One thing we’re discovering more and more about the Boreal Forest in and around the Forest House area, is that it is truly diverse, possibly unique, and most definitely full of botanical surprises. The old saying ” Familiarity breeds contempt” may be applicable to those of us (the staff), who spend time at Forest House regularly. It goes without saying that we deeply love and enjoy at the lodge, but often, our daily routine doesn’t allow us to pick up on the things that are happening in the forest on a day to day basis. Fortunately, our guests have a way of  keeping us “honest”. They are continuously finding things in the forest we haven’t noticed, and asking us questions about the plants, the flowers,  the varieties of lichen, the many types of mosses, and simply unbelievable growth in this area.

One example of this, was a visit from our web designer, Zane Hrynewich, and his wife, Velda, early in July, this summer. Zane and Velda are not strangers to northern Saskatchewan. They had spent close to two decades summering at Wadin Bay, on Lac La Ronge, a little south of our home base at Missinipe. In that time, they had pitched their tent in many places, and experienced a great deal of what northern Saskatchewan has to offer. As soon as they arrived at Forest House, they marvelled at the richness of growth in the forest – the deep mosses carpeting almost everywhere they walked – the almost “tropical” growth – the sheer “richness” of the Boreal Forest in and around Forest House.

The night before their last day at the lodge, somebody found a book in the library about “Northern Native Wildflowers”. Zane and Velda, along with their Forest House hostess, (and friend), Evalisa McIllfaterick decided it would be a “cool” idea to walk the many hiking trails at Forest House, equipped with this book to see how many of the species of flowers, mosses, grasses, and lichens included in the book they could locate and photograph. The plan was to spend the entire day in this undertaking. Unfortunately, an early afternoon thunder shower limited their efforts to a mornig hike, lasting just under two hours. The amazing thingis, in this short period of time, the trio located and documented an impressive array of botanical wonders in the Forest House Boreal Forest. Who knows what they may have found if they had the entire day?

Their experience has opened our eyes to just how unique the Boreal Forest Eco-system is at Forest House. In fact, we can’t wait for next spring, so we can get back up there to see how many more varieties of plant life we can find. Meanwhile, here are a few things Zane and Velda discovered on their short walk.

Zane’s Rock

 Zane found this rock – he didn’t have to look very hard. It sits about twenty-five yards behind “Willow”, his and Velda’s cabin during their stay. In fact, this rock sits right next to the starting point for one of our many hiking trails, this one the one Zane, Velda, and Ev explored that day. Zane was captivated by this rock, which we now call “Zane’s Rock”. He could not believe the amount of growth and diversity of mosses, lichens, and plants that made this rock their very own little Eco-system.

Wild Flowers

Mosses, Lichens, Fungi, & Other Cool Stuff