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Bear Lair Communications

Independent writing, editing, photography and other communications services, focussed on travel.

The page features posts of my published travel articles, photos, blogposts and reviews. It also includes news and features from the travel industry, travel contests and interesting articles about the media.

09/23/2026

Today is National Tree Day. It takes place every year in the middle of National Forest Week.
A day to sit back, and ponder the wonder of trees and forests, and maybe go out and plant a tree yourself.
If every person on the planet planted a tree it could:
• Create vital local habitats for birds, insects, and fungi, helping fragmented ecosystems.
• Help filter urban air pollution (like sulfur dioxide) and stabilize soil, preventing erosion and local runoff.
• Provide shade and lower local temperatures in urban areas, improving community health.
Sadly, it would not offset the amount of trees we cut down; about 15 billion trees are cut down every year, and it would only offset about half of those. Food for thought…
This image is a photo of Yours Truly planting a tree as part of a habitat restoration program along the Kinabatagan River in Borneo, Malaysia several years ago.

09/22/2026

It’s another Tree Tome Tuesday!
It’s in Canada, and while this book has certainly got nothing to do with *forestry*, it does have some of my favourite poems about trees and forests.
It also has nice images of birch trees on the front and back covers and the endpapers, as seen here.
The list of poems that Robert Frost wrote about trees includes:
* On a Tree Fallen Across the Road
* The Sound of the Trees
* Birches
* Christmas Trees
* The Wood-Pile
* The Axe-Helve
* Evening in a Sugar Orchard
And of course, one that is familiar to many: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

09/21/2026

MUG OF THE MONTH: I picked up this mug a few years ago. Sharing it here today because it’s National Forest week in Canada. Got it at the BC Forest Discovery Centre, where we took a ride back into history on an old train and also explored the display forest, there. I wrote about it a few falls ago in Explore online.
’sMug

09/04/2026

Today is .
Started by Colleen Paige, an animal behaviorist and philanthropist, in 2005, the day was originally set to be observed on September 4.
It was also chosen to honor the memory of wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin following his death in 2006. To increase awareness and encourage further action, February 22 was also designated as a day of celebration.
The primary goal of National Wildlife Day is to raise awareness about the pressing issues facing wildlife globally. These include the threats of extinction many species face due to human activities and environmental changes.
Rather than feature images of Wildlife, I’m featuring a few of my images of parks or conservation areas where you can see wildlife.

08/27/2026

Today is World Lake Day!
A day to pause and reflect on all the beauty and enjoyment we derive from lakes, ranging from the really small to the really big.
These are just a few of my favourite lake photos I’ve taken over the years: Harry Lake, Lake Superior, Spruce Coulee, Beaver Lake, and Lake Erie.
Do you have a favourite lake?

08/26/2026

It’s Waterfall Wednesday!
Spent Tuesday exploring and enjoying the lush rainforest surroundings of Squamish Canyon, a highlight of which, is the upper and lower falls of Mamquam Falls.
It’s not just a walk in the woods – it’s a boardwalk that takes you up and down through different levels of forest succession with plenty of interpretive panels along the way. It also has a really nice outdoor café 2/3 of the way along the trail.
A great place to take kids!
Highly recommend it!

08/07/2026

Today is National Lighthouse Day.
The best way to celebrate this day is to go and see a lighthouse or two.
If you want to do that in the BC lower mainland, you can check out the Point Atkinson lighthouse, pictured here. It’s a National Historic Site of Canada, located in West Vancouver on the Burrard Inlet.
I recently took this iPhone photo of the lighthouse as we were sailing by on our way to Bowen Island on the MV Gikumi.
I’d previously seen it from the land side during a visit to Lighthouse Park.

08/06/2026

It’s India Pale Ale Day.
Anyone who knows me or watches my feeds on social media should realize by now I’m not a huge fan of IPAs. I find that far too many of the IPAs created by craft breweries are way too hoppy with too much grapefruit flavour to them.
Keith’s is about the only IPA I’ll drink, and I enjoy it quite a bit. However, there are those that say it’s not a “real“ IPA, that it’s just a marketing label created decades ago when Keith’s first started brewing it.
Be that as it may, this is what I’ll be tippling today.
Cheers!

08/04/2026

Today, Tuesday, August 4, is International Owl Awareness Day. A day to to promote public education about owls and encourage more people to support efforts to protect their habitat and help avoid further decline.
The first three birds in this photo collage are a snowy owl, great gray owl, and a barn, owl, (all captive birds.)
Next, a couple of shots of a great horned owl, waking up. The next several shots are of a barred owl followed by a captive northern spotted owl. That’s part of a program to try and restore this endangered bird in British Columbia. The bird selfie of yours truly was taken with a burrowing owl at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale. Finally, a video of a great horned owl, being mobbed by crows.

08/03/2026

Mug of the month:
My most recent mug acquisition. I picked it up during a recent trip to Canadian Tire - a place I never “tire“ of spending time in, going up and down the aisles where all the camping gear is. It takes me back to my youth when I first got my family interested in camping and we would get a lot of our gear at Canadian Tire.
Woods, of course, refers to SE Woods – a long time manufacturer of outdoor/camping gear in Canada.

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http://www.bearlair.ca/

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