Rough Legged Hawk

Were visited by a Rough legged hawk as we were sitting in our living room enjoying our view on this day off. It perched on the large manitoba maple that is off beyond the clearing before our house.

Attended the Kemptville Focus Session - Landowner Incentive Workshop (Future Afforestation Program)

Attended the subject workshop and focus session. The material in interesting and provided me with considerable insight into the Kyoto Accord and the issues with carbon sequestration. The landowner incentive concepts that were being sought however did not seem too practical to me. In a nutshell the concept presented was about setting up partnerships between carbon consumers such as forest harvesting companies and oil companies with woodlot owners or potential “carbon storers”. The carbon consumer would contribute afforestation where a land is not reforested but rather converted from a non-forest ie farm or vacant land into forest, and in return the consumer would acquire “carbon credits” as a form of currency. I found it a difficult concept to adopt let alone comprehend. Why not just convert the “carbon credits” to dollars, which we all understand? This could be achieved through tax credits or penalties.

What complicates this idea is that not just forests lock-in carbon. According to a Ducks Unlimited Magazine article, swamps and marshes are also notable contributors to carbon and greenhouse gas sequestration.

Attended Forestry Fair 2003

Attended the Forestry Fair in Kemptville Ontario. Arrived a little late bu was on time to buy to silver maple saplings and to watch the end of the wood auction. Met a colleague canoe builder who was buying a large 2 feet (60 cm) diameter log of cherry wood for his business.

Another visit from the young Fox

Another visit from the young fox

The probably same fox appeared near our house on the pile of bolders looking for prey. It was quite a surprise for all of us, so close within 70 feet (20 metres) to the house, and especially for our guests, my cousin and his family from the Netherlands.

A Young Fox

At mid day a young fox was sighted sleeping curled up on a pile of branches under the spooky old tree at the end of the clearing in front of our dwelling.

Bacon said

If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world.

Sir Francis Bacon

Met the Forester

Met with the forester from Kemptville about setting up a forest management plan on our property.

Snow-shoed

February, 16, 2003

Snow-shoed around.

Walked around the perimeter of the lot. Found many snowshoe hare tracks, coyote tracks, white tailed deer tracks, and fisher tracks. The fisher seems to repeatedly take the same path.

Turkey visits

Every morning around 10:00 a.m. eight wild turkeys would stride over to our front yard for a treat of cracked corn that was spread on the snow. These visits were usually daily but sometimes twice a day and sometimes not until the next day. They all look like young females.