Motivations & Smiles for May

(gleaned from my collection  of “yearly calendar quotes”)

Friendship is a sheltering tree. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. 
 (Elton Trueblood)

Persistence:  It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all
resistance, sweeps away all obstacles.  (Paul M. Bristol) 

Responsibility:  Cherish and protect your family because you care enough 
to give a hoot (calendar picture shown with an owl).  (Anonymous)

Courage:  Obstacles will look small or large to you...according to whether
 you are large or small.  (Orson Swett Marden)

If Passion drives  you, let Reason hold the reins.  (Benjamin Franklin)

We will not know unless we Begin.  (Howard Zinn)

Why hire someone with a divining rod to find water

when a kid with new shoes will do it for free? (Anonymous)

He who wants a rose, must respect the thorn.  (Persian Proverb)

“Come to the edge,” he said. They said, “We are afraid.”

“Come to the edge,” he said. They came.  He pushed them

 ...and they flew.

(Guillaume Apollinaire)

From Marie's 2013 Motivation Calendar with Invitation to Action:

(Envision a water skier in perfected athletic form

cutting through high splashing waves with superb control)

Excel:  The spirit to win and the will to excel are the things that endure.

Special Event Days

                                  May  1 ~ May Day is an ancient Northern Hemisphere

                                                    Spring Festival.

                                     May11 ~ International Migratory Bird Day celebrates the 

                                                     incredible journeys of migrating birds between their

                                                     breeding grounds in North America and their wintering

                                                     grounds in Mexico, Central and South America.

                                     May12 ~ Mother's Day *

                                                     Many countries celebrate the second Sunday in May
                                                     by showing their appreciation for mothers.

                                     May 20 ~ Victoria Day:  This long weekend kicks off the summer

                                                      in Canada.  The date honours Queen Victoria's birthday

                                                      (born 1819 – 1901).

                                     May 22 ~ International Day of Biodiversity:  On May 22, 1992,

                                                     the United Nations proclaimed this day to increase

                                                      understanding and awareness of biodiversity.

                                     May 25 ~ Full Moon

                                     May 27 ~ Memorial Day in United States remembers men and

                                                      women who died while serving the US Armed  Forces

                                                      (formerly known as Decoration Day).

* On or around Mother's Day, I plan to publish...A Woman's Inspiration...(the first of 3 parts).
     

Did you know...Local native plants are often your best choice for a wildlife friendly garden.  They require less maintenance and are better suited to meet the needs of local wildlife.

Did you know...Newborn wolf pups will emerge from the den for the first time.

Canadian Animal of the Month

The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in Canada and can be seen in most regions of the country during their breeding season in spring and summer.  In the wild, adult herons have few natural enemies. (I comment here that we are so fortunate to view these birds behind the RBG in the vicinity of Valley Inn Road.   To see them in flight is magnificent! They love the marshland areas and woodlands.)

A Mother's Formidable Strength

Women are Angels

and when someone breaks their wings

they simply continue to fly.

                                                             They are flexible like that.

(Unknown)

The Mountain…(a story which illustrates the Strength and Determination of a woman):

There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains.  The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.

The lowlanders didn’t know how to climb the mountain. They didn’t know the trails that the people used and they didn’t know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain. Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home. The men tried first one method of climbing and then another...then trail after trail.. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only several hundred feet..

Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost…and they prepared to return to their village below the steep rugged Andes.  As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby’s mother walking toward them.  They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn’t figured out how to climb. And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back.  How could that be?

One  man greeted her and said, “We couldn’t climb this mountain.  How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn’t do it?”

She shrugged her shoulders and replied, “It wasn’t your baby.”

Crafted by Merle Baird-Kerr … April 4, 2013

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