The last thing I did for Daisy, my faithful feline companion, was to dig her grave in the damp clay soil, near the spot in the backyard where she often waited patiently for rodents to appear. And then I laid her gently, slightly curled at the bottom of the hole, with the mouse she'd caught the night before. One last good-bye. One last murmuring of gratitude for the 15 years we had together. One shovel of dirt then the second and she had disappeared into the Earth. She was alw

Peony from the back yard Hello dear readers! Thank you so much to everyone who has sent emails, cards, phone messages, and offered in-person congratulations after my last post. I didn't mean to mislead you that I'd retired, but looking back, I can see how many people got that impression. Official retirement is at the end of this calendar year (31 December 2026) but I won't be teaching any more courses because I have a sabbatical in the fall. But I'm going to be one of those a

Yesterday was big day: my last official day of university teaching, after 22 years at Queen's, plus a couple of years at the University of Toronto. I don't think the ending has begun to sink in. The emotions were pretty overwhelming. I figure I've taught in the neighbourhood of about 10,000+ undergraduate students at Queen's, many of those in the large classes of HLTH 101, The Social Determinants of Health, which I taught for 15 years. This academic year's total was just unde

Clearing (noun) the act or process of making or becoming clear a tract of land within a wood or other overgrown area from which trees and other obstructions have been removed. I returned last week to experience again an exhibit, The Clearing , by Kingston artists Marney McDiarmid and Clelia Scala , who have repurposed a shipping container to create a magical, mystical "forest" in which we are invited to be still, to observe, wonder, delight, puzzle, reconsider. The shipping

Reflections in a beaver pond, Bon Echo Provincial Park (14 September 2025) I had such lovely feedback from my last blog post—only a week...

The coneflowers thrived, despite the drought. Whoosh! Another summer has whizzed by! My sabbatical finished at the end of June and I...

Judique, Cape Breton A year ago, I couldn't have imagined what a fantastic year 2024 would be in my personal life. It was the year that...

The golden deciduous leaves and tamarack needles have fallen since my last blog post, and given way to muted shades of brown, rust,...

Saturday, 2 November, was the third anniversary of my first chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. I'm happy to say that day feels...

I planted garlic on Thanksgiving Saturday, in the back yard garden bed, as I've done for the past 15 years. Last year, I started a new...

Last week, I had the immense privilege of attending my friend Allan's medically assisted death. It was a peaceful, dignifed death,...

Hello dear readers. Apologies for my long silence. Many of you have quietly asked about my health (thank you!), and I am happy to say...

The Haudenosaune People, on whose traditional territory I live, have a beautiful practice of beginning each day, meetings, and events...

Summer is fading into autumn now, but the zinnias and cosmos are in full bloom, frequented by bees and butterflies. Monarch butterflies...

It is hard to describe how tiring radiation was. I couldn't have imagined it myself, even though the radiation oncologist and others had...

There was no wind when I started out on my bicycle at 8 AM this morning, and the traffic lights were favourable, so I cut my commute to...

Hello Dear Readers, My apologies for the long silence. There is a lot of "just-in-time" delivery in cancer care, at least in Kingston at...

(Pear tree blossoms in the backyard) Hello Everyone and thank you to all those who have reached out. I'm sorry I haven't yet responded to...

Spring in Kingston is cool this year, so the flowers and trees are late blooming, and the blooms are lasting longer than usual. The...

Hello Dear Readers, Thank you for your warm wishes, kind thoughts, and many messages. I'm happy to report that my healing is going very...