Testimonials
Discover what our members have to say about the adventures they have been on with the Montreal Field Naturalists Club.
Audrey
We had a great walk on Mont Rigaud. The approach to our favourite hiking trail is called the potato
field, an open area covered in small smooth ovoid rocks. Legend has it that God turned a local farmer’s
potato crop into rocks as a punishment for working on Sunday. However according to the geologist that
led the outing they were polished and rounded by glaciers during the ice age and were left behind when
the glaciers retreated. After the scramble we had a nice hike to the top and were rewarded with lunch
and a splendid view.
Jack
It was a beautiful, sunny day when we walked to the highest point in Mont Saint Bruno Park along easy
leaf strewn trails. From the Summit we could see fields, forests, the St Lawrence River and highways
with the skyscrapers on Montreal on the horizon. We walked back around Lac Seigneurial and ate lunch
in the picnic ground. After lunch we saw the old mill and an attractive stone bridge. Mont Saint Bruno
offers an overall magnificence that begs to be experienced.
Isabel
Every year the club has an outing to a Sugar Shack to celebrate sugaring-off. One member remembers a
much enjoyed meal. “To mention a bill of fare, the 16 of us started with pea soup accompanied by
crusty bread and pâté. The table was soon laden with pickles, beets, and fried bacon curls – pigs’ ears.
The ham, potatoes, omelet, baked beans accompanied by maple syrup was appreciated by our hungry members. Dessert of pancakes, sugar tarts and doughnuts was quickly devoured. The music was
accompanied by an unexpected hail storm falling on the tin roof.”
Geoff
From the footbridge in Parc de Nature Île Bizard we observed male mallards swimming and their mates
sitting on nests, a common moorhen, a Canada goose nesting on a beaver lodge, a tree swallow taking a
feather to a nesting box, a great crested flycatcher and painted turtles basking in the sun – not bad for
one morning. My first prize would go to a moss-covered log for playing host to miterwort, squirrel corn
and jack-in the pulpit. The bright green ostrich fern stood out like a vase with a narrow base and a flared
top. Beautiful!
