The idea behind Muskoka Minutes is to show work being done by scientists and others in the field here in Muskoka on the Muskoka Watershed Council’s YouTube Channel. More details are here on the day spent tracking Blanding’s turtles, a species at risk in Ontario. My thanks to Jeremy, Kelsey, Mike and also Glenda.
Blanding’s Turtle
They used to have a much larger range in Ontario and were much more common in Muskoka – see below. They have many predators and like other turtle species have had their habitats carved up by roads.
I posted a few videos today. One is the 1st of a Muskoka Moments collection.
The idea of Muskoka Moments is to show people and places in Muskoka, but more importantly, to try to show the connection between the two.
Our first video Backyard Swamp, Bracebridge, is a perfect example to lead off. The star of the video, shows off his knowledge of the natural world around him and his excellent backyard! The video was created by a newbie to Final Cut Pro -nice work!
If anyone has a 1 or 2 minute video (or aspires to shoot some) that shows the connection between people and our beautiful environment here in Muskoka, let me know.
A fascinating presentation by Thomas Lovejoy of George Mason University, this is the evening keynote lecture from the biennial Muskoka Summit on the Environment . On June 6th and 7th I recorded the presentations over the two day summit. Broadcast, in part, by CBC Radio’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy, (search for Buying Into Biodiversity), these were world-class lectures, presented here in Muskoka. I am delighted to be able to ensure these are available to the world.
Advisor to Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, Dr. Lovejoy discusses implications and complications of climate change from many interesting perspectives, but, also offers workable solutions.
Planetary engineering to lower atmospheric carbon.
Dr. Michelle Palmer discusses how recent climatic warming, changes in acidic deposition, and human-related activities such as road salting and the accidental spread of invasive species have altered the water quality of our lakes in Muskoka, with a focus on changes in lake temperatures and water chemistry since the 1980s.
At the end there is an extensive Question & Answer session.
On June 6th and 7th I recorded the presentations over the two day summit. Broadcast, in part, by CBC Radio’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy, (search for Buying Into Biodiversity), these were world-class lectures, presented here in Muskoka. I am delighted to be able to ensure these are available to the world.
In this straightforward and important talk, Steve gives us an acronym to help understand threats to biodiversity, speaks of the need to link Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and talks about the Strategic Biodiversity Plan for Ontario.
Many of us remember the really interesting, but bleak landscape that was Sudbury a few decades ago. As one of the epicentres of sulfur dioxide pollution from the nickel smelters, Sudbury’s landscape resembled the Moon, or Mars much more than the rest of Northern Ontario.
Well things are quite different now and Stephen Monet presents the 4th lecture from the biennial Muskoka Summit on the Environment . On June 6th and 7th I recorded the presentations over the two day summit. Broadcast, in part, by CBC Radio’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy, (search for Buying Into Biodiversity), these were world-class lectures, presented here in Muskoka. I am delighted to be able to ensure these are available to the world.
Another highly engaging presentation, this one by Andrew Gonzalez of McGill University and the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, is the 3rd lecture from the biennial Muskoka Summit on the Environment . On June 6th and 7th I recorded the presentations over the two day summit. Broadcast, in part, by CBC Radio’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy, (search for Buying Into Biodiversity), these were world-class lectures, presented here in Muskoka. I am delighted to be able to ensure these are available to the world.
Using Baker’s yeast, Andrew and team observed “evolutionary rescue” – the recovery of a declining population due to local adaptation under increased environmental stress.
Extinction and evolutionary rescue with a robot
Among Andrew’s key messages: Biodiversity loss is as important as major forms of environmental change.
Changes in productivity – species loss compared to environmental change.
Last Saturday I made a presentation on behalf of the Muskoka Watershed Council to the Sparrow Lake Association. The SLA was founded way back in 1926, and is one of many lake/cottager’s associations throughout Muskoka and elsewhere.
Sparrow Lake Association webpage.
As always, there were a lot of questions at the end of the talk and because we ran out of time, more questions one-on-one after the meeting. It thought it might be helpful to repeat them here as sort of an FAQ about water quality and cottage waterfront living. But after typing out a few Q&As, I thought I should send you to a better source.
Michelle Palmer received her doctorate based on lake studies; specifically changes in our lakes over time. Recently I recorded, edited and posted a video of Dr. Palmer’s lecture which includes a Q&A session at the end: Our Lakes: How Have They Changed Over the Last 25 Years?
The key feature about this property is the land itself; the rare privacy afforded by 895 feet of Lake Muskoka frontage on this beautifully level point. Nevertheless, the buildings, specifically the boathouse, has found its way into a number of classic Muskoka books.
As an iconic Muskoka boathouse, the boathouse at Pine Point doesn’t dominate the scenery; it plays an important supporting role.
Iconic in summer.Standing resolute to the winter cold and winds.
We wanted to feature all of it somehow; the boathouse, cottage and the truly wonderful property itself in our own way. So, up in a battery powered remote-controlled helicopter went a carefully mounted digital camera, and softly(whew) down it came with the following pictures on its memory card:
Perhaps because Muskoka experienced more cottage sales in March, April and May 2012 than 2011, more cottages were listed, building something of a buyer’s market here.
Monthly Sales 3 Years (Muskoka Haliburton Association of Realtors)
Although the best way to sell a cottage quickly is to properly price it, there are additional things that can help: improve its condition, de-clutter, keep up with the maintenance, add staging and of course, market it well. There’s one more, ahem … “proven” … tactic that I didn’t know until we were sent a photo from a client of ours.
The Procedure
You can call on some divine intervention for help, but apparently “you have to believe.” As a seller you need to bury a statue of St. Joseph upside-down in the front lawn. Some detail on this at snopes.com.
Wow! In looking into this it’s unbelievable, at least to me, there’s even a st-josephstatue.com where you can buy a St Joseph Home Selling Kit, AND they’re all on sale at the moment – at either a “discount price” or a “super discount price” – how lucky is that?!
St Joseph Home Selling Kit (“nice” version)
A quote from the $9.47 unpainted statue description: “This product is a litle(sic) cheaper than the painted version, but always remember that the help from St Joseph has only to do with your faith in the saint, not what type of items you choose.” Ok, so good for them; there’s little in the way of hard pressure for the up-sell.
St. Joseph may not be the patron saint of spelling – or web typos – but hey, if you spend $3.00 more for the “nice painted statue” at a “super discount price,” it can’t hurt – right?
