Ep. 205 : Eastern Screech Owl

I have a big affinity for the suburbs (I know, it’s weird), and the Eastern Screech feels like a suburban bird. They hang out along the riparian corridors with the tall older trees, hunting mice, crayfish, songbirds, and whomever else they can catch. I did the same when I grew up in Brampton, Ontario, but instead of mice, crayfish and songbirds, I was hunting for feral Apple trees, Wild Grapes, and anything else I could eat. I bet there were Screech’s along the Etobicoke Creek, too.
Last year, 2022, on January 4th, I recorded a show about Eastern Screech Owls which I only played on CFRU, 93.3 fm, which is the campus-community radio station where my show is broadcast. Turns out I never put it out online for some reason. Now this year, 2023, I was reading in bed when I heard the tell-tale monotonic trill of an Eastern Screech Owl out my window. This inspired me to record this new episode all about Eastern Screech Owls.

Ep. 203 : I’ve Been Thinkin ‘Bout Yew..

It started with a suggestion that I could learn a little about how to differentiate between Canada Yew, Eastern Hemlock, and Balsam Fir, but then it turned into a zany rabbit-hole of discovery, confusion and awe.
The Yew family, Taxaceae, is a beautiful family, holding long lines of mythos and medicines. I keep being challenged in my assumptions as I pull the threads of knowledge, and it excites me more and more the more I learn.

Ep. 165 : Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

I went up to Point Grondine with my partner last week and while there we saw lots of great flora and fauna. Cardinal Flower, Bunchberry, Bristly Sarsaparilla, Bluebead Lily, among so much more beautiful flora. Some of the fauna included Bears, Beavers, Porcupines, possible Wolf scat, Moose tracks... but also one night we were woken up by an animal going through one of our bags. Later, we met other campers who were camped near us who had a similar encounter. Of course I tracked the animal through our site in the morning. Who did the tracks say it was? And who did the neighbouring campers see by flashlight in the middle of the night? It was a Bobcat.