Skip to content

Fence Posts

‘True Pastry Gloves’ – Stumbling Through the National Anthem

Dan Needles reflects on how Canadians seem to be the only people who stumble over the words of their national anthem.

Sep 8, 2023
Dan Needles

Finding Our Way Around This New Neighbourhood

Author Dan Needles reflects on the sudden growth of small towns as urbanites adjust to village life

Jun 16, 2023
Dan Needles

The Reformation of the Township Dump

No longer reminiscent of a Mad Max movie set, the township dump has become something of a pleasant, well-managed place, finds Dan Needles.

Mar 20, 2023
Dan Needles

Taking the Learning Curve Too Fast

Safely navigating the narrow, snow covered hills of Headwaters is no walk in the park, as many long-time residents attest and new arrivals quickly learn.

Nov 20, 2022
Dan Needles

Suddenly There Came a Tapping

I live in a haunted house. It’s been haunted for at least a century by all accounts, that is, by the neighbours’ accounts.

Sep 20, 2022
Dan Needles

Animal Rights in the Laundry Room

Two hundred years ago, my ancestors were tossed off the land during the clearances in Scotland and replaced by sheep, who ate less and could be sheared more often.

Jun 24, 2022
Dan Needles

Learning to Visit Again

I seemed to have forgotten how a visit is supposed to go.

Mar 29, 2022
Dan Needles

Like Manna from Heaven

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

Nov 29, 2021
Dan Needles

Road Rage Comes to Town

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.

Sep 24, 2021
Dan Needles

It’s the End of the World … Again

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

Jun 22, 2021
Dan Needles

Who You Gonna Call?

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

Mar 31, 2021
Dan Needles

No Cause for Alarm

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.

Nov 24, 2020
Dan Needles