Great fun on the run

One family passes trapping knowledge through three generations

Snow falls softly over a muted landscape of boreal forest, rock ridges, spruce swamps and beaver ponds. This 60-square-kilometre area of land in the southwest corner of Whiteshell Provincial Park is the Imrie family trapline; they are designated to trap and manage the populations of fur-bearing animals.

Right now, three generations of Imries — Murray, 72, Devin, 36, and five-year-old Thomas — are gathered at a beaver house. Devin thumps a 1.5-metre-long ice chisel onto the surface of the pond, looking for the entrance of the lodge (the movement of the beavers swimming back and forth below weakens the surface). Thomas climbs onto the pile of sticks and brush with his grandpa, and the two dig through the snow to find the breathing hole. Hot air and a thick, musky smell means that the beavers are active here this winter.

The scene could have taken place a century earlier. Other than the snowmobiles parked nearby, the process hasn’t changed much over the years. Devin cuts a hole in the ice, chops down a long, thin tree to serve as a pole for holding the traps under the water, and then gets to work setting them. They are wire “conibear” style traps, orange with rust after many seasons of use, designed to snap around the animals’ neck or body, killing them instantly.

Murray explains the beavers have already eaten all of the poplar in the area, which is their preferred food source, and have moved onto birch and spruce. If the going gets really rough, the rodents might even resort to eating cattail tubers to make it through the winter. A twig of poplar, scratched to simulate tooth marks, is stuck into the trap as bait. “We’re going to have a beaver probably in less than two days,” crows Thomas.

Rally against mask use in Winkler schools scores points with health minister

Manitoba Health Minister Cameron Friesen says the organizers of a recent hundreds-strong rally in Winkler against mandatory face mask rules in local schools made “some good points."

On Tuesday, a mask-less group of around 600 parents and children gathered in a closely-packed outdoor setting to voice opposition to Garden Valley School Division’s COVID-19 pandemic precautions, including mandated masks for students grades 4 and up, with doctor’s notes required for an exemption.

“My firm belief is that all directives related to mandatory mask-wearing in Canada are infringing on the rights of individual Canadians,” organizer Heather DiFrancesco said in a presentation to GVSD board trustees while the rally took place outside.

“There are many parents who believe wearing a mask may cause psychological and physical harm to their children.”

Dolce Vita-inspired production of Much Ado in the St. Norbert ruins keeps actors and audience hopping

Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita is the stylistic touchstone for director Ann Hodges’ robust interpretation of the Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing, produced live (at last!) in the Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park in St. Norbert.

Fun fact: “paparazzi,” the term for predatory celebrity photographers, was inspired by a photographer named Paparazzo in the film.

That explains why the very opening scene in this production sees paparazzi chasing down the prestigious family of Leonata (Melanie Whyte) as news comes of a post-battle visit by the prince Don Pedro (Omar Alex Khan), and a few of his fellow soldiers, including Benedick (Cory Wojcik) and the lovelorn Claudio (Ritchie Diggs), who carries a torch for Leonata’s daughter Hero (Hera Nalem).

There is no such romance for Benedick, who conducts an ongoing “merry war” of words with Hero’s feisty cousin Beatrice (Sarah Constible). To outward appearances, the two loathe each other.

Paralympics open in empty stadium - just like Olympics

On Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET, Toronto Star baseball columnist and Deep Left Field podcast host Mike Wilner will answer your questions about the Blue Jays and anything else baseball-related.