Steel Rails Across Canada

Rock slides, blasting accidents, scurvy, sunstroke,

frostbite, wild animals, swamps, high mountains:

such dangers were all in a day's work

for those who built Canada's railways.

Before the Grand Trunk Railway bridged the distance between Montreal and

Toronto, it took at least 36 hours to travel between the two cities “by stage coach”.

Remote destinations like the interior of Newfoundland and Labrador or British

Columbia, the Klondike and the Arctic were almost impossible to reach.

Railway mania...gripped Canada at various periods, but not long after the

inauguration of the first railway in 1836, people realized the advantages of

having a line through their towns.

Despite their popularity, most railways were characterized by chronic financial

problems and eventually went bankrupt or were absorbed by larger companies.

By the beginning of the Great War, there were four dominant  independents:

the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), the Canadian North Railway (CNoR…

later known as Canadian National Railway ~ CNR), the Grand Trunk

Railway (GTR) and the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP).

Difficulties

The advent of war brought the crisis to a head.  The Federal Government had

to act!  By 1923, the GnoR, the GTR and the GTP were amalgamated into

two transcontinentals.  By the 1930's automobiles and buses gained much

popularity and paved roads were becoming a familiar sight.  This crested

a decline in the railway passenger transit.  In the 1940's and 1950's, airlines

compounded the situation.  The 1960's saw the close of an increasing number

of branch lines and many companies folded.

The CPR and the CNR  could not continue operations  as they had in the past

and in 1978 the two companies combined their passenger services to

form VIA RAIL.

Positive Changes

Historically, the CPR is perhaps the best known  railway to Canadians.

It was the CPR unifying the country...geographically and politically...

that comprised John A. MacDonald's  “national dream” !

Connections to the Canadian National Railway was a promise made to both

British Columbia and Prince Edward Island to ensure their entrance into

Confederation in 1867.

               A railway line was like the “golden touch” to a town or region:

               Real Estate prices jumped!

               Employment was plentiful!

               Labourers were in demand to construct roads!

               Trains needed crew members, technicians for maintenance,

               providers of cord wood (in the early days) for fuel!

               This led to a  boom (along with other factors) in the fledgling

               travel and tourism industry!

The CPR emerged as an advertising master.  The well-heeled-travelers in the

1920's might not have appreciated the natural beauty of the Rockies and its

lakes and rivers without the man-made-pleasures of CPR's Banff Springs

Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise.

The CPR was incorporated on February 16, 1881. Less than 5 years later,

a ribbon of steel united Canada when the line to the Pacific coast was

completed with “driving the last spike” at Craigellachi, British Columbia

on November 7, 1885.

In 1909 construction began on Canada’s 2^nd transcontinental railway line…the

Canadian National Railway.  Today it is the largest railway in Canada in terms

of revenue and physical size of its rail network and is currently Canada’s only

transcontinental railway spanning from the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia  to

the Pacific coast in British Columbia.  The CNR is a public company with

22,000 employees…has been a Crown Corporation…privatized in 1995.

Due to its numerous acquisitions in both Canada and United States,

CN’s slogan is…North America’s Railway

Canadian Pacific Hotels

CP Hotels were a dream of CPR that operated a series of Hotels across Canada.

Most of these resort hotels were originally built and operated by the railway's

Hotel Department...a few were acquired from Canadian National Hotels.

Today, these are operated under the Fairmont name...and remain some of

Canada's most exclusive hotels

Today Fairmont Hotels are located in major cities across Canada and United

States and other significant tourist destinations:  Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados,

the United Emirates...to name a few.

Remote Tourist Locations

As in the state of Alaska and our Yukon Territory, where there are settlements of

villages and towns, the residents can only be accessed by “Bush Pilots”.

Canada has a couple of tourist destinations which can only be reached by railway

(two of which I am aware around James Bay). Others, probably in other provinces.

Polar Bear Express:  From Cochrane, Ontario, you travel through some of the

most beautiful and remote wilderness in this province.  The woods almost seem

haunted.  At mile 186 you arrive at Moosenee...a very unique place at the southern

tip of James Bay.  Its population of about 2500 is 85% First Nations people.

Visit a First Nation's museum and Moose Factory (not a moose-breeding facility).

Also tour Moose Cree Outdoor Discoveries and Adventures.

                                                      Ride the Rails to Historic James Bay

                                                      for a Canadian Heritage Experience!

Churchill, Manitoba:  “Polar Bear Tours” invite you to see the King of the Arctic

...its wild home in The Great White North offering exciting encounters with polar

bears as they wait for Hudson Bay to freeze over so they can begin their annual

hunt.  Churchill is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the

shore from inland in the autumn...lending the name,

                                               Polar Bear Capital of the World...

                                    to this town of Churchill's growing tourist industry.

                             There are a few ways to get to Churchill at the northern end

                             of James Bay:   dog team

                                                      stow away on a ship

                                                      drive a car along the rails...or

                                                       take the train!

..................................................................................................................

 Canada is by size, the largest country in North America

and second in the world overall (behind only Russia).

Canada is renowned world-wide for its wilderness,

for its vast untouched landscape, for its unique blend

of cultures, for its multi-faceted history

and one of the world's wealthiest countries.

“Pearl of Wisdom”

Our Dreams of this Beautiful Country

will Never Die!

(Pierre Trudeau...Prime Minister of Canada

from 1968 to 1980).

Merle Baird-Kerr … written September 17, 2012

If this has been an inspiration, you may leave a comment

(scroll down...may sign in as “anonymous”)

or e-mail...inezkate@gmail.com

Lure of the Train...Part II

(continued from Part I)

Agawa Canyon

When my son was a small boy, twice we drove my MGB to Tobermory
to visit friends. We rode the ferry to Manitoulin Island; crossing it, then bridged
to Espanola on the mainland then north to Sault Ste. Marie. One fine autumn day
with Jackie and her son, we boarded the Agawa Canyon Tour Train ~ a one-day
wilderness excursion that was truly breathtakingly brilliant with fall colours. 
We traveled 114 miles north of  The Soo. The scenery:  towering trees alongside
pristine lakes and rivers, trestles that crossed deep valleys, through awesome
granite wall formations and vast medieval forests of the Canadian Shield. 
At mile 102, the train began its descent into the canyon; hugging the canyon wall,
you travel down 500 feet over the next 10 miles to the floor of Agawa Canyon...
which was created 1.2 million years ago. Lunch was served at this stopping point
and time provided to rest, to marvel and bathe in this wilderness wonderland
and for the boys to play before our return ride to the train's station.

Real Estate Challenge

Following 15 years of teaching, I devoted five years as a full-time-mother

for our two children.  It was then I became a Real Estate Sales Representative.

One of my first listings was an “expiry” ~ a semi-detached home on Enfield

Road.  The young couple of two children had been unable to sell their property

through a previous realtor.  The lot, narrow but 210 feet in depth sided along

a trickling stream edged with silvery green weeping willows.  Sounds divine?

The drawback:  14 freight trains noisily sped by daily at the rear of their

property which prospective buyers found very disturbing!

To me, the owners stated, “After living here for two weeks, we really didn't

hear the trains anymore and buyers need to understand that. What can  you do

to sell our home and property?”

It was a “no-brainer”!  The solution was to advertise and promote this property

to...Train Lovers or Deaf Persons!  Within 30 days, I place a SOLD sign

on the standard.  The owners were ecstatic...moving to a new location

which I sold to them.

The Napa Valley Wine Train

It was Labour Day weekend in California.  Visiting my son, we spent a few days
with my nephew and his wife who lived near Oakland.  On Saturday we drove to
Yosemite to view the spectacular Half Dome and the lazy flowing Mercer River.  
For Monday, I had secretly planned  a leisurely journey through the renowned
Napa Valley. What a surprise awaited them! My nephew and his wife were ecstatic
about this venture! We boarded a unique meticulously restored train of vintage cars.

This was not just a train ride…it provided a three hour, 36 mile round trip
going from the historic town of Napa through one of the world’s most well known
wine valleys to the quaint village of St. Helena and back. 
{Guests aboard the Wine Train could enjoy a freshly prepared lunch or dinner
inside a fully restored1915 to 1917 Pullman Dining Car or the 1952 Vista Dome
car  as they pass the many lush vineyards and wineries of Napa Valley.} 
We relived the luxury and tradition of railroad dining as the steward seated us,
offering white linen service for half the journey along this scenic valley,

then led us to the comfort of the lounge car for delicious coffee and dessert.  
How Royal!

He told us the wine train had two engines, three kitchens on board
and a collection of early century rail cars that are pure "Americana". 
The tracks upon which the train runs were originally built in the 1860’s.  
I definitely felt we were “reliving history”… a marvelous and unforgettable
train experience for the four of us.

GO Transit

These trains have been operating from Burlington to Toronto for many years.

Currently, we now have three GO stations in our city....parking lots are full

during the work weeks for this rapid passenger transportation.  

VIA Rail which travels across Canada stops at our Aldershot GO Station.

The complement of the VIA Rail and GO Transit locations allows the two

companies to offer efficient train travel and connection to Pearson International

Airport and two other mid-size airlines.

GO Transit is Canada's first and Ontario's only inter-regional public transit

system...linking Toronto  with the surrounding regions of  Halton, Peel, York

and Durham.  GO Transit offers 180 train routes and 1,973 bus routes.

GO connects with every municipality transit system  in the Greater Toronto

and Hamilton areas.

Wishes

Recently, I created a “Wish List” of 10 or more things I'd like to achieve during

my lifetime ~ a few were definitely “wishful thinking” ~ others achievable!

The Rocky Mountaineer:  Although I've crossed Canada a few times...twice to

the eastern Atlantic coast and 4 or 5 times to British Columbia's Pacific Ocean,

the Joy of my Lifetime would be to travel by train from Toronto to Calgary...

then boarding The Rocky Mountaineer.

It's a picturesque experience to ride the rails north from Toronto through

the Canadian Shield’s forests and rock...then viewing the rugged shoreline

of Lake Superior, Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River areas before crossing

into Manitoba. I love the golden prairies of this province and of Saskatchewan

and the arrival in Alberta where from Calgary, one views the foothills of the

Rocky Mountains.

The Rocky Mountaineer will present the pinnacle of dramatic beauty

from its glass-domed train...breathtaking scenery of glacier-fed lakes,

majestic mountains, ferocious rivers.  Views from sea to sky...from

skyscrapers to old-growth-forests, from deep valleys to snow-capped

peaks....a Journey of Exhilarating Contrasts.

What makes a street scene beautiful

is that someone is impressed with something special

...as is a viewer of a painting in a gallery of art.

I invite you to read a subsequent article to the foregoing

titled...”Steel Rails Across Canada”

to be later posted.

Merle Baird-Kerr … written September 16, 2012

Comments are Welcome...scroll down...may sign in as “anonymous

or e-mail…inezkate@gmail.com

Lure of the Train...Part I

              It is dusk in downtown Toronto...low-hanging clouds in the darkened sky.

              The Royal York Hotel takes center stage in this scene ~ the “grand lady”

              that she is , displays her magnificent red-awning-facade with hundreds

              of interior lights ablaze with activity.  The front entry welcomes visitors

              with its pole-mounted flags...colourfully a-flutter in the evening breeze.

              Three steam-engined trains with smoke swirling into the night sky,

              enter the scene from the right....puffing gingerly along as they leave

              the prestigious Union Station on Front Street (across from the Royal

              York Hotel...for those, not-in-the-know, there is direct tunnel access

              from the Station to the Hotel's lower level and to numerous trendy

              shopping boutiques along the tunnel walkway.)

              The scene is of a “bygone era”, it seems...more like a desirable

               painting  to wall-hang in one's home. So glorious! These powerful

              locomotives are an engineering feat as their wheels clickety-click,

              clickety-click along dual rails carrying passengers or cargo to

              designated towns and cities.

Many times, I have traveled to and from Union Station to reach destinations

west, east and north.  What a vital transportation people-hub this is!  Recently,

Diana Krall, a Canadian chanteuse of  “torch music” performed live in the vast

foyer of the Station with hundreds of listeners appreciating her renditions.

Friends recently attending a cross-Canada conference held at the Royal York

Hotel (while TIFF ~ the Toronto International Film Festival ~was in full

progress), sent me a few photos of the famed Hotel...one of which was the

night picture as described above.  The trains portrayed, especially captured

my attention and clicked into my memory bank of train experiences.

Train Whistles

From my childhood farm, we could see freight trains as they rumbled the rails

a couple times a day...delivering and taking on cargo as they chugged from

station to station.  My father enjoyed the “whistles” as they crossed the

several intersections and was elated, when driving, to stop and revere

these locomotives with their snake-like trail of cars, tailed by the red

caboose.  Secretly, he yearned to be a “train engineer”.

Visit of Queen Elizabeth and King George VI

It was a huge world event when the royal couple visited Ontario on their 44-day

tour across Canada.  Brantford was only a “whistle stop” ~ the King and Queen

stepped onto a platform to welcome the immense standing crowd and receive

their ovations while gifts, flowers and flags  were presented to them.  To me,

this was the decorated “Queen's Train” as my Uncle Jim  held me in his arms

so I could see the royal couple. Today, this scene is vividly remembered!

Thousands of Miles by Train

While at College in Toronto, I longed for adventure and a summer paying job. 

With a friend, Jane (from Springfield, Mass.), we traveled by train from Toronto

to Vancouver  (“student rates”) to be assigned jobs in rural British Columbia.

We conducted 2-week camps for children, teaching crafts, games, overseeing

recreation, instructions in music and Christian principles. The summer gave us

four different locations in the mountains, the rolling hills amid lakes and rivers.

Living “on the train” 3 or 4 days each way was a true adventure.  At “whistle

stops”, we bought food stuffs for sandwiches and drinks.  At night time, we

washed our “undies” and often were fortunate to locate double seats facing

each other upon which to sleep.  Returning with Jane, we by-passed Toronto

to reach Montreal.  There was no train to Springfield until next morning.

We slept on hard benches in the station overnight.  Jane's family welcomed

me while we spent several days prior to our train return to Toronto and

studies for another year.

     Of  Interest:  Following graduation, Jane returned to 100 Mile House

      in British Columbia to marry Henry....whom she had met three years

      previously when we were there! Of course, she traveled by train.

CNR Station (Canadian National) in Hamilton

A Hamilton High School teacher friend left his position of  teaching French,

Latin and English to become a Presbyterian Church Minister.  Three  years

he spent at Trinity College (University of  Toronto) to gain his Theology

Degree.  Many Sundays, I traveled by train from Hamilton's CN Station

to Union Station in Toronto.  There, we'd attend an afternoon rehearsal

of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Massey Hall at reduced ticket cost.

Following dinner together, I'd return to Hamilton and he to his classes.

Today, the old CN Station, once elaborate in its original architectural

design has in recent  years been the center of “movie takes”.  It has now

been remodeled and updated, retaining its former beauty and attraction.

Now called LIUNA Station, it functions for social, political and

commercial events.  She was and is...one of Hamilton's Grand Ladies!

               Train Travel was Enjoyable! 

               By car or bus, I could not read without headaches.

               Trains allowed me to walk freely from “car to car”.

                I could stand at the rear of a car to feel the wind through my hair.

                I could openly view the scenery as we sped past

                I could leisurely enjoy a beverage and food  in the dining car.

                Its uniformed conductors were friendly and polite.

                Scheduled timetables were reliable.

                Accesses to and from stations were convenient.

                The train and its silvery rails were a great avenue of travel.

Story Vignettes continued on

Lure of the Train…Part II

Merle Baird-Kerr…written September 16, 2012

Comments are welcome…scroll down…may sign in as “anonymous”

Or e-mail…inezkate@gmail.com

Difference Between Rich and Poor

(by “Autumn Rose” Ernesto Cortazar)

This article, accompanied with colourfully depicting scenes, came recently to me

from one of my long supportive and inspirational readers. I was so impressed

(since I too was raised on farms until 18 years of age when I left for post-

secondary education) that I yearn to share this with you. 

The message sheds “a new perspective”!

Scene Opener:  View of a farm setting with green barn and grey silos, shed

and red-roofed home of white siding; of background woods and forefront trees;

of gently rolling land; of low crop field and green pasture grass.

One day, a very wealthy man made arrangements for his son 
to spend time on a farm. His express purpose was to show the boy
 how poor people must live.

Autumn scene of rolling hillside, ablaze in reds and golds;

of billowy white clouds against an azure sky.

On his return, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?”

“Oh, yeah,” said the son.

“So tell me...what did you learn?”

A pastoral scene of red barn and mature trees

beautifully reflected in a serene blue pond.

A close-up picture of a grey-siding barn and trees;

and four playful dogs in the foreground.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog.  They had four.   

They had a pool that reache to the middle of our garden and they have a creek 

that has no end.

A blue-water-creek that wanders through brush and trees.

We have imported lanterns in our gardens....and they have the stars at night.

Scene:  Silhouetted trees against a night sky studded with stars.

Our patio across the back of house, reaches to the front yard;  they have the whole horizon.

A grassy green field dotted with trees

stretching to the low-rise grey hills far away.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

A healthy and tall, lush cornfield...soft white clouds drifting in a pale blue sky.

We have servants who serve us ...(an elaborate staircase-foyer with apron-clad female

                                                       servants and several men, black-suited and tied)

...but they serve others.     A  farmer astride his stool, hand-milking a cow; a red

                                         tractor working in a field; hands planting a small sapling                                          tree in rich brown soil...

                                          plus a scene of many cattle grazing on a rolling hillside.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

Hampers and baskets of tomatoes and sweet green peppers;

of red potatoes and green beans; of lettuce and hot chili-peppers;

of carrots, radishes, corn and apples;

plus planted rows of produce later to be  harvested.

We have walls around our property to protect us.”

Scene:  A  ripening field of grain with family and neighbours

chatting together (who  protect each other).

The boy's father was speechless!

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

A glorious night time view of the farm

with buildings, silos and trees ~  their shapes

highlighted afore the orange sunset

Isn't Perspective a Wonderful Thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks

for everything we have...instead of worrying about

what we don't have.

Scene:  A golden sunset blazened across farmland

and of buildings, trees and a lone hydro pole.

APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE THING YOU HAVE

ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!

Scene:  A young girl with brunette hair, dressed in aqua

holding up her front skirt hem

with a grey-striped kitten nestled warmly inside.

Final Scene:  A midnight sky viewed through trees
with a full silvery moon resting on a hazy cloud.

Life is too Short
and
Friends are Too Few.
Xoxoxo

Merle Baird-Kerr...written April 3,2012
Comments welcome...may sign in as "anonymous"
or e-mail...inezkate@gmail.com 

Loggerhead Turtles Return...Part II

 A Few Quotes from “The Beach House”

 ( written by Mary Alice Monroe)

          The temperature of the sand during incubation plays a role in determining

          the sex of the hatchlings.  Cool sand produces males; while hotter sand

          brings females.

          Sea turtles travel long distances as they migrate between their feeding

          grounds and nesting beaches.  Although there are many theories, no one

          is certain how the turtles navigate their way.

“Turtle Walks”

These started decades ago as wildlife officials and volunteers combed the beaches

to mark nests and tagged turtles to keep track of their numbers.  Federal and State

laws protecting the species allow beach viewers to watch only the threatened

“loggerhead turtle” laying her eggs.

          Hatching time approaches.  Inside the nest, the baby turtle picks away

          at its shell with an egg tooth.  The hatchling will remain underground

          for several days to absorb every bit of the important yolk sac for the

          energy to survive.  It also needs to allow its curved shell to straighten.

          The hatchlings remain quiet during the heat of the day, but at night,

          they scrape with their flippers, plowing through broken shells and

          compact sand, working as a team.  This causes the floor of the nest

          to slowly rise to the surface.

David Porter, a volunteer from the Marine Life Centre (Juno Beach, Florida)

has a walkie-talkie hooked to his shorts so he can keep in contact with the

dozen volunteers spread out over a mile on the beach.  Armed with radios,

night-vision scopes and bug spray, the volunteers quickly scout the beach

for signs of a turtle emerging from the water.  Within the first two  hours,

volunteers spot 2 loggerheads , but both crawled back to the ocean before

digging a hole or laying eggs.  The long night of waiting requires patience.

About 10:30 pm the volunteers heard a commotion on their radios.

A third turtle was spotted and started digging her nest ~ a sure sign she

will stay for as long as two hours or longer.  Nearly three hours later,

the turtle makes a slow turn toward the ocean.

          The hatchlings (about 3 inches long) are drawn to the brightest light. 

          In nature, this is the white light of the moon or stars over the ocean. 

          Artificial lighting can confuse the hatchlings and lead them to death

          in tangles of beach grass or on busy streets.

          The minutes spent dashing from the nest to the sea are very

          dangerous in a turtle's life.  This is the time for predators to

          attack the hatchlings.  If and when the hatchlings reach the ocean

          and get their first taste of the sea, instinct kicks in.  The crawling

          motion is replaced with power strokes by front flippers.

          The turtle will go nonstop for twenty-four hours in what's called

          a “swimming frenzy” to reach the Gulf Stream.  Once there, it will

          hide and feed in the relative safety of enormous floats of sargassum

          weeds and flotsam.

          The hatchlings are carried by the North Atlantic system of gyres

          to the islands off West Africa where the now-dinner-plate-sized

          loggerheads may remain for a decade or more.  When seen again

          along the eastern seaboard, the juveniles have grown considerably

          in weight and size.

          Hatchlings dine on small snails, microplankton and invertebrates.

          After they reach adulthood, their powerful jaws can crush heavy-

          shelled crustaceans and creatures that reside in reefs and rocks.

          Jelllyfish...are like candy treats!

“Turtle Friendly” Rules to Follow at the Beach

LIGHTS OUT!  Turn off the lights at dusk that are visible from the beach!

Close blinds and drapes on beach-facing-windows. Use motion sensor

security lights instead of outdoor porch lights.

STAY AWAY FROM NESTS!  Do not touch or disturb turtle nest markings.

Walking on the nest can crush the eggs below.  Please keeps pets on a

leash away from the nest.

DON'T PICK UP THE HATCHLINGS!  Crawling to the surf on their own

helps them to orient when they enter the sea.  When the female is mature

in twenty years, they will return to nest.

FILL IN THE HOLES!  Baby turtles can navigate a footprint, but large

moats around sand castles, etc. can trap them  Adult seas turtles can be

trapped as well.

QUITELY OBSERVE A NESTING TURTLE from a distance.  If the

mother turtle is disturbed by lights or people, she may abandon her

effort to nest.  Stay behind the turtle so that she can't see you and

do not try to touch her.

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY!  Both the adult turtle and the

hatchling can be disoriented by the bright light.  It may be tempting,

but please avoid flashes from cameras or the white light of  flashlights.

REMOVE BEACH AND BOAT LITTER!  Balloons, plastic bags and

other non-degradable pollutants cause the deaths of turtles who try to

eat them.

THANK YOU!

Mary Alice Monroe dedicated this book

to her 13 fellow members  of the...

Isle of Palms/Sullivan's Island Turtle team

    and to all Turtle Volunteers here and elsewhere

who walk the beaches every morning

  to help our beloved loggerheads.

........................................

Consider the Turtle

Consider the turtle!  Perchance  you have worried , despaired of the world,

meditated the end of life...and all things seem rushing to destruction, but

nature has steadily and serenely advanced with the turtle's pace. 

The young turtle spends its infancy within its shell.  It gets experience

and learns the way of the world  through that wall.  While it rests warily

on the edge of its hole, rash schemes are undertaken by men and fail.

French empires rise or fall, but the turtle is developed only so fast..

What's a summer?

Time for a turtle's egg to hatch.  So is the turtle developed, fitted to

endure for he outlives twenty French dynasties.  One turtle knows

several Napoleans.  They have no worries, no cares, yet...has not

the great world existed for them as much as for you?

Henry David Thoreau

Journal ~ August 28, 1856,

Believe I shall reread this fantastic and inspiring, novel, The Beach House,

about Caretta Rutledge who heads back to the scenic Lowcountry

of her childhood summers (just as her life is spinning out of control).

Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful

ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide

“turtle lady” and renews old acquaintances long thought lost.

Merle Baird-Kerr … written September 4, 2012

Comments welcome...scroll down...may sign in as “anonymous”

or e-mail...inezkate@gmail.com

Loggerhead Turtles Return...Part I

The magnificence of Internet ~ the camera, the location, the photography,
the story. Recently, my son forwarded a sensational picture of baby loggerhead
sea turtles (about 20 or more) scrambling and hustling to the seawater for their
lives' survival. The drama of this photo recalled to my memory a novel I read

several years ago ~ The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe telling of

a woman's return to the family's island beach  house along the South

Carolina coast and becomes a “turtle lady”.

          “What is a loggerhead?”...I asked myself:

            a)  a tropical sea turtle with a hard shell and large head

            b)  a stupid fellow or blockhead  

            c)“at loggerheads” is to be in disagreement; in a quarrel

Loggerheads are oceanic turtles throughout the world inhabiting

the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Indian ocean/sea waters. 

The females tend to return to the beach on which they were

hatched...every 2 to 3 years to nest.  Mating season usually

starts around late March and may extend until early June. 

An adult loggerhead may weigh 170 to 350 pounds or more.

The female comes ashore to lay her 80 to 150 ping-pong sized

eggs in the nest that is 18 to 22 inches deep in the sand. 

They usually hatch within 45 to 65 days.

An estimated 14,000 females nest in the southern US each year

from South Carolina to Florida.  If the hatchlings make it to shore

...and eventually adulthood, they may live 30 to 50 years or more.

Preceding each chapter are loggerhead facts to inform the reader.

My recent blog, Mourning Dove Family III, so immensely impressed

me.  The parents are so loving, so dedicated, so protective of their

two-egg-babies called squabs...caring for them 24 hours a day

(2 weeks of incubation and 2 weeks of raising these wee ones

to a mature physical size enabling them to fly with their parents).

Now “time to face the world” learning how to survive!

          At last, the loggerhead arrives in familiar waters.   She waits

          in the swells near shore as a moon rises above the Atlantic.

          Her home is the sea, but instinct demands that she leaves

          all she knows and face the unknown dangers of the beach

          to nest.  Is it safe here...or should she swim further on?

          She has a keen sense of smell and even keener instinct

          for survival ~ one that has kept the species alive

          since prehistoric times.

How different the lifestyle of mating pairs of Mourning Doves and

the Mother Turtle who lays her eggs and then lumbers back to sea water

...never to return to her nest:

          leaving her eggs to “hatch alone”

          leaving the baby turtles to alone dig out of the sand

          and totally alone against predators

          and totally alone as they dash across the beach sand

          to reach deep water's safety.

Only one sea turtle out of 10,000 will ever reach adulthood

because she has left her 3-inch-long-hatchlings to wiggle out of

their sandy pits, into the water and away from the many predators

lurking nearby.  Some never make it out of the nest before they

are snatched up by some marine birds, by some land animals,

by reptiles and by humans (who illegally sell turtle eggs...

considered an aphrodisiac in some Caribbean culture).

          Though the mother loggerhead is tired and hungry,

          her work is just beginning.  She will nest an average

          of four times during this season, resting two weeks

          between each nest.

          Under the cloak of night, the loggerhead comes ashore.

          She slowly drags her body in a tanklike crawl to a dry

          sight high on the beach.  Only the female comes ashore.

          If the site doesn't feel right or encounters a root or rock,

          or if  senses an intruder, the loggerhead will return to the

          sea without laying her eggs...(known as a “false crawl”)

          The turtle uses her hind flippers in an elaborate digging

          ritual, alternately digging out scoops of sand to create

          an egg chamber  She then deposits her leathery covered eggs

          into the nest cavity, laying 2, 3 or 4 ping-pong sized eggs

          at a time.  While she labours, the loggerhead's eyes stream

          with tears.  These “turtle tears” are produced to rid her body

          of excess salt from drinking salt water.

          Her eggs laid, the mother loggerhead now uses her rear

          flippers to rake sand over her nest and her front flippers

          to throw sand to disguise the area.  When her work is done,

          the mother lumbers back to the safety of the sea.

          She'll never return to her nest.

Dear Readers....In Part II...I write about the Volunteers and their

contributions to the protection of these loggerheads.

I leave you with this quote from

Mary Alice Monroe's novel...the Beach House:

Life's most precious lessons ~

True love involves sacrifice.

Family is forever

Mistakes of the past can be be forgiven.

Merle Baird-Kerr … written September 3, 2012

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