The years during which Jacqueline grew up were split between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Even at a young age she showed the beginnings of being a naturalist, with an intense love for nature, often bringing home something she had caught in the nearby woods, ever learning about wildlife and their habitats.
That love for nature never faded, often leading her into the forests, down twisting streams and along rocky shorelines. On several occasions she has stood motionless on the forest floor as a curious deer walked up to sniff her. Another time she has stood at dusk at the forest’s edge calling until a great horned owl landed in the pine next to Jacqueline and peered down.
Whether it be an industrious little skunk wandering the forest floor or a majestic moose grazing on a lake’s edge, Jacqueline loves to observe nature in action.

When it comes to dealing with wildlife, Jacqueline’s instincts are outstanding. Her patience and tenacity allow her to get incredibly close to wildlife and observe interactions others would miss. In the Gaspésie Mountains she was able to observe the courtship rituals of a massive bull moose during rut close up … when moose are at their testiest.

Her encounters with wildlife have been numerous… moose, fox, both black & grizzly bear, lynx, coyote, wolf, elk and deer – sometimes too close… (She’s been charged by a whitetail buck). The aspiring naturalist in her is constantly observing wildlife, their interactions … she will later apply these in one of her works of art.
Although she has never encountered a cougar in the wild she was a proponent that the Eastern cougar still lived in the Maritimes (recently confirmed in Fundy National Park).