by Peter Middleton and Norah Toth
Habitat, we all have a different interpretation of what it means. When we look at houses, we usually relate to the inside - comfortable rooms, windows and pleasant furnishings. The chimney is really only to let out noxious gasses in the winter and perhaps for Santa Claus to climb down at Christmas. In fact, today, chimneys are often considered redundant. They are either not required on new construction or are capped so that "critters" can't use that space. Chimneys are valuable critical habitat for a threatened species of bird called a Chimney Swift, beautifully illustrated in this painting by Barry K. Mackay.
The Chimney Swift is a small cigar-shaped bird. It is an adept flyer and spends much of its life airborne. When it does land, it does not have the ability to perch and therefore uses the vertical surfaces of chimneys and hollow trees as nesting and roosting sites. When it flies overhead it is often catching a variety of insects. Its erratic flight resembles the flight patterns of bats. If you listen closely, its high chattering call can be heard above you.
In Owen Sound, the Old Courthouse chimney has been used by Chimney Swifts as an important community roost following nesting dispersal. Records show that in 2008 up to 160 birds were counted dropping into the chimney in early August. Since then...
-by Linda Stinson
Tucked away on a quiet street in the former Brooke part of Owen Sound, is the city's only lawn bowling green still in use. Several evenings a week, members of Roselawn Bowling Club gather to play a game or two of bowls. Neighbours and passers-by can hear the shouts, laughter, or groans as a great shot is made, or missed.
The game has similarities to curling, bocce ball, and alley bowling. The bowls used are not completely round but elliptical, and are weighted to give them a bias or a curving path. The object of the game is to roll the bowl as close as possible to a smaller white ball called the "jack". One bowler can play individually against another player or in teams of 2, 3 or 4. The game is played outdoors on short grass (similar grass to a putting green), with the lawn or green being divided into several rinks.
Many Owen Sounders will remember...
By Cathy Hird
Last week, the Violence Prevention Grey Bruce Committee hosted a round table discussion on preventing sexual violence in our community. This gathering of community people and professionals talked openly about a subject that we often find hard to bring to the surface.
In the gathering, I was reminded that the church has been complicit in this violence. Church leaders have been the perpetrators of sexual violence. Churches have not been good at listening to the disclosure of what men and women lived through as children and youth. Some church doctrine has effectively endorsed violence against women.
On Saturday, June 20 Michael Den Tandt will present a talk on Journalism and Ethics. Michael is the former Editor of the Owen Sound Sun Times, a political columnist with the National Post and Postmedia, and his columns are syndicated in more than 40 daily newspapers across Canada, including the Sun Times.
The free event will take place at 2:00 PM at the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library and will be followed by a question and answer period.
Hosted by the Grey Bruce Humanists.
Walk and talk with your neighbours as you discover your city. On the weekend of June 20 and 21st, join a Jane's Walk and explore Owen Sound in a way you may never have before.
Jane's Walks are free, citizen-led walking tours that take place all over the world, inspired by celebrated urban-thinker Jane Jacobs.
On Saturday, at 2 p.m....
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