For the birds

Are we compelled to feed the birds because we’re altruistic, or because they remind us of our chatty, colourful selves?

THE ABCS of birds: addictive, busy, compelling. You can probably find an adjective for every letter of the alphabet that describes most birds. Despite being independent and industrious little critters, birds attract the attention of humans, who volunteer significant time and money to help them. They don’t ask for it, but they do get it. I sometimes think we look after birds better than we look after our own!

The incurable collector

We no longer have to forage for survival, yet hunting
and gathering can still make our palms sweat

Story and photography by
Katharine Mott

The onset of each season brings excitement about different ways of doing things. We’ve just closed the doors on the pleasant days of Indian summer and the warmth of the coloured leaves. Now it’s time to embrace the debut of the chilly season.  

A postcard-pretty coastline steeped in history has inspired generations of passionate people—and more recently, world-class accolades

UN SECRET BIEN garde—a well-kept secret. Secrets exist for a reason, usually to protect something or somebody. New Brunswick has a secret it shares with Quebec—the Bay of Chaleur.
In 1534 Jacques Cartier, on a voyage of discovery, found what he called “the fairest land that may possibly be seen, full of goodly meadows and trees.” Because the heat was so intense where he came to rest, he named it the Bay of Chaleur—a misnomer in the winter, but deadly accurate in the summer.