Early yesterday evening while planting onion sets in the backyard, I heard a bobolink. It is such a joyful sound, more poignant in knowing the species is declining. These splendid New World blackbirds nest in fields where their reproduction is often disrupted by agricultural practices.

Past a few houses to the west of ours, the landscape opens into some savannah-like parkland, where a migrating bobolink might incline to pause. In a lifetime of birding, this is the first time I have heard one in a place where I lived. It gives me hope.

During the spring and summer, bobolinks can be seen and heard in tallgrass prairie, hay fields and meadows across the northern U.S. and southern Canada from the Eastern seaboard through the Great Lakes region and west to the Rocky Mountains.

Here in Ontario they often share habitat with eastern meadowlarks and savannah sparrows. A good population can be found in fields around Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area. For example, from the main gate walk west around the north side of the reservoir for about 20 minutes to find a large meadow with numerous bobolinks.

The species is threatened and eligible for habitat protection in Ontario. For more information, with some surprising details about bobolink migration and other behaviour, read the Ministry of Natural Resources fact sheet.

Thanks to musicofnature.org for this video.

I planted the garden today. This is the earliest I have ever planted tomatoes. It is a risk because chilly weather is expected early next week and then we are going away for five days. However, the alternative was to wait two more weeks and find somebody to look after the plants while we are gone. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I hope it will help the plants establish themselves. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the temperature won't dip too low next week.

I did not start anything from seed indoors this spring. It seemed more worthwhile to take our pick of heirloom varieties available at the farmers' market. One tomato plant costs about the same as a packet of seeds. We chose Brandywine, Earl of Edgcombe, Old German, Black Plum, Sweet 100 (cherry) and two Romas. The peppers are Lipstick and Cayenne. You can see them all interplanted with basil and yellow onions on the left. If I am lucky we will have cherry tomatoes ripening by the end of July instead of September.

I established a new bed for potatoes on the far right. We had some big pieces of cardboard, so I laid those down first, wet them well and cut a hole for each potato, setting the spuds on top. Then I added some worm compost around each tuber, piled damp straw, sprinkled bone meal over the top and wet it some more. I'll add more straw as it settles and the plants emerge.

In the middle bed, I planted some leeks in a trench at the far end. At the near end, some of last year's herbs are re-emerging: thyme, sage, anise hyssop, lavender and garlic chives, even a demure clump of lemon balm.

My friend Joan Lambert Bailey says in Tokyo it grows invasively as other members of the mint clan. I have never had that problem with lemon balm. It self-sows, but that is easy to manage. It is such a pleasant herb, I am just happy to see it return.

Since the herbs are flourishing in that part of the garden, I decided to make it the herb area, closest to the kitchen. I added one more plant each of thyme and sage, along with new rosemary, Italian parsley and chives. Planting parsley might be unwise; rabbits and groundhogs go for it like zombies for brains.

Just in view partway down the first bed, a clump of sorrel is filling out vigorously. It was one of the first things to sprout green in early spring, but I never had a chance; the groundhog devastated it shamelessly. Now the creature is leaving well alone. Something more delectable must have sprouted elsewhere in its range. Maybe we can have sorrel soup this weekend.

The middle of the second bed and the far end of the new one remain vacant. I'll plant acorn squash and zucchini there later in the month. I hesitate to devote space to watermelon because Danny won't eat it, but who grows the stuff, anyway? This gardener loves watermelon. I should indulge in one vine this year.

Planting it all took surprisingly little work, less than two hours. Maybe half the time was spent laying out the new potato section. The permaculture no-dig beds established last year remain practically weed free. Still, I'm knackered.

This year’s seed potatoes arrived in the mail this morning! I have to pick up some bales of straw and then planting can begin.

Last year’s garden gave an underwhelming performance. Drought delayed the tomatoes, cucumber beetles attacked the squash, and groundhogs eliminated all the peas, beans and greens. The only crops that afforded much pride were the herbs, particularly sweet basil, which thrived in the endless sun, and potatoes.

You work with your successes. This year I will plant more potatoes.

These specialty, mostly heirloom varieties came from Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes in Alberta. Clockwise from top left, they are warba (a delicious, early selection I grew last year), banana (fingerling), pink fir apple (fingerling), all red (late), purple viking (mid) and russet burbank (late). The order included 1 kg each of warba and russet burbank, four tubers each of the rest.

I still have several of last year’s bintje potatoes sprouting like crazy on the basement landing. I’ll plant them, too.

Potatoes are an ideal crop for starting new permaculture beds. Last year I created raised beds, placed potatoes on top and covered them with straw. This year I will follow an even simpler strategy: covering the sod with newspaper, placing seed potatoes on top, covering them with straw and fertilizing with bonemeal.

You can double your value this month. I have two articles in the May/June 2013 issue of Gluten-Free Living. One is based on an interview with journalist and author Moises Velasquez-Manoff. The other profiles Bob Anderson, who is looking for a cure.

In his new book An Epidemic of Absence, Velasquez-Manoff surveys research linking the rise in autoimmune disease to changes in modern hygiene. Essentially, he argues, we are too clean. Our lifestyles are changing the population of parasites and microbes in our bodies, causing conditions such as asthma, multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes. In February, he further addressed the connection between gut microbes, breast feeding and celiac disease in a New York Times opinion piece, Who Has the Guts for Gluten? I interviewed him about his personal journey writing the book, and what essential wisdom we should take about celiac disease prevention, for the article, “New insight into celiac disease.”

I also interviewed Bob Anderson, who designed a drug that shows potential for suppressing the immune response that causes celiac disease. It is currently in clinical trials. This article is one in a series profiling researchers who will present at the International Celiac Disease Symposium in Chicago in September 2013.

How much value can you put on green space? One of the things I love about the city where I live is its parks. The photo above was taken along the Eramosa River within steps of a residential neighbourhood. I used to walk there regularly when I lived there. Now in another part of Guelph, my home backs onto a conservation area full of meadows, wetlands and mixed woods. The networks of trails through these places testifies to the pleasure residents derive from being able to walk there.

A recently published study in Psychological Science quantifies the improvement to quality of life. As reported by Conservation, It amounts to about a quarter the added satisfaction of being married versus unmarried and employed versus unemployed. For an individual it might not amount to much, but considered over a population it can amount to large social value, well worth consideration for city planning.

What is your favourite city park?

Spring would not begin properly without a pilgrimage to the annual open house at Wellington Fibres. It is happening tomorrow (April 20, 2013) from 10 to 4 near Elora, Ontario. You can see kids born this week.

On Tuesday afternoon I happened to be there working on a weaving project our local guild has set up in the workshop, and managed to sneak into the barn for a preview. My friend Anne and I were lucky to find a pair of twins newborn within the hour, one still with afterbirth on its coat. We watched the mother lick it off. Donna, the owner, soon arrived on our summons. She said she tries to let the mothers give birth on their own, but coaches the babies to find a teat for their first feeding before much time elapses.

Angora goats are bred for their highly lustrous and somewhat fuzzy fleece called mohair. It is a luxury fibre used for everything from gauzy lace to carpets or heavy outerwear. Wellington Fibre has dyed mohair locks as well as appealing blends with wool, silk and alpaca available in the shop. I wove a lovely shawl from some of their mohair-wool.

Confusingly, the animal fibre known as angora comes from rabbits, while another goat breed produces cashmere.

Kids are precocious, born with a keen instinct for mischief, closely followed by the ability to walk. Anne and I watched one, born only a few minutes earlier, trying to nose its way through the bars into the next pen. If you need a break from sad news in the world, this is the place to be.

The goat photos were taken at last year’s open house.

Guelph, Ontario, where I live, takes a lot of pride in its green space. Riverside Park has always been one of the prettiest spots in the city, with a certain Old World charm. It took a hard hit from the ice storm Friday morning.

This section of the park is dominated by mature silver maples. They were undoubtedly planted because they are a fast-growing tree. In hindsight, the city should have planted trees with stronger wood. This park is impacted whenever severe weather hits the city, but this is the worst seen in a while.

Ideal or not, I loved those trees. They reminded me of the two silver maples in our yard where I grew up. Their arching branches raised a dense green canopy, creating a cool gallery through which to stroll by the Speed River on summer days. The place will never be the same.

Nature works that way. We try our best to preserve some things the way they were, but succession is a natural process. Even in the city, all these silver maples will eventually be replaced with trees better suited to urban parks.

After this week’s ice storm most people around here are more than ready for spring to hasten its late start. I do not object to the weather. It is a reminder to take our time, stop and look. Make the best of the moment, whatever it brings. This has been a particularly photogenic winter, with plenty of old-fashioned snow. Below is a photo I took in Preservation Park on February 28. It was one of the most beautiful morning walks I have had in years.

My profile of Thyme Again Gardens Bed & Breakfast appears in the spring issue of Edible Toronto magazine, now available. Owners Lorraine Schmid and Lori Aselstine are committed biodynamic farmers. Schmid brings to the breakfast table her philosophy that healthy food is the best medicine. Her recipe for these gluten-free waffles appears with the article. Read the article here.

I wrote a cover article for the April issue of Gluten-Free Living magazine, Quinoa: a safe and healthy part of the GF diet. Among other questions, it responds to concern about cross-contamination by wheat and similar grains. The verdict: quinoa is generally a safe and highly nutritious food for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Anyone for whom gluten is toxic must still beware and shop for products (quinoa is no exception) that are tested and certified gluten-free. However, the scope of my article does not address ethical concerns dogging the international production of quinoa.

Quinoa serves as a symbol of the balance between personal and global nutrition. The United Nations has designated 2013 International Year of Quinoa because of its high nutritional value and potential for aiding food security. Grown for thousands of years in the Andes of South America, quinoa is especially adapted for high altitudes, cool, arid conditions and salty soil where few other crops thrive.

It was a food virtually unknown anywhere else until the first seeds were imported to North America in the 1970s. It was hailed as a wonder food, quickly recognized as an important alternative for people who could not tolerate wheat and other grains. Quinoa quickly became fashionable for foodies and everyone adopting a gluten-free diet.

Then, of course, things became complicated. Quinoa crop values quickly overshot wheat. Within two decades, a nutritious food readily available where it was grown in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador quickly became unaffordable to much of the indigenous population. A fair trade industry sprang up in response to concern (and guilt) about dubious commercial and environmental practices. But as with free trade coffee, these quinoa products provide opportunities for exploitation, not the simple solution we would like. Local policy-makers may be in the best position to ensure the quinoa industry benefits subsistence farmers. Hopefully the UN initiative will further illuminate these issues.

Quinoa has become an important food for me, as someone with gluten sensitivity. This is hard to grasp for anyone who does not seriously consider the implications of eliminating wheat along with close relatives barley, rye, spelt and kamut. It is not only the main suspects that come to mind: bread, pizza, pasta and other baked goods–not only the multiplicity of food items in which wheat gluten occurs as a hidden ingredient: sauces, gravies, crusts, batters, soy sauce and most prepared foods, just for starters–but also the prevalence of wheat and its tendency to creep into everything unintentionally and surreptitiously, from dust in processing plants to crumbs in the butter dish.

Fortunately, my sensitivity, while very real, is relatively mild. I can eat at restaurants without worrying about dust flying around the back kitchen, the prospect of severe diarrhea or being rushed to hospital. Many people with celiac disease are not so lucky. It places severe restrictions on what they do and where they can eat. The only known cure at this time is life-long abstention from wheat and related products. In some intractable cases the illness persists despite considerable lifestyle changes.

Enjoying my food is a key to healthy eating, though I am ashamed to acknowledge this pleasure is a luxury. Some 925 million people around the world, almost one in seven, were malnourished in 2010 according to UN estimates. Obviously, they have little choice about what to eat, and my decisions inevitably affect them.

I seldom consider the gluten-free diet a hardship because of how my health improved after I switched in March 2008. But besides that, it improved my life in other, less tangible ways. I learned to be a more thoughtful and patient eater. I discovered many delicious and nutritious alternatives such as quinoa, amaranth and brown rice pasta. I still miss the crusty chewiness of a good, old-fashioned baguette or pizza crust, but in many cases prefer the alternatives. Sorghum flour is, in my opinion, superior to wheat as an ingredient in cakes and cookies. I am not suffering.

I love the delicious nuttiness of quinoa and appreciate its nutritive qualities, with a better-balanced protein content than practically any other plant food. Quinoa’s unique flavour and texture make it ideal for salad or stuffing. It is an indispensable ingredient in coating for chicken or tofu nuggets. If I listed 10 more foods I would hate to sacrifice, quinoa would be one of them.

I have already concluded that giving up all exotic foods is not necessarily the best path to a healthier world. We cannot grow certain things here in Canada. Some like citrus fruit are nearly essential.

As it turns out, we can grow quinoa. It performs well in cooler temperatures. Some cultivars have adapted to our bizarre summer day length.

The challenge is that North American agriculture typically also includes wheat. In researching the story for Gluten-Free Living I encountered one grower who made no effort to defend quinoa against contamination in the field or processing plant. In 2012, Canadian tax dollars supported an initiative by the Canadian Celiac Association to develop industry consensus about safe practices for growing and handling gluten-free crops. Hopefully this will progress toward an experimental pilot program. NorQuin brand quinoa products grown on the Canadian prairies, while not yet certified gluten-free, are grown and processed according to safe guidelines, according to a spokesperson I interviewed.

Food security begins in our backyards. I hear that quinoa is being grown commercially here in Ontario, but have yet to find it available as a product either in stores or the local farmers’ market. Maybe one summer soon I will try growing some myself. Like most grains and cereals it requires some fancy processing. Specifically, the bitter outer saponin coat must be removed. So far I hesitate to dedicate limited time and garden space to such a labour-intensive crop.

It is hard to grasp that growing our own quinoa will not take money out of the pockets of subsistence farmers in the Andes, but that is how the world works. Food security cannot happen on a global scale unless is functions locally for everyone. During International Year of Quinoa, the Bolivian government is concentrating on introducing it as a part of school breakfasts and prenatal care, while supporting small-scale farming. We would do well to follow this example of reinforcing nutrition with our own local agriculture.

A bald eagle family is drawing enthusiastic visitors to Cootes Paradise in Hamilton, Ont. This is the first time since the 1950s a pair of eagles has successfully nested on the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario. Danny and I went to have a look on the gorgeous Saturday afternoon of Easter weekend. My camera was inadequate for the task of photographing the distant nest. The tree is close enough viewing for a descent pair of binoculars and distant enough to avoid disturbing the birds. We spent about 15 minutes watching one adult perched on the side of the huge nest, and a small head occasionally bobbed above the rim. There is a photo of the adult pair on the nest in a Hamilton Spectator article.

About 200 pairs of bald eagles nested in southern Ontario in the early 1900s, but their population plummeted for several reasons. Widespread use of DDT insecticide from the 1940s to the 1970s virtually ended any successful breeding in this province. It made the eagles’ eggs too fragile and the adults would unwittingly crush them.

Not far from where I grew up, a pair of eagles nested at Fox Creek Conservation Area near the shore of Lake Erie in the 1970s. It was one of the few nests left in Ontario, but according to an Environment Canada fact sheet, none of them successfully hatched young at that time. One day one of the great birds landed in a huge dead poplar tree on our property overlooking the lake. I had never seen one before, and it was an unforgettable thrill.

Since DDT was banned in the 1980s, bald eagles have made a slow recovery in this province. In 2011 in Southern Ontario, at least 69 young were produced by 41 known successful nests, according to a report from the monitoring program. Not all survived.

In the 1990s, Royal Botanical Gardens began managing and restoring the heavily polluted wetland at Cootes Paradise at the west end of Hamilton Harbour between Hamilton and Burlington. In 2009 this progress drew the attention of the pair of eagles, which has attempted to nest each year since without success.

But late last month intense activity drew attention to the fact that two eaglets had hatched in the nest. Fortunately the nest can be discretely but openly viewed from the Marsh Boardwalk. Visitors can gain access from the RBG Arboretum. Parking costs a loonie for one hour. Directions to the boardwalk are provided at the nature centre there. It requires a rigorous hilly 20-minute walk. To the right of the boardwalk stand some dark-silhouetted white pines in the distance containing the shabby, conspicuous nest.

Bald eagles are huge, one of the largest raptors in North America, with adult wingspans of 2 metres or more. They also have built the largest recorded tree nests of any animal. They are well worth a visit. Based on usual fledging behaviour, there should be plenty of activity around the nest until about the end of June. They offer tangible and dramatic evidence of what good conservation practices can achieve.

[Edited May 6, 2013: This post originally stated erroneously that Cootes Paradise was located in Burlington, Ont. Actually it is entirely within the city of Hamitlon.]

Another Saturday morning commitment prevented us from going to Guelph Farmers’ Market this week. We ended up shopping for produce at Zehrs on Monday afternoon. I was faced with the choice of buying a 1.36 kg (3 lb.) bag of imported US carrots or one-third the quantity of Canadian carrots for the same price, $3.39 if memory serves me correctly. What level of hell is this we live in?

Unless you are wealthy or extremely well-organized, it is nearly impossible to survive through a Canadian winter eating only local food. I tried it last year and did reasonably well. Most of our meat, dairy and produce came from local farmers. We relied heavily on potatoes, carrots and squash. I was delighted to find a steady supply of hydroponic tomatoes and lettuce from Ontario.

There were certain questions I was afraid to ask. For instance, after eating no fruit but apples for months, I realized they were all probably imported.

It didn’t work. By definition a faithful Canadian locavore must entirely give up citrus fruit, and that’s just for starters. It is important to pick our battles. I would rather fight off junk food cravings. Bananas, avocados and almonds may be imported from the tropics, but they are far healthier than a cheese sandwich or a bag of chips.

So this past winter I tried to strike a reasonable compromise. The lettuce for my daily salad lunches often came from Ontario greenhouses, but each week I bought several lemons or limes for healthy, delicious dressing. We supplemented local potatoes, onions and cabbage with bananas of unknown origin.

But when faced with that decision over a bag of carrots, I crumbled. A large bag contributes to five or six meals over several weeks. We can’t afford qualms over this moral dilemma.

This week CBC Metro Morning‘s Matt Galloway interviewed Don Mills, president of Local Food Plus, about Ontario’s hopefully impending Local Food Act, which ought to channel more domestic meat, dairy and produce into our stores, restaurants and institutions. Mills talked about what this means to him as a farmer:

Well, it’s hard to explain to people why you would do some of the things we do – why we put the hours in. You [as a farmer] go through periods … where you make some money, and there’s periods where you don’t, and you weather out those down-times.

I suspect it’s a lot like being [born] into a family of construction [workers], or probably a family of small retailers, where you grew up working the till from early in the morning. So, it’s hard to explain to people why. But there certainly is something in terms of that’s where I am happiest … out in the barn with the animals or out in the fields.

To close the conversation, Galloway asks whether consumers want this shift toward local food to happen.

I do. I care a great deal about the environmental cost of shipping carrots hundreds of kilometres, and about supporting local economy. At times I have, and will continue, to pay more. But when faced with paying three times the price, I go to hell.

This is why I choose to shop at the farmers’ market whenever possible. Not all the food is local, but it is widely available, clearly identified, and priced on the same order of magnitude as imported stuff. Maybe the Local Food Act will help change the market structure to help bring down prices at places like Zehrs. I hope it will. But there is also a peace of mind in knowing the faces of people who grew our potatoes, beef and goat cheese.

Two artists from University of Rochester have designed a mobile phone app that encourages users to explore urban wilderness. Indeterminate Hikes (IH+) plots a random, indirect course the city. It is designed to increase awareness of of the urban environment.

When following the route, users may be asked to take a photograph with their phones at selected points, write a “field note” on their phones, send a text message to someone, or perform a particular task—all in response to their surroundings. “Hikes” are intended to be performed in groups and with one phone, to make the experience socially interactive.

I’m not a mobile app user, but this arouses my interest. It encourages people to slow down and perceive, rather than just past through the world. I’m due to update to an android device soon, and intrigued to try this out.

1. Danny’s good company
2. My daughters
3. Our comfortable home
4. Good eyesight and hearing
5. Friends who make me think and encourage my creativity
6. The pleasure of good food
7. Fourfold Farm and the many other good people who grow our food
8. The chance to do my dream of writing for a living
9. Spinning, knitting and weaving projects to keep me busy for years
10. Great music
11. Great literature
12. My cottage on a quiet lake
13. The woods behind our house
14. Space to grow vegetables
15. Freedom to love who I choose
16. The memory of freedom to play as a child
17. The beauty and complexity of the universe
18. Healing from illness and painful past experiences
19. The opportunity of life
20. Time to be still

One key to successful new habits is, “Start small.” Begin with a step so easy you can’t not take it. My goal for March and April is to work into a daily exercise routine. My first effort on Friday was supposed to be 15 minutes of stretching.

I like stretching. I was looking forward to it. I forgot.

I can’s say I completely forgot. I had been busy all morning starting research on a new writing assignment. I remembered exercise as I was rushing out the door to meet a writing buddy. I thought, “I’ll do it when I get home.” Of course, one thing followed another and I never thought of it again until Saturday afternoon as Danny and I headed out the door to see the live opera broadcast from The Met. Live has been like that recently.

I’ve been too busy for a lot of things because I’m launching my life dream freelance writing career. I don’t have as much free time as I used to. I have entered a new life passage where work and pleasure mingle. I love hounding information, interviewing people and writing stories. These changes are all good. I do not aspire to a perfect life; I just want to enjoy my days one at a time, and this is coming true. Who could ask for more?

Well, there is the matter of balance. In the excitement of the moment it is easy to lose sight of looking after ourselves with proper food, exercise, sleep, and social contact. So it was timely that I chose, at the beginning of the year, to focus on better health habits in 2013.

Besides forgetfulness, change inspires all kinds of resistance. That is why starting small helps. You shift gears slightly, make baby steps. Before long you take the new activity for granted. Feeling better about yourself reinforces it.

I have planned 6 changes over the course of the year. These new habits should help keep be down to Earth, if I can remember.

The first one, eating salad every day for lunch, came to fruition in January and February. At first I had doubts. I loved my bacon and egg sandwiches or cheese and jam. Giving them up for healthier lunches seemed such a daunting task. I eased into it, just once a week at first. I tried new and interesting recipes. I started looking forward to salad days. Now, after just two months, nothing comes between me and my midday salad. I love it.

45 minutes of vigorous daily exercise comes next, and I hope to enjoy it. But again I start small. Unfortunately I missed my first assignment for the month: stretching on Friday. My second assignment was a 15-minute walk on Sunday. I often go for random walks, but at this stage I am not seeking a physical challenge as much as a shift in thinking, accepting a new routine.

This time I did not forget. Our friend Ted dropped in for lunch and an afternoon visit. When he left, the long winter afternoon light lay golden along our snowy street and I remembered the date with my boots and coat. I took my camera. It was an enjoyable time. I came back with a healthy ache in my buttocks from scrambling through the snowy woods. It felt good. I look forward to new exercise challenges involving more commitment of time and energy.