Monday's Approach

Maybe the day is not

One of your favourite, but

Never forget that every

Day you wake up is an

Amazing gift and it's up to

You to make it count!

I believe Awesome Things

will happen ~ because it's Monday.

Mondays in the Classroom

Usually the beginning of a 5-day week, students (mostly) face it as a new day...not only learning lessons of interest...also to re-greet their classmates. For the teacher, it's opportunity in senior grades, to develop programs that increase daily from Monday to Friday: History, Geography and Science are prime examples ~ for by the 5^th day, like a mural, the topic has developed and eyes have been opened to reveal the lessons' essence. The highlight for each day will vary from student to student. For some it's Phys Ed and often 'after school sports'. For others, it's music and art. A place for the very literate, may be English Comp and Lit in which they craft their interests.

And when 4 p.m. Friday arrives, it's time to 'punch the clock'!

I bid 'adieu' to my students who merrily exit (with assignments to complete)...

they'll hang out with neighbouring friends...and enjoy family activities.

Are Mondays mundane? Are they a myriad of tasks to perform?

Are they a maze through which to maneuver?

Susie Moore, a life-coach columnist and confidence coach in New York City

stated she used to experience sickly, low, unshakable moods around 4 or 5 pm every Sunday...her low point every week and couldn't get rid of it.. Realizing life was too important to waste hours on a Sunday ~ and if Monday is not your friend, she gives some tips on how to at least not make it your foe.

Savour that Sunday Sleep: Having 5 mimosas...fries...vodka soda for dinner led to a series of bad choices.Throwing away my hard-earned dough, I was making myself feel physically heavy and unable to sleep properly...gave me a headache on Monday ~ tired and a guilt-fuelled start to the week.Instead, on Sundays, do a bit of meal-prep...catch up on some reading...consider what you'll wear tomorrow...select the uplifting podcast episode that'll see you through your morning commute.

Having a List of 5 or so action items to complete through the week, will help you feel in control and focused on Monday morning.What do you need to complete? Who do you want to see or reach out to?

What's lingering on that Notes section of your phone full of recent reminders? Creating a short list of what will make your week satisfying helps you stay on track. Being pro-active feels powerful.

Infuse Monday with a Little Fun: Someone asked me the other day, “How do you like to spend your weekend?” I answered, “I treat all days pretty equally: some writing...some correspondence...and definitely some fun! Go to a movie...have sushi with a friend...have your co-worker for a glass of wine and a little cheese. Mondays feel way different when your week is punctuated with pleasure. And why? Because,' living for the weekend is depressing'!

Make a Change: Maybe you need a vacation or to look for a new job! Think, what type of life do I really want? Is this it? If not, don't ask what's wrong? Ask what's missing! In many cases: rest...coffee...and music will have you back on track. If not, your emotions are great data, highlighting a shift you need to make. One way or another, Mondays can become bearable ~ even joyful, if you allow them. Because your happiness is not dictated by a calendar ~ it is dictated by you!

It's Monday! Get a new perspective!

Whatever obstacle you're facing, it's not permanent.

Edmond Miaka,who loves Mondays, declares:

When you start to do things you truly love, it wouldn't matter

whether it's Monday or Friday.

You would be so excited to awaken each morning

to work on your passions.

Sister Mary Lauretta states,

“To be successful ~ the first thing to do

is to fall in love with your work.”

Wake up every Monday

knowing that you can create something amazing this week!

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written October 23, 2018

Comments appreciated: mbairdkerr@bell.net or inzkate@gmail.com

Life of Hippo

Said he to the English speaking world: You may consider me 'real hip'

which means I am well informed.

Knowledgeable and cognizant I also am!

Inhabitating the rivers and swamps in Africa's sub-saharan,

the Greek called us Hippopotamus

which to them meant River Horse.

The name, disliked by my father ~ he called us simply Hippos!

We're large semi-aquatic mammals;

our bodies, not only large, are barrel-shape.

We have short legs and enormous heads!

Our skin is greyish to muddy brown

fading into pale pink on our undersides.

The largest land mammal on Earth (first place to the Elephant),

we males measure about 3.5 metres tall and weigh up to 3200 kg.

(That's as much as 3 small cars)

and on occasion, we can run up to 23 km/hr.

Staying cool in Africa's heat,

we Hippos spend most of the day in our watery homes.

Our eyes, noses and ears located on the top of our heads,

we can SEE and BREATHE when water-submerged.

Protecting our skin from drying out, we sweat a liquid, oily red

that 'sunblocks' our skin above water.

We spend up to 16 hours in the water per day

and then at night, we hunt for food.

Travelling about 6 miles overland, grazing along single paths,

we consume some 600 pounds of grass.

With a mass of food eaten, we can go 3 weeks without another morsel.

Despite our enormous size, great swimmers we are ~

holding our breath underwater for up to 5 minutes.

When completely submerged,

our ears and nostrils fold shut to keep out the water.

We live in groups called herds (about 10 to 20 hippos)

led by one dominate male.

The other members are females...their young...and a few males non-breeding.

The dominate males of the herd are protective of all in the herd.

To ward off 'rival mouths' ~ we open our mouths

to display our long curved and viciously sharp ivory canines!

We make loud grunts ~ and aggressively splash water upon them.

Now, I must relate how I met Potamus.

Her father, the dominate male of his herd,

requested that upon his death (due to prolonged illness),

I supervise his daughter ~ and raise her as my own.

Loving and kind ~ she was admired by all in my herd.

Females hippos (called cows) give birth every 2 years

usually a single calf...as told to me by Potamus.

Soon after birth, the mother and babe unite with other cows and calves

for protection from predators: crocodiles, lions and hyenas.

The calves at birth weigh nearly 100 pounds ~

and can suckle on land or under water by closing their ears and nostrils.

Potamus contentedly lived with my herd in nearby waters.

When of age, she yearned for a babe to honour her Pah.

I sought for a male who'd love her and care ~

and who, in the future would become a dominate

offering her stability and status within his herd.

* * * * * * *

Hippos once had a wider distribution

but now live in Eastern, Central and Southern Sub-saharan Africa

where their population is seriously in decline.

Wild hippos live for around 40 years.

In captivity they may live up to 50 years.

Sadly, populations have further declined due to habitat loss

and now are largely contained in protected areas of East African countries.

One tourist, describing hippos said,

“They are big, bulky ~ and with one serious chomp ~ they can deliver!”

Notations: A hippo's size is compared to a 6-foot man.

Predators, like crododiles and lions, are safer when avoiding the most aggressive animal on Earth

the Hippopotamus!

Tanzania is reported to sell nearly 4 tons of 'hippo ivory'

(the world fearing it'll lead to more poaching)

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written June 11, 2018

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@bell.net or inezkate@gmail.com

Symbolism

Symbols are marks of character...emblems of significance...

representative of something...can be a numeral or alphabet letter.

We use 'symbols' in everyday life ~ consider these: the forefinger and middle finger, when outstretched represent the letter V; occasionally a driver using the middle finger, signals an obsene message to another in rudeness; even pointing a finger at something, suggests another pereson view it; and I recall this gesture of a waving forefinger by a parent as instruction to heed a desirable behaviour.

My vehicle licence plate represents 3 things: the RI is Rotary International, an organization in which I was a member for many years...the 01 and 07 are odd numbers which I prefer.

For several years, working in the real estate industry, I wore hats...and it wasn't long before being recognized as The Hat Lady. To a male realtor in Mississauga, the symbol of his business was driving a Pink Cadillac. And in recent news, Pantone selected Purple as the 2018 Colour of the Year. Pantone described this hue as a dramatically provocative and thoughful 'purple shade' that communicates originality, insenuity and visionary thinking to point us to the future. Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to ultra-violet ~ associated with mindful practices...which offers a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today's over-stimulated world. This purple shade inspires the desire to pursue a world beyond our own. (And if that isn't sufficient positive direction, 'Purple' inspires Benevolence...Enlightentment...and Psychic Powers!)

The Burlington Teen Tour Band was recently colour featured on a full page of The Hamilton Spectator. Why? Impressive it was!!! Dressed in their gold-trimmed red uniforms and black-topped hats: two members carrying a banner: Burlington Teen Tour Band...Celebrating 70 Years. Behind them was a Drum Corp (?) or is it the Colour Guard (?) with a dozen teens carrying numerous flags waving in the breeze...as they welcomed in the huge musical contingent behind them...all marching to the music played! They stole the street scene with full seated bleachers along the curbed street.

And these are Our Burlington Teens who upon previous invitation(s)

have marched in this parade, I believe, photographed in Pasadina, California.

Alerting you to the foregoing is for 2 reasons as disclosed on the recent Spec page: Less than 4 months to go before California's Rose Parade on New Year's Day, the 220 Burlington Teen Tour Band members, including 60 newcomers, have to be uniformed and brought up to speed...learn to march... learn the fiield show...memorize 20 pieces of music...and get conditioned for walking the 9-kilometre parade route! For them, the Rose Parade represents the Olympics of the band world!

Only 4 international marching bands are invited to attend the parade each year.

And our teens wear their red band jackets with pride!

Life-long friendships are made and a 'band geek' knows how special it really is to be part of something so big! Be sure to watch the televised Rose Parade on New Year's Day, January 1, 2019...as I recall at 10 or 11 a.m. which in Burlington I watch on Channel 2.

The alternate reason for this dramatic photo of the Teen Tour Band marching en-masse, is that Friday, October 19...on CBC's new series CBC Docs POV (point of view) premieres this week with Band Geeks included in the program. Film-maker, Morgan Elliot has been making documentaries for 25 years, shooting in 48 countries. She directed, wrote and produced this documentary ~ being a 'home-coming' for her ~ as she was a member of the band, herself, 4 decades ago.

Burlington proudly recognizes its Teen Tour Band...

as for a long time, a 'Symbol” of its city...

also world-wide in United States and European cities....winning several events.

Also on this colourful page are: Band Geeks who contributed to the documentary...Dylan Ngo, 14 with cymbols in hands at the Rose Parade previously in California...and the back of the red jacket reading:

BURLINGTON...Teen Tour Band...Ontario, Canada (and several circular motifs below).

If the foregoing does not instill pride with joyful tears ~ I'll be amazed!

Roam, Chew, Charm, Repeat!

A beautiful colour photo of Aurora captured my attention!

She's pleasantly happy and peaceful, nibbling on her choice food.

Aurora, a friendly Cashmere Goat owned by Wayne Terryberry

at work in McMaster Forest ~ a 115-acre site used for the university's conservation research

made the front page of The Hamilton Spectator's recent issue.

Kathy Renwald writes: Cashmere Goats at 'McMaster Forest'

might be the most hard-working and friendly 'weed killers' you'll ever meet!

“The doors open and Mona, May, Ella, Aurora and Hildy hop out of a van

and into their field of dreams. In the tall grass, the cashmere goats find their food. They will gnaw on shrubby buckthorn, trefoil, phragmites and knotweed. These invasive species are thugs of conservation lands, parks and gardens, turning rich habitats into ones dominated now by single species. The goats need very little help doing their job. The congenial little cashmere goats are gentle, friendly and love the company of humans. “When they're not weeding, they just look adorable and bulk up their cashmere coats for shearing,” stated Wayne Terryberry, co-ordinator, outdoor recreation and natural lands at his site.“Theyre a winter-hardy breed and really adapt to this environment.”

The five working in the McMaster Forest

are part of Terryberry's own herd of 30 that he keeps on his farm in Carluke.

“Goats are browsers, not grazers,” Wayne Terryberry is telling a group of McMaster University students, standing in what used to be a potato field. “They prefer to eat shrubs and new shoots of trees. The grazers (cows and deer) like grass and low-growing plants.”

The McMaster Forest is a hidden gem.

Next to the open field, a trail runs around the perimeter,

passing through about 25,000 trees being inventoried by students.

“The ash trees dominate among butternut and eastern dogwood and old-growth-sized maples, oaks and hemlocks,” says Noah Stegman, environmental science student at McMaster and co-ordinator of the conservation corridor. After McMaster bought the farm ~ and it was no longer worked, the invasive trees and shrubs moved in! It took about a year to cut down 10 acres of the nuisance buckthorn trees that formed a dense thicket...and when the trees were cleared, the goats were on duty in the field... eating new buckthorn seedlings that threatened to repeat their aggressive take-over of the land.

A herd of goats can clear an acre in a week!

Now, in addition to their browsing duties, the goats are teaching students

about sustainable ways to restore habitat diversity.

Many animals aid mankind in various ways...and how much credit do we really give them?

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written October 17, 2018

To respond: mbairdkerr@bell.ca or inezkate@gmail.com

"Hold Your Horses"

Derived from 'olden days' it commonly meant,

'Stay onto...or not' related to horse riding... travelling by horse...

driving a horse...or horse-driven vehicle.

This phrase is often combined with 'Cool your Jets!'

It is also a 19^th century signature written as 'Hold your hoss!'

(a slang term for 'horse')

From the foregoing, you may believe that I, too, am olden: raised on a farm and driving horses!

Today's interpretation:

If someone tells you to Hold Your Horses, you are doing something fast ~

and said person would like you to slow down.

A Summer Holiday Pleasure was visiting Aunt Luella and Uncle Bill on their Norwich farm.

When ploughing the fields ~ or harvesting hay and grain, Uncle Bill permitted Eileen and me to ride on the horses' backs. Such joy it was...and the horses, too...with 'light-weights' on their backs.

If only! If only! I had a horse!

Gardens and Orchards: My older sister (by 14 months) was a home-spun-gal ~ assisting Mother with household chores: gathering produce from planted vegetable gardens...prepping them for meals... dusting and brooming of porches, patios and the inner house...the wooden floors and whatever braided rugs within. We both plucked ripe fruits from the orchards...picked strawberries from a patch in a nearby field...and whatever was unused, my sister and I sold to passing drivers along Rte. 53.

We also shared the mowing of massive lawns ~ a section each day with a hand-push-mower on Monday through Saturday. The latter was 'bath night' when Mom boiled water on the stove to be added to cold water carried in pails from the outside pump and poured into a spacious metal tub...my sister and I were first to bath...then parents after us. Then we were obliged to clean everyone's shoes in preparation for Sunday Church and Sunday School classes. It was always a family-reserved 'dress-up day'...and a special day when my sister and I could play with our dolls. Of course, the cows were milked... all animals fed...even the chickens preparing to roost...regardless of being Sunday.

Daily Chores: Early each morning, the rooster loudly crowed to waken his hens (and us). Daily, we gathered the eggs that the hens cackled about ~ placing them gingerly in a box...and when more...placed them in our pockets (until forgotten when placed there) and then with a hip-push to open the door...such messy, messy pockets to clean! Before sending us to school, Mother made lunches and braided our hair.

Without a 'Farm Hand' for my father: I was It! I loved the horses...the sheep and their lambs; also the cows for their milking...but not for their smelly trenches. YUK! I always smiled, when sitting astride his milking stool, Dad would squeeze a cow's teats...and there beside the trench, a farm cat, patiently awaited the cow's warm milk to be squirted into its mouth...always Tommy's morning treat.

Although I Learned to hand-milk cows, my best task of all was handling the horses. They were peaceful and big... animals who whinny saying thanks for fresh bedding...the hay and thre oats!

Whistler ~ the Big Black Stallion always neighed when I entered the stable. My Dad used him for single-drawn machines and for the sleigh in winter time to travel here and there. One Christmas when country roads were piled high with snow, our family Christmas was at Grandma and Grandpa's homestead (about 10 miles away). Not to disappoint mother, Dad harnessed Whistler to a one-horse-open-sleigh...and hung brass sleigh-bells aside of Whistler's harness. And with home-made gifts aplenty, we travelled o'er the snow past frozen ponds...frost-laden pine trees...and winter's cold.

Oh! What Joy when my father taught me how to rein Whistler

and then to rein-control a pair of horses to harvest the crops.

If only! If only! Whistler was mine!

A New Era; Tractors became farmers' best farm machinery for ploughing, grain and haycutting...and harvest of all the crops. My Dad's McCormick Deering replaced dear Whistler and his horse team pairs.

The earth would be nothing without the people;

but man would be nothing without the horse.

At country fairs, I got my 'horse-fix' watching equine events: teams pulling chuck-wagons...horse-racing...elaborate horse-drawn carts for gentlemen and ladies...and stalls of various horse breeds.

And still running through my mind:

“If only! If only! I had a horse!”

Neighbours Helping Neighbours: We were harvesting hay, Father had cut the alfalfa ~ leaving it in rows to cure by the hot summer's sun.Neighbours always came from farm to farm to assist with the harvest...and always to a huge noon dinner piled high with vegetables and dessert. If you didn't live in my era, you'll not know the field procedure: I drove the tractor...pulling a big wagon upon which were a couple men...whose job was to spread the hay evenly on the wagon...and the wagon was pulling a 'hay-loader' which in almost vertical slope, had teeth moving through the machine as it picked up the furrowed rows of hay laying cured on the ground. One of the wagon men discovered a long garter snake...and just for fun, tossed it forward, landing on my shoulder and dropped to my lap. Here you must understand I abhor snakes...and have a phobia-dread of them!...I stopped the tractor.. fled from the field!!! And my father was disgusted with leaving him stranded without his 'farm girl'!

Ordinarily, when the wagon is full, tractor pulls the wagon

to the side of the barn where a pulley from the upper barn, lifts it forkful by forkful

to the barn's attic...ready for the winter feeding of the farm animals.

The Horse World Returns: Decades passed and following secondary education. I then became a teacher. Later married, I reared a son...then came my daughter who had a yen for horses. No 'after-school activity' attracted her. A friend's daughter, same age of 8, was taking a 2-week summer camp: Learning to Ride at an Oakville Stable! Into this program, I enrolled her! So amazing was her interest in learning to ride, I booked her for a series of continuing lessons. Revealed to me (and the stable owner) she had this 'natural gift' of communicating with with her mount. Mr. B located a pony for her.. resembling a miniature race horse...with chestnut coat and and on his 4 feet, 'white socks'. His name was Richmond Rose (from a friend's stable) in Richmond, Va.) and to my daughter...he was Richie. Within a couple years, ready for a horse, we had no problem selling him to another in-stable family But none could achieve the performance my daughter had from this pony. And you may ask, what was the difference? She had this innate ability to communicate with her mount...

and believe it or not...the horse then aims to please its rider.

Sundash was her first horse: a thoroughbred  'hot off the the track'...who being nervous at the 'starting gate', she was proven to not be a winner. Mr.B claimed this chestnut with a facial white blaze and sold her to us...knowing that my daughter could handle this ever-so-spirited mare. Between them, they trained her to equestrian-jump fences on a set course.

 Thriving on this new feat, Sundash jumped them like a deer!

The Sundash Attitude:

To the world...you may be just one girl ~

but, to the horse ~ you are the world!

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written October 9, 2018

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@bell.net or inezkate@gmail.com

Four Corners of the Earth

Sailors long ago boasted of seeing all seven seas

and all four corners of Earth!

Maps have 4 corners which represent the most distant points from the center

(unless it's a circular map).

Due to earthquakes, tsumanis, hurricanes and tornados ~ reforming borders of the world ~ modern-day researchers claim there may be five or six corners of the earth. It has only recenlty been learned that most clouds are formed by ocean exploration ~ but again ~ the Bible had it right, centuries ago!

All rivers run into the sea, the sea is not full.

To the place from which the rivers came, they return again.

(Ecclesiastes1:17)

The First Corners of the Earth, initially appeared in the Bible (Isaiah 11:12):

And gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Although the idea that the earth is a flat plane with actual corners, has long been discarded, the term has remained. The question asked of researchers today: “How can a spherical Earth have 4 corners?”

Perhaps no phrase in Scripture has been so controversial. The Hebrew word KANAPH, although translated in a variety of ways, generally means 'extremity'. It is translated borders in Numbers. In Ezekiel, it is translated four corners and again in Isaiah four corners. In Job, the reference is ends.

The Greek equivalent in Revelation 7:1 is gonia.

This meaning is perhaps more closely related to our modern divisions known as 'quadrants' .

Gonia literally means 'angles' or 'divisions'.

Some have tried to riducule the Bible to say that it teaches that the Earth is square. The Scripture makes it quite clear that the Earth is a sphere: (Isaiah 40:22).

Some have tried to say there are four knobs, or peaks on a round Earth.

Regardless, of the various ways Kanaph is translated, it makes reference to EXTREMITIES.

It is doubtful that any religious Jew would ever misunderstand the true meaning of kanaph. For nearly 2,000 years, religious Jews have faced the city of Jerusalem three times daily and chant the following prayer: Sound the trumpet for our freedom...Raise the banner for gathering our exiles...And gather us together from The Four Corners of the Earth.

From the Miles Coverdale's Verson of the Bible: Revelation 7-1:

And after that sawe I foure angles stode on ye foure corners of the earth,

holdinge ye foure wyndes of ye earth, yt ye wiyndes shulde not blowe on ye earth,

nether on ye see, nether on eny shuld not blow on ye earth,

nether on ye see, nether on eny tree.

A similar expression is found in Isaiah 11-12:

And he shal set vp a toke amonge the Gentilres, and gather together ye dispersed of Israel,

yee and the outscastes of luda from the foure corners of ye world.

The reference to the four corners does not imply that the writers of these texts believed that the Earth was flat (although they may well have done). The first citation above suggests more, that the four corners were the four compass points.

MODERN UNDERSTANDING

Iris Taylor of the”Flat Earth Society” lives on Fogo Island in Newfoundland ~ a place that is rumoured to be one of the Four Corners of the Flat Earth ~ being:

Brimstone Head (of the Fogo Islands)...Hydra...Bermuda Triangle...Papua New Guinea.

A photo shows her standing beside the Fogo Island sign:

WARNING!

YOU ARE NEAR THE

EDGE OF THE FLAT EARTH.

ONE FALSE STEP COULD BE

YOUR LAST. NUMBER OF

PEOPLE LOST TO DATE “0”

Iris Taylor questions, “How can a Spherical Earth have four corners?”

Canada's wild Fogo Island is an extra-ordinary location in Newfoundland. It's a curious place where coyotes roam the planes...giant squid wash ashore...and the odd house clings to the shoreline. It is part of the archipelago of miles and miles of lake and woodlands.

According to the Flat Earth Society, Brimstone Head on Fogo Island is of prime significance.

The mission of the Flat Society is to promote Earth theory as well as archive Flat Earth literature.

The Flat Earth model is an archaic belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disc.

Most ancient cultures have had conceptions of a Flat Earth ~ including Greece until the classical period to the Hellenistic age.

“I went to one of the Four Corners,” said a recent traveller to Newfoundland and Labrador, who with Riley and Corbin, they were in search of the trail that would take them to Brimstone Head. “ A straight staircase, it was into the sky ~ the view atop was irristible!” The Society advised them of historical evidence that Fogo Island is quite possibly one of the Earth's Four Corners.

Another traveller to Brimstone Head on Fogo Island wrote: “It was windy and steep and exhausting. Our thighs burned...our ears ached with the winds whistling! Yet, we kept climbing past a huge sign near the top. I was amazed at the colours of central Newfoundland: the electric yellow and natures's green floral. But we still had to conquer Brimstone Head. Arriving at the base of the trail, we groaned. (I didn't know why we were expecting flat trails in Newfoundland ~ maybe because of 'the Flat Earth Society name. Up! UP! Up! We went until we passed the ominous sign of WARNING! The wind was fierce!!! ( and more fierce it became), approaching Brimstone Head!!!

“God mde the firmanent and divided the waters which were under the fermanent

from the waters which were above the fermanent.

And it was so. (Genesis 1:7)

And in Psalms 104:5 we read: He set the earth on its foundations

so that it should never be moved.

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written September 30, 2018

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@bell.net or inezkate@gmail.com

"Conservation"

“CONSERVATION”

My name is Affe ~ in Africa I dwell.

My parents ~ by hunters harrassed, yearning to kill for their tawny-spot skins

were rescued by kind humans ~ and to “Conservation” guided

(a grassland mecca, protecting my species.)

No foes, no hunters with guns ~ their freedom was bliss

as they roamed the forest and lapped cool water

from a meandering stream.

They met 'family kin', who'd also been rescued

and brought to a safe savannah by Bruno and wifc Sarah.

He was kind, he was caring and ensured their safety.

The herd of giraffes, so friendly, about 40 or 50,

offered a life on several rambling acres.

They dined on lush leaves in the plentiful forest

and had places serene for daily rests.

The savannah is a rolling grassland, scattered with shrubs

and isolated trees between tropical forest and desert zone.

Savannahs are found in Africa, Australia, South America

and Asia's Southeast.

Giraffes thrive in hot climate zones

and can quickly flee from wide open spaces.

I asked my Mah, “How was I born?”

And this is what was told me:

“During seasonal change, births in the wild occur,

but at “Conservation” can occur year-round.

The males are called 'bulls' and the females, called 'cows.'

And 'calves' are all the babies

About the 'Birds and the Bees' ~ this is what she told:

“In mating season, bull nudges cow's behind, inducing urination,

then tastes the urine to see if cow's in heat and ready to mate with him.

Gestation period is from 13 to 14 months.

When ready to give birth, goes to her 'calving area'

(that she'll use throughout her life).

The moment of birth is dramatic!

The cow stands on all 4's and onto the ground, the calf tumbles out.

(The calf is about 6 feet tall.)

The calf, rarely injured, is on its feet (about 20 minutes)

and soon is feeding on mother's milk.

Baby can walk about one hour after birth

and within 24 hours can run!”

A fascinating element of giraffe behaviour

is the duel between males for mating partners:

Two males, approaching each other engage in rubbing

and intertwining their necks.

Known as necking, it allows opponents to assess

the other's strength and size.

The loser walks away ~ awaiting next season.

If 'necking' does not dominance establish, the males become

rougher and more aggressive with neck pressure,

and injury possibly the result.

When frisky one morning after herd-hunting,

we explored a valley unknown and there on a knoll

stood a 2-storey house facing our 'Conservation' grasslands.

The entry sign “Giraffe Manor” intrigued us.

Bruno with wife, Sarah, invited us to approach the upper floor windows.

A honeymoon couple from Nairobi were enjoying breakfast

(They chose to stay at 'Giraffe Manor' where wild giraffes freely roam.)

Bruno said, “You can join them for breakfast!”

We gently approached trhe 2^nd floor windows ~ ate some pellets given to us.

BREAKFAST WITH GIRAFFES!

How Cool!

“Twas time to marry ~ but I don't know whom.

A hunter, so kind, brought a hobbling giraffe ~ a gashed leg by an attacking lion.

At “Conservation” he prayed Bruno could heal.

So handsome and young and with pleading eyes

I yearned to stand by his side.

Bruno, in captivity kept him to heal and strength regain

afore return to the herd.

Communicated, we did ~ Gir and me.

Together we gleaned high-tree leaves and water we drank

from blue-crystal streams.

And now we're espoused: Gir and Affe ~

happily dwelling in Savannah-land!

Composed by Merle Baird-Kerr...June 9, 2018

(#2 in my Regime of Animal Life)

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@bell.net or inezkate@gmail.com

Notations: Giraffes are the tallest terrestrial animal and the largest ruminate.

Their feet are the size of 12-inch dinner plates and their height may stretch up to 20 feet.

Tails may grow to 8 inches long including tuft and tail end.

A large male can eat as much as 100 pounds of food a day

The giraffe has shortest sleep requirements of any mammal (between 10 minutes and 2 hours daily.)

Giraffes can rest ~ standing up, flicking their ears...and keeping 1 eye open, alternately, to keep alert.

The calf, weaned at one year, is fully independent by 15-month age.

In captivity, they feed on alfalfa hay and pellets, apples, carrots, bananas and browse (elm & alders).

Ancestors first appeared in Central Asia about 15 million years ago.

In ancient Rome, Grevy's Zebras were trained to pull chariots

under the alias 'horse-tiger.'