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Stories about remote places of British Columbia and Northwest Territories: tundra, wetlands, boreal forests, and coastal woodlands… from the Mackenzie River, Omenica, to northern Vancouver Island and places in between… along backroads, beside river valleys, and under ancient temperate rainforests. Nature has a way of slowing the world down, inviting one to notice small wonders: a shift in weather, a watchful bird, the calm of rain moving through the trees. Mother Nature draws you in….
So after many years in emergency care, I now live a life enjoying the quieter rhythm of the outdoors. These pages reflect that pace: appreciation for simplicity and wildlife encounters amidst serenity of wilderness habitats and precious connected ecosystems.
If you enjoy calm reflections from the natural world, I’m glad you’ve stopped in. May these stories encourage you to step outside and discover the quiet magic waiting in your own corner of the woods. Please enjoy my wife’s wonderful photos accompanying these stories… her talented eye captures the essence and diversity of amazing wildlife and the habitats they reside in.
Below are links to “Five” most recent stories. To read more check out the Archives link.
Safe Travels
Gordon & Christine Patterson, and Rosie too
October 31, 2026
Journal 📓
Exploring Nature One Story at a Time
- How Canada’s Eagles Helped Rebuild America’s Skies
Operation Eaglet -1983 Most people know the bald eagle as the emblem of the United States, but how many know this magnificent raptor almost vanished South of the 49th parallel in the late 70’s. Far fewer realize that Canada played a vital role in restoring this… Read more: How Canada’s Eagles Helped Rebuild America’s Skies - Memories of a Red Tailed Hawk
Then a hawk appeared overhead circling gracefully. One moment, the raptor was hunting low over fireweed, rose hips, and wilted brown bracken; the next, it caught an invisible thermal to rise effortlessly toward the sky. Soon, the silence was broken by the unmistakable call of a Red-tailed Hawk, an iconic raptor that lives year-round in these woodland settings. Perhaps he was calling to Rosie, who looked up with curiosity, or perhaps he was simply enjoying the morning as much as we were. - Autumn’s Arrival
A single Maple leaf laid on the trail entrance. It hadn’t fully turned yet, still firm and a touch of green in the centre, but the margins carried that first rusty hint of Autumn. Colourful harvest hillsides haven’t arrived here yet, no sudden shift in the canopy colours. Just one early leaf letting go, as if the tree had quietly acknowledged Fall would be arriving soon… There was a subtle change in the air too… a freshness that carried a musky scent beneath the familiar earthy aromas of evergreen and moss. Summer still lingered in this remote Vancouver Island forest. Bracken fronds stood tall; and plump, deep blue Salal berries hung from branches in chorus lines. Sunlight too remained generous; but no longer carried the same confidence, and dark shadows gathered sooner along the path. Further down the trail something was pulling back as white silky Fireweed seed tufts, delicate as cotton, now crowned their tall green stalks. - The Incredible Peregrine Falcon
Long before gravel logging roads stitched Vancouver Island and winds brought tall masted sailing ships that reshaped British Columbia’s coastal margins, the piercing eyes of the peregrine falcons were already part of our lofty skies. Weather-worn cliffs, salty shorelines, and Lilly covered meadows echoed with their calls. Their presence was not the result of a recent introduction or an incidental range expansion, such as the Barred Owl’s arrival on the West Coast. These raptors have always lived in the Pacific Northwest, and belong to a distinct non-migrating peregrine subspecies: the Peale’s Peregrine Falcon. Unlike their cousins who are known for marathon migrations throughout the world, the Peale’s species are non-migrators and natural year-around resident of the North Pacific Coast. Vancouver Island lies squarely within this amazing flyer’s domestic range. To see one high above the Nahwitti or Karmutzen sky, or in the shadow of Haida Gwaii’s Insular Range is as natural as an ocean breeze. - The Spruce Who Remembers the Storm
Somewhere along the rugged sweep of Northern Vancouver Island stands an old Sitka spruce upon roots that grip earth and stone…. A weathered trunk leans slightly toward the sea. Gnarled branches bear marks of decades facing the full force of both fury and gentleness. Sitka spruce thrive along the Pacific coast, where ocean air feeds them. They are the largest spruce species on Earth, capable of reaching heights over 70 metres; and survive horrendous northern winds because their wood bends rather than breaks.
For More Please Check Out Archives
