A Day in Algonquin Park

The design and presentation of this record is very official, as if a historical document of reality, but behind the veneer of logos and federations and species identification, there lies a poetic longing that strikes my heart.

Recorded when? Not sure, exactly, but the recording presents an opportunity to transport yourself out of urban existence into the outdoors of Ontario. Close your eyes and listen.

The album's organization mimics the two sides of life outside - Side A: "Morning and Afternoon;" Side B: "Evening." I can picture William W.H. Gunn donning a rough khaki-coloured canvas suit, perhaps a pipe in teeth, canoeing across lakes and walking through trails with his state of the art recording equipment in a trusty wannigan with a leather strap.

The hubris of human activity, so often at the forefront of our consciousness, fades as the needle tracks into the groove and I feel the wind blow and the calls of the whip poor will and loons stimulate memories; I sink into reminiscence.

The loon plays a central role on this recording, as it not only appears on the front, stately and striking, but it is also called the "lord of the lake" in the write up on the back. And the "Evening" side devotes at least 3 minutes to a medley of poignant loon calls.

As Gunn writes in liner notes, "the loon's wild rolling sound echoes off the rocky shore and reaches us faintly through the muffling mist. It is a sound to store in memory against the long winter until we can once again hear the loons in their own land."

This record is the product of meticulous work, driven by a sense of purpose but also longing. It is designed by and for city dwellers who enjoy the outdoors and equate time in the wilderness with peace and happiness.

The visual presentation, though simple and austere, is pleasing and quaint, from the font, to the prose style, to the short track at the end of either side, when Gunn's voice announces each species, and then plays them in order: "common toad...(toad calls); bullfrog chorus...(bullfrog chorus)."

I picture a Wes Anderson character traipsing through Algonquin, microphone in hand, ready to document and categorize.

Gunn's role call has become a favourite in our house, as my son often mimics, "common toad," and then screams like a toad and laughs.

The sleeve was printed in Dryden, Ontario, courtesy of Alex Wilson Publications, and for an "illustrated brochure describing the other records in the series write to: Federation of Ontario Naturalists; Don Mills, Ontario."