All Posts By

Stephen Roper

Hiking Travel

Manitoulin Island

The name of the island, Manitoulin, is the English version of the Ojibwe name Manidoowaaling, which means “Cave of the Spirit”. It was named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit is said to have lived. I’d been wanting to…

Life & Stories

Decluttering…

The First Step in Creating a New Life is to Get Rid of Everything you Don’t Want. Long before my cancer diagnosis, I worked to declutter my part of our lives. It’s important to me emotionally. It makes me…

Hiking Travel

Creemore Nature Preserve

Known locally as “The Mingay,” after the family who originally owned and donated the land in 1987, the Creemore Nature Preserve is an important part of the local community as this area was long inhabited by both Indigenous peoples…

Hiking Travel

Duncan Caves Trail

The Duncan Caves Trail is a 12.4 kilometre moderately trafficked loop trail located between Ravenna and Kimberly that features a waterfall, Mills Creek and Metcalfe Rock and is rated as is a moderate hiking trail. For our visits, we…

Plant Based Thoughts

What is a Pescatarian Diet?

A healthy pescatarian diet is largely made up of minimally processed plant foods, plus seafood and possibly dairy and eggs. A pescatarian is someone who adds fish and seafood to a vegetarian diet and there are many reasons people…

Plant Based Thoughts

22 High Fibre Foods to Eat

Fiber is incredibly important. It leaves your stomach undigested and ends up in your colon, where it feeds friendly gut bacteria, leading to various health benefits. Certain types of fibre may also promote weight loss, lower blood sugar levels,…

Creative Direction

Hammer Bent Organic

In November of 2019, Michael & Mark Vansteenkiste and I decided to launch our own organic Cider and set out to achieve our Organic Certification, after which we created a truly unique Hard Cider – one of a kind…

Hiking Travel

Pretty River Provincial Park

Pretty River Valley Provincial Park is located along the highest point of the Niagara Escarpment. It is open for day-use and is a non-operating park, so besides offering a few trails for hiking and mountain biking, there are no…

Hiking Travel

Silent Valley Nature Reserve

Silent Valley Trail is a 5.5 kilometre moderately trafficked loop trail located near Chatsworth, Ontario, that offers wonderfully scenic views and is good for all skill levels. Tucked between the gentle slopes of a long-vanished glacial landscape and the…