Your Board has been looking at improvements needed in the Sanctuary on the red trail and will be putting together a proposal to be presented to Rio Algoma.  By working together, we hope to make the trails of the Sanctuary safe and enjoyable for everyone.  

Another highlight in October was the trip Joan and I took to the Ontario Nature Regional Meeting at Killarney.  We met a lot of interesting people from other Naturalist Clubs in the north and shared concerns and ideas.  Jim Johnston gave a presentation on "Co-existing with Black Bears".  Merylin Twiss, Wildlife Assessment Program Leader, Southern Science and Information Section, Ministry of Natural Resources talked about her work with the MNR and the work she is planning with Salamanders.

As always, our Saturday walks continue to be one of my highlights.  Many of us meet every Saturday morning in the Sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. for a walk through Sherriff Creek.  As the seasons change, I am in awe of the biodiversity of our Sanctuary.  Besides the plants, we delight at the birds, and sometimes animals, seen on our Saturday walks.  I hope you'll be able to join us for some of these walks.

We'll soon be feeding the birds in the winter at the Sanctuary. We thank the folks at the Pet Headquarters for their assistance. If anyone would like to donate to our winter bird food, there is a birdhouse at each meeting for donations. Also at the November meeting we will be raffling off a suet feeder donated by LLoyd McCabe. The proceeds from this raffle will go towards winter bird seed.

For people interested in more involvement with the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists I would love to hear from you. There are many ways you can assist us and we are also interested in hearing your ideas.

To Hear Wally Van Dyke, carpenter, canoeist, educator, to name only a few of his lifetime pursuits, has been influenced throughout by two major interests: the outdoors and working with youth.  Before retiring to Blind River, Wally and his wife Dorothy Bourdeau participated in Voyageur Re-enactments and were extremely active in the Barrie Canoe and Kayak Club.  They have now established "The Algoma Paddlers", a canoe and kayak club for North Shore residents.  As well, they run outdoors programs for aboriginal youth and at-risk youth.

In 2002, Dorothy and Wally, a weaver of tapestries and garments, made a 400 km self-guided canoe trip down the legendary South Nahanni River in the NWT. They were the first couple to be married there and for their wedding album, wearing clothes woven by Dorothy, were pictured against the dramatic backdrop of Virginia Falls.

PHFN is one of a network of Clubs in Ontario working to protect and restore natural habitats through Ontario Nature. Membership includes the magazine "ON Nature" (brochure available at meeting). Some of Ontario Nature's initiatives are:
·  Preserving Ontario's irreplaceable northern wilderness;
·  Supporting local community action to protect Ontario's remnant southern forests and their biodiversity;
·  Advocating an ecosystem approach to restore and maintain healthy populations of threatened species;
·  Providing essential habitat for numerous species of plants and animals no our Nature Reserves, which represent ecologically significant property throughout Ontario.

Trip leaders should be contacted for specific dates and particulars.  There will be sign-up sheets available at the appropriate General Meetings.  Should there be any changes necessary, they will be posted on the PHFN website.

Every Saturday walk through Sherriff Creek Meet at the Sherriff Creek parking lot at 10:00 a.m. for the walk. Duration of the walk: 2 hours.

Saturday Nov 18, Chutes Provincial Park
Leader: Hans Kamps.  Leaving Brunswick Walk parking lot at 9:00 a.m. for Massey.  At the park we will hike along the river, past the rapids to the twin bridges trail.
Arriving back in Elliot Lake around 4 p.m.

Friday December 15 - Christmas Bird Count (CBC)
More information and sign up sheets at the meeting.

This month's picture is from the photo album presentation "Things Great and Small, A Look at Nature Through the Lens of the Kissau's Digital Camera" and is titled "Peeking Deer".

Saturday, December 9, 12:00 noon at the Moose Family Centre.
Tickets $10.00 each.
Ho-ho-Hold that date open! Join your PHFN friends for a festive buffet lunch. The dessert table will feature Penokean members' always exceptional baking, and there will be a cash bar if you'd like wine with your lunch.
Purchase your ticket at the November General Meeting. If you should miss that meeting, tickets can still be bought until November 23.
For information, call Dorothy Kutt at 848-5834.
Sorry - no ticket sales at the door on the day of the lunch.

Fall Flowers, Plants, Seeds and Stems by Marg Reckahn
We picked a great day for an outing. We didn't have to dodge between snow storms or raindrops.  Twelve people proceeded to the old dump site on Esten North.  The identification started in the parking area with Golden Rod, Evening Primrose, St. John's Wort, Bugloss, and Mullein.  As we proceeded down the road, we daw a downy wood pecker flitting in the birch and other trees.  At the bottom of the road, tansy, ragweed, and pearly everlasting made their appearance.  It was surprising that some of these plants were still in bloom.  As the trail wound around some temporary ponds we also saw Sweet Gale identifiable by its aroma when you crush the cones.

We saw many good examples of Pixie Cups along with British Soldiers and learned the difference between White, Red and Jack Pine, as well a that a Cattail is not a Bulrush as these are two distinct plants.  There was lots of Queen Anne's Lace scattered throughout the area as well as two kinds of Spirea - Tall Meadow Sweet and Steeple Bush.  There is a good variety of plants represented in this area.  I would also like to thank Terry Carr, who helped us out with interesting information about the plants and even some names when I didn't know what it was.  Just as we were getting back to the parking area, the rain started to come down so we couldn't have picked a better time.

Fall Migrants Along the North Shore led by Dave Young and Joan MacGillivray
Nineteen people traveled along the North Shore from the Spanish Marina to Blind River and Lauzon Creek and we were rewarded with 28 species of birds. The sun shone for the first time in days which added to the special day. For a complete report on this trip please see the Message Board on our website www.penokeanhills.ottawaweb.com

Stop the spread of destructive pests by not moving firewood or other types of wood from regulated areas.

These include: Trees, Nursery Stock, Pruned Branches, Logs and Forest Products with bark attached.

A particular threat is the presence of The Asian Long-horned Beetle in the Toronto/Vaughn area in Ontario, and The Emerald Ash Borer in Southwestern Ontario.

For further information visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website at www.inspection.gc.ca (after entering site choose "Invasive Alien Species" from the "Hot Topics" menu)