On my last post I jokingly established my worth according to a doctor bill for my birth. After that I began thinking about the conditions surrounding my birth. I also began wondering how much people know about the experiences during a time of which they have no memory. We know about our birth from what stories our parents tell us and the odd bit of history which occurred at the same time.
I have written previously about my isolated farm life.
My mother was born and raised in a small Manitoba city. When she married my Dad and came to live on his small farm in Saskatchewan, she must have had some culture shock although she had been on farms occasionally. She only knew one person in the district and that happened to be an older cousin. My father's family were very German and they looked on him with some disappointment when he married an English woman! The house on Dad's farm was a somewhat primitive small wooden structure. It was probably 16' by 30' and was completely uninsulated.
Nevertheless, I made my debut into the world about 2 years later in 1939. I was born in the above descibed little house. It was a beautiful warm October day and the house became hot due to all the water which had to be boiled on the wood cookstove. My Mom had two friends with her who had given birth to several children and they set things up as the doctor requested. My mother was probably somewhat terrified as she was well aware of the risks in childbirth. However, the conditions of my birth were pretty well standard at that time. Hospitals were distant and transportation primitive. If someone had tried to travel to a hospital under those conditions they would likely not have made it successfully.
So my birth took place in a fairly routine manner very fortunately for mother and child. Kind neighbors helped my Mom until she could resume normal duties. Those housewifely duties were challenging as the house was not only meagre but there were no facilities. Water had to be hauled and washing was done by hand. You can imagine what else was lacking in this situation. Everything!
Under challenging circustances I survived and had two brothers and a sister in the same house. By the time I was eight another more substantial house with some facilities had been erected.
When I tell my children about these conditions I stop and listen to myself and can hardly believe what I'm saying. It was a totally different age.
Do you know of conditions pertaining to your birth?
Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Buzzed by a Merlin
The merlin is a small falcon 20 to 30cm long and with a wingspan of 58 to 66 cm. The males have a blue gray back and the females are light brown . Both have streaked underparts. They are superb beautiful fliers. Their prey is usually small birds taken on the wing. They take the prey to a favorite tree or pole and pluck the feathers. So if you have a tree where you find feathers it's probably used by a merlin as a plucking tree.
Now my story. I was delivering papers about 10:30 AM one morning when a saw the resident merlin buzzing a large spruce tree that had several house sparrows in it. None of the sparrows flushed so the merlin did not make a catch and swiftly flew up and over the house on the opposite side of the street. I continued on my route and had only gone about 20 steps when the merlin returned and flew at eye level almost within arm's length from me. I must say that I was shocked at the suddeness of the flight and his loud ki ki ki which is used to alarm birds so that they flush from cover and the merlin can make a kill. When I stopped to think about it I was standing beside another large spruce tree that had house sparrows in it . The sparrows gave an alarm call but they did not flush from the tree. If the sparrows had flushed I would have observed a kill at very close range.
I was surprised that the merlin flew so close to me,but I guess he was attempting to use me as a distraction for the sparrows and in so doing would have a better chance to make a kill.
I have often watched merlins in the area as they are awesome fliers. When they hunt bohemian waxwings they get under the flock and this causes the flock to rise. Sooner or later one bird in the flock will tire and drop down. The merlin flies like a bullet to the falling bird and makes a kill. Beautiful.!
So watch for these birds in your urban neighborhood. They are noticeable by their rapid flight and noisey ki ki ki .
Now my story. I was delivering papers about 10:30 AM one morning when a saw the resident merlin buzzing a large spruce tree that had several house sparrows in it. None of the sparrows flushed so the merlin did not make a catch and swiftly flew up and over the house on the opposite side of the street. I continued on my route and had only gone about 20 steps when the merlin returned and flew at eye level almost within arm's length from me. I must say that I was shocked at the suddeness of the flight and his loud ki ki ki which is used to alarm birds so that they flush from cover and the merlin can make a kill. When I stopped to think about it I was standing beside another large spruce tree that had house sparrows in it . The sparrows gave an alarm call but they did not flush from the tree. If the sparrows had flushed I would have observed a kill at very close range.
I was surprised that the merlin flew so close to me,but I guess he was attempting to use me as a distraction for the sparrows and in so doing would have a better chance to make a kill.
I have often watched merlins in the area as they are awesome fliers. When they hunt bohemian waxwings they get under the flock and this causes the flock to rise. Sooner or later one bird in the flock will tire and drop down. The merlin flies like a bullet to the falling bird and makes a kill. Beautiful.!
So watch for these birds in your urban neighborhood. They are noticeable by their rapid flight and noisey ki ki ki .
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Psst!!! Wanna Know How Much I'm Worth?
Okay, I've been know to twist the meaning of a few words! Worth can have different meanings. We can talk about economic value. We can think of self worth. There are other variations as well. But I am going to tell you exactly how much I'm worth in a monetary way.
My Mom and Dad were married in 1938. They went out to the little isolated farm to make their fortune. It was the end of the depression. The Saskatchewan Government had developed a book keeping program for farmers to help them with record keeping. My mother became the book keeper and she was meticulous. Every cent of income and expense was recorded. They had very little income and as a result few expenditures. Sunday offerings were recorded. When they went to town for mail they usually bought one chocolate bar and shared it on the long and slow way home.
My Dad died in 2008. He had very few worldly possessions left. His sons went through these few possessions one evening and all dozen or so items were distributed. One item was a few of Mom's old record books. As we looked through them we could piece together some interesting details of their life.
Now I was born in October of 1939. One of the striking items entered in Mom's record book had the following details and was dated Oct. 14 1939. Paid to Dr. Hinson for Red $10.00 . I was born on Oct. 14 so this was the amount paid to the Doctor for being at my birth. So I tell you with all accuracy that I am worth ten dollars!
My Mom and Dad were married in 1938. They went out to the little isolated farm to make their fortune. It was the end of the depression. The Saskatchewan Government had developed a book keeping program for farmers to help them with record keeping. My mother became the book keeper and she was meticulous. Every cent of income and expense was recorded. They had very little income and as a result few expenditures. Sunday offerings were recorded. When they went to town for mail they usually bought one chocolate bar and shared it on the long and slow way home.
My Dad died in 2008. He had very few worldly possessions left. His sons went through these few possessions one evening and all dozen or so items were distributed. One item was a few of Mom's old record books. As we looked through them we could piece together some interesting details of their life.
Now I was born in October of 1939. One of the striking items entered in Mom's record book had the following details and was dated Oct. 14 1939. Paid to Dr. Hinson for Red $10.00 . I was born on Oct. 14 so this was the amount paid to the Doctor for being at my birth. So I tell you with all accuracy that I am worth ten dollars!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Olympic Trash Talk Disappointing
I admit that I don't watch any TV. I do follow sports to some extent in newspapers, radio and internet. The Olympics catch my attention to some degree as they are of a high calibre and highly publicized. So I am not highly qualified to express an opinion. However, I must express my dislike for some behaviour I encountered.
On Twitter Sydney Crosby took a tremendous amount of abuse for scoring the winning goal in overtime. In no time flat Sydney Crosby was a trending topic on Twitter. The comments were sickening to say the least. H6WGQ5V65CYG I can understand that some people may have been extremely disappointed that their team lost. But put things into perspective. Both teams played at a high skill level. The game was highly entertaining. It was sport at it's best. Exciting, unpredictable, full of tension. Enjoy it ! Let the athletes enjoy it.
The harsh personal attacks against Crosby were frightening, uncalled for, sad and unsportsman like.
There I've offered my opinion even though I am not a sports expert!
What do you think of the attacks on Crosby?
On Twitter Sydney Crosby took a tremendous amount of abuse for scoring the winning goal in overtime. In no time flat Sydney Crosby was a trending topic on Twitter. The comments were sickening to say the least. H6WGQ5V65CYG I can understand that some people may have been extremely disappointed that their team lost. But put things into perspective. Both teams played at a high skill level. The game was highly entertaining. It was sport at it's best. Exciting, unpredictable, full of tension. Enjoy it ! Let the athletes enjoy it.
The harsh personal attacks against Crosby were frightening, uncalled for, sad and unsportsman like.
There I've offered my opinion even though I am not a sports expert!
What do you think of the attacks on Crosby?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mysterious Lynx Explained by Gabby and Seth Yates
I have never seen a lynx in the wild even though I have spent much of my life outdoors in lynx habitiat. I knew that the lynx prey mostly on snowshoe hare and that their population rises and falls with the snowshoe hare cycles. I knew lynx were cats. After that much, my knowledge was fairly fuzzy and confused with other cat habits. Many myths have been passed along about the habits of lynx and their behavior.
This week I listened to a presentation by Gabby and Seth Yates on the lynx and it was fascinating. Gabby is doing research for her PH.d and is studying the lynx and it's habit of travelling great distances and how this relates to population cycles . Many other variables come into this equation such as climate change and habitat destruction.
This team of researchers is trying to live trap 20 lynx in the Nordegg area of Alberta and collar them with a hi tech radio which gives much information on the activity of the animal. Since the lynx population is healthy, they have no great problem to box trap animals. In fact, the lynx have learned the box trap contains supper so the individuals that have been trapped once keep going into the trap. They sit quietly and wait until they are released. Apparently the lynx is a very calm laid back character. They will leave only when they decide you are a threat. Lynx do eat other animals such as deer fawns. However, they're not really sure if the lynx actually kill the fawns. Lynx will also eat prey that may belong to another animal. They think that lynx travel widely in search of food when the snowshoe hare population crashes. What makes the snoeshow hare population crash? Disease? Lack of Vegetation? All this is being considered.
The audience asked many tough questions and the tougher the questions the more passionate the presenters became about their topic. Trapping was questioned. The researchers don't see trapping as a problem as the lynx population is considered healthy. They work closely with trappers and as a result gain much more information to add to their study. Trappers take a small piece of lynx hide to give to the researchers so that DNA study can be conducted. In this way they can detect what area lynx came from.
So it was an interesting presentation which gave a much greater appreciation of the lynx.
www.ualberta.ca/~gyates/projectlynx
This week I listened to a presentation by Gabby and Seth Yates on the lynx and it was fascinating. Gabby is doing research for her PH.d and is studying the lynx and it's habit of travelling great distances and how this relates to population cycles . Many other variables come into this equation such as climate change and habitat destruction.
This team of researchers is trying to live trap 20 lynx in the Nordegg area of Alberta and collar them with a hi tech radio which gives much information on the activity of the animal. Since the lynx population is healthy, they have no great problem to box trap animals. In fact, the lynx have learned the box trap contains supper so the individuals that have been trapped once keep going into the trap. They sit quietly and wait until they are released. Apparently the lynx is a very calm laid back character. They will leave only when they decide you are a threat. Lynx do eat other animals such as deer fawns. However, they're not really sure if the lynx actually kill the fawns. Lynx will also eat prey that may belong to another animal. They think that lynx travel widely in search of food when the snowshoe hare population crashes. What makes the snoeshow hare population crash? Disease? Lack of Vegetation? All this is being considered.
The audience asked many tough questions and the tougher the questions the more passionate the presenters became about their topic. Trapping was questioned. The researchers don't see trapping as a problem as the lynx population is considered healthy. They work closely with trappers and as a result gain much more information to add to their study. Trappers take a small piece of lynx hide to give to the researchers so that DNA study can be conducted. In this way they can detect what area lynx came from.
So it was an interesting presentation which gave a much greater appreciation of the lynx.
www.ualberta.ca/~gyates/projectlynx
Olympic Womens Curling Team Tops in my Mind
My view of sports and Olympic games is a little different than most people's opinions. I don't watch TV and don't follow sports on a regular basis. There are some aspects H6WGQ5V65CYG of sports that do get my attention and the Canadian Women's Olympic curling team certainly caught my attention as they are highly skilled.
I liked their success in the Olympic schedule. They curled well and conducted themselves with confidence. Most fans expected them to take the gold medal in a shoo in. That didn't happen and the team was disappointed and many fans were just as disappointed. Here's where I take a different path. Any team in the Olympic games has to perform at an extremely high level. To me the skill level is absolutely awesome. Anything can happen in sports competition. That's what makes sports interesting and challenging. People go out and give their best. The game determines the outcome. There's an opponent that has some say in the outcome.
In my mind the Sheryl Bernard's Olympic team are to be greatly admired. Everybody wins at the Olympic level just by competing. I was disappointed to hear some criticism of the team's silver medal standing. Not me! They are tops all the way! Hold your heads high!
I liked their success in the Olympic schedule. They curled well and conducted themselves with confidence. Most fans expected them to take the gold medal in a shoo in. That didn't happen and the team was disappointed and many fans were just as disappointed. Here's where I take a different path. Any team in the Olympic games has to perform at an extremely high level. To me the skill level is absolutely awesome. Anything can happen in sports competition. That's what makes sports interesting and challenging. People go out and give their best. The game determines the outcome. There's an opponent that has some say in the outcome.
In my mind the Sheryl Bernard's Olympic team are to be greatly admired. Everybody wins at the Olympic level just by competing. I was disappointed to hear some criticism of the team's silver medal standing. Not me! They are tops all the way! Hold your heads high!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Student Success Brings Pride
I have written four previous posts reflecting on my teaching career. One of the posts was reflecting on all the types of students one would encounter in a teaching career. I think I admitted that my favorite assignment would be to take about a dozen students who were not having success in a regular class and teach a modified program where they could meet with success. Usually these students had some behaviour difficulties resulting from their lack of success. It was usually at the gr. 9 level as they could continue in highschool with a similar program.
I found one of my former students on face book the other day. H6WGQ5V65CYG I knew that he had become successful,but I didn't realize how successful. When I had him for gr.9 math he did not know up to the 5 times table and had difficulty dividing with just one place divisors. I had some success in these areas but not a lot. He was very interested in algebra but had not too much hope for success because of his arithmetic limitations. Factoring polynomials takes some basic arithmetic skills.He was pleasant, cooperative and willing to work. He wanted to learn. He was always thinking about some various type of device that would be really cool to do something with and it was always remotely controlled. He was a little rough around the edges socially. He was a little guy but had a record of being able to pound kids twice his size if he was pushed into it by their teasing.
I knew that he had some very successful inventions. He had designed remote sensing controls for gas wells in isolated areas. He was discussing a plan to set these devices up for gas companies and then monitor the fuctioning of their wells for them. Smart plan! He was going to borrow $1.7 million dollars . He was a cautious kid and he was hesitant about borrowing this much money? After that I lost contact with him.
Yesterday I find out that he owns a multi-million dollar oil well servicing company! Was I proud of him! It made my day.
I found one of my former students on face book the other day. H6WGQ5V65CYG I knew that he had become successful,but I didn't realize how successful. When I had him for gr.9 math he did not know up to the 5 times table and had difficulty dividing with just one place divisors. I had some success in these areas but not a lot. He was very interested in algebra but had not too much hope for success because of his arithmetic limitations. Factoring polynomials takes some basic arithmetic skills.He was pleasant, cooperative and willing to work. He wanted to learn. He was always thinking about some various type of device that would be really cool to do something with and it was always remotely controlled. He was a little rough around the edges socially. He was a little guy but had a record of being able to pound kids twice his size if he was pushed into it by their teasing.
I knew that he had some very successful inventions. He had designed remote sensing controls for gas wells in isolated areas. He was discussing a plan to set these devices up for gas companies and then monitor the fuctioning of their wells for them. Smart plan! He was going to borrow $1.7 million dollars . He was a cautious kid and he was hesitant about borrowing this much money? After that I lost contact with him.
Yesterday I find out that he owns a multi-million dollar oil well servicing company! Was I proud of him! It made my day.
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