Adventures of an Earth Day Tree

In celebration of Earth Day 2017, a happy little story of an Earth Day tree.

It started out as a scrawny seedling not much bigger than my thumb.  I was on my way to a meeting when I stumbled upon it nestled amongst its fellow at an Earth Day Expo held in the building's lobby. It didn't look very promising, a miniature Charlie Brown's Christmas tree comes to mind, but it was free so I tucked it into my purse and continued on my way.

It sat on my kitchen counter seemingly content to wait until I found a spot for it.  Given its size I didn't think it would stand a chance in my yard especially with three energetic dogs running around so I procrastinated.

When my parents came for a visit that summer, I gifted it to my mother and so it found its way from Ottawa to Thunder Bay safe in my mom's suitcase.  As my father was a bit "tree adverse" it was then handed over to my Auntie Annie who had the perfect spot for it beside her garden out at camp.

And there it flourished.

For the last 30+ years I have received reports of "my" tree, enjoying life in a place that I think of as heaven on earth.  It must be over 20 feet tall now, happy & healthy, and I continue to wish it a long and prosperous life.

It's been said that:

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago
The next best time is today.

So if you've been gifted with an Earth Day tree get planting!  May it bring you as much joy as this little tree has brought me & mine.
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Adventures of an Earth Day Tree by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2017-04-22 A happy little story of an Earth Day Tree

Images: Full Grown Tree by Cousin Bill; Seedling by Unknown; Graphics by Tatiana Dokuchic

Reluctant Renovator: Striptease

We're two weeks into the renovation and I'm daring to hope that the worst is over!

Almost everything that had to go has been stripped away and a bit of newness has begun creeping in.

It took about a week for the tile floor to make its exit and I'm still cursing the original installers that did such a poor job that the floor failed and had to be replaced.  Considering that there was 650 sq. ft. of tile it was a big job and you can just imagine the dust generated from all the cement & grout.  Have I mentioned recently that I'm allergic to dust?  Where's the Benadryl!

The King's Trip: George VI visits Oba, Ontario

My family is rich in photo albums.  This wealth is the result of generations of avid, amateur photographers eagerly capturing the moments, preserving them and passing them down through various branches of the family.  Though we've begun the process of digitizing our treasures, the backlog is more than a bit daunting especially when it comes to identifying some of those smiling faces from times gone by.

A recent family gathering saw us clustered around one such family album dedicated to Oba, Ontario.  I've heard Oba described as being "in the heart of Canada’s vast wilderness" and these pictures from the 1930's & 40's certainly highlight this aspect with beautiful lakes, endless forests, little boys holding large fish and ... on the very last page ... a posh-looking couple posing in front of a train?

As it was late in the day and the photo rather small, I had to squint to make out the image.  Yes, it turns out it's a picture of George VI and Queen Elizabeth snapped by one of my grandparents during the 1939 royal tour of Canada.  The royal couple looks relaxed & happy and I can just imagine my grandmother asking them to please hold still while she adjusts her camera and takes the picture!

My father can remember the train stopping for water that day in Oba.  Of course almost the whole town, just over 100 people at that time, turned out to see it.  That the royal couple actually got out and wandered amongst the "crowd" seems astonishing to me but I guess it was a very different time.  The 1939 royal tour marked the first visit of a reigning monarch to Canada and these pictures show some of the first "walkabouts" ever performed by the royal family.

The very sight of the Queen gave pleasure, as did her manner. ... During the long journeys across the continent, she and the King took full advantage of halts, even short ones.  Day after day they would leave the royal train and, to the consternation of the security men, plunge into the crowds and talk. ... Queen Elizabeth gave instructions that the King and she must be told whenever the engineer observed a collection of people by the side of the line ahead, so that they could be seen waving back from a window. 'Slow down, so that we all get a good look', she said.

 Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother by  Godfrey Talbot

It seems more than fitting that these photos came back into our lives just as Elizabeth II is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee and I'm delighted to have discovered this little connection between the royals and our family.

I think that I will celebrate with a night spent watching The King's Speech.

Photos: Tatiana Dokuchic Family Album (1939)
Update: Find out more about Wallis & Elizabeth

Have you ever unearthed unexpected treasures in your family photo albums or scrapbooks?  I would love to hear the stories of your discoveries.
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South March Highlands: Celebration!

There's going to be a party and you're invited!!

As I've  previously mentioned  (The South March Highlands: Truly a Great Place in Canada) the South March Highlands was recently recognized as one of the Great Places in Canada by the Canadian Institute of Planners.  Time for a celebration!

As you can see from the poster, a full day of activities has been organized by the South March Coalition making for a great day for the whole family.

For those who haven’t yet discovered Ottawa’s Highlands this will be a fun-filled opportunity to do so. Activities include music, children’s workshops, and guided walking and bike tours through the forest, highlighting the spectacular natural features of the area. Participants can learn about the irreplaceable value of this urban forest, considered sacred to the Algonquin First Nations. They’ll also learn about the animals and plants that live here, some of which are species at risk.

Everyone is invited to celebrate on June 2!

The celebration will be held at the trailhead for the South March Highlands Conservation Forest, known as K2, because it is at the intersection of Second Line Road and Klondike Road.  See How To Get To The June 2nd South March Highlands Celebration for a map and detailed directions.

On a side note, I'm delighted that my Trout lily photo from South March Highlands: Little Gems was used in the poster.  I like to imagine all those little flowers speaking up to promote and protect their beautiful home!
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Mother's Day Dances

Like her mother before her, my daughter is a dancer.  Truth be told, she is a much better dancer than I ever was though our appreciation for the joy of dance remains on an equal footing.  Like my mother before me, I (and my husband) provide the parental support necessary to smooth her way.

Thus for many years, her dancing added an extra special twist to Mother's Day which inevitably fell on an out-of-town competition weekend.  Bright and early Sunday morning all of us "dance moms" would be seated in the theatre girding ourselves for the third consecutive eighteen hour day to come.  Slumping a bit in our seats, we would give a little grunt when the ever-so-chipper Master of Ceremonies would wish us a "Happy Mother's Day" at the start of the program.

My husband, literal-minded male that he is, perceived our attitude as one of discontent and would often comment that this was a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day. Well of course it was!!

Watching our children working so hard at something they loved, watching as they matured into confident, resilient adults was absolutely the best gift ever, even if we greeted the day with a bit of a teasing groan.

My daughter has graduated from competing to teaching dance, hanging up her own pointe shoes in favour of nurturing all the new budding ballerinas.  I'm sure her students and her formerly aching toes thank her for it.

I now enjoy a more leisurely Mother's Day but I still can't help thinking of all those dedicated mothers out there.  Whether it's sitting in a cold hockey arena in the middle of January or an early morning theatre call in the middle of May, you're doing a great job and I salute you.

Brava Ladies!!  Take a well-deserved bow on your day!!

Photos: Tatiana Dokuchic (May 11, 2012)

South March Highlands: Little Gems

Erythronium americanum (Trout lily, Yellow trout lily)

It seems that I spend a lot of time walking through the woods with my head down at this time of year.  I've developed this habit because I'm often rewarded with a glimpse of a Spring ephemeral, perennial woodland wildflowers that make a brief appearance each spring, fading before the trees come into full leaf.

These little gems are sprinkled throughout the South March Highlands which makes any hike through the forest at this time of year a wildflower treasure hunt.  You will often see me lagging behind my husband and daughter as they march purposefully ahead.  I know that there's beauty hidden in the underbrush and I'm determined to find it!

With the exception of the Trillium, which I think of as the flashy showgirl of the bunch, it seems that most of these wildflowers are rather retiring.  Nestled in mounds of dried leaves, hiding behind fallen branches, they sun themselves in the abundant light that is not yet filtered by the forest canopy.  You need patience and a sharp eye to spot them which makes their discovery all the more special.

Trillium grandiflorum (White trillium)

Photographing them is another challenge particularly because you have to get close enough to your subject without stepping on and thereby squashing their surrounding cousins.  I imagine that it's rather like sneaking up on a reclusive celebrity, tiptoeing so that you won't leave a trail.  It's hard to be that graceful when you're wearing hiking boots!

Trillium grandiflorum (White trillium)

As I've mentioned in Time for Trilliums I've been enjoying wildflower spotting since my childhood in Northwestern Ontario when my aunt would recruit me for her adventures in the woods.  How fortunate I am to have the same experience here in Ottawa and to be able to share it with my own daughter.  Now if I could only get my husband to slow down a wee bit more while navigating the trails, but that's a story for another day ;)

Aquilegia canadensis (Canadian or Canada Columbine, Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Columbine, and Honeysuckle)

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South March Highlands: Little Gems by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2012-05-10
Spring Ephemerals of the South March Highlands.

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic (May 6, 2012)

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Hibernation: My Mother was a Performing Bear?

Cinnamon bear by J T Bowen after John James Audubon via Wikipedia

My mother has always claimed that in a previous life she was a Russian Performing Bear.  As a child and young adult I found the idea amusing and rather magical even though her life, as you can well imagine, apparently wasn't all honey snacks and pretty tutus. I have the lingering impression that she hadn't necessarily gotten along with her "management", so to speak.

Becker's Bears by Marthe and Juliette Vesque (circa 1914)

As I grow older, I sometimes think about this bear connection and gradually the idea has evolved into something not quite so fanciful.  Not that my mother has gotten more bear-like over the years (though she has adopted a wide variety of teddies who needed a good home) but I have!  Particularly during the winter months when the days are shorter and darker, the urge to hibernate kicks in with a vengeance.  

Sure, the medical profession has come up with fancy explanations such as Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) but even that could be interpreted as lending credence to her theory and I quote:

In many species, activity is diminished during the winter months in response to the reduction in available food and the difficulties of surviving in cold weather. Hibernation is an extreme example, but even species that do not hibernate often exhibit changes in behavior during the winter. It has been argued that SAD is an evolved adaptation in humans that is a variant or remnant of a hibernation response in some remote ancestor.^[23] Presumably, food was scarce during most of human prehistory, and a tendency toward low mood during the winter months would have been adaptive by reducing the need for calorie intake. 

No wonder I just want to stay in bed only getting up for a good meal of perogies & cabbage rolls!  I wonder how many of my relatives feel the same way; blessed & burdened as we are by genetics that conserve energy during the long winter months helping us to survive until spring arrives?

Fortunately, spring came early to my part of the world this year and so I'm up and running again.  In celebration, I've dusted off this blog with a new look and good intentions on more frequent contributions.

In closing, I'll leave you with a bit of Russian Folklore to ponder, especially those of us who are descended from Mikhail Dokuchic.  A coincidence you say?

The Russian word that is the equivalent of "teddy bear," "misha," is also the diminutive for the name Mikhail, which is the standard "first name" of folk-tale bears. 

The South March Highlands: Ottawa's Fragile Urban Wilderness

The South March Highlands: Ottawa's Fragile Urban Wilderness: Narration: Paul Renaud Video & Editing: Gord Stephen Photos: Sherry Leavitt and other local residents

I thought that I would share this video as it provides an excellent summary of the situation previously blogged in Saving Beaver Pond Forest in Kanata, Ontario and termed by some to be the "largest ecological disaster to ever hit the city."

The effort to save this land is still gaining momentum including City of Ottawa to appear in court over west-end construction . You can help by spread the word and contacting the government officials listed at the end of the video.

Join the Facebook group at:
I want to save the land North of Beaver Pond Park in Kanata Ontario .

Follow on Twitter at: South March

Saving Beaver Pond Forest in Kanata, Ontario

Beaver Pond Woods - Just thought you should know by Gord Stephen

My family and I have always felt incredibly fortunate to have this old growth forest in our "backyard".  It's horrible to think that 182 hectacres of it will soon be cleared for a subdivision of 3,200 homes.  Too sad to think about the fate of  the 17 at risk species that currently make their home here, not to mention the other 637 species and 164 species of birds.  Too sad to think that the nature paths we've walked, biked, skied and snowshowed will be no more.

It was zoned for development in 1981 pre-dating the Endangered Species Act of 1998 which apparently does not void its zoning.  Developers Urbandale and Richcraft are looking at a start date of mid-July to begin cutting.  How could this have happened?

The Kanata Kourier-Standard just published Community takes last stand on its front page.  Its Editorial, Memories at the Beaver Pond, sums up the situation:

Saturday, June 5, over 400 residents gathered at the Beaver Pond to show the city they don't want a new subdivision choking out a precious natural sanctuary.

Hopefully, the developers and the city will take notice, the way they did back in 1999.  It's not impossible.

So get out there and make some memories.  In a few months, it may be all you have left.

Efforts are still being made to save this land.  You can join the Facebook group at:
I want to save the land North of Beaver Pond Park in Kanata Ontario .

New Post: The South March Highlands: Ottawa's Fragile Urban Wilderness is an excellent summary of the situation.

Time for Trilliums

As a child I was taken on many an excursion through the woods of Northwestern Ontario by my intrepid Auntie Annie.  Armed with copies of Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America plus A Field Guide to Wildflowers : Northeastern and North-Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) and two salami sandwiches we would make our way through the underbrush.  Auntie Annie firmly maintained that the sandwiches were for our lunch but I always suspected that they were part of the backup plan, just in case we got lost and had to survive until rescued.

Sometimes we had a destination in mind and one of my favourites was "Oh My Golly Jungle".  Timing was everything with this place (they didn't call it "Oh My Golly" for nothing).  Too soon and we had to make our way through a bog that could suck the sneakers right off of our feet.  Too late and the going was easy but there was no reward at the end.  Just right and you found yourself in a amazing clearing full of Lady's Slippers (Cypripedioideae).  It was magic!

Sometimes we just set out to "see what we could see" taking our time, enjoying the moment and developing an appreciation for our Canadian flora and fauna.   This, I was taught, should remain where/how you found it and should NEVER EVER be picked, plucked or otherwise tampered with.

Many years later I started creating a tiny bit of forest garden in my own yard, slowly adding shade loving ferns and hardy hostas.  Of course, what I really lusted after were wildflowers, Trilliums being at the top of the list.  One of the first spring wildflowers, they taunted me with their jaunty white flowers blooming in profusion and yet so unattainable.  Though I discovered that it is actually legal to pick them in Ontario (as long as they aren't in a provincial park) I just couldn't do it.  It seemed like a horrible betrayal, especially if they did not survive the transplant which is prone to happen.  The wrath of Auntie Annie echoed across the years.  She may be 95 now but she's still fiesty!

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Trilliums are now being cultivated and that the good people at  Make It Green could provide me with some.  Of course, they are only available in rather limited quantities and only at the right time of the year, illusive little devils that they are. So due to one thing and another (read a life that was way too busy to take time for Trilliums) it took me five years to actually bring my first batch home.  I tucked them into my garden this week and then celebrated by taking a few photos of their "wild" siblings who live just on the other side of our fence.

I will be keeping an eye on their progress while I ponder my next gardening move.  Any idea where I could find cultivated Lady's Slippers?

Photos: Trilliums 10-04-14 by Tatiana Dokuchic, PinkSlipper,  T. grandiflorum

Update May 5, 2012:  It took two years, but these Trilliums are now flowering in my garden!!