he eco-system on, in and around the Pickerel river is both singular and diverse. An amazing number of different trees, shrubs, grasses and wild flowers grow here. There are a vast array of mosses and fungi to be seen along the paths and trails. The colours and sizes of all the myriad spiders and insects is a study unto itself. The proximity to Georgian Bay and the Great Lakes, the geography and topography of the Canadian Shield and of the river basin itself all contribute to the shaping of this area and the creatures that make it their home.

One day you will see a water snake and a turtle. The next a martin and a deer. Even the trips to and from "civilization" never fail to produce the sighting of a moose or a wolf or even a bear in one of the countless small lakes or marshes or stands of trees along the road on the way to the lodge.

You may be in the bush just off a trail trying to catch a glimpse of that owl or grouse that you thought you heard or you may think that was an otter you saw off the rocks in that bay you just passed. Is that possibly some sort of eagle just over the tree line?

Bring all the reference material you can. You may be busy just trying to figure out which sub species you saw!