Temagami Wilderness

BLACK FLIES ARE A LOT LIKE PEOPLE

2009-02-18T11:23:00.006-05:00

I'm wondering if this famous little song and film will bring folks to Temagami, or not. But it will make you laugh for sure! Let me know what you think.

For your information, blackflies are a lot like people. When they (the females only) gorge on a blood meal, they are very full and fat, and can only waddle away to hide under a leaf. Then they take a very, very, very, long siesta, digesting the blood into their reproductive energies.

At May's end, yes, the little black flies are coming, to the culinary delight of birds and dragonflies. So no worries for humans.

ROADKILL GETS A SECOND LIFE AS ART

2009-01-26T11:02:00.003-05:00

VANCOUVER, B.C. - When Amy Nugent sells her line Roadquill at craft fairs, she sometimes hears snarky remarks directed at her by overzealous browsers.

The 33-year-old visual artist uses the parts of dead animals to create high-end key chains, jewelry and accessories: Rabbit feet and turtle hands hang off small gold key chains, and moose and bear bones are carved into the shape of feathers and used as slides for a tie or velvet necklace.

The materials aren't knockoffs.

A quick inspection of her art leaves no doubt that the parts are real. The anger from certain onlookers often turns to confusion when Nugent tells the critics her pieces are completely sustainable.

Every part was taken from dead animals scooped off the highway.
The Pembroke, Ont., native became fascinated with roadkill in 2001. She had moved to the Algonquin Park region after taking three years to hitchhike across Canada, and play music in Montreal.

Having grown up near the Algonquin First Nations reserve, Nugent was intrigued by many of their traditions and was drawn to the animals in the region. In her time back in Algonquin, she couldn't help but notice the large number of dead porcupines that lined the highway and roads.

"I started realizing, God there's all those quills and I'd heard about people collecting them up there and making art," she said.

"Not knowing what I'm doing I just stopped one day and thought 'How am I going to do this?"'

She put together a kit of Tupperware containers and plastic gloves and started taking what she could from the dead porcupines.

She wanted to "resurrect this stuff that we just pancake out there."

"This is all about honouring the animals and recycling," she said.

Soon, she started using the quills as beads for cuffs made from safety pins and elastic bands.

She was wearing one when she attended a powwow in 2003 in Algonquin. She happened across a man at a booth who had a huge bag of quills. They started chatting and Nugent soon learned that the man was known as the Roadkill Warrior - his real name is Peter Schimanski.

His mission was to collect as much roadkill as he could and use the parts in any way possible.

"I mean, I was just getting the quills of porcupines, but this guy, if he sees a chipmunk, a little turtle, hummingbird wings - from the small to bear, deer, moose, he'll take anything," she said.

Nugent gave the Roadkill Warrior one of her cuffs and the two formed a close friendship.

When Nugent moved to Vancouver five years ago, Schimanski became her supplier. Every time Nugent is back in Ontario, she apprentices with Schimanski on customs like skinning and cutting up animal carcasses.

"Throughout the years, the bond has become incredible," Schimanski said from his home in Algonquin. "Some of the work she does I just find incredible."

(Schimanski distributes his material through word of mouth. He's created a network of people interested in using animal parts, that spread from across Canada to parts of the United States.)

Nugent's future plans are as vast as the Trans-Canada Highway. She wants to start a line of fastenings - buttons, zipper pulls - in collaboration with a local designer. She's also reading up on the history of the Trans-Canada and intends to use the iconic imagery of road signs on her jewelry.

But her most ambitious idea is organizing a children's play.

"When I do a table (at a craft fair), and have all the stuff out there, (children) go crazy," she said.

"(They ask) 'What is that? What's that from?' and you get into this whole discussion about modes of transportation, highway, spirituality, death. It opens so many doors."

LUMINESCENT FUNGI SEEN

2008-09-06T11:50:00.006-04:00

Francis and I were walking home in the dark, after a fine celebration for Bruce and Carol Hodgins of Camp Wanapitei. When I was able to resist using the flashlight to light the path, we noticed irridescent spots on the forest floor, and on decomposing logs. There are so many mysteries still to discover and study in the old growth forests --and not so old forests. It makes me sad how the MNR's Forest Management plan 'manages' for so few 'indicator' species. When the old growth habitat is gone, we've lost a link to science and spirituality.

QUILTS & BARNS

2008-06-29T14:42:00.004-04:00

Do you like quits and farm life? See over 100 on display on barns throughout Temiskaming. It's part of a self-drive tour to bring awareness to the 2009 International Plowing Match. Yes, that's 2009 September.
This photo is of me painting a 'tree' quilt that will go up on display in Temagami village.
Personally, I am thrilled to drive the lush farmland of Temiskaming only to see the most stunning quilts painted on barns. I am painting a series of watercolours to depict this. For those who wish to drive about (you can easily take less than a day), there is a map to go with it outlining the story of each quilt and the farm's history. What a great way to tour the bread basket of Ontario.
P.S. Smoothwater offers lodgings and meals for International Plowing Match tourists.

ORCHIDS IN TEMAGAMI

2008-06-20T09:33:00.003-04:00

Pink Lady's-slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule) are everywhere these days in Temagami. Just yesterday, June 19, over 250 were counted while hiking the old growth pine in the White Bear forest. Let's put it in context: that's 250 Pink Lady's-slippers over 3 km of trail in the old growth pine forest.
Pink Lady's-slipper are also called the 'moccasin' flower. Aboriginal people used the roots in a sedative and in an epilepsy medicine.
Pink Lady's-slipper take 10 years from germination to reach the flowering stage. They should not be picked.

A TEMAGAMI CANOE TRIP IN SEPTEMBER

2008-05-27T22:36:00.005-04:00

This is a really good video on You Tube about a Temagami canoe trip in September. I'm not sure who authored this, but it is quite typical of the Temagami landscape. The canoe trippers had some amazing nature and wildlife experiences, including wolves and moose. http://youtube.com/watch?v=vKtD3xXIcME

A CULINARY MEDITATION

2008-05-24T08:12:00.004-04:00

Always I look for a meaningful way to acknowledge the culinary bounty we are blessed to have in Temagami, in Canada. This one, by Kahil Gibran, humbly connects me to the web of life.

"When you kill a beast, say to him in your heart: By the same power that slays you, I too am slain, and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivers you into my hand shall deliver me into a mighter hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of life."

BUG REPELLANTS

2008-02-06T15:55:00.002-05:00

"It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood." discoverymagazine.com Lest we not forget, only the females suck.
I've heard a form of torture practiced by some Canadian First Nations tribes, was to strip the enemy, tie him (probably not a her) down outdoors during bug season, and then let the mosquitoes have a go. So how long would it take for 1,2000,000 mosquitoes to feast? Twenty four hours in June?
Don't worry though about bugs. I don't want to scare you. When you wear a bug shirt you can laugh.
But it is very interesting to think of how people over the millenia protected themselves against bites. Fur traders and the courieurs des bois used bear grease on their skin to smother a critter (imagine sleeping under a canoe during bug season). Tree planters use olive oil to the same effect. Today, some use a combo of essential botanical oils, while others swear by deet. I swear by bug shirts, especially those made by the Original Bug Shirt Company in South River.
At least we don't have poisonous snakes. See you this spring!

First Cross Country Ski of the Winter: December 5

2007-12-06T17:16:00.000-05:00

Wow. I am so happy. Cross country ski season is here. I had my first cross country ski today. The Smoothwater cross ski and snowshoe trails have lots and lots of snow. My favourite time to go is in the afternoon after I'm about to burst from too much computer work. A half hour ski a day, accompanied by the dogs, is all I need to keep fit. Well, almost.