#0287 "Squirrel Playground"

This is a favourite tree just outside the Kortright Centre for Conservation Administration building and to the north during the fall of 1990. Kortright is owned and operated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). I used to be quite involved with the TRCA when we lived in Schomberg.

A black squirrel was enjoying the free meal taken from the nearby bird feeder. I was walking with my son who was 9 years old at the time. We had a family pass to the Kortright Centre and tried to visit at least once or twice a month. The staff got to know us. We would take the neighbour's kids as well. It was a safe place to enjoy nature and a stroll through the woods.

The population of black squirrels is small when compared to that of the gray squirrel. Black squirrels are a relatively rare mutation between the eastern gray and fox squirrel. If a black squirrel has two copies of the mutant colour gene it will be jet black. One mutant gene and one normal gene will produce a mixed brown and black squirrel.

The black squirrels were predominant throughout North America prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. The old growth forests were everywhere and the dark fur allowed them to hide effectively in the shadows from predators like owls and hawks which love squirrels. The low albedo black fur also gave them a cold weather advantage. The thick forests are not as abundant anymore and gray squirrels are more camouflaged in the new environment.

The Kortright Centre opened in 1982 to become an example of excellence in the field of sustainable technology. We have implemented the best of those energy innovations at Singleton and I hope to do more.

Those words were written in 1991 while I was still painting in the Under the Basement Stairs Studio on Western Avenue in Schomberg and commuting to the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre in Downsview.

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