Saturday, February 1, 2014

Collage...for February 2014



From Planet Earth Calendar

Continental Bridge: (about which you may or may not know).  My initial introduction to this was, when several years ago, I read several novels about “early civilization” along what is now the Alaskan coast line and extending southward with settlements along our province of current British Columbia.

Today, about 10% of the world is covered in ice.  During the last great Ice Age, however, more than 30% of the earth's surface was ice-bound.  Massive glaciers were formed and began the movement ~ carving out the earth's features.  Since there is only a finite amount of water  on the planet, as the glaciers formed, they sucked up water from the oceans and caused the sea level to drop.  This revealed a plain, now referred to as “Beringia” which connected Siberia and Alaska.  Beringia acted as a bridge...from the Old World to the New. 

It allowed plants, animals and people to move from one continent to another.  Its climate could support a variety of flora and fauna, beckoning many living creatures across this bridge.

When the ice flows retarded and  melted, the oceans rose
and the “continental bridge” once again disappeared under water.

The Canadian Red Cross

This organization provides in-home community services to help individuals,  who reside in Ontario, New Brunswick and the greater Halifax area of Nova Scotia,  live as  independently as possible.  These in-home health care services enhance the well-being and dignity of people of all ages.  Some of the home-care services include meals and general assistance for seniors, medical equipment rentals and transportation for those in need.

MADD Facts

One in three...eighth graders has tried alcohol.
More than half of all tenth graders drink alcohol.
Kids who start driving young, are 7 times more likely
to be in an alcohol-related crash!

Did You Know?
(from Niagara Falls of Canada Calendar 2014)

The Niagara River is part of the longest peaceful border in the world. ~ the International Boundary between Canada and United States.  The terrestrial boundary (including small portions of maritime borders on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts, as well as the Great Lakes) is 8,891 kilometres (5,525 miles) long including 2,475 kilometres (1,538 miles) shared with Alaska.

Did You Know?
(from the Canadian Wildlife Federation Calendar 2014)

The Trumpeter Swan is the largest waterfowl species in North America.  Large swans can be more than a metre long and weigh an average of 11 kilograms.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation was a founding supporter of the Canada Forest Accord, created in 1998. The Accord champions the long-term health of our ecosystems.

Amphibians...like the Northern Leopard Frog overwinter in well-oxygenated bodies of water like rivers and lakes that do not freeze all the way to the bottom.  They spend their time in small excavations in the surface of the mud and emerge when the ice melts in the spring.

Special Event Days

February 2 (Monday) ~ Groundhog Day
February 14 (Friday) ~ Valentine's Day
February 15 (Saturday) ~ National Flag Day of Canada
February 17 (Monday) ~ Family Day...Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario
Louis Riel Day...Manitoba
Heritage Day...Yukon
Islander Day...Prince Edward Island

February Musings

Late February and the air's so balmy, snowdrops and crocuses might be fooled into early blooming. Then the inevitable blizzard will come, blighting our harbingers of spring...and the numbed yards will go back undercover.”   
(Gail Mazur)

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle...a seed waiting to sprout...a bulb opening to light...a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation...nurtures our dream.” 
(Barbara Winkler)

“Away in a meadow all covered with snow,
  The little groundhog looks for his shadow.
  The clouds in the sky determine our fate
  If winter will leave us all...early or late.”
(Don Halley)

“If we had no winter...the spring would not be so pleasant.”
(Anne Bradstreet)

Flower Garden Philosophy
What's in a name?  That which we call a rose...
by any other name would smell as sweet.
(William Shakespeare)

Compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr...January 7, 2014
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