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Stories about wildlife and beautiful outdoor settings in 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.
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
- Pacific Coastal Recollections
I awoke to a sunny morning, calm blue seas, and a few bright fluffy clouds…. a recipe for a wonderful day exploring in the great outdoors. Over twenty-five thousand kilometres of pristine possibilities make up British Columbia’s coastline. And Vancouver Island is a treasure chest steeped in natural history, dotted with villages, bays, fiords, coves, and barnacle encrusted prominences. Rugged shores offset by stretches of white sandy beaches and bordered by rainforest have inspired generations of people to live, explore, and delight in the natural beauty. - Floating in Time
Short Poetic Prose on a Beach Front - Operation Eaglet 1983: How Canada’s Eagles Helped Rebuild America’s Skies
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 iconic bird to American skies. The story about the eagle’s return unfolded here in Canada, where healthy populations continued to thrive while the species was disappearing in many parts of the United States. It is a story of irony, shared environments, cross-border cooperation, and the quiet strength of conservationists on both sides of the Canada/US border… - 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. - When the Forest Begins to Turn
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.
To Read More Please Check Out Archives
