~ A Mosaic of Musings
and Ramblings ~
(both sad and
inspiring)
Best Sermons are Lived: Today, after I watched my dog get run over by
a car, I sat on the side of the road
holding him and crying...and just before he died, he licked my tears.
(from Carolyn's collection)
Bizarre Amazing Facts: About 1,311 people live in Verkhoyansk,
Russia, a town with an average temperature of -45 degrees C (-50 degrees F) in
January. The town was also attacked by a
pack of 400 wolves last year. The sun
currently rises at 2 pm and sets at 3:30 pm.
Caring for the Land: Canadian Wildlife Federation encourages
stewardship from backyards, to fields and forests: 700,000 square kilometres is
covered by CWF Western Boreal Forest Land Use Planning Tool that will help
assess tradeoffs between development and
conservation.
2500 locations surveyed by CWF
for grassland songbirds ~ 14 bird species (4 of which are at risk).
68 new gardens certified as wildlife-friendly...now
a total of 772 (more than 8400 acres)
9,000 students who took part in Habitat
2020 encouraging them to participate in creative approaches to wildlife
education.
Children's Wise Words: Required in class to write a “Six Word
Memoir”, Joey, a Grade 8 student wrote:
“Pain eventually vanishes, scars are forever.”
“Life is too confusing to
understand.”
The father of 5 young children
won a toy at a raffle. He called his
kids together to ask which one should have the present. “Who is the most obedient?” he asked. “Who never talks back to Mother?” and “Who
does everything Mother says?”
Five small voices
replied in unison, “Okay, Daddy, You get
the toy!”
Community Acknowledgements
Parliament Hill: Joshua Bowman and Danielle Kydd, Hamilton
High School students who attended the Forum for Young Canadians in
Ottawa wrote, “You are the future of Canada”, we were told, imprinted in
our minds at the February week-long program giving young a voice in federal
politics since 1975. The program was
developed to foster leadership skills among youth while giving them
opportunities to meet with influential political figures and other students across Canada.
Hundreds Climb Chedoke Stairs
to Help Fight Cancer: Mark Doering climbed the 289 steps at the Chedoke stairs twice Saturday. The top 3 climbers made 13 treks up and down the escarpment at
the 9th annual 'Climb for Cancer'
to aid the Juravinski
Hospital and Cancer Centre. Of the more
than 1,000 people who were challenged,
37 year-old Doering said, “I wanted to do something for the hospital
that saved my life...twice!”
Baby Falcons Hatch at the
Sheraton: In mid-May, 2 peregrine
chicks hatched in their downtown nest atop the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel. This is the first set of chicks for Lily and
Ossie who usurped Madame X's nest of several years.
Trees: “Call the City of Hamilton to request your
free tree; we will deliver and plant it.” Also, as part of the Churchill Park
Management Plan, city crews have been cutting non-indigenous tree species and
bushes to prepare for the public planting of some 1,000 indigenous trees in
this Westdale park.
Trees increase property value! Trees improve air quality! Trees improve storm water retention!
From Our Cows to Your Home: Dairy farms in Ontario discontinued shipping
milk in cans in 1977.
During the last 50 years, milk
transportation has evolved from shipping milk cans in open trucks ~ to using
large temperature-controlled milk tankers.
Through Dairy Farms of Ontario Management, a fleet of milk trucks travels
more than 20 million kilometres per year to Ontario processors.
Gardens: Tips to Crown your Lawn, 'King of
Spring'...to Enjoy Summer!
Clean up (rake the garbage
then apply compost ¼ inch thick! Re-seed
the bare patches! Aerate your
lawn! Time to Mow (optimal grass length 2.5 to 3.5
inches)! Add Colour and Contrast!
To enjoy...add natural tree
shade...free-standing umbrella...a pergola and/or cabana...retractable
awning...and a covered patio.
Get your kids into the garden
this spring: have them plant a tree,
create a window box, start a vegetable garden...choose flowers for blooms all
summer.
A man's children
and his garden
both reflect the
amount of weeding done during the growing season.
(Anonymous)
Health is Wealth: Allspice is a victim of its own name.
Someone, seeing its label, believes it to be a blend of many spices (or even
all spices) we use in food preparation.
Allspice is just one spice ~ a
dried berry from broadleaf evergreen tree that grows primarily on the islands
of the Caribbean Sea and Central America.
Whatever tastes good with cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg, tastes better with
'allspice'.
MBK's NewsBits: Monarch offers Condolences
In May, Queen Elizabeth met with
3 senior officers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada at
Buckingham Palace ~ Hon. Col. Ron Foxcroft, Hon. Lt. Col. Rick Kennedy, Lt.
Col. Lawrence Hatfield....this being a special audience prompted by the October
shooting of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while on guard at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier in Ottawa.
Dancing With the Stars
winner, Rumer Willis dedicated her trophy to all her fans with 'low esteem'
. The 26 year-old said, “ It is for
anyone who thought (like me) they deserved to do something...or wasn't
capable. Other than Val and myself, that
is who the 'mirror ball' is for.”
$21,000 One-Way Ticket??? Definitely not economy!
United Arab Emirates' Abu
Dhabi's national carrier, 'Etihad' has
received its first Airbus A380. The
double-decker jet will operate daily to London Heathrow December 27 and features “The Residence by Etihad” ~
a 3-room suite complete with a living
room, a private bathroom with shower and a bedroom...as well as a private
butler...at the very front of the plane's upper deck. The suite has already been booked for the
inaugural flight to London. It's
expected to cost $21,000 one-way.
Shunned, Ignored ~ Now Honoured by West Point: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. entered West Point
in1932 as its only black cadet and spent the next 4 years being shunned. He, not only
roomed alone but no one befriended him. The future Tuskagee Airman and trail-blazing Air Force
General later said he was an 'invisible man'.
Now, more than a decade after his death, a new cadet barracks is being
constructed at the United States Military Academy will be named for Davis ~ a
rare privilege...previously granted to students with names like...Douglas
MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
National News: Canada ranked 10th among
tourism-friendly countries. Spain, for the first time ranks first as the
world's most tourism-friendly country in the World Economic Forum's Travel and
Tourism Competitive Index. Other
countries in order: France, Germany,
United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan,
Canada...and so on.
Atwood Named Honorary Member
of American Arts Academy: One of Canada's
famed writers, Margaret Atwood has recently been named a foreign honorary
writer. The Academy is an honour society
based in New York and founded in1898.
Mohawk Goes Green: Mohawk College has been named one of Canada's
greenest employers for the second year in a row by editors of 'Canada's Top 100
Employers'. Mohawk is the only college
in Ontario and one of two colleges in Canada to make the 2015 list of 'greenest
employers'.
“Mohawk welcomes the
world to Hamilton
in starting a year-long project
at making itself and the city a more attractive community to foreign students
and graduates. With 1200 to 1300 international students a year studying at
Mohawk, it is important for us to be a welcoming community,” states College
President, Ron McKerlie.
Notable Dates: June 8 (Monday) ~ World Ocean Day
June 8-14 (Monday to Sunday) ~ Rivers to Oceans Week
June 14 (Sunday) ~
Canadian Rivers Day
June 21 (Sunday) ~
Father's Day
National
Aboriginal Day
First Day of Summer
Pan American Torch Arrives in Hamilton.***
***Ignited some time in May
during an Aztec ceremony at the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, just outside Mexico City, the Pan American
Torch will be flown to Toronto for the relay to begin there on May 30, visiting
130 communities across Ontario. About
3,000 people (including 9 local representatives) will be carrying the Pan
American flame for 6 weeks before the Games' Opening Ceremony in Toronto July 10, 2015. The flame will travel 15,000
kilometres by air and 5,000 kilometres on land. throughout Canada.
Wild Animal: Lynx Joins Internet Cat Craze ~ Terrace
Bay, Ontario
A Northern Ontario woman,who came
upon a wild lynx outside her shop, captured the encounter on video and posted
it to You Tube. Beth-Ann Colebourne, 31
says the chance meeting happened one evening outside her nail salon in Terrace
Bay about 225 km east of Thunder Bay.
She didn't feel threatened by the animal, giving it room to get
away...but her calls of 'Kitty, kitty, kitty' and 'What's up Buddy, what are
you doing?' had some communicators questioning her sanity. Despite her
invitations of 'Hey...Lynx!' and 'Come Here', the animal appeared uninterested
in making friends...and walked away...looking back at her several times.
Compiled by Merle
Baird-Kerr...May 23, 2015
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