Juanita Metzger

Travel writing about local adventures around the corner and around the world.

From the Blog: Juanita Metzger

Please close Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is a place I love like no other. I fell in love with the park and the village in 2006, long before it became a desert destination of ever increasing crowds, cars and short term vacation rentals. Which is why it’s maddening to see the willful damage of this environmentally sensitive […]

New travel column for The Community Edition

New year, new column! I present, “Waterloo Region Through a Traveller’s Eye.” Throughout 2019 I’ll be writing a local travel column for The Community Edition, a print publication in the region of Waterloo. The column will feature excursions, day trips, weekend getaways or hidden gems within the urban and rural geography of our region. Each […]

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I absolutely love it when people are super passionate about their personal interests and hobbies. This is Virgil, a serious bird watcher, incredible photographer and electronics geek. At a family camping weekend (he is my husband’s cousin’s husband!), Virgil wandered down the cottage tree line with this thing... I had to know about it!! It’s a parabolic listening device and he uses it to isolate and record bird song so that he can analyze the audio with sonograms (3) and spectrograms (4,5). He built this homemade test model from plans found online, (indeed!) but it’s pretty effective. The audio output reveals patterns in bird song that are mostly hidden from our human ears. He has plans for an improved version, a lighter 2.0 with neater parabola and better microphone. Don’t worry, he’s not a spy! What’s the nerdiest thing you’ve ever made? #parabolic #birding #birdwatcher #birdwatchers #diy #listening #iamlistening #summerprojects #weekend #weekendvibes #dowhatyoulove #makersgonnamake #makersmovement #supercool

Sunrise on the Scugog River. I donated a few millilitres of blood getting these shots before 6am. #ontariosummer #sunrise #goodmorning #weekend #weekendgetaway #silhouette #scugogriver

This month, my @communityedition Hyperlocal Travel column includes a train ride with @waterloocentralrailway from St. Jacobs to Elmira, a tractor ride from Elmira to Esther and Wesley Weber’s Old Order Mennonite farm and a conversation about culture while eating thick homemade bread slathered in butter. Link in bio, naturally. This excursion in the Township of Woolwich Is a unique partnership between Kitchen Kuttings (@kitchenkuttings), Waterloo Central Railway (@waterloocentralrailway), the Elmira BIA (@downtownelmirabia) and, of course, Esther, Wesley and their family farm. At the farm, you can ask the Weber’s any questions you have about the Old Order Mennonite way of life. It’s a cross cultural experience in a way you might not expect. Go, meet your neighbours! #waterlooregion #hyperlocaltravel #hyperlocal #localtravel #travel #travellocal #explorewaterlooregion #getoutside #garden #airyourlaundrypics #elmira #ontariofarmland #farmlife #summer #crosscultural

A new favourite corner in the house filled with art from Joshua Tree, California, a place that feels like a home away from home. Every time I see this corner in the morning I can hear the crunch of walking across a sandy wash, smell creosote after the rain and feel the desert sun on my face. Art by Jaymie Arquilevich @jaymiearquilevich, Doug Blanc @zendoug1969, Bill Green @otherdesert with words by afrose fatima ahmed @afrosefatimaahmed. Unfortunately, I don’t know the artist’s name for the small mechanical looking watercolour in the middle. I bought it at Taylor Junction a few years ago at one of the art nights. The shipping container out back had several artists there at once and I’ve lost track of who it was. Otherwise, click on the image to see which work belongs to whom. Enjoy! Not pictured, but equally loved, a watercolour by Kelly Witmer @kellywitmer on a wall opposite. Lesson: Cover your walls with art! 🖼 #joshuatree #joshuatreeartists #desert #desertartists #inspiration #travel #traveleveryday #everydaytravel #artcorner

Where in the World?

Recent Destinations:

Wiltshire & Cornwall, UK
Joshua Tree, California
Haliburton, Ontario
Montreal, Quebec
Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Next Destinations:

Netherlands & Belgium

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