When last we left off, we were sitting at the Petawawa Library. After that, we drove to Bonnechere Provincial Park. Here the staff were glad to meet us, and the show was a rousing success. Some of the children were especially keen to see the show, and even managed to figure out where we are camping!
We have spent the last two nights entertaining families at our campsite. I guess one could say that the Reptiles at Risk crew never stops in our mission of Reptile Education. During the day we had to stop our campsite entertaining so we could go visit some libraries for our scheduled shows.
In Golden Lake, we visited our first First Nations community of the year. The Golden Lake Algonquins were excited to have us, even though we were a couple minutes late. From there we moved on to Eganville, a nice little town where the librarians gave us ice cream! Since it was our last full day on the road, we had a pizza party while in Eganville.
We called Jeff to ask about days off, but we were in for a surprise. The road trip was being extended by a weekend! Luckily, we were able to accomodate everyone's wishes for days off. Katrina is really excited to have the long weekend off so she can experience the events at her cottage on Lake Couchiching. She is still heading home tonight, and relieved, since she has been counting the days down until she can go home.
Adam and Amanda are sticking around for an extra couple days for shows in Tweed, at the Tweed Stampede. Then Adam is going to his cottage on Lake Kashwakamak and Amanda is going to visit some friends in Picton. We are all looking forward to our time off, but have started counting down the days until we leave again... Friday Morning.
-Adam
Some wonderful new stories since last update:
Herbfest was absolutely lovely! Upon arrival we found the owner of the property (the Herb Garden), and Herbfest director, Gerry who had set us up with a large tent to keep our reptile friends cool. Lucky for us it wasn't as humid as the few days before. We wrangled up crowds of over 100 at each of our two shows, despite some unhappy campers who jumped at the sight of snakes around our necks as advertised through the crowds. But it wasn't the shows that we remember most about that day...
After completing our shows we adopted two kids from the tent across from us whose parents owned the Cheshire Cat Pub. The kids, Deacon and Arlow, were very interested in the snakes and helped us to tidy up and put them all to bed. We then sent them on a mission to catch as many grasshoppers as possible! They caught a lot, which we fed to our turtles :) In thanks we gave them each a snakeskin, and in thanks to us for babysitting their parents gave us a bottle of wine... so nice!
But that was just a start to the night and two lovely volunteers: Rob and Kara invited us over to use their pool and canoe if we wanted to. We accepted the invite and got a lovely lift to his house in his ATV and trailer. Upon arrival to their house saw a disc golf course set up in their backyard. Rob was a frisbee salesman (www.ultimatediscgolfstore.ca) and I bought a lovely frisbee for a gift. We spent a couple hours at their place hanging out. It was so nice to get away from our trailer for a while! When we got back to our campsite their was a box of avocados sitting at our trailer door Mmmmm.
Since then we have been at Renfrew Public Library and Pembroke Library. We have also been to 2 more provincial parks: Driftwood and Algonquin!
We also got our Wood Turtle- Ash to join our tour on Monday! He has been lovely to have around, and it is nice to learn about Ontario's most endangered Turtle.
It was really nice to have been hosted by Algonquin. It was a long drive in- which broke our radio :(- but well worth the drive. The park was beautiful and we had a wonderful audience! We also got lucky enough to hike along some trails yesterday and this morning before we leaving Algonquin.
We just finished a show at the Petawawa Library and have some time before our next one to update the outside world on our many adventures.
This is Katrina, signing out for now :)
Another great week gone by- we've been lucky to meet some awesome people and visit lots of beautiful spots, including the village of Arden, Sharbot Lake Provincial Park, Silver Lake Provincial Park and Almonte Herbfest...
It's all been great, but lets break it up with some dirt on US- the crazy ones that our snakes and turtles are so good to put up with ;)
Today we'll share some fun facts about Mr. Adam:
Adam: Snake-wrangler extraordinaire. A 3rd-year U. of Guelph student hailing from St. Catharines, Ontario. On his 2nd season as a Scales Nature Park employee.
Some of Adam's favourite things to do include Herping (looking for reptiles and amphibians), having dance-parties, watching wrestling, hanging out in the library, and sharing a drink on a patio.
Favourite Foods: Most anything. Adam isn't picky for the most part, and he has a real affinity for mustard. He's a vegetarian like myself (Amanda)... we're working on Katrina next ;) Strangely enough, Adam does not enjoy chocolate! Weird.
We've found Adam to be really great at getting audiences pumped up for our shows, he is a big bundle of energy! If you want a cheesy joke, he's your go-to guy. He loves to swim, and if there's a pond or lake around you can guarantee he'll be in it if we've got more than 15 minutes to spare. He's a big country music fan, and actually downloaded the 'Top 500' country songs of all time. We only listen to it in shifts, for fear of overdosing on twang.
Awesome things he's done: Adam has seen most of Ontario's 8 turtles in the wild (as he is the self-proclaimed Blanding's Whisperer), and the only one he's missing is his favourte, the WOOD TURTLE. We're on our way to wood turtle country, the Upper-Ottawa valley and Algonquin Park area, so fingers crossed a shy little wood turtle will show himself. He's a real natural with reptiles, as he grew up helping his grandparents at the Seaway Serpentarium in Welland.
Adam is full of fun facts, and if there is something he's not sure of he'll be on Google as soon as he can to find the truth. Most of all, he loves roadtrips. Yay Adam!
This is Amanda, signing off... see you next time!
The last three days have been jam-packed with adventure and we were booked solid having three shows each of these days!
Starting off Tuesday we had a nice voyage over to Westport where we had a show in Westport United Church. It was a cute little town, with lots of little shops. The stories that some of the guests told were very interesting, with a lot of people telling us tales of snapping turtles laying eggs near their homes! Our next stop of the day was at Perth Public Library (where this blog is being written right now). A lot of kids were in attendance and the library staff who joined made the kids some "admit one" tickets to our show. These kids loved the show and they had so many great questions and stories for us. The last stop of the day was Kitley Library, it was in a nice location and Adam even found a garter snake on his way in! We busted some myths about the garter snake and by the end the guests were no longer calling them grass snakes.
On Wednesday we got to visit three more libraries. Lanark was our first stop in which the librarian (Wanda) was the sweetest lady and had done a lot of her own advertising prior to the event- we were even written up in the local paper! When we were done we bought some great books there and continued to our next destination-Smith's Falls. At Smith's Falls Library we got to present outside in the nice summer air under a shady tree. We had great attendance reaching nearly 100 people. It was a great location in the town so people that were walking in the town could easily stop and join in the crowd. Lyndhurst was the last stop and it was a small, intimate crowd. We got to learn everyone's names and had a young girl named Maya conquer her fear of holding a snake's head. She had actually joined us at Lanark and would only touch the snakes if the head was nowhere near her. That night we went back to our campsite and had a lovely campfire with Megan- a staff member at Murphy's Point.
Yesterday was also a fun-filled day starting nice and early at New Dublin Library. Upon arrival we thought it was going to be our smallest crowd yet being in a small town, but we walked in to a whole audience of kids eager to see all the reptiles. This librarian had also done a lot of advertising for us and was super appreciative of our talk. On our way to our next stop we decided to go picnicing and stopped at Jones Falls and enjoyed the locks. It was a beautiful area to see, but yesterday was our hottest day taking a lot of energy from us all. We arrived at Rideau Lakes Day Camp next, and as soon as we got there we were rushed by children that were very excited to see the show. We got bombarded with questions like "What's in the box?" and "what animals do you have for us to see?" and "do you have any crocodiles?". The camp staff were super helpful and knew how to handle their large amount of campers. The kids were energized and interested and absorbed a lot of information. At the end we had a couple of counsellors who were afraid with the black rat snakes drooped over their necks. It was a long, hot day and both the kids and the snakes were very restless!
We then got back to Murphy's Point and went straight for a swim! Adam and I (Katrina) went canoeing and saw two deer as well as an osprey and two loons. The lake we are on (Loon Lake) is beautiful! We had our two turtles (Petra and Pascal) out for some lovely sun around dinner time. Our last show was at Murphy's Point and the crowd was wonderful! It was still hot out though and the snakes were again super squirmy! We brought the snakes into the air conditionned staff house to sleep last night as the trailer was still 35 degrees by bed time and we have been having problems with our air conditioner. That night we stayed in the staff house and joined Chris, Justin, Chad and Megan for some lovely dice and card games.
And that brings us to today! Today we have a day to relax and explore Murphy's. We're planning to go herping (looking for reptiles and amphibians) as well as enjoying some canoeing and reading.
It's been a while since our last report, and in the meantime we have been busy preparing for our first major road trip of the year. After returning from Georgian Bay, Adam and Katrina visited the Bancroft area on a day trip to do 2 shows.
At Silent Lake almost the entire campground came out to see the reptiles. After a few hours visiting nearby towns, we returned to the Paudash Lake Marina to do a show for their annual Rock Bass Derby. After our return, we enjoyed a couple well-deserved days off!
On Wednesday, we departed on our 2.5 week journey for our first stop at Bon Echo Provincial Park. Unfortunately, some challenges caused our departure to be delayed and the cancellation of our first day of shows. We would like to apologize to all the people wishing they caught the shows on day 1, and invite them to follow the calendar for our other shows in the area. Luckily, the problems were fairly minor and we were back on the road that evening. After a stop at the 24 Hour Egg Store in Asphodel, we were happy to arrive in Amherstview where we stayed for 2 nights.
Thursday was a joyful day. With a new team member joining us, we enjoyed all 3 shows. Bryna loved teaching about the Black Rat Snake in a place where you can actually find them! Our first show at the Queens University Youth Science Camp saw us performing in a University lecture hall. Even with the more formal setting, the kids (and the counsellors) had an amazing time. After a delicious lunch, we met some great families at the Amherstview Library. Here, Amanda's family came out to see the show and they were by no means our biggest fans. Despite a mid-speech hug, Adam pulled it together and connected with the audience.
To end Day 2, we were at the McLachlan Woodworking Museum in Joyceville. Many in the audience had come all the way from Kingston and the press even came out to photograph the show. Katrina had a great time letting the children hold the snakes that we had brought- one of the best things about our programs!
Day 3 was no less busy, as we went out to Pirate Week in Gananoque. The girls were excited to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, and even managed to convince Adam to get in the picture with him, although with no snakes. Then we went to Lansdowne Library, en route to Charleston Lake Provincial Park, where we spent the next 2 nights. We didn't manage to find any Black Rat Snakes while there but we did find a shed skin in a tree. Other highlights in the park were 5 different woodpeckers, flocks of Cedar Waxwings, a Scarlet Tanager and a variety of warblers.
Saturday saw us at the Farmersville in Athens, where the antique car and motor show intrigued us greatly. In the evening, we did the actual show at Charleston Lake. By then, we had already made some friends with the campers and we were glad to see many familiar faces.
Sunday morning we did some early morning wildlife watching and then moved on to our newest temporary home in Murphy's Point Provincial Park. We would like to thank the staff who are letting us park the trailer outside of their bunkhouse. This is the closest campsite we have had to a beach yet! Before we could do the evening show at Murphy's Point we spent the afternoon at the Stewart Park Music Festival in Perth. We competed with both the main music stage as well as a waterfall, but still the show was enjoyed by all! The evening show ended with a bang as rain starting pouring and the lightning was striking. Some of the keenest campers took what little shelter was to be had as they clamored to hold the snakes.
Upcoming are many library shows, so hopefully everyone will get more frequent updates as should have better internet access!
Adam
Our first show was a rousing success.
The second was bursting at the seams...
And our third show drew 360 campers from tents far and wide to get up close and personal with some of Ontario's coolest reptiles.
The team, Jeff, Amanda, Adam and Katrina, coasted back home on a real high tonight, after an awesome 3 days in Georgian Bay region.
Our first presentation of the summer started off at MacTier Library, a small town famous for its railway heritage. This was not the first time seeing the show for many in our audience, and they welcomed us back with open arms. Next we drove east to Port Carling in the Muskoka Lakes, where we had so many families come that they couldn't even all fit in the room! We were happy to arrive early enough that evening at Killbear Provincial Park to take a walk around the beautiful Nature Centre and have a quick swim at the beach. The show that night was a great one, thanks to the wonderful Parks staff and an energetic crowd filling the amphitheatre. Such a fun time!
We had a cozy sleep that night in our trailer, with the snakes each being put to bed in their own large plastic sweaterbox homes, and the turtles in the bathtub.
Day 2 was an easy start at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park, where after our small presentation on the beach we were lucky to spot a 5-lined skink (Ontario's only lizard) darting across the sand! Onwards to the Alban community centre in French River. The librarian there went out of her way to promote our visit, and we had a terrific turnout for such a small community. With our shows going so well, Jeff treated the team to some delicious fish n' chips for dinner in the the small fishing village of Killarney, before camping out at Killarney Provincial Park. The scenery there was stunning- blue lakes and rocky shore, we can see why the Group of Seven loved this place so much! We enjoyed our swims at George Lake that evening and a short hike on La Cloche trail the next morning before our show. Little 3 year old Mari loved the snakes so much that she gave each of us a hug before she left. Talk about great :)
Our last stop was Grundy Lake Provincial Park- a keen crowd and a gorgeous setting, there was nothing left to do but swim before we had to leave our lovely Canadian Shield and head home to Orillia.
One thing we can all agree on... this is going to be a fabulous summer!
Until next time....
- Amanda
We're back on the road again! After some delays in our funding announcements this spring, we're happy to say that the Reptiles at Risk on the Road project lives on! The staff are hired, we're scheduling lots of programs as quickly as we can, and the road team set off this morning on a 3 day shakedown cruise in the northern Georgian Bay region. I'm with them to help with the first few days of learning about travelling with our aging van and trailer, and everything else that goes along with our activities! I'm sure you'll hear more soon from Adam, Amanda, and Katrina- the road team for the project this summer. They'll be in eastern Ontario later in July and southwestern Ontario in August.
We also have a home team- Sarah and Carl, who are delivering programming within central Ontario, roughly within a 2 hour drive of Orillia. They'll be sharing some stories here on the blog as well.
Stay tuned for more exciting details...
Jeff