Category Archives: Great Lakes

Dancing on Wild Rice

When the loons gather in migratory rafts on Lake Superior and salmon begin to run up its tributary streams, it’s time to harvest wild rice. Native people there call it manoomin. They hold a Wild Rice Camp on Tubbs Lake near Mecosta, Michigan, where tribal and non-tribal people alike can join in the harvest and preserve the ancient cultural tradition of ricing. Continue reading






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Evening Sky Over Lake Ontario

Last night on the jetty at the mouth of 16-Mile Creek, a boorish oaf felt that he should tell us that we were facing the wrong direction to see the sunset. Had we listened to him, we would have missed this roseate drama in the clouds east of Oakville. [Photo by Ms. Modigliani]






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Let’s Lift A Toast To The Burning River

If Great Blue Herons are part of your quality of life, please join me in lifting a toast to the Cuyahoga River. When the river caught on fire in Cleveland 40 years ago today, it became a tipping point in … Continue reading






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Flagging Beaches on Lake Ontario

I’ve sailed on Lake Ontario. I’ve walked on a few of its beaches. But I never tried to swim in it, and I haven’t seen others swimming there, either. Why not? The Environment Report delved into it yesterday. Here’s the … Continue reading






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No End to Open Water

Alex Colville’s To Prince Edward Island reassured me last January that summer would come, and with it blue skies and open water. It did, but I don’t know whether I could ever get enough time on the water. Ms. Modigliani … Continue reading






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