While drinking tree sap does not immediately sound appealing, Canadian producers are hoping that it will be the next must-try soft drink around the world. We have all heard of maple syrup, which is made by boiling down the sap of maple trees to produce a thick, sweet, golden-to-brown coloured syrup that is typically poured over pancakes. What is far less well known is that you can drink the sap itself, which is called maple water. Clear in colour, it contains just 2% natural sugars, so it is only slightly sweet. A small but growing number of producers in Canada are now selling this maple water in bottles or cartons, after first giving it a filter and pasteurisation to kill off any microbes. “People feel like they’re drinking the wild Canadian forest,” says Yannick Leclerc of Maple3, a producer of maple water drinks, based in Quebec City.
Love rats: Canadians get chance to feed rodents named after old flames to owls
By Leyland Cecco
The Guardian
February 12, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada
Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold. And for an endangered owl breeding program in Canada, it’s also a dish best served dead. For the price of a coffee, spurned and disgruntled lovers can revel in the satisfaction of having a dead rat named after an ex, before it is fed to a northern spotted owl. The British Columbia-based breeder is running its No regRATS campaign ahead of Valentine’s Day, promising a photo and video of one’s rat, named after a former lover – or arch-enemy – and the owl it has been fed to in exchange for at least a C$5 donation. …Predictably, the campaign has angered rat fans. …Others, however, were more than happy to fork over the cash. “The satisfaction of naming a rat after someone who has hurt you and having said rat get eaten!!!! And then to get a picture? Priceless,” wrote on user. “Love this more than I should. Perfect fundraiser. Money well spent.”
Finding Bigfoot: B.C. research trio track Sasquatch across Vancouver Island
By Ben Fenlon
The Cowichan Valley Citizen
March 12, 2026
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada West
For years, three Greater Victoria men have been locked in the ultimate game of hide-and-seek with its most celebrated player and current reigning champion: Sasquatch. …Inspired by some of North America’s most renowned Sasquatch researchers – including Comox Valley’s John Bindernagel and Canadian journalist John Green – and driven by their own deep-seated fascination, the trio founded the Vancouver Island Sasquatch Society in 2018. Dedicated to rigorous fieldwork and evidence collection, the citizen science group aims to move the Sasquatch conversation from myth toward fact. …Dave Hill and Stephen Gray have both worked for the Canadian Forest Service, experience that helps them assess if a woodland area could realistically support a large, primate-like beast. …Alex Solunac, a senior media analyst at the University of Victoria, has been involved in Sasquatch research since the ’80s. …It was a similar story for gorillas, the threesome notes. The species was widely considered a mythical creature by European explorers until the mid-19th century, when an American named Thomas Savage found gorilla bones in Liberia.
Facing layoffs, B.C. workers rally to save feral cats before pulp mill’s closure
By Sheena Goodyear
CBC News
January 22, 2026
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada West
CROFTON, BC — When Tawni Marcil found out the pulp mill she works for is closing, she immediately started worrying about the cats who live there. Marcil is one of 350 workers on Vancouver Island who are losing their jobs after Domtar announced in early December 2025 that it’s shutting down its pulp mill in Crofton, B.C. For almost as long as the mill has existed, Marcil says, the worksite has been home to a population of feral cats, who the workers feed and take care of. …So for the last month — even as she faces her own uncertain future — Marcil has been working with local cat rescue organizations to round up the mill cats, remove them from the site, and find them new homes.
Wood-chopping leads to social media success for B.C.’s Nicole Coenen
By Dana Gee
The Vancouver Sun
April 14, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada West
Coenen’s road to social-media success — she has close to six million followers across platforms — began during COVID-19 when she was holed up in Rossland working remotely as a video creator and editor. Coenen, who grew up in London, Ont., and moved to B.C. five years ago, sees the act of chopping wood as a sustainable passion… “Personally, I find getting outside has been my safe place,” said Coenen. “When I lived in the Interior, wood-chopping and burning with firewood was always a community thing,” said Coenen. “You’d go with your friends to where there was a tree that fell during a storm on your other friend’s property. You’d buck it up and put it in your friend’s tractor or truck, and then they would go drop it off at another friend’s house, and then you’d have a wood-chopping party.”
‘Holy smokes’: Huge log believed to be 50 million years old unearthed at N.W.T. mine
By Liny Lamberink
CBC News
March 26, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada West
A log of wood believed to be 50 million years old has been hauled up from below ground at Diavik diamond mine in the N.W.T. — a find that researchers say is remarkable but not uncommon… the mine described it as a 136-kilogram (300-pound) log from a redwood tree that it found 240 metres below ground. In an email, a Diavik spokesperson said it was discovered on Feb. 20 during regular mining at the A21 pit while miners were scooping kimberlite ore. The spokesperson said pieces of wood are regularly recovered from Diavik’s kimberlite pipes but this one is notable because of its size. Scientists know that 50 million years ago the region would have been a humid temperate forest ecosystem with metasequoia, hazel, chestnut and oak-like trees.”It would almost have looked like Nashville, Tennessee in a way, climate-wise.”
As Halloween approaches, a walk through the forest can feel a little mysterious. Fallen trees stretch across the forest floor, twisted branches emerge from piles of leaves, and hollow logs sit in the shadows. At first glance, it might look like something out of a spooky story. But don’t be fooled. What may appear lifeless or messy is actually one of the most important parts of a healthy forest ecosystem. …Known as downed woody debris, these fallen pieces of wood may appear lifeless, but they are far from it. …Downed wood provides habitat for wildlife, supports food webs and helps maintain healthy soil. …What looks like just a decaying log is actually a busy hub of activity. Beetles, ants, spiders and other insects move through the wood as it breaks down, creating an important food source for many forest animals. …This Halloween, when you spot a fallen tree … take a closer look. What may seem spooky, messy or forgotten is helping support wildlife, insects, fungi and healthy forest soils. …In nature, appearances can be deceiving. A healthy forest doesn’t always look tidy.
A ‘moving forest’ featuring 50 maple trees in shopping carts is coming to Toronto
By Devon Banfield
Toronto Now
May 15, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada East
An upcoming art installation in Toronto aims to spark city-wide engagement around greenery and draw attention to the way that trees impact physical and mental health in urban settings. Designed by architects from the Netherlands, the Moving Forest is a mobile project featuring 50 red, silver, sugar and Autumn Blaze maple trees planted in shopping carts travelling through the city for eight weeks, highlighting the importance of trees and shade. …“The project reminds us that as our cities continue to warm and densify, we must ensure that we are prioritizing green infrastructure along with grey,” the project website reads.
This Toronto tree has nearly 200 Google reviews. How ‘Rodney’ became an international tourist attraction
By Mark Colley
The Toronto Star
March 18, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: Canada, Canada East
It just might be Toronto’s most unlikely tourist attraction. It is pipsqueak-ish in size, not much taller than a single storey of a house. Its branches are scrawny and, at this time of year, empty of leaves, buds or nesting birds. It even has steep competition from its own neighbours just south of Trinity Bellwoods, such as the towering maple across the road and the elegant evergreen up the street. But this young Eastern Redbud is the little tree that could. The tree — its name is Rodney, the owners will tell you — has become an oddball local celebrity. Since being planted less than five years ago, Rodney has already gotten its own Google Maps pin, visits from tourists around the world and a handful of viral social media posts in recent days that have sent this unsuspecting tree’s celebrity into the arboreal stratosphere.
BOSTON — For decades, Bigfoot believers have chased shaky photos and grainy footage that never closed the case. Today, Hard Mountain Dew is joining the hunt to launch its first-ever Bigfoot Bounty – a $1 million challenge: prove the legendary creature exists. Cryptid hunters, skeptics, and armchair experts 21 and older now through November 30 can submit verified evidence at HardDewBigfootBounty.com for a shot at the prize. Evidence will be judged against rigorous standards co-developed by Bigfoot expert, Bryce Johnson. Known for starring in and producing a hit docuseries that follows a team of Sasquatch specialists venturing into the wilderness to prove Bigfoot is real, he brings a trusted voice and genuine enthusiasm to the hunt. Timed to peak Bigfoot sighting season in the fall, Hard Mountain Dew is turning seasonal fascination into a money-backed hunt for the truth. As temperatures cool, more adventurists head outdoors, while increased wildlife activity and soft, moisture-rich ground create ideal conditions for spotting and preserving tracks of Bigfoot.
Wood sawdust may not seem like a typical food source, but it actually has some surprising nutritional benefits. While it is not directly edible in its raw form, it can be processed and transformed into food products that are rich in protein, fiber, and minerals. …Overall, the utilization of wood sawdust in cooking showcases the endless creativity and ingenuity of chefs and highlights the potential of often-overlooked food sources. With ongoing culinary innovations, it will be fascinating to see how wood sawdust continues to shape the future of gastronomy. …While the idea of consuming sawdust may seem peculiar at first, it serves specific purposes in enhancing texture, moisture retention, and flavor profiles. Let’s explore some common food items that incorporate small amounts of edible wood sawdust.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – If mistletoe’s status as a nutrient-stealing freeloader has been cooling your holiday ardor, new research led by an Oregon State University scientist may help relight the fire. A survey of urban forests in seven western Oregon cities found no observable connection between mistletoe infestation and negative health outcomes for the trees it was parasitizing. So worry not: Your yuletide kissing tradition probably does not involve a tree killer. And as you’re setting concern aside, you might want to head outside. “This is the best time of year to look for mistletoe because there are no leaves on the trees,” said College of Forestry professor emeritus Dave Shaw, an OSU Extension Service forest health specialist. “Also, chances are it will be found in an oak tree – most other trees don’t get infested. So if you are looking for a kiss, keep an eye out for oaks.”
Legendary TV prop emerges from closet for Portland forestry exhibit
By Samantha Swindler
The Oregonian
May 3, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: US West
Stacked doughnuts and “damn fine coffee” welcomed a small but eager group of visitors Thursday morning to the World Forestry Center. These die-hard fans had traveled — at least one from out of state — to see the log. But not just any log. This lump of ponderosa pine, hand selected by David Lynch, is the most famous prop from his cult classic TV series, “Twin Peaks.” It was lovingly carried by actress Catherine Coulson, who portrayed the wise and mysterious Margaret “The Log Lady” Lanterman on the show. The pop-up exhibit, “What the Log Saw: Honoring the legacy of Catherine ‘The Log Lady’ Coulson,” celebrates both the on-screen character and the woman who portrayed her, while making connections between “The Log Lady” and sustainable forestry practices. …Coulson’s daughter, Zoey Yinger of Portland, approached the World Forest Center in January about displaying the log after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Uli Kirchler carves whimsical telescoping castles out of gnarly pieces of burl wood
By Geneva Chin
Oregon Public Broadcasting
April 24, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: US West
“How do you do that?” It’s the question Uli Kirchler hears most often when people see his intricate castles suddenly popping up from pieces of burl wood with a flip of a wrist. Many assume advanced tools — lasers or 3D printing — must be at work. But Kirchler credits the scroll saw, invented hundreds of years ago. Cutting the castles is a precise dance of angles and friction. He uses a scroll saw to cut several conical wedges that nest within themselves. When the tapered castle pieces fly up, friction holds them in place. “It makes me smile a little bit because friction in this case just makes life run so smoothly,” Kirchler says.
Thief sentenced to prison after stolen walnut tree intercepted at Michigan sawmill
By Brad Devereaux
Michigan Live
October 10, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: United States, US East
CASS COUNTY, Michigan — A man was sentenced to prison after he was found at a Michigan sawmill with a walnut tree that did not belong to him. Trever Wallace was sentenced to three years and two months up to 10 years in prison for his criminal concealment of a fully mature walnut tree, Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said. …The tree’s owner was able to locate it at the sawmill before Wallace could profit from it, Fitz said. The defendant pleaded guilty as charged to larceny over $1,000. On Friday, Cass County Assistant Prosecutor Jason Ronning asked for prison time due to the defendant’s nine prior felony convictions and two misdemeanor convictions, including thefts. Fitz did not know the current state of the tree.
This National Park uses a ‘Skeeter Meter’ to inform visitors about mosquitoes
By Laura Baisas
Popular Science
June 16, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: United States, US East
Taking a peek at the UV index to gauge how much sunscreen and protective clothing to wear is par for the course during the summer. But predicting just how bad mosquitoes might be is another story. For visitors to the National Park unfairly voted the worst to visit due to its many mosquitoes, there is a way to anticipate just how bad these biters may be. The Mosquito Meter or “Skeeter Meter” at Congaree National Park near Columbia, South Carolina has six levels: All Clear, Mild, Moderate, Severe, Ruthless, and War Zone. …With the Skeeter Meter and educating people about safely visiting Congaree, the park has embraced their reputation for mosquitoes instead of fighting it. At least 20 different mosquito species are found in this park, which includes the largest remaining intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States. …To protect wildlife and biodiversity in the park, it will not spray pesticides to control the mosquito population.
Smell something fishy? It may be this invasive tree that’s blooming in Ohio
By Ava Boldizar
WDTN.com
April 2, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: United States, US East
An invasive tree species that is illegal to plant in Ohio has begun to bloom, and will soon fill the air with a distinctive odor that many liken to rotting fish. Callery pear trees – which come in multiple varieties including “Bradford” pear, “Autumn Blaze” and “Cleveland Select” – typically begin to bloom in the state in late March to early April, according the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The species was brought to North America from Asia in the 1900s with the goal of combatting fire blight, a bacterial disease among common pear trees. The tree quickly become popular in landscaping due to its adaptability, white flowers and shape. It has also since become well-known for another one of its qualities – its odor. The tree’s blooms typically have a strong aroma, which has been likened to a variety of unpleasant scents, including rotting fish, puke and animal waste.
Forestry Australia launches playful forestry promotional video
By Forestry Australia
YouTube
March 25, 2026
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International
Woke up at 5, pulled on the boots. Mud from last Tuesday still stuck to the roots. Drove 3 hours down a logging track. Phones got no signal. GPS won’t come back. Someone at the barbecue asked what I do. I said I manage forests. They said, “Oh, that’s cool.” So you just hug trees and watch them grow. Man, I’ve been pruning since before you’d know. We’re out in the bush while you’re stuck in town. Counting every tree ring, measuring the crown. [Our thanks to Andrew Dunn for sending this in!]
Spaghetti Grows on Trees! – BBC’s 1957 April Fool’s Prank that Fooled a Nation
By Stories of the World
YouTube
April 1, 2026
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International
BBC’s 1957 Spaghetti Tree April Fool’s Prank is arguably the GREATEST April Fool’s Prank in history. Seriously I challenge anyone to find something bigger and better than this April Fool’s Prank! The Spaghetti Tree fooled almost everyone, from regular viewers to the boss of BBC during that time. This prank is also believed to be the first time in history that television was used to play a prank!
Biologists have discovered a new species of pumpkin toadlet, an adorable, carrot-hued amphibian that fits on the tip of a pencil and inhabits the cloud forests of the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in southern Brazil. Researchers identified the toadlet after observing the unique advertising calls produced by males to attract members of the opposite sex. The species — named Brachycephalus lulai after the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — has now been described for the first time in the journal Plos One. …And yet, despite having a skin color that resembles a high-vis jacket, these toadlets are surprisingly hard to spot. It was their impressive vocal performance, not their looks, that led to their discovery.
[A Fabulous Frog Feature in our Foibles] A bacterium from the intestines of Japanese tree frogs has “exhibited remarkably potent” tumor-killing abilities when administered intravenously, outperforming current standard therapies and paving the way for an entirely new approach to treating cancer. Researchers at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) had taken a keen interest in amphibian and reptile gut microbes for several reasons – spontaneous tumors are very rare in these wild animal types, and when they do appear they’re generally linked to pollutants or lab conditions. …In addition to this, these animals have long lifespans relative to size, and naturally endure extreme cellular stress … and live in pathogen-rich habitats, which would normally be considered things to elevate cancer risk, not lower it. …The team isolated 45 bacterial strains from the tree frogs … and found that giving a single shot of E. americana intravenously to mice with colorectal cancer, completely eliminated tumors in every treated animal.
April Fools’ Day is celebrated with pranks and hoaxes worldwide
By Hallie Golden
Associated Press
April 1, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International
The April Fool
From France to Iceland to the United States, April Fools’ Day will be celebrated on Tuesday with practical jokes and elaborate hoaxes, so make sure to triple check viral posts and don’t leave your back open to any stray sticky notes. The jokesters’ custom has been around for hundreds of years, although its exact birth is difficult to pinpoint. These days, depending on your location, it could be marked with a fish secretly pinned to someone’s back or a whoopee cushion or even news reports of flying penguins (yes, that actually happened). In the U.S., the pranks are typically followed by screams of “April Fools!” to make sure all are aware that they were the unsuspecting recipient of a practical joke. Here are some thing to know about April Fools’ Day and its history…
Meet the tree that likes being struck by lightning
By Cheryl Santa Maria
The Weather Network
March 27, 2025
Category: Froggy Foibles
Region: International
The intense electrical charge delivered by a lightning strike can obliterate most foliage, especially in tropical regions where research suggests more than 800 million trees are destroyed each year due to lightning strikes. But …in some cases, lightning might benefit certain trees and provide a competitive advantage. Researchers, led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies …examined 93 trees that had been struck by lightning in central Panama. …According to the study, each lightning strike to a Dipteryx oleifera tree killed approximately 9.2 neighbouring trees due to the electricity traveling between branches or vines. This creates more space and resources for the Dipteryx oleifera. The trees also benefit from strikes because it helps remove parasitic vines called lianas, which can reduce light and nutrient availability. …In the long term, the lightning-strike tolerance of these trees could play a key role in forest planning and restoration efforts.
Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold. And for an endangered owl breeding program in Canada, it’s also a dish best served dead. For the price of a coffee, spurned and disgruntled lovers can revel in the satisfaction of having a dead rat named after an ex, before it is fed to a northern spotted owl. The British Columbia-based breeder is running its 
For years, three Greater Victoria men have been locked in the ultimate game of hide-and-seek with its most celebrated player and current reigning champion: Sasquatch. …Inspired by some of North America’s most renowned Sasquatch researchers – including Comox Valley’s John Bindernagel and Canadian journalist John Green – and driven by their own deep-seated fascination, the trio founded the Vancouver Island Sasquatch Society in 2018. Dedicated to rigorous fieldwork and evidence collection, the citizen science group aims to move the Sasquatch conversation from myth toward fact. …Dave Hill and Stephen Gray have both worked for the Canadian Forest Service, experience that helps them assess if a woodland area could realistically support a large, primate-like beast. …Alex Solunac, a senior media analyst at the University of Victoria, has been involved in Sasquatch research since the ’80s. …It was a similar story for gorillas, the threesome notes. The species was widely considered a mythical creature by European explorers until the mid-19th century, when an American named Thomas Savage found gorilla bones in Liberia.
It just might be Toronto’s most unlikely tourist attraction. It is pipsqueak-ish in size, not much taller than a single storey of a house. Its branches are scrawny and, at this time of year, empty of leaves, buds or nesting birds. It even has steep competition from its own neighbours just south of Trinity Bellwoods, such as the towering maple across the road and the elegant evergreen up the street. But this young Eastern Redbud is the little tree that could. The tree — its name is Rodney, the owners will tell you — has become an oddball local celebrity. Since being planted less than five years ago, Rodney has already gotten 
CORVALLIS, Ore. – If mistletoe’s status as a nutrient-stealing freeloader has been cooling your holiday ardor, new research led by an Oregon State University scientist may help relight the fire. A survey of urban forests in seven western Oregon cities found no observable connection between mistletoe infestation and negative health outcomes for the trees it was parasitizing. So worry not: Your yuletide kissing tradition probably does not involve a tree killer. And as you’re setting concern aside, you might want to head outside. “This is the best time of year to look for mistletoe because there are no leaves on the trees,” said College of Forestry professor emeritus Dave Shaw, an OSU Extension Service forest health specialist. “Also, chances are it will be found in an oak tree – most other trees don’t get infested. So if you are looking for a kiss, keep an eye out for oaks.”
An invasive tree species that is illegal to plant in Ohio has begun to bloom, and will soon fill the air with a distinctive odor that many liken to rotting fish. Callery pear trees – which come in multiple varieties including “Bradford” pear, “Autumn Blaze” and “Cleveland Select” – typically begin to bloom in the state in late March to early April, according the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The species was brought to North America from Asia in the 1900s with the goal of combatting fire blight, a bacterial disease among common pear trees. The tree quickly become popular in landscaping due to its adaptability, white flowers and shape. It has also since become well-known for another one of its qualities – its odor. The tree’s blooms typically have a strong aroma, which has been likened to a variety of unpleasant scents, including rotting fish, puke and animal waste.
