RURAL RANT: Living Locally

 Today’s blog is more of a rave than a rant. I had the good fortune to spend the day on assignment at the Russell Horticultural Society’s fourth annual Living Locally Fair, held Saturday (January 19) at the Catholic high school in the village of Russell, about a kilometre outside Ottawa’s

RURAL RANT: Ice Storm—15 Years Ago Today Power was Restored

 For my family and me it was 15 years ago today (January 16) when our power was restored after the 1998 ice storm. It actually was the best of times and the worst of times. Rural resilience, not to mention winter paranoia, helped us sail through that trying time. There are a few

Rural Rant: Let’s Stay on Daylight Saving Time Year-Round

 Today’s topic was chosen by the calendar. Like I do every spring and every fall, I found myself thinking, why do we screw up our clocks and schedules and bodies and metabolisms and circadian rhythms and melatonin levels twice a year by artificially messing with time? I understand Daylight Saving