat-advanced" spring. They normally flower in the company of trout lilies when the canopy (usually maples) is just in bud, so sunlight reaches the forest floor. In 2024, the trees have had fully opened leaves for weeks. Just another challenge for plants to adapt their calendars to a new world.
Thank you, Doug. I didn't know this connection but you're right: another example of nature being out of sync. I am not on the Dutch island (I was catching up on half-finished stories that I still wanted to share) and I see the same here to. Like migrating birds realizing they don't have to continue flying south and do their 'summer holidays' on my island instead of the Mediterranean.
A lovely walk on a former King’s estate, left for the people to enjoy. Lovely photos, alarming news, but we appreciate day by day what is good and nourishing to our souls and that which gives us hope that we can make a difference, albeit a kindly gesture to another or more. We hope for more and live in reality most of the time. 🐝🕊️🐢
I remember walking where John Muir had walked and trying to see the beauty of nature through his eyes. This was a similar experience.
Great storytelling. I love how you intertwine different topics and tie them up in a neat package.
Clearly that's too many mosquito species! I'm a mosquito favorite as well. I did hear that buzzing sound in my ears while reading. Maybe that's why I prefer winter. Thanks for taking my mind on a wander in the woods while keeping it aware of what's at stake. Expertly done.
Thank you Evelyne. On this warming planet, I'm increasingly drawn north to Canada and Scandinavia. I doubt if there will ever be an urge to move to the tropics again. Having a MsC in development geography, my professional life started with quite a bit different geogrpahical focus.
A wonderful story perfectly captioned. Finding peace in nature amidst alarming climate change news is an excellent way to balance angst with nature’s calming beauty, dastardly mosquitoes notwithstanding. Your descriptions of this soothing walk with friends is a balm for the reader and beautiful photos bring it to life.
Former PM King blessed his country with his foresight by this extraordinary gift, though 100 years ago he could hardly have envisioned how humans would allow nature to be devastated so cruelly. As always your blending of our sad planetary failures with the sublime that remains is a reminder of what we must do to save it. Thank you.
After more than three years of writing this newsletter, I hope to someday find the time to go back and see how my writing has developed. One of the questions I would have for myself is when I started to combine the beauty of nature and the threats to nature in the same article. Both themes were present from day one, but usually in different articles. So much even that I considered for a long time to write two different newsletters. Perhaps that triggered me to try to combine both approaches. It's for myself a way to keep sane in this mad world, but for my readers it's perhaps a way to be able to consume the bad news on environment while still willing to read the next line in the hope of catching one of those silver linings.
As a subscriber to The Planet since day one, it has been a joy to watch your writing develop and expand in multiple ways, always reaching for higher levels of achievement and excellence. Reviewing those three years would be interesting and also fulfilling for the enlightenment and inspiration you have created in so many of your readers. From day one you’ve nurtured hope as well as education and passion for our planet. Count me as one who has loved every bit and thanks you for every silver lining.
Oh thank you Lizzie, that's so kind. I hope to someday return to the shorter form, I feel that is a lot to explore there. But then again, there is the idea of the other end of the spectrum: a book. Well first things first.
Yes, The Book 😊
To masterfully weave the positive and the less pretty is inherent with you. In the second issue of The Planet, dated 18.March.2021, you began with an engaging seasonal update of Ottawa's journey from winter into spring including your running schedule. You followed with references to and vignettes of NOAA, camels in the snow, insurance, natural disaster, trash, the changing length of summer and winter, archeology, birdsong, the beautiful ocean, your beautiful island, and a few more. You merge these topics with the seriousness they deserve and with humor. This is in your blood. Oh yeah, mosquitoes :)
Smiling now. I really think I should dive back into all those stories. Glad you still read them!
This was a fun and informative tour of your beloved Gatineau Park with lively commentary on mosquito drama :) I hear a buzzing in my ear. So happy your party discovered the lovely Trillium, Ontario's emblem. Thank you!
It was one of the last walks I made with my group of friends in Ottawa, and it was a memorable one. One of the joys of writing a story after a walk is that I will remember it more vividly and much longer afterwards.
Beautiful and vulnerable flower this white trillium, it looks like a butterfly... You missed the photo of the blue one, so here is the white in all its splendor! Thank you for the walk, I could feel the cool air and the murmur of the water!
Thank you, Styliani, I’m glad you liked it. I hope to share much more nature this summer and will add some flowers to the stories.