Marc Messier

@kvallevand @OntarioParks @Algonquin_PP Cute! Great shot Karen.

Thank you @OntarioParks for your hard work protecting all the wildlife! My favourite at @Algonquin_PP is the Pine Marten! Happy #WorldWildlifeDay

@Lance_Valcour I Love this Lance! The struggle is real. You are not alone. Stay safe and keep healing.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Sometimes it looks like learning to play again. This week, a children’s song confronted me with something uncomfortable. I listened to Puff the Magic Dragon again for the first time in years. As a child, I heard a gentle melody. As an adult, I dismissed it. This time, I finally understood it. It isn’t about dragons. It’s about the quiet moment when a boy stops returning to the cave — and the dragon waits alone. And I realized something uncomfortable. I didn’t just grow up. I grew heavy. Policing will do that. Years of walking into other people’s worst days. Years of carrying stories that don’t leave when the shift ends. Years of seeing the underside of humanity. It hardens you. Sometimes it breaks you. And layered on top of that were my own struggles — addiction, mental health battles, the internal wars that many of us fight quietly. If they only knew. Those years were not light. Somewhere in all of that, something disappeared. Not just innocence. Imagination. I used to lie on my back and see shapes in the clouds. Castles. Ships. Faces. Somewhere along the way, the clouds became weather systems. Nothing more. I thought that was maturity. Then I listened to that song again. And over the past four years, as I’ve looked at my three grandsons, something has been reborn. Now I am the friendly monster stomping through the house: “Fee, Fye, Fo, Fumm…” They scatter and hide. I search with exaggerated menace. I threaten to eat their toes. They blast me with invisible weapons and I collapse — “I’m melting… oh no…” — until they run in and resurrect Papa with kisses. The other day I sat down and coloured dinosaurs. I hadn’t done that in decades. I tell them stories about a prince who saves a kingdom — not because he is the strongest, but because he once stopped to help a fish, a fox, an ant. Kindness returned when it mattered most. I will never be innocent again. But something is returning. The past is real. The struggles are real. My shame is real. And yet, when I look up now — at fair-weather cumulus drifting across a winter sky — I sometimes see shapes again. Puff didn’t disappear. Jackie stopped showing up. For many years, I stopped showing up to wonder. If you’re still in the uniform. If you’re still carrying the weight. If you’re still telling yourself you’ll rest later… Go play with your kids (or your family's / friends' kids). Don’t wait until you’re Papa (or Nana). Don’t wait until retirement. Don’t wait until the damage forces you to slow down. The cave is still there. By the grace of God — and the laughter of three small boys — I am beginning to explore that cave again. #Imagination #Recovery #GrandpaLife #MentalHealth #FirstResponder

A frozen #Ottawariver on a very cold January day. #Canada #Ontario #Mattawa #YoursToDiscover #WinterWonderland #Winter #CanadaWonderland #OntarioTravel #DiscoverCanada #DiscoverOntario

A frozen #OttawaRiver on a very cold January day. #Mattawa

@earthcurve89 Happy New Year to you too Steve. Wishing you all the best.

@MessierOnFire Just wanted to wish you a Great 2026, Marc, and hope all is well, sir😉

@earthcurve89 That’s very kind of you Steve. Wishing all the best as well.

@MessierOnFire Just wanted to wiah you a Merry Xmas Marc, and hope all is well in retirement.......😉

‼️‼️‼️PLEASE SHARE‼️‼️‼️ With temperatures rising into the pluses today, ice conditions can change quickly. Please stay off the ice. Remember, no ice is safe ice. 🚫🧊🚫

‼️‼️‼️PLEASE SHARE‼️‼️‼️ Today one of our Sector Chiefs encountered an 11-year-old skating on unsafe ice at Mahogany Landing in Manotick and asked him to leave due to open water. We’ve seen many community groups raise concerns about kids on unsafe ice. Please stay off the ice. No ice is safe ice. 🚫🧊🚫 #OttNews

@TimTierney @580CFRA @kristycameron Signs don’t work! This is in a 40 km zone residential street. Car clocked at 103. Just one of many. Ford is making a huge mistake is removing speed cameras from school zones especially

🎙️ Had a fantastic time on @580CFRA with @KristyCameron – thanks for having me! 📸 Huge thanks for the warm welcome… and yes, that giant “SCHOOL SAFETY ZONE – FINES INCREASED” sign absolutely stole the spotlight. 🚸 ( of note Kristy is a very tall lady ) We are listening. They wanted bigger brighter signs great. They want us to ditch the non-school zone cameras. No problem ( we only have a couple ) But please save the school cameras. You can even set the times they go off and you have the power to set the speed limit they go off at.

@harry_fosters Great shots Harry!

The Blue Jays are migrating up the river and some stop by for a visit. Today was such a day.

So sorry to hear of Ruth Cull's passing. #MollyPenny brought smiles to everyone she met at @CHEO. She will be missed and remembered by everyone who's lives she touched. @KatieGriffinCTV @OPFFALocal_162

@StuntmanStu I think the loss of driving privileges would also be warranted.

@MessierOnFire 5k fine should wise people up

The more I walk the more I'm seeing drivers with their phones in their hands. Put the FKing phones down. It's all drivers, not just kids. Yes I used to text & drive so I'm not perfect

@Sue_HBS Thank you Sue.

@MessierOnFire So sorry for your loss.

"There is no greater joy, and no greater pain than loving a dog to the very end" ~ unknown. We couldn't let you suffer. We will love you forever. Goodbye my friend 🐕‍🦺

@MargMacDonald Thank you Margaret

@MessierOnFire I'm so, so sorry, Marc. Losing a beloved pet is devastating. You are in my heart and my thoughts 💔

@NancyPa36563217 Thank you Nancy

@MessierOnFire So sorry for your loss❤️‍🩹

@wiscombe_dale1 Thank you Dale.

@MessierOnFire So sorry for your loss 😢

@Remedyke Pets are pets. Like family

@MessierOnFire That's so hard. Been through this but with cats. I feel for you

@realsassysally Their memories last a life time but unfortunately they don’t. Sorry for your loss and thank you. 💔

@MessierOnFire We still feel it yrs later even with our new pups. Its always in the back of our minds for the next heartbreak that comes eventually. Til then we try not to think about it. It's worth it but man its painful. I'm so very sorry for your loss❤️

@plumberbuzz Sorry to hear Elizabeth and thank you. They sure capture our hearts.

@MessierOnFire My sympathies. We lost our sweet pup last Friday and it's awful. Hugs