Each year 6,500 animals from all around Our Lakes arrive for help at the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre (SPWC) in Napanee. “We also help patients avoid unnecessary help by advising the public, we manage several thousand phone calls per year,” explained Leah Birmingham, RVT Medical Director SPWC. “It’s mostly orphans found after the mother was relocated.”… Continue Reading The Heart of Our Lakes
During the 1930s, this time of year was a lucrative one for Lester and Edna Halladay. They would hitch up their horse team and venture into the bush collecting sap from the many maples covering their beloved Plum Hollow property. They used this otherwise quiet time of the year bridging winter and spring to make… Continue Reading Maple Madness
Story & Photo By Margie Manthey I first learned about the devastating impacts of lead fishing tackle (and lead shot) on wildlife while researching content for my weekly nature column in the Review Mirror. Aquatic birds, like loons, eagles, and waterfowl, are especially vulnerable and rarely survive lead poisoning. Other raptors, songbirds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles,… Continue Reading Wolfe Lakers Initiate Lead Tackle
Buy Back Program
Story and photo by Tammy MacKenzie Say “spider,” and most people picture a large hairy tarantula or an orb weaver sitting in the centre of its large round web. We don’t have any tarantulas in Ontario, but we do have more than one hundred species of orb weaver. They range in size from 2 to… Continue Reading Our Biggest Spider: Argiope Aurantia
Story and photos by Kelli McRobert The day started off grey and the clouds were heavy with a dark edge that continued to roar and thunder throughout the early dawn. The downpours were sudden, and a deluge of rain made for a very wet journey with lots of mud and splashes to enjoy. We had… Continue Reading Muddy Water Off a Duck’s Back
Editor’s Note: From the family homestead in Beckwith, to the cottage on Buck Lake, Penny Foster is constantly searching for new things to eat and new ways to eat them. This is the story, in her own words, of how she became The Beckwitch. By Penny Foster My love of gardening came early to me,… Continue Reading Foraging Food and Fun with Penny Foster, aka The Beckwitch
For more than 25 years Jamie Brick has invited select artists from around the country to help him transform the old apple orchard on his property into a fantastical land of elves, kings, fairies and jesters. COVID actually derailed the quarter century celebrations last year and when this July’s show was also cancelled it felt… Continue Reading Elves & Fairies Again Flit Around Draper Lake
Olive (Azulay) Phillips Shares 100 Years of Memories as She Marks Major Milestone By Olive (Azulay) Phillips My name is Olive Eva Phillips (Azulay is my maiden name). I was born September 21, 1921, at a farm on the Maple Leaf Road known as Guthrie’s farm. I am the oldest of nine children born to… Continue Reading Ahead by a Century
The shores and surface of Sydenham Lake were once again alive with activity last month when COVID relented enough for the return of the Lakes & Trails Festival after a one-year absence. Our Lakes was there to take in all the fun; please enjoy a few of our favourite moments from the July 17 South… Continue Reading Lakes & Trails Festival Resumes at Sydenham’s Point
In many ways Krista Gill, owner/operator of our area’s unofficial Cookie Rookie of the Year – the 23 & Co. Bakery, has lived a life many Canadian girls dream of at one time or another growing up. She married her high school sweetheart, Todd Gill, who ended up enjoying a 19-year professional hockey career. They… Continue Reading Opinicon’s Cookie Rookie of the Year Making the Most of Her Shot