Timmins Checklist of the Birds Poster - Hot off the Press!

Great locally taken photographs.

Checklist of the Bird down the side.

Fund raiser for 

Wintergreen Fund for Conservation.

The poster was ready for the Sportsman Show. Many commented on how nice the poster looks. I think it turned out great! Many thanks to Lynn and Mark Clement for providing us with all the pictures.

You can see more of Lynn and Marks work on their websites.

You can find the poster at the MRCA office at Gillies Lake. They are only $5.00. You will need one for the cottage, one for the office and one for home, this is a fund-raiser. The poster was also supported by Xstrata Copper, with thanks to Larry and Syvia Labelle.

You can see the Timmins Naturalist Checklist of the birds here.

You can add your observations of local species to Observations Naturally. 

Winter Green Fund for Conservation supports local trails and the 

Mattagami Region Conservation Authority efforts.

I will get some here at the house so you can drop by and get yours. Small delivery charge may be added if you do not come with a smile. Always love to here about observations of birds and trees. 

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Trout Unlimited Canada

Muddy Mark learns about Trout Unlimited

While in North Bay a lad came asking about tree seedlings for a Trout Unlimited project.

He was hoping for a few hundred free seedlings, maybe a few thousand free seedlings. Free tree seedlings, pretty sure the government use to do that, but stopped that 20 years ago. 

At Millson Forestry Service tree seedlings is our business. With planning ahead Millson can provide as many seedlings as you want, what ever size you want, but it will cost you.

Back to Trout Unlimited. I did not know anything about this. What is really exciting to me is the one creek they are working on : BRONTE CREEK WATERSHED PROGRAM

Close to my hometown. I spent plenty of time in the Bronte Creek watershed back when I am sure the creek had plenty of trout. Also in the Bronte Creek clean up is the Lowville Park part of the creek. Lowville! Lowville is the best hill for sliding for miles around! 

There is a Bronte Creek blog check it out!

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Water Level Look for yourself. Realtime

Like to watch weather
You can watch the water rise and fall.

No this is not about taking your girl to the lake side
to watch submarine races. But still always a good idea!

Environment Canada has a site that shows you the realtime water levels of water systems all across Canada. You can use the google map search to see what stations are near any location in Canada.

It is a very cool site for water watchers. Real-time Hydrometric Data

Ontario Power Generation has a site that will allow you to view the real-time data at the hydro electric dams. You need to check here when water is low to know if the water is high or not. You need to know the elevation that may effect you or your pleasure of the water system.

Pick a dam, see the water elevation. See the data

Oxygen Grows On Trees

Earth Day 2011 Timmins Ontario - Honda

Timmins Honda for Earth Day

April 21, 2011

Being in our backyard is always plenty of fun. 

Ryan, owner of Timmins Honda, took me for a spin in one the hybrid cars. He is so knowledgeable. 

These cars are truly becoming leaders in the automobile industry.

Jason, from CTV, checks in with me and Forester Moe. One day that facial hair he sports will look as good as mine, he hopes. His kids will help him acquire the grey of maturity.

If you missed us you can always get a tree seedling from Millson Forestry Service of Timmins, Ontario.

Visit the webstore for tree seedlings of boreal species and more.

The best time to plant a tree 

was 100 years ago, 

the second best time is today!

Timmins Honda

2011 Earth Day summary on Youtube

2011 Earth Day Timmins Commercial on Youtube

Earth Day 2011 Sudbury - Rainbow Concrete

Sudbury people LOVE trees.

Busy Muddy at Rainbow Concrete!

Just like last year the staff at Rainbow were fantastic to welcome us into the show room. The weather was not as nice as last year, so we were not able to set up outside.

Boris (far left) and his staff really are committed to the environment with many different projects on the go to make living in the urban jungle more earth friendly.

Free Tree Seedlings at Rainbow Concrete Sudbury Ontario!

A real interesting part of these traveling Earth Day events is the people you meet. I love to talk trees with everyone that comes by. In Sudbury a surprise for me. A co-worker, a friend from many years ago sent his daughter to come visit. She is more then 20 years old, so I am thinking I have not seen Dan for 15 + years. Emails over the years now and then, but really had lost touch. He saw the commercial, but work kept him away.  Hope Dan will send me a picture of himself with the seedling planted.

Earth Day Canada

Ontario Fishing ON-Line

For those of you who are fishing people the Province has a very neat new tool. It works with Google.maps and is very interactive.

Lakes that have fish or are stocked can easily be found and explored.

What a great use of Google.maps

I guess you could use the ``how to use`` information, but come on boys, we do not need that.

Check it out. Click on the picture.

Today - AWESOME !!

Gemini Breakfast

this morning i got up at 5:30am to put my swim stuff together.  on tuesday and thursday mornings i drive kid number one to the pool for work. if i am going to the pool i stay and swim a bit. then a nice long hot show, and the showers were very hot today. AWESOME.

i came home and figured i had plenty of time to make eggs, rather then just cereal. leftover potatoes in the pan first, then add the eggs.  2 eggs easy over.

both eggs had double yokes. AWESOME.

later at work i realize i had not completed the usual ritual with kid number one, to say have a good day. a hand shake thing, that is our thing. we forgot.  i text her later "LB it, pulse, hy5". her text back was oh we forgot. kid number one thinking about dad. AWESOME.

these are my 3 thing today to add to my book of AWESOME.

for those of you that have not read the book or heard about it, more about awesome is here.

check out more of the blog now

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Free Tree for International Year of Forests

Start your own Forest
With free tree seedling


2011 declared International Year of Forests by the UN.

You can start your forest by getting a free tree seedling in North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins.

Come see Muddy Mark and Forester Moe.

The best time to plant a tree is 

100 years ago, 

the next best time is today!

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Free Tree Seedlings North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins

Earth Day Tour Continues
Free Tree Seedlings in 
North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins

One free seedling to everyone that shows up. If you want more we will have more at just $1.00 each.

Muddy Mark will have the Oxygen Grows On Trees t-shirts. read more
Tell Muddy that Peter sent you and you will get a deal. And yes Peter if I sell 10 shirts on the tour you will get one free!

The inlaws of Muddy came to visit again this year. How wonderful. This is the second year we have been involved in the handing out of free tree seedlings in Sault Ste Marie.  Last year Earth Day read more.

CTV Regional commercial watch now
CTV Timmins commercial watch now

Success in the Sault

EARTH DAY 

IN SAULT ST. MARIE 

AT  THE COUNTRY WAY.

Former Mayor 1996-2000 - Steve Butland and current councilor 

Muddy Mark and Maria, manager at the Country Way.

Forester Moe is QC for all the seedlings. 

More free tree seedlings for everyone, and everyone get one free!

Next stop North Bay Toyota on April 18th, then Sudbury Rainbow Concrete on April 19th. Our last stop is in Timmins at Honda. Come join us and get your free tree seedling.

And they are seedlings!

about.com Forestry
SAPLING 
A small tree, usually between 2 and 4 inches diameter at breast height
SEEDLING 
(a) A tree, usually less than 2 inches diameter at breast height, that has grown from a seed rather than from a sprout.
(b)A nursery-grown tree that has not been transplanted in the nursery.

Wiki entry tell us 

A seedling is a baby tree that has just started to grow.  It is the first stage of the growth cycle.  It can not make new life and it has a job to do.  Its job is to grow up to a sapling to make a new forest.  Deer sometimes like to eat new leaves and can can hurt a new seedling.

A sapling is a child tree.  It is the second stage of development.  It is one meter tall and stays a sapling until the stem reaches 7 cenitmeters in diameter.

This paper has some technical info.

trees = 10 cm or more DBH; saplings = basal diameter 1 cm or more and DBH <10 cm; seedlings = < 1 cm basal diameter. Seedlings were subdivided into 3 height classes: <10 cm, 10-30 cm, and >30 cm.

Free Tree Seedling Sault Ste. Marie

Earth Day 2011

April 11th

Nature's Way

10 am - 5pm

Similar to last year we will again travel from Timmins to Sault Ste. Marie with a truck load of tree seedings. I have also added some interesting forest finds.

Come visit us.  One free tree seedling for every one.

We will be in North Bay April 18, Sudbury April 19 and back in Timmins on April 21st.

See the commercial on Youtube

Ask Muddy Mark to get a picture with you, and it will end up here.

Muddy will also have Oxygen Grows On Trees t-shirts. (tell him you saw it here and he will sell you a shirt for $15.00)

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Muddy Mark
Educating the little saplings!

A school tour last week at the complex.  It was too cold to take the kids for a walk in the mud, it was all too frozen. Too bad, I had my rubber boots on.

All dressed up with no place to mess.

The kids had some great questions and many of them were about trees.  Sometimes the cats and dogs get some of the kids attention.

Trees  are important and I am sure that message was well received. 

Yellow-headed Blackbird in Timmins

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Visits feeder in South Porcupine

This is a sighting from a couple of years ago (May 6, 2008 at 4:15pm), but it is never too late to add an interesting observation. The bird flew in with a flock of blackbirds and was only here for maybe 5 minutes and never came back.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird is on the Timmins Checklist of the Birds, so it has been spotted here before.

This is the area it was sighted see the map

Great observation and picture.

I will add this to the Observations Naturally page of the Timmins Naturalists

Lynn's incredible photograph

WOW

I WISH

Lynn got this picture this weekend. What a great shot!

I love the squirrel looking over the shoulder of the Great Horned Owl.

The snow falling from the Red Squirrels perch.

The Owl looking directing at the camera.

The Tamarack tree will soon start bud flush.

Check out Lynn's page to see more fantastic pictures..

More information about the Great Horned Owl at : Environment Canada   eNature     Cornell

I wish I could get pictures like Lynn does. I am glad she shares!

'Supermoon' Saturday March 19th, 2011

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Earth's closest celestial neighbour will appear to loom larger and brighter than usual on Saturday night, as astronomers anticipate a cosmic event called an "extreme supermoon".

Scientists say the natural phenomenon — in which the moon reaches its closest point to this planet — will cause abnormally high and low tides worldwide.

'Supermoon' to loom large on Saturday - 

Technology; Science - CBC News

Tonight is forecast to be clear. The moon will be big tonight. I will see how my little camera is for taking moon pictures.

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Earth Day 2011 Planning Started

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Muddy Mark and Forester Moe 
Talking Earth Day 2011

It looks like again we will be doing our travelling road show for Earth Day.  At Millson Forestry Service - Earth Day is everyday!

CTV came to the greenhouse to get some film to make the 2011 commercial spots. The greenhouse is an excellent spot to film with tree seedlings as a background. The green house has some seedlings, but it is mostly full of tiny sprouting tree seedlings.

We will be in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins giving away free tree seedlings. Last year we gave away thousands of tree seedlings that increased the oxygen in Northern Ontario.  You can read more about last years events and see pictures in this blog.

You can see the Timmins Commercial go now or the Regional Commercial go now on youtube.

You can see last years PR and my other videos on my Youtube goforg channel

The 2 trees I have beside me came on the road with us last year. They will come with again. You can see behind me the greenhouse is just starting to turn green. Behind me are thousands of little tree seedlings just getting started.

Stay tuned for more information.

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Osprey Nest North West of Timmins

Big sticks and tree top is typical of an 

Osprey Nest

I went to visit this nest this week. It is not being used just yet, but spring is not too far away, I hope. I will have to watch this nest over the next month to see if a bird appears.

This is an Osprey nest, looks different then the nest I saw a couple of weeks ago - the black bear nest. 

read more about the black bear nest

The tree this bird has chosen is an old jackpine tree. When I walked to the base of the tree I could tell the tree was very dead, and was surprised the tree is standing so strong. I wonder how much longer the tree will stand. The plantation this tree is standing in looks to be 10 to 12 years old.




LINKS

Live nest cam waiting for the return of a pair of Osprey





When I see the bird return I will let you know, maybe I will get to use my video camera???


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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

Big and Beautiful

Soon the Buds will Burst

This big Trembling Aspen is a great oxygen producer!!  Look at all the branches. In the summer this tree will be full of leaves, I hope it is wind firm.

This tree has grown in the open for many many years. If it had grown in a tight grove the branching would be small and just at the top of the tree.  This giant has grown in the open and allowed to grow wild and branchy.

I just love to see nice trees on nice days, blue sky with a little cloud.

This is a map of where this tree is standing.

Black Bear Stick Nest

It is a real thing!!

I got a picture this week of a classic Bear Stick Nest.  I was first introduced to the black bear stick nest during a stick nest workshop.  We were looking at many different types of stick nests and learning how to identify which bird had created the nest.

In the case of the bear stick nest - it is not a nest at all.  Rather it is a place where a bear sat and eat the buds off the branches of a tree. The mess that is left behind once the bear has broken many branches in the tree, can be confused with a real stick nest.

This is the second bear stick mess I have got a picture of.  Maybe one day I will get a picture of the bear in the tree while making the mess.

View in Google Maps

Bear Stick Mess (Nest)

Road to Winter Wonderland

A Road Less Traveled

I have driven down each of these roads over the years.  Each road was built to access forest stands  to be harvested. I drove these roads when looking at the plantations to assess the health and survival.

Look at the plantations from the air in Google Maps shows how great the plantations are coming along.  New forest growing with vigour.  Great examples to look at for International YEAR of the FOREST.

See in Google Maps

See in Google Maps

Festival of the Trees #56

Festival of the Trees

It is a blog carnival for all things trees, Festival of Trees

The 56th edition is hosted by treeblog.co.uk

Muddy Mark made a contribution. Take a look at the 56th edition now!




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Foxy in Timmins Ontario

Fox Finds Frozen Dinner

I finally found something to film with my new little video camera.

I drove up beside a little fox that was very busy on the side of the road. I watched for 10 minutes as he was occupied with a task in the snow bank.

To get a better angle I started the truck, drove down the road and came back. Now the fox was on the drivers side.  It seemed like he did not notice the truck at all. It just went about the business of digging in the snow bank.

Roll'n wanted out bad!!!

The little fox finally found his treasure, a frozen dinner of half rabbit.

I did not realize the camera was set to medium quality until I was downloading. Darn. The next video I take will be better.   

See the video on Youtube
You can see other video from me on my channel

This is where the video was taken map

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111th Christmas Bird Count Results.

Bald Eagle still in Timmins on December 18th!

New species added to the Timmins Christmas Bird Count list.

From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission - often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season. (from : Audubon website.)                     


This year a bald eagle was spotted flying along the Mattagami River just near pizza hut. The bald eagle becomes the 43rd species added to the Timmins Christmas Bird Count.

The 111th CBC is the 17th time the Timmins Naturalists have participated. The CBC is a great way to get out and enjoy the day while supporting citizen science.

Bird Studies Canada is the place to start to look at CBC data across the country.

Audubon has a very extensive amount of information on the Christmas Bird Count.



I will have the data available soon on the Timmins Naturalists site. The data is already available on the Bird Studies Canada site.

Here is a summary for this year.

01     Bald Eagle
91     Rock Pigeon
01     Great Grey Owl
04     Downy Woodpecker
05     Hairy Woodpecker
02     Pileated Woodpecker
01     Blue Jay
42     American Crow
19     Common Raven
63     Black-capped Chickadee
01     Red-breasted Nuthatch
02     Northern Shrike
02     European Starling
03     Pine Grosbeak
01     White-winged Crosbill
09     Common Redpoll
04     Evening Grosbeak

Individuals : 250
Species : 17

I can recognize a turtle, so I get recognized.

I wonder if a turtle could recognize me??

Today, via snail mail, 

I received a certification from the Toronto Zoo.

That was very nice. This year I was able to report a Blanding's Turtle, my first ever in the Northern Boreal Forest. 

Turtle sightings reported to the Timmins Naturalists over the last 15 years have been documented on the Observations Naturally page.  I encourage everyone in the Timmins Area to report turtle sightings. You can also read more about Snapping Turtles in the Timmins area here.

You can read more about a painted turtle observation here.

You can send for a free package from the Toronto Zoo with the Adopt-a-Pond program. You get a great poster, ID cards, stickers and magnets. I really like the flash card they have provided.

They did send me the Ontario Turtle Tally : 2010 Data Summary. It is not available on line yet, but the 2009 information is here.

See a turtle near Timmins, take a picture, get the GPS location, sent it to the Naturalists!!

Now the White pine seams Frosty!!

Today I drove past the large White pine with a seam from top to bottom, 


It was covered in frost.  The entire area is covered in frost. 

                                                                

It is so pretty to see the area covered in a white frosting covering everything.

I also stopped and took some closer pictures of a younger White pine that was covered in old man jack frost. 

 I bought a Sony digital video camera and I just can't wait to find something interesting in the forest to film. A 10 second video of the forest growing may  be a little boring, but maybe I will get to film a tree being used by a forest creature.

Thinking about Earth Day.  This year the Earth Day theme will work well with the UN International Year of Forests. Get a tree on Earth Day and plant it in the spring, a forest is created one tree at a time!


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Big White pine would seem unwell

or

Big White Pine wood seam unwell!!

This great White pine has stood for over one hundred years, I would guess.  It look like it must have been hit by lightning within the last 10 years. The tree is still doing ok, but I guess a lot of it's stem strength is gone.

If the tree can survive another 100 years it will just look like a long seam. The split runs almost the entire length of the tree. If I am still around in another 100 years I will post an update here, wait for it . . .

Go take a look for yourself, you can see the tree from the road if you are standing here.

2011 International Year of Forest.  read more

It is all about the trees here at Oxygen Grows On Trees.

My First Millson Forest

2011 International Year of Forests

My first forest with Millson Forestry Service.

I started at Millson Forestry Service (MFS) July of 1999, in September I was in charge of a tree plant on the west side of town. 

Here is a map of the plantation area.  Here is a look at the plantation from the highway in street view of google maps

I went to the Jack pine plantation yesterday to get some pictures and thin a tree to get a cookie. It was a wonderful warm rainy day. A little unusual for the last day of 2010. Plus 5C and raining while Roll'n and I walked in the young forest. 

2011 is International Year of Forests more info 

When I count the rings on the cookie of the tree I thinned from the plantation I confirm the tree is indeed 11 years old. 

I hope you will follow me this year while I work and write about the forest. If you have never planted a tree, this is the year you need to do it! You will have opportunity during Earth Day and Arbour Day to get a tree. You can also get a larger tree, just visit the MFS webstore.

It is all about the trees and the FOREST at Oxygen Grows On Trees

Scoutrees a Forest for Tomorrow

Forest Planted in 2002 visited

In the spring of 2001 and 2002 the Timmins and Porcupine District Scouts planted as part of Scoutrees. A National program that is a fund raiser for the Scouting program.  The first tree plant in the Timmins District, Called Trees for Canada, at the time, was in 1980. My first tree plant with the Scouts was 1997 when we planted in Deloro Township, just south the Timmins Landfill.

That summer crows and ravens came to the plantation and pulled out almost all the seedlings. Any seedling that had  the smallest paper showing was pulled up. Those curious birds! The seedling container of the time was called a 408 PaperPot. There were used for only a few years before it was determined that in some soil conditions the paper would not rot for many many years.

Previous blog entry has chart with years and numbers planted. read the entry now

The last Scoutrees planted in 2003.

Mine Site in the background.

Click Here to see a map of where the trees are planted.

Pictures from the tree plant and the pictures of what it looks like today.  Look Now