China panics over meat-free diet for athletes

Reuters / Chinese coaches and officials are panicking that meat-free diets imposed on Olympic athletes outside their training camps are hampering their performances in the lead-up to the London Games. Chinese athletes have been ordered to minimize the risk of accidental doping from clenbuterol-tainted meat this year by steering clear of pork, lamb and beef.

Take walking to the next level

Now that summer’s here, why not consider “Pole Walking,” also known as “Nordic Walking” or “Urban Poling.” My introduction to pole walking was two years ago, when on a trip to Iceland I spotted several people using what I thought of as “hiking poles.” Back in Winnipeg, I saw a pair of walking poles in


Horse expedition to raise awareness

Two horsemen riding along a ditch in this neck of the woods may not be out of the ordinary, however, the two Albertans on horseback who passed through Shoal Lake in early June were on a mission. Leaving Edmonton on May 9, Alick Brooke and Guy Bourassa, passed the 1,000-km mark as they reached Russell

Some trails may become off limits in popular ATV-riding area

A group representing ATV enthusiasts is rallying all recreational users of public lands to fight a proposal by Manitoba Conservation to restrict motorized vehicles in a popular wildlife management area of eastern Manitoba. ATV Manitoba says all recreational users should be concerned about a proposal in the Mars Hill Wildlife Management Area (WMA) north of

Chute Key To Safety And Productivity For People And Animals

Agood, well-run chute plays a huge part in handling animals safely, reducing their stress and, more importantly, lowering the risk of injury or death for people working around the chute. Jennifer Woods has seen the good and the bad. The worst chutes I see are homebuilt or pieced together from parts of others, says Woods,


Gardening With Physical Limitations

Let’s face it, gardeners age, or, are afflicted with illnesses that can make gardening more difficult and less enjoyable. However, thanks to creative and inventive minds, there are now a wide variety of excellent tools and techniques to take some of the aches and pains out of gardening. Following are a few techniques for improving

Create A Petunia Tree

If you do not want to have an in-ground flower bed or you do not have a suitable place in your yard to put one, you might adopt an idea that I have seen several times in yards and public places in the past few years. For lack of a better name, I call the

Maintaining A Stable “House Of Cards”

Pursuing what people see as most important in life makes sense, but there’s more to life than just work. In psychology textbooks, this is illustrated via Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs,” said Greg Gibson, a clinical psychologist. Shaped like a pyramid, the bottom is occupied by basic animal needs such as water, food, sleep and warmth,


Bernie PeetPeet On Pigs – for Mar. 17, 2011

The sow’s protein and fat reserves may be severely depleted dur ing the suckling period due to the limitations of appetite, notes Dr. Bas Kemp from the department of animal sciences at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Weight and protein losses exceeding 12 per cent have been shown to result in reproductive problems such as

Selectively Feeding The Birds

I am among the many Prairie folks who enjoy feeding winter birds, and it provides a bit of cabin fever relief during the long, cold months. A favourite is the chickadee. Even on the coldest of mornings chickadees faithfully arrive at the feeders, and their cheerful “Hi sweetie” calls brighten the day. One species that