A show about relationships with the land
There are many ways to listen to the show: Listen live on CFRU 93.3 fm broadcasting from the University of Guelph Mondays at 6pm EST or listen to the podcast via Spotify, Apple, or just follow the rss feed.
Ep. 242 : I really don’t know much about Earthworms
This past weekend I got to participate in my second track and sign evaluation and one of the most interesting things I learned was some new Earthworm sign which triggered the thought… I really don’t know much about Earthworms.
I ended up crawling through all of my books to see what I had on the topic, but there wasn’t much. A couple paragraphs here, a photo or two there, but there was enough to tickle my curiosity.
Listen to the show if you want to learn more, too. These worms have a lot of interesting things going for them.
Ep. 238 : Looking At Two Unusual Galls
This passed weekend I was able to go out tracking with folks at Wiijindamaan where I once again notice the Poplar Vagabond Aphid Gall. And last week, I was having another conversation with folks about the Spruce Pineapple Adelgid Gall. Galls persist through the Winter and into Spring when many of the insects which have created them will begin to emerge.
Since now is the time to be keeping an eye out for the insect emergences, I figured I would share my excitement for these two galls. Not only are they beautiful and unusual, but they also highlight my growing feelings on what I call “biology 202”, a deep appreciation for the complexity of life beyond our cultural assumptions. It’ll make more sense when you hear it.
Ep. 235 : Pine Siskins
I just got home from Algonquin Park. I got the privilege to spend the past week tracking Wolves, Moose, Martens, Grouse, Flying Squirrels, and so many other creatures throughout the length of the park. It was magical, inspiring and motivating. Restful as much as exhausting.
One animal I spent some time learning about over the week was the Pine Siskin, as they were my focal species for the week. Sadly on our last day, two dead Pine Siskins were found on highway 60, hit by vehicles as they were on the road, consuming the de-icing salts.
I decided on the way home I would do a little research and make the next show all about them. Here’s to the Siskins and all they’ve taught and inspired in me.
Ep. 234 : Courting Behaviours of the Eastern Coyote
It’s that time of year again, when the animals are getting out and getting down. While driving home the other day I drove past a forest where I had once trailed a part of courting Coyotes and realized that now is the time we will be seeing these courting behaviours. I had written about them before, but it was worth revisiting as it will likely be coming up on the land, and in my classes.
Ep. 233 : On the Fisher Trail
Once again I have been inspired by the Fisher to dig a little deeper into their ecologies, behaviours and the signs they leave behind. There is always so much to know that another show about them, relating another story of following the Fisher trail seemed worthwhile.
Ep. 231 : Turkey Tail
You know when there is someone kicking around the party whom you recognize, maybe even say hello to, but you just don’t know that well? Or perhaps you two have been acquainted for a while but something comes up and that gets you talking a little more intimately? I feel like that with Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor). I wanted to try my hand at foraging and creating some medicine, but really I needed to read up on what others have sorted out before I prepare anything for ingestion.
Ep. 228 : Walnut Husk Maggot Fly
Every big mast year for Black Walnuts I like to harvest a ton of them and then process them for both the husks and the nutmeat inside. While the nutmeats are very troublesome to access it is getting easier as I learn which tools are better than others, and the food value is totally worth it. As for the husks, it’s pretty easy to rip or cut them off of the nut. This year, as in previous years as well, there has been a small ethical dilemma which has come up when using the husks for dye. Nestled in the husks are small larvae of what I believe to be the Walnut Husk Maggot Fly which is a fruit fly I don’t know much about. But because I love Walnuts, I figured I should learn.
Ep. 227 : Honey Dew Eater
Scattered in the back of the Main tract there are many American Beech trees. Some tall, some small, but they are there amidst the Red Oaks (Quercus rubra) and Sugar Maples. If you look close at the branches of these Beech trees you'll find little white fluffy insects dancing about in huge colonies. These are the Wooly Beech Aphid and they are there sucking sap out of the Beech tree. Now when any animal consumes their fill of whatever it is they are consuming, they must release the waste, and so too with the Aphids. This waste, called Honey Dew, is dropped and as it falls lands on the leaves, branches, and ground below. When this happens, the spores of the Honey Dew Eater come around and land on the Honey Dew and begin their life cycle.
Ep. 225 : Walking Stick Insects
Last Thursday a call came over the radio at work. “I just want to let everyone know that there are two Walking Sticks mating on the tent”. I can’t really remember what I was doing with the students at the time, but we all dropped everything and made our way, some faster than others. I had seen a couple of Walking Sticks over the Summer, but realized, while jogging through the forest on my way to see these two going at it, that I knew very little about the life cycles, ecology and overall natural history of this species or the order as a whole. I figured I should observe the mating pair carefully, and then research a bunch when I get home.
Ep. 221 : Exploring Water Hemlock
I have had a long curiosity regarding Water Hemlock ever since I had heard of them. Perhaps the most toxic plant on Turtle Island/North America. Of course I would be enamoured! I misidentified them for a couple of years thinking I knew who they were, but it wasn’t until the past four or five years that I began taking a closer look, seeking them out, learning the lore, and reading the sometimes sparse literature on the plant. This show is an effort to collect my thoughts and learning, and to make the recent blog post, which has lots of good photographs to assist with proper i.d., more accessible to those who don’t want to read it all but would rather listen to it instead.
Ep. 220 : Discussing Serviceberry
The Serviceberry is a widely distributed edible fruit tree which fills my heart as much as my belly. It’s just sweet enough, with berries just big enough, just in reach to make me so happy to come across. Sometimes we happen upon them wandering through the woods, sometimes we go visit our favourite individuals, sometimes we make detailed extensive maps of every tree the city has planted… or maybe I just do that.
Ep. 219 : Discussing Mulberries with Matt Soltys
Mulberries are a well known and popular wild urban edible that a lot of foragers come to know early in the development of the craft. They are easily identifiable, taste great, and prolific in urban and peri-urban environments which means lots of people can get to know them. Not only are there an abundant of Mulberry trees out there, each fruit producing tree makes buckets of fruit that litter the sidewalks for a month if the birds, squirrels, Raccoons and humans don’t get at them first. And while Mulberries don’t seem like a political focal point in the world of conservation, I am learning that they can be as well.
Ep. 218 : Considering Chokecherries
Chokecherry is a role model. How can we be in good relationship with so many different life forms, transform degraded and barren anthropogenic landscapes in preparation for new life? Yes, there is a note of caution to be had, an awareness of potential hazards, but the overall theme of this shrub appears to be regeneration, repair and creating spaces for life to flourish again.
This episode is a long form exploration of the Chokecherry ecology. I hope it works for you as much as it works for me!
Ep. 216 : Morel Mushrooms
Lately a lot of folks I know have been finding Morels in and around the city where I live. Possibly one of the most prized edible fungi on the planet, everyone seems very excited to bring them home and cook them into an ephemeral dish. If I find a bunch I may do the same, but until then I wanted to look into this amazing fruiting body a little bit more.
Ep. 215 : Of Soras…
I was out with a couple of friends the evening before. We’d been thoroughly engaged listening to the painfully loud calls of the Spring Peepers when I pointed out an Eastern Meadowlark call to one of my pals. He pulled out his phone and got on the Merlin App to try and id the call a little better. Lo and behold, on the list of birds included in his immediate recorded was a Sora! Now, Soras aren’t too rare, or too interesting to many, but they are a bird I have never seen, never heard, and barely heard of. When we were discussing who a Sora is, all I know was that they were a waterbird that didn’t look like a duck. I imagined something more akin to an American Bittern, but I was way off.
Soras are still mysterious to me, but it was fun to go back to the pond, listen to the birds again the following morning, and bring out some books to learn more and reflect on listening. I hope y’all enjoy it as well.
Ep. 206 : Pileated Woodpecker Sign
Without much snow so far this winter, my tracking has been shifting towards other sign out on the land. Lately this has been signs on plants, scats, rubs, with a focus on Pileated Woodpecker feeding sign written in the bodies of the trees.
I first noticed this kind of sign along the Bruce trail many years ago, and then again in Algonquin Park. These days, I just see it everywhere, and through sharing what I am noticing with friends, colleagues and students, I am coming to realize that others just aren’t as excited as I am. So, maybe this show is just me sharing the excitement with potential others who may also get stoked to find this awesome sign of a pretty large bird who has made a pretty big comeback.
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.
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