Posts From Viki Mather
Fall Harvest: Edible Wild Plants
(Updated Nov 1st, 2021) I grew up in the countryside, where eating locally was as simple as going out to the garden to pick a...
Cottaging in Canada: Sour Cherries and Summer Memories
One day several years ago, I was admiring the fresh fruit at our local farmers’ market. There were these odd looking cherries that caught my...
Up North and Off the Grid: Children in the Woods
When my youngest daughter was around eight years old, a friend suggested I might be interested in a book called Last Child in the Woods...
Up North and Off the Grid: Winter’s End
Life is colder in the north. Winter lingers three to five weeks longer than in southern Ontario. This year, ice-out for our area is happening in...
Up North and Off the Grid: A Dream of Spring
On March 20th, spring arrived at long last! But this is still early spring, so it is only the first part of spring that we see through...
Up North and Off Grid: Enjoying Winter Wildlife
It has been so long since we had a real winter, I had almost forgotten how much fun it can be. As long as I...
Up North and Off Grid: December on the Lake
It is dark this December morning. And cold. I want to stay inside and hibernate. Dawn comes slowly. Eventually the sun rises but it gives...
Up North and Off Grid: Over the Hill
I climbed to the top of another hill this year. I’ve completed six decades of life. Now I am 60. Yet when I look in...
Autumn Morning
Already the sun is rising late. After 7:30 where I live, and it is going fast. Thankfully the dawn arrives well before the sun pokes...
Wild Mushrooms
Mushrooms, mushrooms everywhere, but none are fit to eat. Or are they? A lot of us have a curious fascination with wild mushrooms. They seem...
Summer Morning
The sun rises to the north-east long before sleep is ready to give way to the day. I half wake as the first rays of...
Wolf Lake Red Pines
I first travelled through the Wolf Lake area more than 30 years ago. We travelled by canoe, paddling and portaging through clear lakes and cool...
Violets
Spring flowers are in full bloom, much to my surprise. It seemed that the forest floor was brown as ever, until I noticed the violets...
April Promises
After the shortest winter ever, I find myself looking out at a landscape without snow. I’m torn between the sadness of losing the ice from...
Lake Walking in Late Winter
This is the warmest winter ever. I’ve become so used to temperatures hovering around the freezing point that it seems really cold on those few...
Off the Grid: Here Comes the Sun!
February is a most wonderful month. Because of the LIGHT! Gone are the dark days of November and December. It is colder, yes. Minus 31ºC...
