You never knows what you might see in the garden or on the trail. On June 30th I went out with Chewy at 9:30 p.m.at dusk and saw fireflies flashing away.  I had never seenContinue reading

On Friday June 25th I had an interesting walk at Bannockburn Tract.  I noticed some yellow flower, St.  Johnswort, Tickseed sunflower, Black-eyed Susan and Rubecia.  I saw a killdeer and three birds that I laterContinue reading

Cycling:   Maitland Trail Association – Hybrid Cycling Outings Enjoy scenic trails in the area by hybrid bicycle. We will be offering 4 rides in the fall. These rides are a new offering for MTAContinue reading

I see on Facebook there are on-going problems with ATVs on the GARTand G2G and damage to the gates, locks and signs.  The problem appears to be that many ATV riders have in the pastContinue reading

This is the time of year when you are hiking in a wooded shaded area there are usually few wildflowers in bloom. They tend to be mostly in the open areas that get full sunshine. Continue reading

NEXT RIDE – Sunday June 27, 1:30 PM Enjoy scenic trails in the area by hybrid bicycle! MTA is offering 4 rides in the spring and 4 rides in the fall. This is the 4thContinue reading

When I was hiking on the Maitland Trail near the Benmiller Inn I noticed the Ginko Tree.  The Ginko (also known as a Maidenhair tree), is a fascinating tree. The name Ginko is a misspellingContinue reading

Thyra and I were discussing hard and soft maples.  Some people just refer to Sugar maple as Hard maple and Red maple as Soft maple.  So I decided to look up the meaning of hardContinue reading

I enjoy hiking on our trails as I never know what I might see.  With the Lobb trail closed I have been on the Hullett Sugar Bush trail quite a lot.  On Saturday May 22ndContinue reading

I am watching the trees come into leaf. The black walnuts and oaks are just showing some signs of leaves, only a few of the Staghorn sumacs  and Osage Oranges  I have seen have signsContinue reading

Last week’s photo was of some tree roots on the Sifto loop.  The Sifto loop is notable for having a very old oak tree which began life around 1780. This area is also a goodContinue reading

On what trail can you see these tree roots? The strong winds on April 30th brought a few trees down, so far I have seen one on Front road and one on the Sugar BushContinue reading

Last week’s view was taken from the Menesetung Bridge.  We are so lucky that the town and residents of Goderich had the foresight to save the bridge. The last train crossed the bridge in 1988Continue reading

How well do you know your trail? From what trail would you see this view? Last week’s photo was of a seat on the blue trail at Naftel’s Creek Conservation area.   The photograph taken  atContinue reading

How well do you know your trail? Where is this seat? Last week’s photo was of a tree on the trail between River Line and Sharpes Creek Line, ever since I came to Huron CountyContinue reading

Compost For Sale Alas, thanks to the provincial COVID-19 shut-down, we have had to cancel our Spring Plant Sale again this year.😢 BUT All is not lost. We will once again have a supply ofContinue reading

How well do you know the Maitland Trail? Which section is this on? Hint – the periwinkle photo was taken on the same section of the Maitland Trail. Last week’s photo was of the floodContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Where is this? Last week’s photo was of a sign at Point Farms Provincial Park.  The park is open from May 14th to Oct 12th. BeforeContinue reading

Trail Trivia!  Here’s a new activity, and it’s fun for all ages! Download the 8 page document with clues and maps of the trails in and around Goderich. Go for a walk and look forContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail is this on? Last week’s photo was of the bridge in the Sheppardton Tract.  This trail is a Huron County Forest and not inContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail is this bridge on? Last week’s photo was of a tree on the Maitland Trail just west of the Robertson Tract and not farContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail is this tree on? Last week’s photo was of a tree near the end of the bridge over the Bannockburn river on the BannockburnContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail is this tree on? The featured photo is of the Tuesday Trompers on the Sifto Loop on Feb 23rd Last week’s photo was of a birdContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail are these on? Last week’s photo was of a decorative bird house (probably not used) on the Mavis Trail. If you did not recognizeContinue reading

How well do you know the Huron County Trails? Which trail is this little bird house on? Last week’s photo was of the bird feeder on the Lobb trail.  It is on the Upper TrailContinue reading

Which trail is this bird feeder on?   I am sure many walkers are familiar with this feeder and stop to watch chickadees and other birds that are often there. Last week’s photo was of aContinue reading

Last week’s photo was on the Clinton Conservation area trail of a disc golf target. According to Wikipedia,” Disc golf is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rulesContinue reading

Remember the Candlelit Walk? We might be missing our Candlelit Walk, but we can still be active outside and celebrate nature in winter, the light in the dark, and each other. Join in this celebrationContinue reading

With the lack of group hikes I have decided to start showing one picture a week taken along a trail and seeing how well readers know the Huron Country trails. I will explain where theContinue reading

On January 9th many of the local trails have become icy.  One hiker broke a leg on the Bannockburn trail causing an advisory of not going on that trail.  On Monday the Mavis trail hadContinue reading

The trails are open!  Under the current lock-down, we’re still permitted to get outside for exercise, for both our mental and physical well-being. So, while following the provincial requirements, we encourage you to do so. Continue reading

What a difference a day or a few hours can make.  On Saturday January 2nd on my morning walk on the Hullett Sugar Bush trail the trees were bedecked with snow and the scene wasContinue reading

This is the time to review the past year.  I have pleasant memories of all the significant trail improvements made during 2020.  The biggest improvement has been on the G2G (Goderich to Guelph) trail whichContinue reading

According to the Globe and Mail people often had permission to walk their dogs even under the strictest lockdowns.  There were reports of European owners renting out their dogs, and a Spanish man walking aContinue reading

When I hiked the Front Road trail on Sunday,  I noticed that the Bayfield river was well up and nearly reaching the little bench.  I recalled that I had taken a photo at that locationContinue reading

On Sunday afternoon I bicycled on the G2G from Ariss to Guelph.  On the 5km trail from Ariss to the Silvercreek Road kiosk I met 40 walkers and five cyclists.   I then drove to RiversideContinue reading

On Saturday afternoon I bicycled on the G2G from Elmira to Ariss.  The trail was being well used despite the cool day with about 30 walkers out and about half that number of dogs andContinue reading

On Friday Thyra was hiking on the G2G near Monkton and saw a garter snake on the trail, this may be one of the last sightings of a garter snake this year, as it isContinue reading

I was happy to be able to get back on the Maitland Trail on Monday Nov 9th after the closure for hunting.  I hiked the part at the Auburn end and was glad to findContinue reading

We had an early taste of winter on Sunday and Monday  (Nov 1st and 2nd) with some snow and strong winds. I am not sure of the damage on the Maitland trail which is closedContinue reading

The Taylor and Mavis trails are so much better than when I first hiked the Varna trails in 2006.  At that time the trails were listed as Municipality of Bluewater trail – the Front trailContinue reading

Five of us enjoyed the hike at Hullett on Sunday October 18th, there was the occasional drizzle but not enough to get us more than a little damp. On my Monday hike at Lobb’s  IContinue reading

We had an interesting visitor at lunch when eating outside, it was a Western Conifer Seed Bug.  It was crawling up our patio umbrella pole. These Seed bugs are plant eaters and used to beContinue reading

The yellow jackets in our garden were very interesting. They made a nest under a large flower pot and could be seen regularly going in and out of a hole at its edge. Thyra tippedContinue reading

The past week has been an insect week. I saw a Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar on the grass on the Woodlands Nature trail, a Giant Leopard moth caterpillar (a totally black caterpillar) on the FrontContinue reading

The first photo is of a Fisherman at the Falls Reserve on September 20th, not the very low water level On the September 19th and 20th I hiked the whole Maitland Trail. Conditions were excellentContinue reading

I love this time of year for hiking, few if any bugs to bother you, no problem with heat stress, lots of interesting fall flowers to see and some lovely colours as the leaves turnContinue reading

September 1st was  day one of my virtual Maitland Camino.  To see details of the virtual DIY Camino(Sept 1-27th ) at  https://www.maitlandtrail.ca/mta-el-camino/, if you sign up the cost is $10 and you may have aContinue reading