Canada Day

[Frederick W. Schueler]

Everyone,

A few years ago, when celebration of Canada Day was being dissed as the
residential school graves were being documented, we suggested that the
celebration should be of the land & waters rather than of systems of
human organization ("Dominion Day"), and that the celebration should
take the form of a visit and description of the human and natural
history of a particular place.

We've done our Nutrient Depletion Glade, the Champlain Bridge islands, a
milk-weedy place in Smiths Falls, and a gravelpit in New Brunswick, and
without a vehicle (as per the appended), this year I'm going to do the
Bishops Mills Cheese Factory, and encourage others to undertake similar
celebrations.

fred.
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-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: bimodal geographic distribution
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2025 09:16:02 -0400
From: Frederick W. Schueler <bck...@istar.ca>
Organization: Fragile Inheritance
To: ...

Everyone,

Given the complexity of arranging for care of Cat & garden while we'd be
away, and finding me afflicted by the rash & stabbing pains of a mild
bout of shingles, Aleta and our intern Luna Lopez-Andrews have taken the
Tadpole trailer to the New Brunswick Museum's BiotaNB survey at the
Black River Protected Natural Area, inland from Kouchibouguac National
Park, and from our 1976, 2001, & 2010 coastal campsite -
https://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/2010/08/cap-lumiere-looking-north.html

The lab for BiotaNb is in a church building at 194 Tweedie Brook Rd -
46.79442° N, 65.068992° W - Aleta is working on a landscape painting of
a bog in the PNA, and will be working on portraits of invertebrates,
while Luna is drawing scenes with distinctive plants and learning to
skin micro-mammals.

Here in Bishops Mills I'm gradually recovering from the twinges of the
shingles, have been hacking back at the enthusiastic growth of
metre-tall Grass, mulching Squash & Potato plants, anticipating the
blooming of Parsnips & the binding of their blooms by Webworms, and have
had nearly daily zoom meetings of various groups. Without a vehicle my
field work has been in a 50m radius, mostly been about the activity of
Cepaea snails. Frogs have been scarce, as if last October's drought had
somehow disabled the little nearby wetlands, so we're waiting to see
what juveniles the long wet spring has produced.

We really ought to get a semi-annual letter out about all the expensive
antics to which 2025 has already exposed us ("Yes, Virginia, it is
possible to ruin a battery-powered lawn mower by twisting the drive
shaft by using it to grind up twigs.").

For our Canada Day tradition of describing some particular place, I'm
going to do the Bishops Mills Cheese Factory site, largely waypointing
the Maples, Basswoods, and other trees among the dying emerald-bored
Ashes, and sorting some drift samples from this spring.

Kevin is in the process of making his barn/church across the street
ready for habitation, so in August we hope to be moving into Weirs
House, with its 20th Century amenities, revive the North Grenville
museum committee, resume blog posting, begin the dispersal of our
specimens, get the database on line... but, oops the Canadian
Herpetological Society meetings are in Quebec City in September...

thanks for all the support which keeps us relatively unleashed,

fred.
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---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------
Fragile Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/
6 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
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--
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---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------ Fragile
Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/ 6
St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
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