Ice
Song
© 2003 Barrie P. Richardson The lake, sprinkled with islands and stirred up
by shoals
Creates random currents that stir to and fro
Beginning the winter with its first icy coat
The waters dark, cold, imprisoned beneath
Send long, haunting moans from deep in their throat
A spider’s web of crevice and veins
Runs dark and un-patterned across icy plains
Like aged stretched skin the white crust shows its scars
While crying and mewing like herds of great whales
To the ear it’s alive, and it sings frozen tales.
A full winter moon rises gold from beyond
A jack-light of nature it brightens the pond
And dances its gleam off each crystalline gem
In its dress for this Terpsichore
With snowed trees for its hem.
Of a night in the bed with the lights fully dim
Hear the music of ice ‘cross which flakes of snow skim
Hark to the rumbling and advice of the floes
As they call from the ages to us on the shore
“Hear well our songs, of primeval lore
Known only to water, to ice, and to snows.”
“We’ve come in our cycles for eons and ages
As the sun moves away in each Autumn in stages
Leaving lake, forest, wetland to slumber? Not so!
We’re as live in the winter as in summer’s warm glow
We live, we speak, we sing in our way, the trees…
They reply as they creak when winds blow”
The opera of winter is heard in the snow,
By trapper and woodsman for only they know
That the music will last, our cold theater stay free
Until mighty mankind cuts down every tree
Adds his soup to our waters, and his chaff to our earth
And when there’s no music, sneer “So, what was it worth?”
Lay ‘ways through our heartland; make Burger the King.
And silence the wildness so winters can’t sing
Let the silence grow larger, let the singing grow less
For man is the winner. Our loss, his success;
When man allows greed and lacks foresight to know
When there’s no winter music
From Ice, Trees and Snow,
The theater of nature will Close
End of show.
Creates random currents that stir to and fro
Beginning the winter with its first icy coat
The waters dark, cold, imprisoned beneath
Send long, haunting moans from deep in their throat
A spider’s web of crevice and veins
Runs dark and un-patterned across icy plains
Like aged stretched skin the white crust shows its scars
While crying and mewing like herds of great whales
To the ear it’s alive, and it sings frozen tales.
A full winter moon rises gold from beyond
A jack-light of nature it brightens the pond
And dances its gleam off each crystalline gem
In its dress for this Terpsichore
With snowed trees for its hem.
Of a night in the bed with the lights fully dim
Hear the music of ice ‘cross which flakes of snow skim
Hark to the rumbling and advice of the floes
As they call from the ages to us on the shore
“Hear well our songs, of primeval lore
Known only to water, to ice, and to snows.”
“We’ve come in our cycles for eons and ages
As the sun moves away in each Autumn in stages
Leaving lake, forest, wetland to slumber? Not so!
We’re as live in the winter as in summer’s warm glow
We live, we speak, we sing in our way, the trees…
They reply as they creak when winds blow”
The opera of winter is heard in the snow,
By trapper and woodsman for only they know
That the music will last, our cold theater stay free
Until mighty mankind cuts down every tree
Adds his soup to our waters, and his chaff to our earth
And when there’s no music, sneer “So, what was it worth?”
Lay ‘ways through our heartland; make Burger the King.
And silence the wildness so winters can’t sing
Let the silence grow larger, let the singing grow less
For man is the winner. Our loss, his success;
When man allows greed and lacks foresight to know
When there’s no winter music
From Ice, Trees and Snow,
The theater of nature will Close
End of show.
Shake Hands with the Devil
Book Review by Bill JohnstonAuthor: General Romeo D’allaire
I found this book is worth reading, for it gives us
General D’allaire’s insights into the bureaucracy of the United Nations. He says that there was a lack of understanding of the genocide rampant in Rwanda; that some member countries neglected to provide properly equipped and trained troops; and others failed to provide any troops. It is of interest to see how many brave individuals worked under those situations.
Editor’s note: This book is readily available at The Apsley Public Library. 'twas donated by The Apsley Voice.
Whatever happened to Penny Elliot
By Penny ElliotPenny Elliot has battled Parkinson's since 1991. Due to her medical condition, she and Bob, her husband of 38 years, and a Councillor in Chandos Township, reluctantly sold their cottage and settled in Lakefield. Presently Penny is participating in research examining the effectiveness of a recently developed factor (called "GDNF") on the symptoms of Parkinson's.. "GDNF" apparently promotes the survival of the brain cells that produce dopamine and will hopefully trigger growth of new cells. This would be the first time a treatment has reversed the disease rather than simply stalling it.
'GDNF'' is delivered via catheters which are implanted in the brain and connected to infusion pumps buried in the abdomen The first phase of this study involved five men in England who have all shown remarkable improvement.
The second phase is a world-wide 6-month double blind study involving 39 people from four different countries, and Penny started the ball rolling by being the first person in North America to have it done.
The operation was done at Toronto Western Hospital last August. Penny is doing very well and. although there was a lot of work required from her as well as her caregiver, she was delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in this important research.
Blubirds, Tree Swallows and more
June Hitchcox Bluebirds like to nest in birdhouses which are attached to posts that fence open land that has a few trees where they can perch to scan for insects. They are making a good recovery because of these birdhouses after suffering several great declines in numbers due, in part, to being caught in severely cold weather when migrating. However, they are often ousted by Tree Swallows who then take over the birdhouse. Michael Runtz, Carleton University and Algonquin Park Naturalist, has found that by putting up two nest boxes on the same post, facing in opposite directions, the Tree Swallows will chose one and not only allow the Bluebirds to set up house in the other but will also drive away any other pair of Tree Swallows that come near.
A tip from George Peck, Ornithologist, lecturer and author of many bird books, concerning stunned bird recovery: when a bird is stunned by hitting a window, place it gently in a paper bag to rejuvenate. A Peterboro Naturalist tried this recently with a Northern Shrike. It recovered and was released.
Has anyone seen any Crossbills in our area this year? If you have seen anything interesting in the world of birds, please contact June Hitchcox at 656-9264
