Caribou Hunting in the Great Lakes?

We attended a fascinating lecture at our regional museum last week, and it's got me interested in ancient Great Lakes history.  So I'm doing a little research of my own and I'm gonna share it with you over a few posts while we wait for the endless cold temperatures of early April to go up!

Leonore Keeshig, of the Saugeen Ojibway First Nation, spoke on indigenous legends that tell the story of retreating glaciers and a time when the annual caribou hunt was important, in a landscape that would be described as arctic, about 9000 years ago.  It was a landscape that would befie your belief today as you sail over the waters of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

So bear with me while I give you some background and then I'll try to explain the essence of her message.  Otherwise you can just skip this post and wait for the next one.  I hope you can get used to these maps.  They're kind of skewed, with north in the upper right corner but I'll explain them.

The upper left corner of this widely published diagram, shows the glaciation of the Great lakes, when lobes of the continental ice sheet extended down into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  Two lakes of meltwater sat in the south end of today's Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, labelled by scientists as Lake Chicago and Lake Maumee.  Drainage was to the southwest, through Saginaw Bay and Chicago to the Mississippi.

In the upper right diagram, the glacier has retreated north, allowing for a huge glacial lake to form, encompassing both today's Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and the tip of Georgian Bay, labelled glacial Lake Algonquin.  It still drained to the southwest, as drainage north or east was blocked by the ice.  The shoreline of that lake can still be traced, considerably higher than the lakes today, including right here in Meaford.

The lower left diagram is the interesting one.  As the ice retreated north the lakes reached a point where they could drain to the northeast, out through today's French River and North Bay, reversing the drainage pattern completely.  This left the glacial lakes at a much lower level than today's lakes.  A smaller lake occupied Lake Michigan, known as Lake Chippewa, and similarly a smaller lake occupied Lake Huron, known as Lake Stanley.

It is at this stage, somewhere between 7000 and 9000 years ago, that we find tantalizing evidence of indigenous life on dry land that is today submerged.

Let me first finish describing the diagram above.  In the lower right corner we have a map showing approximately today's Great Lakes.  The water level was a little higher, so the Lake Huron/Georgian Bay/Lake Michigan basin was inter-linked and known as Lake Nipissing; Lake Stanley has disappeared, but there is still drainage to the northeast, through North Bay.  We can find clear evidence of this old shoreline right here in Meaford; indeed, it's just two blocks from my house.

Let's take a closer look at that Lake Stanley and the lowest water levels of the Great lakes basin.

I had always assumed that the glacial lake levels were much higher than today's lake levels, and they gradually fell, from glacial Lake Algonquin to Lake Nipissing to today's lakes.  But it's not actually that simple.  Glacial lake levels actually fell to a very low level, as in Lake Stanley, and then rose again to the Lake Nipissing level, and then fell again to today's lake levels.  So we have a gigantic up and down pattern going on.

When drainage shifted to the northeast, the lowest levels of the lakes were reached, with rivers connecting Lake Chippewa, Lake Stanley, Georgian Bay and a small corner of what became Lake Superior.  The green areas here were dry land, extending the shoreline far out from today's pattern. 

Take a look at how the Lake Stanley basin was divided in two.  Turns out that band of green running through the middle of the lake was dry land too, an underwater ridge known today as the Amberly to Alpena Ridge.  That's where we'll pick up next post; hope you're still with me!

The Snow Cycle Continues!

 Yes, it is still March today as I write this, and March never knows whether it's ready for spring or still has a bit of winter left to visit.  And so we had yet another gentle snowfall overnight last week, continuing what seems like a never-ending cycle.

It was only a couple of inches, but it turned the world briefly white again.

Our crane/snowstick got to do its work for a change.

Remember those white Hellebore; they got another dose of cold therapy.

And the Daffodil shoots out front didn't even seem to notice!

But I'm happy to report that things are now back to normal, and the only bit of snow left is down in the lower left corner, in the shade of the house.

And the Hellebore survived again, raising their blooms to a rainy late March day.  The dangerous ice storm the forecast warned us of ominously hasn't materialized yet.  But we did lose power at an awkward stage as they were attempting to get me out of bed.

Cows and Houses

 After we left Sauble Beach, we had a lazy drive through the country, stopping at this large flooded pond in a farm field.  Mrs. F.G. seems to be enchanted with cows, so every time we passed some she pulled over to let me take pictures. 

This flooded pond was at quite a distance, too far to tell if any of these birds were anything but Canada Geese., but there were lots of them!

Cows are always curious, ready to stop and look at you, probably wondering if you've brought any feed.

This one had a memorable face!

Several miles later and we came upon a group of Charolais gathered close together.  I expect most cattle outside these days are just getting some fresh air; they're certainly not grazing.  You have to look twice at this group to count all six of them!

And then we were driving through Kilsyth, the little village where my grandfather ran the general store for several decades.  My grandparents, along with three great aunts, still lived in the village when I knew them.  Most people I speak to have never heard of it!  But now progress has come to the place, in the form of large prestigious homes in a small block on the corner of town.  Feels like a culture clash to me!

Sauble Beach

Last Sunday afternoon we decided to go for another drive, and this time we ended up at Sauble Beach.  This is one of Ontario's most beautiful beaches, an 11 kilometre stretch of sand on Lake Huron, almost directly to the west of us.  It's the second longest beach in Ontario, after Wasaga Beach, directly to the east of us.

We actually rented a cottage here about 40 years ago.  It was a tiny little building, but it was right on the water.  However, we've never been back since, so we wondered what it would be like.    

We started out going west on this drive, aiming for straight through Owen Sound.  This is the valley of Keefer Creek. 

Then it was down over the cliff of the Niagara Escarpment, and into the valley of Owen Sound.

After a stop at Tim's to pick up hot chocolate, we eventually ended up at the north end of the  beach.  As you can see, this is one of the access points, and that sign on the right is emblematic of the efforts they're put into policing the beach - no dogs, no fires, no littering, and above all, no vehicles.  When we visited cars drove up and down on the beach and parked there - what a change!

The result is that dunes have built up substantially; in fact you hardly ever get a glimpse of the lake, even though we were driving down Lakeshore Blvd. the road closest to the lake.

This is the main public access point, with washrooms.  As you can see, this part of the beach is owned by the Saugeen First Nation.  There has been a long extended lawsuit here, finally settled in favour of the first nation.

Going out on the ice is one of the biggest dangers on this beach.

For the most part our drive just extended past dune after dune; you'd never know Lake Huron was out there!

Finally, at a low point between the dunes, we did see the lake, and two people, apparently trying to fly a kite.  And that was the end of our drive down Sauble Beach.  We have little inclination to return.

And Out the Front Door...

 The biggest change occurred outside the front window, for that's where the snow was originally piled the highest.  And that's where the most flower shoots poked up, primarily Daffodils.  

The kidney shape of our front garden, not quite free of snow .

The remnant of that huge pile of snow beside the driveway, still covering half the garden.

You have to take a close look to see the Daffodil shoots.

From another angle, once I was outside, the snow is almost gone.  It disappeared a little more every day.

Not much left.

Oh, but I forgot, it's March!

Our own little flag.

And two neighbours' flags.  As  you've probably heard, Canada is now into a national election campaign.   It's an important election for Canadians, given DT's assault on our country.  I'll likely be unable to stop my self from commenting!

It is March After All!

 You may remember the gigantic piles of snow we enjoyed this winter.  I can't quite believe it, but they actually disappeared pretty quickly, thanks to 4 or 5 warm days and steady breezes that just soaked the snow up into the atmosphere.  The river was flowing full, but not  even any significant flooding that I heard of.

This is the huge pile of snow that was left here on Mar. 11th, just less that two weeks ago.

 The snow melted fast over just 3 or 4 days, leaving the view out back mostly free of snow.

And it just kept on melting.

Immediately after the snow disappeared, the first Hellebore were in bloom.  You'd almost think they were blooming under the snow and just waiting!

But of course, as my title alludes, this is March in southern Ontario!  We've all been there before.

And then the next day the cycles repeated itself, though it's still a surprise every time it happens!

Again the Hellebore were ready and waiting!  So it will continue!

DT's Endgame

Since Trump has been throwing tariffs and the threat of tariffs toward Canada, I, like many Canadians, have been both worried and puzzled.  Why is he picking on Canada, one of America's best long term allies?  Why does Canada rank with Mexico, which has genuine drug and immigration problems at the southern U.S. border, and China, which more than any other country in the world, has taken over the U.S. consumer market?  

And why the continuing spew of insults (or are they threats?) about Canada becoming the 51st state?

It seems to me that Trump has something personal against Canada.  Maybe as Maebeme in her comments two posts ago suggested, he wants our resources, water, lumber and oil.  I still can't say what is going on in Trump's brain about the long run for Canada.

But in a more general sense, we do now have some ideas.

Based on negotiations in Washington last week, Canadian officials came away with the understanding that DT plans three approaches to reducing the U.S. global international trade deficit of $1.8 trillion.  First is a budget with billions in program and tax cuts, the second is the ruthless reduction in agency staffing that Musk is over-seeing, and the third is tariffs.   

In Trump's mind, in spite of the turmoil that they are creating for the American stock market, tariffs will bring in enormous amounts of money to the U.S., while encouraging manufacturing to return to the U.S.   I'm not sure either of these are true, but on Apr. 2nd, Trump will announce tariffs of various levels on countries around the world.  At least Canada will no longer feel picked on!

But what does he have in mind for Canada?  Like many Canadians, I suspect he really is after our natural resources.  Though he's constantly saying the U.S. doesn't need our oil, gas, or lumber, he hasn't said much about our water or those critical minerals.  Others have suggested that what he really wants is an integrated North American economy, which would be a big step toward annexation.

But I think it may be even more than that, and simpler at the same time.  I suspect that Trump has a big map of North America pinned to his bedroom wall and he looks at that map and thinks wouldn't it be a great legacy to create one huge country, including both Greenland and Canada?

I think we're going to see a lot of nonsense in the next four years!

We will shortly return to regular programming.