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Fence Posts

Like Manna from Heaven

Nov 29, 2021 | Dan Needles

There is a lot of waiting around with mushrooms, just like there is in the military or the theatre or government roadwork.

Road Rage Comes to Town

Sep 24, 2021 | Dan Needles

For generations the only people in Canada who had a good word to say about Toronto were the ones living there. Now thousands of them have left to live here.

It’s the End of the World … Again

Jun 22, 2021 | Dan Needles

As a scribbler I have always walked down the sunny side of the concession roads.

Who You Gonna Call?

Mar 31, 2021 | Dan Needles

A country house has a lot of moving parts that can stop moving at any moment.

No Cause for Alarm

Nov 24, 2020 | Dan Needles

Given the choice between a Rolex watch and a 1948 Champion root pulper that weighs 500 pounds and needs sharpening, the burglar is more likely to take the watch.

When The Spirit Moves

Sep 18, 2020 | Dan Needles

I often tell my writing students that they are unlikely to get better at writing, but it is possible to get better at not writing.

Trying to be More Like Dexter

Jun 25, 2020 | Dan Needles

Dexter wants us to believe he keeps us safe from coyotes, but this is a harmless fiction. The truth is he craves news and gossip as much as any of us.

A Halfway Henhouse

Mar 24, 2020 | Dan Needles

Chicken police from the provincial marketing board patrol the neighbourhood in big black Escalades.

A One-Horse Open Sleigh

Nov 22, 2019 | Dan Needles

In the haymow I found a red sleigh built by the McLaughlin Carriage Company about 1910, and I took it home to my own haymow 30 miles north where it sat forgotten for another 27 years.

Keeping the Mind Free of Reptiles

Sep 16, 2019 | Dan Needles

Science now agrees that changing your mind actually improves brain health.

Retirement Advice for the Self-employed Landowner

Jun 20, 2019 | Dan Needles

Age 65 came and went without a gold watch or a cake, or any of those earnest speeches assuring me how much I would be missed.

Champlain Slept Here

Mar 19, 2019 | Dan Needles

There was something totally manic about Champlain. He crossed the Atlantic some 27 times without losing a shipmate.