b'.IN CASE YOU MISSED IT .(from our January 2021 on-line Newsletter)LATE BREAKING NEWS!!Mike Kapustin has observed a lot of wildlife at his waterfront home on Scugog Island, but by far, the most mi-raculous thing he has ever seen is the mythicallakemonsterScugaPuga. After 20 years of occasional sightings, Mikenally got a good photograph of Scuga Puga in December of 2020.Maybe its just aoating log, cov-ered with weeds and bits of lattice, Mike admitted, but the image clearly has two large eyes rimmed with white, andmaybe,justmaybe,itreallyis Scuga Puga. The photo taken from his upstairs window de nitely resembles the six-foot long lake monster.Mike, known as Gido (Ukrainian for grandfather) to hisve grandchil-dren, always delighted the little ones with tales about Scuga Puga, which startedsomethinglikethis:Once upon a time, a littlesh saw this big monster inthewater.Mikesh wouldjustlethisimaginationrun wild.If a boat overturned on the water,HissonBretthastwodaughters,capture the image of a red fox against he recalls. It was Scuga Puga whoDevon, 21, and Julia, 18. They all grewthe white snow, the beaver chopping helped to right it. If logs were trav- uphearingexcitingtalesofScugadown the giant willow tree, the antics elling on the waves, that was ScugaPuga.of the muskrats, ducks, geese, rabbits Pugas doing. Sometimes Scuga PugaAlthoughhisgrandchildrenareand raccoons, which his wife names was scary and sometimes Scuga Pugaolder now, they still ask about Scugaand makes up childrens stories about washelpfulandsometimesScugaPuga. Mikes family was all amazed(such as Molly the Mole.)Puga was mischievous. at what they saw when they zoomedOne of the amazing things they Whatever news there was on thein on his recent photo of the belovedhaveobservedwasablueheron lake, I would relate it to Scuga Puga,fantasy lake monster. catching ash and o ering it to a stat-Mikesaid.HeevenrecreatedsongI still add Scuga Puga into storiesue of a tin heron that they had put up lyrics to add in his favourite character,about everyday life, Mike says. Weas a decoration near the dock.Scuga Puga, when singing to the kids.laugh about it. But the most amazing spectacle A retired carpenter, aged 67, MikeForover25years,Mikeandhisof all, of course, wasnally getting a invented Scuga Puga when hiswifeJosephinehaveenjoyedlivinggood look at Scuga Puga, with photo- rst granddaughter, Fallon, was a toddler.on Scugog Island. Their naturalizedgraphic evidence! Maybe, like Santa Shes 21 now. Her sister Jaydyn is 17shoreline draws an interesting mix ofClaus, Scuga Puga is real, if only you and their brother Teagan is 10. Theywildlife. Mike says that he wishes hebelieve.are the children of his daughter Tina.had his camera ready at all times, toBy Lynn Campbell, Focus on Scugog8 FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2021'