Kelowna BC, walk in the park.

One Week in Kelowna

They got Nature there too.

Swimming in Lake Okanagan

This is the GPS track file of where we walked and how we got there. The trail takes you through tunnels and over former train trestles.  The camera marker is where the yoga picture of me was taken. 1 meter behind me was a 5o meter drop, Mom was a little freaked out. "What's the worst that could happen??"  http://goo.gl/maps/i9pF0

Many of the trestles were destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire, which happened 10 years ago. 238 homes were lost and the fire was almost 24,000 hectares. read more

We also went to a new start-up that has constructed suspension bridges and a giant sundial.

The pool has a wave ride. I was able to stand for a minute after the 10th try, I wipe out good, got a few laughs from the young ones watching.

Loved to see all the different trees!  Northern Ontario has so few species compared to the hills of Kelowna.

Wood Burning, Renewable Energy Source!

Warms the cool damp basement

Wood Warms Twice 

at least

Pick up the wood, carry it to the truck - makes me warm

Carry the wood from the truck to the cut and split pile - makes me warm

Cut and split the wood and carry to the wood shed - makes me warm

Carry the wood from the wood shed to the basement  - makes me warm

Finally, having a fire makes me and the whole family warm

Wood is a renewable resource, so is a great substitute for natural gas and electricity.

I burn white birch and dry jackpine.

 Great BTU (heat) from both.

I am lucky to work in the forest around Timmins, Ontario for Millson Forestry Service.

The best deal on Cut and Split dry white birch wood is Millson's

You can visit the webstore and webpage to see what is available.

What is great is you can buy a box full, pickup load or dump truck full.

Woodheat.org

Heating with Wood

The Engineering ToolBox

Wood Energy Content and comparison

Ontario Wood Lot

In Favour of Wood Heat - The Facts +++

Bicycle built entirely of wood

Wood 

is the most versatile material to work with.

They call it SplinterBike

oxygengrowsontrees

Is Wood the Best Renewable Fuel for Heating?

Popular Mechanics

Wood heating isn't what it used to be. It's now clean, efficient and, in the right stove, high-tech. And, as it's always been, it's a renewable resource. Here is what the future holds for wood heating.

Is Wood the Best Renewable Fuel for Heating?


Wood Good, Oil Bad

Ontario Wood Works Awards Program

Student from Timmins wins first prize !!

I read this week in the Timmins Times that Carleton University architecture student Steph Bolduc of Timmins Ontario won a first prize.

Carleton architecture student Steph Bolduc has won first prize in the student design category of the 2010 Ontario Wood Works Awards Program sponsored by the Canadian Wood Council. 

Bolduc Design Blog see more pictures

Carleton University Newsroom

Construction Canada

Wood WORKS!

Hiking Day in Timmins

What a great day.

Great turn out too!

Hiking Day at Hersey lake Conservation Area.

The trails offer smooth walking trails and signs to make sure you do not get lost. Distance at each sign means you can plan the distance you want to walk.

Great event, hope you can come out next year.

Timmins Memorial Trees

Have a tree planted to honour the memory of a loved one.

Your donation will go towards the support of wintergreen's many community conservation projects.

You can purchase a tree that is planted near a walking trail.

Buy a tree in the name of a loved one will last very long time!

Contribute buy a tree

Martin watching over the Boreal Forest

Roll'n and I were walking in the bush this past week when he left me. I could here him barking not far off the path I was on.

I wondered over to see what all the noise was about. He usually does not bark unless hes has something very important he needs help with.

He had a martin up a large white spruce.

The martin was not happy. Sounds like an unhappy cat that has been backed into a corner. At the office we have a cat that is not my friend and is often vocal when I walk by. I walk by giving plenty of space, the dam cat has left me wounded before.

Map

eNature

Site Preparation

Forest Management Guidelines

for the Provision of

Marten Habitat

Tenacious Tree and white pine stump

White pine stumps. Two different time zones.

The other day where I was walking I came across two very large stumps. I know one is a white pine and I am pretty sure the second one is too.

Both the stumps are a result of the trees being cut.

The first stump is very old and has two spruce trees growing on top of it. Rotting stumps can make a good seed bed, but for spruce as the stump rots the tree will not be successful. Spruce like to be a little more grounded.

The other stump is of a more recent vintage. The stump is high, which would suggest a cross cut saw was used, but I think it was cut by chain saw with no regard to safe and proper felling technique.

Give it another 20 years and seed will germinate on this stump too. What I find interesting is the size of these stumps. White pine, I believe were a lot more abundant then they are now.

The very large white pine were important to the building of Timmins.

Forest companies in the area are doing a really good job of getting white pine back on the landscape. I hope one day we will see the many white pine again scattered close to town.

The Honour Roll of Timmins Trees has the biggest trees of each species in the area. the biggest white pine in the area is only 24 km down pine street.

The best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago, the next best time is today! Get a native tree and plant it today.

Porcupine Watchful Eye

This evening was regular meeting of the Porcupine Watchful Eye people. This group has been meeting for a number of years, I think I have been a regular for the last couple of years.

Goldcorp is in the postition to work with the 
City of Timmins and private land owners to capture tailings that have a problem for the last couple of years.  It is an interesting project and some of the walking trails will have to be relocated for the short term.

In the picture Kees poses for the before picture. In the background a drainage ditch will be constructed to improve water quality.

Tree planting I expect will be the final phase to the rehabilitation.

Biofuel created by a wood hog near Timmins Ontario

See the video Mulcher Wood Hog Timmins Ontario. You can take a look at how the slash left over from a harvest operation is turned into a fuel that will be burned to create electricity.

This harvest operation is what we call mechanical. Fellerbuncher fells the trees, then a grapple skidder pulls the bunches of trees roadside. Once roadside the tree is either processed or delimbed, sometimes both.

What is left behind from that process is the tops, branches and leaves. It is this biomass that is placed in the mulcher to create a material that can be fed into power plants.

The Centre for Energy is just one of the very many Canadian site on the topic, but it has a very good general overview of the bio energy sector.

The material from this block is destine for facilities operated by Northland Power. One facility is the Kirkland Lake Generating Station, the other facility is the Cochrane Generating Station.

muddy mark webpage

Crafty wood products

I can make one of these for you!

If you want a piece of cedar painted green with a couple of holes drilled in it I will do this for you, and and i will do it for half of the $160.00 price tag on the one I saw in the magazine. Just tell me how green and how long you want it.

A stick stuck in a piece of wood, I can do this too! I will do this at least then half price. $225 to paint a branch and stick a couple of candle holders on it. I can do that!

What else made from wood would you like to see me make. I will be busy this summer working on these product, but who will buy???

White Cedar Strip Down to Show All

What is going on here?

I have been seeing this in young cedar over the last couple of years. Maybe I just never noticed before , but now I seem to see it a lot. Seemingly healthy young cedar are shedding their bark in strips.

In many cases the bark has been striping around the entire tree. I always thought that if the bark was removed from around the entire tree - it would die. It seems these guys are all doing pretty well.

So what makes this happen?

Will they survive?

I hope someone will be able to help.

I will continue to search for the answer when I find it I will post.

What else did I see today? Just a little snow, but most of the shallow still water if frozen. I Roll'n chase a red squirrel that I was sure was in his mouth at one point. Those little critters are fast!! He loves the chase and sure would like to do more catching.

The Red Squirrels look really healthy. Big bushy tails and lots of fur. Big and bushy I think more then normal. I wonder if this means more cold then normal?


UTM 17-0456255-5334832

Wood vs. Steel - Environmentally Friendly Building

I drive by that big honk'n steel structure every day. Over the hill behind the building sometimes I can see the steam rising from the dryer at the Domtar mill. Not only is steel more harmful to the environment in many ways more then wood, but all that steel had to be transported to the north. Shipping all that weight had a cost on the environment too.

There are many sources that discuss wood vs. steel below is just part of one of them.

Life-cycle analysis results for the steel-framed vs. wood-framed home showed that the steel-framed home used 17 percent more energy; had 26 percent more global warming potential; had 14 percent more air emissions; had over 300 percent more water emissions and had about the same level of solid waste production. Analysis results for the concrete- vs. wood-framed home showed the concrete-framed home used 16 percent more energy; had 31 percent more global warming potential; had 23 percent more air emissions; had roughly the same level of water emissions and produced 51 percent more solid waste. ( From : Evaluating the Environmental Performance of Wood Building Material)

On a much happier note I did get a chance to walk along a new logging road today. At one point a gang of chickadees came by. I was not able to get a good picture but I was able to get this poor picture of one. There must have been at least 10 of them searching for food in the cedar and birch trees.