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Dan Needles

Author and playwright Dan Needles is a recipient of the Leacock Medal for Humour and the Order of Canada. He lives on a small farm in Nottawa.

A Favourite Duck

Jun 16, 2015

Ferdinand followed Duke around all day, trying to chase cats with him and bark when visitors arrived.

A Blast from the Past

Mar 23, 2015

It’s so long ago, it’s probably safe to tell the story now.

A Hymn to the Small Hall

Nov 17, 2014

The community hall is one of the very last places where we are allowed to get together and make something out of nothing, just for the fun of it.

When Birds Go Bad

Sep 11, 2014

“Don’t worry. You didn’t kill him. It takes at least a two-by four to kill a rooster.”

The Patter of Little Feet

Jun 17, 2014

Looking after babies, even baby rabbits, is one of the best fertility treatments you can take.

Wood Up

Mar 23, 2014

On a farm with fencerows and five acres of bush, wood is basically free.

This Old House

Nov 19, 2013

There is one stubborn neuron in this neighbourhood’s collective brain that will not die and it makes people refer to my house as The Old Currie Place.

A Country Practice

Sep 11, 2013

Apart from the little tufts of dental floss sticking out of her head, she looked pretty good.

The Year of the Grape

Jun 17, 2013

My son came home one weekend early last spring and asked, “Why don’t you plant some grapevines here on the farm, Dad?”

Chicken for Dinner

Mar 31, 2013

I am allowed to grow a small number for my own use, but if I tried to sell the eggs or the broilers in any quantity, I would be visited by a chicken policeman in a big black Ford.

A Reliable Source of Suspect Information

Nov 17, 2012

For the longest time I had the gnawing feeling that something was happening somewhere and I didn’t know about it.

Free Range Pig

Sep 13, 2012

I was hoeing the garden when Dillinger suddenly came around the henhouse, trotting along like he was on his way to the bank. He was sunburned and covered with dirt.

A Life Cycle

Jun 19, 2012

The men in your family remind me of a dog I once had. He was very good at letting you know what might happen.

A Sense of Place

Mar 22, 2012

I bought my own farm, married a farm girl from the next township, and settled down to a view of Georgian Bay and the life of a hunter-gatherer, or “freelancer,” to use the ancient Ojibway term.