tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86882076202515262952012-02-13T00:42:00.039-08:00Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-27960483362761894582012-02-10T18:32:00.000-08:002012-02-10T18:32:22.135-08:00

      One of my followers jokingly asked me the other day if I would like to write some essays for her. That question brought back my sad essay writing history.       As I wrote before I went to a one teacher high school. We had one room with grades ten , eleven and twelve. The teacher taught all subjects to all three grades. If it was math period he taught a lesson to each grade and gave

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-46898899876903938802012-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:002012-02-08T18:34:09.019-08:00

        A few days ago one of the comments I received had, "You did your research!" in it. Now I took it as a complement. Then I began thinking about what I had done on the Internet and what it was like before the Internet.         Today you can type in a few key words and come up with many sites which may have the information you are looking for. You have to  look at the source and decide

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-30959288458205497112012-02-06T18:03:00.000-08:002012-02-06T18:03:49.493-08:00

      I had a part that I forgot to put in on my previous post on naming living things. Since I remembered it I thought I would add it in a separate post.       The names aboriginals gave living things varied a great deal. Names changed with different tribes . And then there were many different native languages. Names were variable since they had an oral culture and history rather than things

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-82604082828433431642012-02-04T18:27:00.000-08:002012-02-04T18:27:01.321-08:00

     With all due respects to Carl Linaeus and all life scientists past and present, I would suggest that we should or should have used the names aboriginals had for living things. Now I'm not suggesting that we abandon Linaeus's system. Linaeus's system works extremely well and is accepted and used world wide.      When Europeans first went out to discover the world , settle it and tame the

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-87005359966711377432012-02-01T18:59:00.000-08:002012-02-01T18:59:27.563-08:00

      This week I finally found success in a search that I have been pursuing for a few years.       I had written in a previous post that I had taught in an isolated Inuit community from 1967 -1969. There were less than 200 people in the community. It was a two year period that had a tremendous impact on my life.       At the time the settlement was called Wakeham Bay. Today it is called

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-59857638349609677882012-01-30T15:14:00.000-08:002012-01-30T15:14:19.889-08:00

    With all due apologies to the teens across the street, I have an excellent go to tech guy. When ever I'm really stuck I can check with my son on how to do something. Now in some of my previous posts I have described my limitations in the tech world. Thanks to my son the header on my blog was changed recently.      My son's introduction to tech stuff started a long time ago. In the early

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-62493916373692894832012-01-27T18:38:00.000-08:002012-01-27T18:38:11.070-08:00

      I am a chronic do it your selfer. I'm somewhat independent. I don't have any skills or talent in mechanics, carpentry, plumbing or electrical but I dabble in all of them when it comes to my house or vehicles. I've written before about my lack of natural ability when it comes to being a handyman.      So here's the situation. It's about minus 5 here in the daytime. I don't have a garage

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-49504437127796750252012-01-24T19:18:00.000-08:002012-01-24T19:18:19.428-08:00

      When I was a teacher the school lost and found bin was rather large. We emptied it twice a year. We had a plentiful supply of mitts, gloves , socks, boots, T shirts, coats, hats, gym strip, watches and the list could go on. We would have the items displayed and beat the bushes for kids to check the items to see if some of it belonged to them. Charities received what was not picked up.

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-58145404979837509592012-01-21T18:40:00.000-08:002012-01-21T18:40:57.643-08:00

      I'm a fairly avid reader. I spend the greatest amount of my time on blogs. Next to that is reading.       I read a fairly wide variety of books, but sometimes I can't find the right book at the time. That's when I can rely on some old favorites and I go back to them. I have lists of books I've read a way down on the right side of my blog.        Recently I was looking for a couple of

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-38925579405451193192012-01-19T18:20:00.000-08:002012-01-19T18:24:14.734-08:00

       On January 1, 2012 my sister, Doreen  would have been 69 years old. Instead Doreen died in February of 1953 at age eleven years.        Doreen was a very healthy active child. She became ill and it was thought that she had a cold. She did not get over the cold but was up one day and down the next. She didn't seem to be able to beat what ever bug she had. The family Doctor decided to

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-76885836898577735242012-01-15T18:24:00.000-08:002012-01-15T18:24:27.217-08:00

       I have always wondered about blogger perceptions. We deal in an almost one dimension medium. Sometimes we add photos and some bloggers use mainly photos. But how close are we to the "real meal deal" in the blog world.        When I was teaching I would ask the kids what I did when I first came into the classroom for each class. I explained that I took a look at each individual student

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-71385205196459515412012-01-12T18:38:00.000-08:002012-01-12T18:38:28.268-08:00

     Yesterday I was talking to my son on Skype. I noticed he  was wearing glasses so I asked him why. He told me they were for reading and then added,"I'm old like you!"       This reminded me of a couple of incidents with my Dad.       When I was close to 64 I sent my Dad a birthday card for his 91 st birthday. I had told him in the card that in two more birthdays I would be 65. Dad didn't

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-72468539522482345792012-01-10T19:16:00.000-08:002012-01-10T19:21:36.253-08:00

      This post was the first one I made on the blog back in Aug. 2008. My daughter had helped me set up the blog so I wanted to post something to see how the process worked. It shows a certain naivety about blogs.        It's one of those posts that you can look back at and see if you did what you said at the beginning of your blog. No one should be bothered by the repetition as I think only

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-36395124537332024942012-01-08T17:41:00.000-08:002012-01-08T17:41:55.748-08:00

      On "Sunday Edition" on CBC there was a documentary on "Mommy Blogs." I had never heard the term "Mommy Blog" before.      The documentary went on to explain that women with children began blogging as away to support each other. Ideas of dealing with children were exchanged. Various products designed for children were discussed.       Gradually some of these blogs became used by

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-90891418416403347062012-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:002012-01-05T18:34:59.908-08:00

       The longer I participate in the blogging world, the more I realize how hard bloggers have to work to put out an interesting blog. I'm not trying to tell you that I am a hard little worker. No , I've been reading many blogs this last while.         A good blogger reads and follows many blogs on a regular basis. A good blogger doesn't just see a good idea and copy it. When bloggers look at

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-25985193567631097472012-01-02T18:43:00.000-08:002012-01-02T18:43:02.267-08:00

        A few weeks ago we set up many Christmas decorations as we looked forward to the Christmas season. Lights were hung on the house. The front window had a nativity scene. Banners were hung on each door. A wreath was hung on the outside front door. Stockings were hung on the mantle. The tree was elaborately decorated. All of this was  as if it was a stage which had been set up for a special

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-34090235879313266292012-01-01T19:13:00.000-08:002012-01-01T19:13:22.273-08:00

     January first is a great time to sit down and reflect on what has gone on in the past year. Are there changes that need to be made...changes which will bring about improvements or adjustments. For example, volunteer activities, recreation, relationships, friendships, faith, personal growth? So may questions! So many different answers!      For the purpose of this post I will keep comments

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-18916864970644157032011-12-31T18:22:00.000-08:002011-12-31T18:22:07.816-08:00

       Since New Year's Eve is a significant date we often remember things that occurred on that date. Some of the things could be ordinary and if they happened on any other day they may be forgotten. However, the winners and losers really stick out.       A New Year's Eve that occurred in 1964 stands out in my mind as the one that goes down in my history. For a young guy New Year's Eve was a

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-68736014573479751732011-12-29T18:36:00.000-08:002011-12-29T18:36:53.014-08:00

       When it comes to art,  my qualifications are pretty thin. I like art and appreciate it. However, I have no artistic skill and have never had any experience or training. All of this doesn't stop me from expressing my like of art. The scythe before the handle was taken off.        A few months ago I did two posts on a scythe I had owned for many years. I  made one post on my life with

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-87962330602500490982011-12-26T18:02:00.000-08:002011-12-28T17:27:09.358-08:00

       Christmas is a pretty laid back affair around Hiawatha House. Nobody gets up at 4 AM and sneaks downstairs to see if Santa had been there. On the other hand nobody sleeps in. We get up at the usual time and have breakfast and get on with the first chores of the day.        Our daughter Skyped us from Chicago. We shared some Christmas chatter and showed various things we hadn't seen

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-60072835752852512282011-12-23T18:48:00.000-08:002011-12-28T17:24:55.678-08:00

       I've been on a lucky streak recently! I've won two things in the last month. That's along streak of luck for me!                 First I won a CD that the Musical Gardener was giving for a prize when he drew names from commenters on his blog. The CD was Susan Boyle doing mostly Christmas songs.          Yesterday I won a book when they drew my name. I was at an appreciation lunch for

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-67776802002813819032011-12-20T18:30:00.000-08:002011-12-20T18:30:53.913-08:00

     Dec. 18 was the appointed day for the Christmas Bird Count(CBC) in my area. Out of the last 42 years I have missed the CBC maybe five times. It's a high light of the year for me.      I have done the same area for about 35 years. I know about what I'll find every year. So why do the same area? It's the surprises you get when you see something different.  The last two years have been dismal

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-64192521643381624442011-12-19T18:14:00.000-08:002011-12-20T17:53:35.539-08:00

     A couple of posts ago I told of raising the Christmas tree at our house. It's my job to put up the old artificial tree. It's my wife's job to decorate the tree. I was telling you that sometimes we don't get to putting up a tree.       Well, this year the tree is up and it's also decorated!  How about that? So my wife's decorating job does wonders to my little old artificial tree! To all

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-69704758012117688292011-12-17T17:35:00.000-08:002011-12-17T17:35:18.885-08:00

      Today I was an accidental salesman for a few hours!        Our Nature Center has a bookstore as many nature centers do. They have tables in the various malls at Christmas. Of course these tables are manned by volunteers. I volunteer a couple of times each season for a few hours. It's interesting because people come to you with all kinds of natural history questions or comments. They will

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688207620251526295.post-51011852823712800662011-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:002011-12-16T20:09:16.972-08:00

        I have posted before about how I ice skate on a regular basis from the first Tues. in Sept. to the last Tues. in April. I started this year with a post called "Whee Skating Started Again!"  I really feel that way. Having fun before the party         As with many groups involved with an activity there develops a tremendous support for one another. In an urban setting people can

Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.com10