Behind the Scenes: Let’s Hear It for the Nursing Staff!
One of the things I’ve been doing for years is volunteer for a three hour shift once a week at a local children’s hospital. I rock babies, play with toddlers,…
Mary Soderstrom
Today’s a Holiday with a Good Name: La Journée des Patriotes
What’s this nonsense of starting a petition to change the May holiday from Victoria Day/the Queen’s Birthday to include reference to First Nations? I can readily understand renaming the third…
Saturday Photo: More from the Jardin botanique
Marie Victorin was a Roman Catholic teaching brother and naturalist who championed access to nature for all. He was the driving force behind the establishment of Montreal’s lovely Jardin botanique…
Opposition Growing to HIke in Jardin botanique Admissioin Fess
As of 2:18 p.m., 2,957 people had signed the petition protesting the hikes in entrance fees to Montreal’s botanical garden. Here’s the link: now sign!!!
Wish I Had Friends to Fork out $90,000 Just Like That
It not be illegal, but it sure is fishy: Mike Duffy had his debts paid off by a friend of Stephen Harper’s to the tune of more than $90,000. This…
Melting Glaciers: a Sign of Things to Come?
The Swansea University scientists say that this is not, in and of itself, evidence of climate change, but it sure is change of some kind. In this video, posted May…
Do You Really Need a Car? Seems That Not All Younger Folk This So.
When I grew up in Southern California, getting a driver’s license was a rite of passage. I actually got mine before I was 16, and Lee didn’t even ask me…
Some Monday Photos from the Jardin botanique
The more I think about the plan to charge high fees to visit Montreal’s Jardin botanique, the more annoyed I get. When we first came here eons ago, it was…
Saturday Photo: Say No to Fees at the Jardin botanique
Once upon a time you could get into Montreal’s Jardin botanique for nothing, anytime. Then fees were added for the greenhouses, and for non-Montrealers who wanted to visit the outside…
A New Generation Discovers Robert Nelson
Robert Nelson has new fans! The leader of the 1838 phase of Lower Canada’s Rebellion and president of the Republic of Lower Canada has his own page and song produced…
Trees Offer Hope in the Climate Change Battle
I may have mentioned that I’m working on a new non-fiction project–rather vague at the moment, but having to do with time, roads and the traces that humans leave on…
The Best Music for Summer Weather: Sketches of Spain with Signs of
One of my few claims to cool is that I’ve been a Miles Davis fan since infancy, or thereabouts. I remember buying this on vinyl one glorious summer Saturday in…
Charles Ramsey’s Analysis of What’s Wrong with America
Far too much stuff this morning–a day when there are huge stories on the international scene–about the bizarre escape of three young women after, it would seem, about 10 years…
The Edible Urban Gardener: Ron Finley in South LA
Okay, how do you bring gardens to the city? Here’s one man’s crusade. Ron Finley gardens in South Los Angeles, and if he can do it, you can do it.
Saturday Photo: The Week the Leaves Came Out
The first week in May is the week the leaves apppear almost without fail. It’s almost explosive, you can practically see them grow from hour to hour. Here are two…
Drought in California, Dry Days Here: What’s the Future of Water Resoures
A friend in California just wrote about their extended drought, just as the first news of brush and grass fires make the news. I spent a couple of hours this…
Summer Time and the Living Is Hectic…
Running around all day in the hot sun–I’m not acclimatized yet, so no post today…
Why Beekeeping in Cities May Be the Wave of the Future
Seems the Eureopean Community members have voted to ban certain pesticides because they are implicated in the striking bee die-off the world has seen in recent years. Bully for them!…
The Merry Month of May When We’ll Hit a CO2 Danger Point
Lovely soft morning with the trees leafing out and the forsythia in bloom, which are reasons to wait for the beginning of May around here. But Le Devoir reports on…
Call It Geezer Chic or Advanced Style, I’m in
Just came across this video and this story in The New York Times. Makes me feel good just to think about it!