If you've never seen someone toss what is essentially a tree around, this weekend you'll have your chance. The New Brunswick Highland Games Festival is on in Fredericton. One of the big draw is the heavy events, organized by Joe Hall, where people can see everything from the hammer to the caber toss.

Last week, our birder Alain Clavette was celebrating the return of semipalmated sandpipers at Johnson's Mills. This week, he's getting up close and personal at the annual Sandpiper Festival in nearby Dorchester.

The YMCA of Greater Moncton is looking for young people interested in helping out the community while gaining some important job skills. The Y is one of 10 locations across the country piloting the YMCA Community Action Network (or YCAN). Coordinator Kayla Cruickshank says the program is geared toward people between the ages of 15 and 30.

Between the time travel and the romance, there's a lot of real Scottish history in the popular Outlander series. James Finnie is a re-enactor, better known perhaps as Jacobite James. His group The Gallus Gael will be in Fredericton this weekend for the Highland Games with a workshop called Outlander - Facts Behind the Fiction.

The Tour of Hope started in Edmundston and some 140 cyclists already covered some of the most difficult terrain in the province. It's a 650-kilometre-long fundraiser for the Tree of Hope campaign, ending in Moncton by suppertime on Sunday. Dr Carole Williams is the president of the 2018 tour and says they're raising funds for women's health.

Queen Street Creamery is a new ice cream truck run by Patti Hollenberg, the owner of Fredericton's Chess Piece Pâtisserie & Cafe. Hollenberg started the truck this summer, and her ice cream has two main ingredients: Produce bought at local farms and a good dose of imagination.

There's something magical about watching fireflies in the summer. They wiggle about, all aglow. But as Michael Edwards of Science East is fond of saying: "There's nothing magical about it - that's science!"

The Highland Games are on in Fredericton this weekend. There will be lots of amazing feats of strength at the heavy events, as well as music and workshops - and a big Highland Dance competition organized by Nicole Odo of the Nicole Odo School of Highland Dance.

A new study found that people living near natural water may live longer lives. Dr. Dan Crouse at the University of New Brunswick said he found a 12 to 17 per cent reduction in mortality rates.

The province now suspects that blue-green algae may be the cause for the deaths of three dogs that visited the St. John River in recent days. Veterinarian Katie Bell says the algae can cause death. She also warns about overheating and dogs consuming too much fresh water at once during the hot summer days.