DEEP IN THE URBAN FOREST

February in southern Ontario and you become your own environmental system. Warm moist breath on cold hard air creates a wreath of clouds around your head. My cloud is like a contrail, a thin white line that quickly streaks and disappears on to the air.

Terra's cloud is indeed its own system, a white hurricane that swirls around her head as she lays on the snow, panting, cooling off, her brown eyes like islands deep under the clouds.

This Cedervale Ravine, a long trail that sprawls along a deep ravine in Toronto's north end. The sides of it go up a good 40 ft in some areas and are thickly wooded. Streets pass over it, supported by high trestles the bases of which are the canvas for urban artists

Terra flies up and down the hills, hunting squirrels which elude her, hunting sticks which fall victim to her; the World Wildlife Fund may order an injunction against my dog, for almost single handedly rendering sticks in urban ravines extinct

This is a special place in the city, an urban forest if you will. As you pass under the overpasses you can hear the traffic, in the winter through the bare trees you can see the houses up on the top, but it's easy to forget where you are; hawks circle over head, tiny streams bubble under thin black ice and wild creatures lurk in the undergrowth

On this cold winter day with a few large flakes of snow floating in the air as if they were lost, torn off from something, adrift, it is easy to get lost; not physically lost on the trail, but lost in the bright white snow and the hard blue sky and the tangle of trees

Here's a little video

A SAD WAY TO END

This post concerns a local Toronto story that may or not have spread beyond the city.

Toronto has a very active coyote population. I have seen several of them over the years. There is a large clan out by the airport and, naturally, in large urban green spaces like High Park and Earl Bales Park. But they are spread out all over the city.

Cabbagetown is a densely populated urban neighbourhood where recently a lone coyote has been making the rounds. There are some parks there but nothing like High Park or even the big ravine parks around my house. If a coyote came, and then decided to linger, there must be a reason. They are opportunistic omnivores .. yeh, someone was feeding it, intentionally or not.

So people were concerned that this wild animal was hanging around. I can't blame them, I would not be comfortable with letting Terra out in the yard at night .. oh wait, I don't let her out in the yard at night. My main fear is skunks but the point is: There be varmits out there.

I'd also be concerned for the coyote, Cabbage town has a lot of traffic.

So people were freaking. Wild animal in the streets. What should they do .. Humane Society, Animal Control, SPCA .. .no, let's call the cops.

That's right, the cops. Because the police are specifically trained to deal with wildife in an urban environment ... oh wait, they so are not

Two nights ago City TV was down there interviewing one of these cops when the reporter (the reporter mind you, not the cop) noticed said coyote about 14 feet away from here. It's all on tape. The coyote was there, not concerned with them or the traffic, just very casual and not stressed. Cops moved forward and coyote moved away from them .. please not this, he moved away from the humans, not towards them.

The tape then cuts to one of the most extraordinary scenes I've ever witnessed: In the middle of city streets, with cars all around, a cop is in a Weaver stance, knees bent, his 9 mm semi automatic pistol in his hands, taking a shot at the coyote

He shot at the coyote, in full darkness, with a 9 mm pistol ...

He missed. Gosh, you think.

There was a car not more than six feet away from him and Dirty Harry decides it's a perfect idea to take a pot shot at a wild animal

So the coyote bolts into a nearby park. Off camera, the cop calls for backup .. not Animal Control, but more cops. They chase the coyote into a park. And still off camera they shoot it. And kill it

The reasoning is that they needed to put down this "aggressive" animal. I saw this thing on tape. With people all around, camera lights, cops walking towards it, it seemed quite calm and just moved slowly away. Not what I call aggression

Why didn't the cops call for Animal Control? There was not time, this beast was so "aggressive" they couldn't call in actual trained professionals .. oh but wait, they did call in other cops.

As far as I know, this animal had not killed another animal, it had never confronted a human, but it had to be gunned down like Dillinger leaving a movie theatre.

It's sad on many levels.

Sad that people more than likely created a situation that screamed to this coyote "All You Can Eat Buffet" Sad that their reaction was to call the cops as if this was not a wild animal but a criminal. Sad that the cops didn't seem to have the self awareness to understand that this particular case was beyond their skill set.

And sad that the cops, when presented with an unfamiliar situation, shot first.

I wish I had not seen this story on TV. I saw the animal. I saw how it was behaving. I saw a law enforcement officer who is supposed to protect us, take a gun stance and shoot into the darkness

I've seen our urban coyotes with my own eyes, they always seem well adapted to their environ. They are beautiful, they always seemed to have this attitude like "Hey don't mind me, you go your way and I'll go my way"

I'm mad about this whole thing

But mostly I'm just sad

STORM? WHAT STORM?

Readers in central Canada and the eastern US with relate to this today:

"Snowmagheddon!"

"Storm of the century!"

"Stay inside!"

"WORST WINTER STORM EVER!"

Indeed, my area's first real winter storm in a couple of years. More snow falling in one day than most of last winter .. but last winter we barely got 30 cms of snow altogether.

Anyway, the media never wastes an opportunity to drum up some hysteria.

Some of us expect this sort of thing in winter. And others even welcome it

Case in point, the following video

(Most of this was shot with my GoPro, I decided to play with the settings, let's call it an experiment and leave it at that)

ALMOST TOO GOOD TO SHARE: WHAT I'M LISTENING TO NOW

Read from the responses to a music video posted on Youtube:

This is the kind of band where you love them so much you want to be the only person in the entire world who knows about them ...

Remember that? When you loved music that much, when it was all encompassing verging on overwhelming ...

In that moment you are flat out convinced that no one could love the band/singer/song as much as you, that no one understands it the way that you do, that your appreciation of the song is something unique and powerful and verifiable.

Perhaps you felt that way about all of music, or at least all of the music that you enjoyed ... no, not enjoyed .. needed .. you needed music, and in some cosmic way it needed you. Without your love, the music may not exist, your connection was so powerful.

No one else, alive or dead, could feel about music, the way that you did ...

Of course, we've all felt that way, or close enough to it, at some point in our life. Perhaps that high degree of devotion faded with time, as they oft times do, or perhaps it's stayed with you to this day.

You could analyze from where that passion arises but I'm more interested in where it goes .. if it goes anywhere. Because I don't really think it does .. go, that is, I just think it changes. Mellows, tempers, but not necessarily tempers.

In my youth a new song, a new artist could occupy my thoughts for days on end but let's face it, there wasn't much else going on in those days. These days I have more happening .. like thinking about what I used to think about ...

Ahem

Music may not be so all encompassing, I may not love it dearly, but it's still a passion. I may not think about a new song all day long but I may play it several times over and over. I may play it several times over and over. I may play it several times over and over ..

Ahem

One thing that has definitely changed from the sentiment of the statement at the beginning of this post; I don't want to keep the music all to myself, I want to share it

So here's a few things I've recently been listening to

EL CAMINO - THE BLACK KEYS:

This is the second album from the Keys that I've bought. I discovered Brothers about two years ago and it was, as they say, in heavy rotation in my house and my car and still is. The Keys have a kind of retro guitar and drums rocks vibe (the instruments played by the two members) and a deft lyrical turn, much of it pretty tongue in cheek.

This recording follows in the same vein as Brothers: Catchy melodies with a strong back beat and lyrics that at first seem simple but often have a satirical edge to them. Lead singer is Dan Auerbach is sometimes a little more fond of his falsetto than am I, but generally he has a rough, emotive style that works well with the lyrics.

You've heard the Black Keys even if you've never listened to them ... And by that I mean their music is used in tons of TV commercials, shows and movies.

SERENA RYDER - HARMONY

This is Ms Ryder's second full length album. Her first, Is It OK, still remains in heavy rotation. An Ontario girl, we've seen her perform and if you ger the chance, do check her out; dynamic and energetic, a young woman with deep connections to 60's style folk music and traditions

That first CD could probably be classified as folk-rock (I had classifying music I really really do) strongly guitar based both acoustic and electric. Serena has a unique voice, you could describe it as Buffy St Marie meets Janice; she's not often a "wailer" but when she does, she is always in total control

She is also a very deft songwriter, mostly songs of heart break and passion but also a pinch of social awareness

Multiple recordings by an artist of whom you're fond is always a tricky thing: You want the second one to be different from the first but not too different.

Harmony is different from Is It OK. The melodies seem a bit more deliberately "catchy" and there is more of a pop influence to it. One of the songs, For You, almost has a James Bondy feel to it, which kind of baffled me for a moment, are they trying to package her like Adelle?

Overall the album is more polished, more "produced" but Serena's voice is still there and fuck, it's something special. As is her songwriting

THE WAITING - ROYAL WOOD

The interwebs is a wonderful thing. A few months ago Collette and I wanted to attend the Winter Festival down at the Distillery. Every evening they had a different performer, none of whom were familiar to me so I went online, browsing Youtube to find samples of music.

And I found Royal Wood. What the hell is up with that name? Apparently it's a family name, and not some dude's porn star name. Anyway.

Royal is a Toronto based singer/songwriter. He has a crooner's voice, a beautiful smooth perfectly nuanced voice that is capable of expressing emotion without a lot of technical trickery. He is also an incredibly talented piano player

He has won several awards for his songwriting and that makes me happy; his lyrics are subtle, deft and effectively understated.

This is an album of ballads. It reminds me of Marc Cohn and early Billy Joel. You could compare his vocal style to Rufus Wainwright .. yes, he sings that well.

At first the music just washes over you, the melodies and Royal's voice and the temper of the album just makes you want to close your eyes and dive into it. I love how understated it all is; lyrically and musically there are no histrionics but it is actucally fairly haunting and it tends to linger in the mind.


So that is what I've been listening to. Some of the music I love. But not loved to the point I"m too selfish to share

You're welcome

PANAMA DAY SEVEN & FINAL THOUGHTS

It's impossible to know a country in seven days. It's even more impossible (can something be more impossible) to know a people in seven days.

While in Panama we went out as much as we could and when we had a good tour guide they would fill our travelling time from location to location with not only facts about the country but with little insights from their own lives

That's how you learn about people, form their own stories.

This day was our last day in Panama and it was our getaway day, we would be on our way to the airport by 1 pm. Oh yeh, it was also New Years Eve. Collette had woken up with a bit of a cold so she decided to nap while I went for one last stroll around the resort, which comprises most of the video.

It was the hottest day so far in Panama so of course, I kept myself cool with a few margharita's .. by 10 am

But I didn't really want to discuss my nascent tropical alcoholism, I wanted to post some final thoughts and impressions of Panama.

Here are a few of our favourite memories from this amazing little country

DIABLO ROJO:

It means Red Devil. And it refers the the traditional buses of Panama. The country has a very good road system, it's where the Pan American highway essentially end. Compared to Costa Rica and Belize the highways are quite good. The bus system is very good. You can go pretty much anywhere in the country by bus and it's fairly cheap. Traditionally the buses they used were big old school buses, not all comfortable from what I understand but quite something to look at.

The Diablo rojo's are painted in bright garish colours, traditionally by their owners and often reflecting that person's point of view, from politics to pulp culture to politics. It was though the colourful and personalized artwork could make up for the rough ride.

These buses are often being replace now by more modern, comfortable buses and the school buses are more often being "wrapped" in some form of advertising rather than being custom painted, but the rojo's are still rolling and they were something that gave us some flavour of Panama's personality

NEW YEARS MANNEQUINS:

As we were being driven around the country we kept noticing something odd: Mannequins, full sized dolls, put out by the road. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, fully dressed and made up. A few were superheroes, I saw a Reagan, most I would learn later they were local celebrities and politicians
For instance, here is the president of Veneziela and his companion

We couldn't figure out what this was all about until it was explained to us: The puppets are made by locals and put out as part of the New Years celebration, they are usually put out a week or so before. The dolls are stuffed with fireworks and on New Years Eve they are set up; you can drive up and down the roads and watch these hundreds of dolls blowing up. Unfortunately we flew out of the country before we could witness that but I just loved this idea.

THE CANAL:

The situation with the canal is a fascinating one. For a long time, a hundred years, the fate of this country revolved around something over which it did not even have control. The French began the canal, the Americans finished it and they controlled it for a long time. It's only been about 15 years that Panama has had total control of the canal and thereby, it's own destiny.

One our tour guides phrased it as Panama being one of the newest countries on earth. Columbia controlled Panama before the canal, and it wasn't the French of the Americans it was like dictators like Noriega. Now Panama rules the canal, and rules itself. The striking skyline of Panama city is one byproduct of these events, very few of the skyscrapers are more than fifteen years old

It's fair to say that the destiny of the country is tied to the canal. They are building a new one, new sets of locks, to accomodate larger ships. They are building a new airport, subway etc. In the country it looks like life is unwinding the way it has for a very long time. People live off the land, they follow old traditions; they enjoy health care and education that stems from the canal but at this point I don't know if they see the future the same as do those in the city.

Tourism is playing a larger role as well, particularly eco tourism. Panama still has a large amount of protected rainforest and beaches. Will that continue as the need to industrialize continues? I can't say, but when I think of Panama I will recall warm sand under my toes, warm ocean water over my head, the sound of the forest, the feeling of a water fall on my back, and smiling young women selling me home made candy from a road side stall.

Here's the video

PANAMA DAY SIX

Today's trip would be a half day trip. It would take us north, into the mountains of the El Conte region. We were heading for Yaya Falls or as I liked to call them Yes Yes Falls .. damn, I am so incredibly funny.

At any rate our route took us up into the mountains on a incredibly winding roads. We'd done similar trips in Costa Rica, along narrow gravel trails and over wooden bridge where you could look back and see the planks rippling behind you... Panama boasts the best roads in Central America and they could very well be right. Windy and steep but well paved, though I imagine in the rainy season they would be more challenging. The vistas provided, however, were worth the trip

Our first stop was in the Cocle region where we saw the place where two rivers, Rio Colorado and Rio Blanco, converged. These are known as the Red and White rivers and they meet here, mingling the different colours of silt that give the rivers their names

From there we travelled to the area that contained today's featured attraction, Yaya Falls. Our guide book had described the tour as "a hike" More accurately, it was a "climb" but not a climb up a mountain trail but rather climbing steep, sometimes slippery stairs.

Stairs. What the fuck is it about Panama and stairs. At the DeCameron there were over 60 stairs to get down to the beach. Now here we were in the mountains and there were stairs to get to the falls. But worth it I suppose. Before we got to Yaya itself, we stopped at another waterfall where water had split in two this massive boulder formation

We continued the torture, I mean the stroll, up and down the stairs until we reached Yaya Falls themselves. The falls were nice, not the highest I've seen (I've been to Iceland) but at the base of the falls were the largest and best examples I've ever seen of metamorphic rocks. In the video, you'll see these huge rocks that almost look tiger striped.

I enjoyed swimming in the ocean at the resort but I have to say, it was awesome to be in fresh water. Our Panamanian guide told us the water would be freezing cold, well perhaps for her, but us Canadians just called "like home"

After paddling about in the Falls and scaring the locals, we got back on the bus. Our guide was from this area of Panama and she was great at pointing out a lot of interesting things for us. She explained that the locals here originally constructed their houses of a combination mud and water and straw, a little bit like adobe and some people still used this method to build little houses and outbuildings

One more stop before the hotel: A town who's major industry is making candy. To that end, they had several stalls on the highway where you could buy fresh made sweets at a discount price. We indulged. Well, duh

Then back to the hotel, back on the beach with Traveller in hand, and the end of another awesome day in Panama

Here's the video

PANAMA DAY FIVE

"I want to see animals, at least one day in Panama, I want to see animals"

That's what my baby told me and what my baby wants my baby .. er .. um ... OK well this she could get.

Our fifth day in Panama saw us return to the Lake Gatun area. This lake was created in the 1900's by damning the Charges River .  It was originally a valley and in the dry season, when the water level is low, in some places your boat drifts through the tops of trees. That was not the case when we were there but there are many mangrove islands of very thick rainforest, so dense it helps keep the water in its place.

These little islands did provide us with some life forms, very quickly we found this sloth take a nap up in the trees. Earlier when I did my zipline adventure we saw sloths in the rainforest but it was in very thick foliage, this one was right out on some bare branches.

Our next animal encounter was with this baby cayman sitting on a log with his mouth agape. He was either regulating his body temp, waiting to be fed, or yawning after watching an Antiques Roadshow marathon.

It was interesting, we were on this huge lake but the islands are so close together and so thick, the mangrove and trees so high, it felt more like the channels of the Charges River that we had been on the day before. It's kind of ironic; Panama is surrounded by three oceans but were spending most of our time on fresh water.

These animals were cute but hey, let's not be coy, we were going to Monkey Island. Spotting wildlife, even in protected sanctuaries, is never a sure thing. The monkies are protected here but it isn't a zoo, they're left to fend for themselves; they are not skittish of human intrusion but our guide informed us that they were unpredictable; some would come out for a bananna while others would go deeper into the brush. Luckily for us, a troop of howler monkies were having brunch as our boat drifted by

We also saw a couple of spider monkies. I am good with this monkies, they are fine wild citizens of the world. Unlike the Devil's monkey, the White Faced Capuchin monkey; I'm glad we did not see one of those, there was no priest on board to perform the exorcism

Before we returned to the mainland we were taken to a larger island for a lunch break. There were kayaks you could use and they set up a dock with rods and fishing tackle where it seemed easy to catch yourself a nice bass. We decided to explore the forest a little. This is what is termed as dry rainforest but we were just at the end of the rainy season; it was comfortable down by the water but as we went into the thick jungle the humidity crept up on us like a sentient weight.

Back ont the boat and back to the mainland. We get on a bus here for t he day's next visitation. As we waited to board, Collette found more wildlife, this time in the form of a few pelicans, there are lots of them in Panama and you often see them around the places where people convene, much like the iguana .. oh no, winged iguanas!

Our next stop in our quest for animals was the Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo, just outside Panama City. It has some 300 animals but Collette were equally impressed by the grounds themselves. Not only were they well maintained, but they really showed off the deep biodiversity that this small country enjoys. Like these bamboo, which towered some 30 or 40 feet over our heads

When we had visited neighbouring Costa Rica years before, you couldn't move without coming across a croc. We had not found any in the wild of Panama so it was nice to visit one in the zoo .. and especially nice with a wall between us

If one does not find a croc beautiful, Collette took some other pics that may suit you better

And of course, she always seems to know hot to get zoo animals to give her just that perfect pose

It was time to go back to the resort. During our time in Panama the impact of the Canal is always obvious; for a while it virtually kept the country endentured as the Canal was run by the US and then a series of dictators. Now it is the nation's primary source of income. But there is more than that. The legacy of the Canal is seen in many ways. On our way back to the hotel we passed a huge cemetary, a monument to the Chinese workers who toiled and died to make the Canal. Every cross represent 100 Chinese workers who died building the Canal. There are other monuments of course, representing other peoples and other countries.

A good day, a long one, we were happy to get back to our hotel room only to find that the resort was enacting some kind of cost sharing program. Turns out we'd have to take on a new roomate ... Well, she wanted to see animals

A note on the video: Normally I use Vimeo to upload my videos then I embed them here. I like the quality of Vimeo and they never give me any bullshit about copywrite as Youtube is prone to do so. However, Vimeo has a weekly upload limit and these Panama videos are stretching it just a tad. So I used Youtube for this one. The quality still isn't where I want it and it may be pulled or limited due to copywrite, but at any rate here it is. As always, I reccomend viewing it full screen. Click on the gear at the bottom of the video window and set it to 720, I have no idea why this isn't the default, but that is the native quality