The Citizen, 1992-04-15, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15,1992.
The Other Side
Workshop focus
on classroom
By Keith Roulston
The wonder
of it all
One of the glories of spring (this
is spring, isn't it?) is the chance to
get outside and see all the returning
birds and the other wildlife.
Seeing all those creatures can
give you a little perspective on our
world, and man's place in it. In a
world that is more and more domi
nated by the actions of humans,
you get to see the immense variety
of nature.
You also get to see that, though
we bemoan the destruction of
nature, in our comer of the world at
least, maybe things aren't so bad.
I'm thinking of a walk my daughter
and I took with our dog last week.
We ranged back through the fields
behind our country place, the dog
racing ahead. As we got near the
river there was a tremendous racket
ahead of us and two Canada Geese,
scared up by our wandering pet,
took off into the air.
When I was a kid growing up on
a farm barely 20 miles away from
here, we saw no Canada Geese. We
had a meadow that flooded every
spring, creating a two-acre pond
that was visited by a few black and
white ducks but we never saw
Canada Geese except in high-flying
V's in the fall. Today, of course,
Canada Geese are so plentiful
they've almost become pests. We
see them right in the middle of
Blyth and Brussels, taking off from
local ponds and circling over the
houses. Just about any body of
water is likely to see its share at
least during the spring and fall
migration periods. We're even see
ing more and more geese nesting in
our area.
Despite the fact they're so plenti
ful, I still get a thrill watching
Canada Geese in flight. I get a kind
of shiver when I watch that wide
chest and those powerful wings lift
ing the large body into the air or
watching them glide to a landing
on a pond. There's still a feeling of
awe when you hear that honking far
up in the sky and pick up the dots
of a V-formation as birds head
north or south. It's hard to imagine
how these birds can fly thousands
of miles each fall and spring,
returning to the same area year
after year.
We've had the added thrill in
recent years of seeing Tundra
Swans and Snow Geese too. Many
the car that has been spotted, pulled
off at the side of the road, in recent
weeks, while the occupants spied
on these magnificent white birds
stopping off in a wet area of some
farm field. On one hand you hold
your breath, not wanting to scare
them away, yet you can also hardly
hold back from startling them so
they'll take off and you'll get to see
the magnificence of a large flock in
flight.
As my daughter and I walked on,
our playful friend ran ahead to
other adventures. She ran into a
bush area and suddenly ahead of us
was a loping white-tail deer. The
doe bounded across the field, tak
ing a few steps then a leap, as if in
sheer playfulness, seemingly in no
hurry. We watched her as she
crossed a strip of open field and
disappeared in an evergreen planta
tion.
We couldn't help holding our
breaths at the sheer beauty of the
animal: its power, yet its grace. It's
not unusual to see a deer on our
walks anymore (one night we saw
seven crossing a field), but the
wonder and beauty is still there.
Despite worries about the envi
ronment, we probably haven't had
as many deer in our county since
the land was cleared 150 years ago
as we have right now. As a young
ster growing up on a farm, I never
saw a deer on our home farm,
though I did see deer on my uncle's
farm which was in a game pre
serve. Now, after several mild,
open winters, deer are becoming a
problem (just ask my insurance
company which had to pay for
repairs after a big buck leaped into
the side of my car last fall). A large
per centage of accidents in some
areas of the county are from colli
sions with deer.
Still, when you get thoroughly
sick of hearing about the latest
problems with the economy or the
most recent skirmish on the consti
tutional front, the sight of a deer
gamboling across the field or a
Canada Goose honking across the
sky, give you a bit of perspective
on the world. There's another world
beyond politics and the crush of
human events and, one gets the
feeling that even if mankind
botched things up so badly we
could no longer survive, within a
few hundred years nature would
have sprung back and managed
quite nicely without us.
• __________ _ ______
management
Everyone is invited to attend a
workshop on 'Pro-active Classroom
Management for the 90's' to be held
at Howick Central Public School in
Gorrie April 27 from 8:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m..
Over 40 workshop presenters
from across the province will
expound on the theme.
The workshop is being held in
conjunction with the Huron Coun
try Elementary Professional Devel
opment day. Over 400 elementary
teachers, administrators, and school
board trustees will be participating
in the day's events.
For more information on the day,
contact Lome Rideout of Hensall
Public School at 262-2833 or Flo
Dyck of the Huron Women's
Teacher's Association at 482-7360.
BACKSAVERS
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00 per 80 lb.
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Call 887-6069
Or 887-6579
THE THRONE SPEECH
Find Out
What’s In It
The Government of Ontario outlined its agenda
for the new session of the Legislature on April 6, 1992,
in the Speech from the Throne.
The speech emphasizes the importance of
investing in Ontario:
Earth Day *92
April 22
WETLANDS
ARE NOT
WASTELANDS
Wetlands purify water, help
control flooding, and provide
valuable wildlife habitat.
Investing in People
Investing in Business
Investing in Infrastructure
New Investment Mechanisms
Investing in the Environment
Streamlining Regulation
Affordable and Effective Public Services
A copy of the speech is available at no charge. Simply
complete and mail the coupon below.
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Thousands of tree seedlings in many varieties from 50c per plant.
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2 miles E. of Bluevale on Hwy. 86
we deliver (519) 335-3240
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Please send me my copy of the
Speech from the Throne.
English □ French □
NAME
ADDRESS:
TOWN
PROVINCE POSTAL CODE
Please mail this coupon to:
Throne Speech, Ministry of Government Sendees,
P.O. Box 995, Station F,-Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2N9
Ontario
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