The most interesting news story that I found today is a real rip snorter! Apparently, we are on track to having more wild pigs than people in Saskatchewan – soon!
There were a few things noted in this story that I found particularly interesting.
Wild pigs were DELIBERATELY brought into Saskatchewan and Alberta in the 1990s to help farmers to diversify.
Some of the wild pigs brought to Saskatchewan escaped captivity and spread across our province which is rich with their natural habitat.
Saskatchewan has more than half of the 56,000 wild pigs in Canada
Wild pigs are prolific and destructive – rooting up crops, destroying the natural habitat of endangered species, and leaving a trail of pig 💩.
Wild pigs are highly intelligent.
Hunting wild pigs is ineffective at controlling them as they quickly learn how to evade their hunters.
The only way to control the wild pig population is by encouraging the reporting of sightings, trapping entire groups of wild pigs, and with natural predators such as wolves and coyotes.
I don’t know who these ‘people’ were that brought wild pigs into Saskatchewan. I assume it was our government’s Department of Agriculture. Bring a prolific, invasive, destructive species into a province which is one big natural habitat for such creatures. What could go wrong? I bet those ‘people’ thought they were the most intelligent creatures in our province until the wild pigs arrived and took over. 🤔
That’s my News and Views of the day. I may be back soon to report on the importation of wolves and coyotes to our province. 👍
One news story that has caught my attention lately is the one regarding Prince William and the comments he made following William Shatner’s recent trip into space.
According to this story , Prince William has made public comments chastising private companies, operated by private individual for spending their money and using their resources, to advance space travel.
In my view –
Private individuals and private companies have every right to spend their money in any legal manner which they see fit. Personally, I am always happy to see that they are SPENDING it and returning it to the overall economy rather than hoarding it. (Which would also be their right)
It is hardly fair or reasonable for any media outlet to pronounce Prince William a ‘keen environmentalist’ while suggesting that men like Jeff Bezos, William Shatner, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk are any less concerned about the environment. All of them have invested time and money on environmental and other worthy causes – their own time and their own money. What they are doing now may well help the environment and the overall future well-being of mankind. I doubt if any of us, including Prince William, are in any position to judge at this point.
I have always had the utmost respect for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. They have served England, and the world, graciously through their many social and environmental endeavours with respect, humility, kindness, and compassion for others. I hope that in time, Charles’ sons and daughters-in-law will learn from their example and start following in their footsteps.
That is it for today! The news and my views.
Kat, checking out the view through our livingroom window 💗
The news story for the day in Saskatchewan is the arrival of our first snow of the season. It is more of a preview than the BIG event, but it is definite sign that winter will not be passing us by.
First snow of the season 😲
I also have a bit of family news to share today. With Dom’s regular grandparent sitters unavailable this week, I was called up for active duty. It is not that big of a deal. Dom gets out of school at 3:22 and his Dad (son Mark) is here to pick him up before 5:00. There is barely time for a snack and a cartoon.
The challenge of this arrangement is that Dom attends school across the city from where we live. That means driving some distance to pick him up, and obviously the same distance to get back here. And… Dan is working this week. The driving is on me.
I do not love driving. Typically, I will do anything to avoid getting behind the wheel. But… this is for Dom. So I have been driving across the city and back. There is construction and trains and rain, and today there is the added joy of snow. If Dan was available he would no doubt be driving me across the city and back every day and I would be relieved and grateful and stressed out thinking about ever having to do this if he were not available.
But… Dan is not available this week, so it is on me. The rediculous thing is – I can drive. I have driven thousands and thousands of miles, much of it in hideous weather, through and around construction, and in vehicles far less reliable than our Jeep. When I do get behind the wheel, it all comes back. It is like riding a bike. (If I could ride a bike.) The thing is, I can drive, and when forced to do it I manage it rather competently. Then I am super pumped that I did it and I feel secure knowing that I am capable of doing it.
When I avoid anything it makes me feel nervous and insecure. When I actually meet my fears head on I become FEARLESS! Life is so complicated. 😂
I am veering off the warm and fuzzy for today’s blog post. The news story that attracted my attention today is one that focuses on yet another Canadian ‘special interest’ group.
The group in the news today, are the “Conservatives of Chinese Descent”. They are pushing Erin O’Toole, the current leader of the Conservative Party, to resign after his loss in our recent federal election. They claim that his loss was at least partially due to O’Toole’s “tougher approach to China”.
There are more than twenty thousand special interest groups in Canada. A list of some of these groups in Canada can be found here. These special interest groups (listed or otherwise) typically have three things in common : a desire for government funding, a desire to influence government policy and legislation, and a total indifference to find workable solutions or to compromise with any other group of Canadians. Being special, it is all about them and their agenda.
In my view – Governments are formed to collect funds (taxes) to provide and maintain the services that individuals, individual communities, or individual provinces cannot manage on their own. Once elected, governments should do what they are elected to do without pressure from thousands of ‘special interest groups’ who feel that their rights and agendas outweigh that of society as a whole. During elections, politicians should be expected to release their platform and state their qualifications for ensuring that their platform can and will be implemented. Period.
People in Canada (and probably in every country in the free world) are forever complaining about the size of government, cost of government, corruption of government, and incompetence of government. Then, they run to government in little groups, hands out for money and fists pounding for action on their demands. How is any government supposed to operate efficiently under such conditions?
I have no idea how we reverse this trend of special interest groups and massive government, but this is not working and it is only getting worse.
Thanks for listening. 🙄 (For the record, I have nothing against Chinese Canadians, nor am I particularly for Erin O’Toole. I do not belong to the Conservative Party or any other political party.) As always, feel free to comment below. All I ask is that you keep it respectful. Thank you. 💞
Because we are celebrating our Thanksgiving today, I thought what could be better than a good news Thanksgiving news story!
The story I found highlights the generosity of farmers from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. These kind people offer a share of their potato crop to others every year, days before Thanksgiving. This year they have joined forces with a local Hutterite Colony for an even greater impact. Many of the recipients of their largesse come prepared to share with neighbours and friends who are not able to attend this event for themselves. 💞
These good people, who gladly and willingly share with others, deserve recognition. As we are kicking off this season of sharing and caring, I thought this was a great story to share today, to give them just a bit more of the recognition they deserve. I hope you enjoyed it. 💞
Take care and have a great day! 💞
“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
Today it is officially Thanksgiving in Canada. (In our house we are celebrating with our Thanksgiving supper tomorrow night – at 7 pm, to be specific 😁).
I did not source out an actual news story about Thanksgiving in Canada but I have put together a few bits and pieces that I would consider newsworthy. Some were news to me. 😏
Matin Frobisher and his crew celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Canada in 1578 in honor of their safe return from a dangerous exploration of the Northwest Passage.
Thanksgiving was formally recognized as a holiday in Canada in 1879. It is celebrated on the second Monday of October, in recognition of the successful end of our annual harvest season. Since our harvest ends a month sooner than that of our neighbours to the south, our Thanksgiving is celebrated a month earlier than their November celebration. That makes sense!
One of our neighbourhood Bluejays, harvesting peanuts.
Thanksgiving in Canada is not the huge holiday that it is in the States. Families gather. Some watch a bit of sports. Most eat a lot of turkey, ham, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all the other foods fit for a traditional feast – up to, and including, pumpkin or apple pie. Many Canadians rally to serve a hot meal to the less fortunate. There are small local events put on across Canada, but nothing national or over the top. It is typically a relatively quiet family centred holiday.
Unlike our American neighbours, we do not round off our Thanksgiving weekend with a pre-Christmas shopping spree. Our retail outlets hold their biggest sales of the year on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) as a customer appreciation event. This is a throwback to a European tradition started by Lords and Ladies of great estates. On Boxing Day they would present gifts to their household staff to show appreciation for the extra services that they had provided over the Christmas season.
Let our lives be full of thanks & giving💞
Take care and have a great day! For all of those who are celebrating in Canada this weekend – Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
I am so enjoying finding news worth sharing this month. Today, I found the best story yet, in my mind!
The news story that I found comes from the South Central Correctional Facility in Licking, Missouri.
The story is about a special rehabilitation program that has been operating for ten years. Prisoners housed at South Central are given the opportunity to spend much of their time sewing personalized quilts for children living in foster care. (Click on the link above and read the story! It is brief and wellworth your time. 💖)
Cherished handmade quilt that Dan’s Aunt Helen gave us for our wedding. 💞
I cannot find anything regarding the origins of this program but it is beautiful. It gives prisoners a sense of dignity, self-worth, and pride. All are traits that will serve them well in prison and on the outside following their release. The personalized quilts that they make give their recipients security and self-worth, knowing someone cared about them. Traits that will give them confidence as they grow out of foster care and into their adult lives.
Every life is precious. Every man, woman, and child needs and deserves the opportunity to feel valued, appreciated, and respected. Programs like this, that accomplish that goal, are amazing and seldom get the recognition they deserve. Which is a pity, because these programs need recognition to get the funding and support necessary to continue.
That is all I have for today. Sometime this month, I plan to touch on Correctional Facilities and Foster Care in Saskatchewan. But not today. Today is a day for a bit of good news. 🤗
I could not post an entire month of ‘News & Views’ without devoting at least one day to Canada’s favourite sport and one of Canada’s favourite teams. According to this news report, Leaf fans have reason to head into the season with some realistic hope for victory this year.
#1 FanAlso a fan💞
I have to admit that I am not much of an expert on any sport, including hockey. When I met Dan, he was playing on a couple of teams. His main one was The Raiders. To this day, most of them stay in touch and get together on occasion. I went to watch a few of their games. I still managed not to learn a lot about hockey, but I did discover that Dan was a decent hockey player! 🏒
So why, is there hopes for the Leafs this year, despite their previous years of less than stellar performances?
The Leafs did well in the regular season last year. It didn’t translate into the finals but it is something to build on.
They have a handful of elite top end players.
This is the first full season for coach Sheldon Keefe.
The season schedule works to their advantage. With the odds in their favour for the first few games it puts momentum on their side.
Talented prospects… Nick Ritchie, Michael Bunting, Andrej Kate, and David Kampf
Here is to wishing the Leafs all the best in the coming season. For the fans out there, keep the faith! This could be the year!
Mini Leaf
Leafs fan or not, Take care and have a great day. 💞
It took me a while to find a positive news story today, but I am relatively positive that I have found one that people can appreciate. This story is about a bike rider who was injured in a freak accident and the doctor who happened upon the scene and quite possibly saved his life.
In short, Corrections officer Todd Van Guilder was out riding the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails of Minnesota. After landing on his chest, when he leapt off of his bike to avoid a catastrophic accident, he lost conciousness . Dr. Jesse Coenen, an emergency room physician from Wisconsin, happened upon the scene. He saved Van Guilder from potential heart stoppage and possible death by performing an emergency cricothyrotomy.
Obviously, this is a story that had a positive outcome for Van Guilder and for Dr. Coenen! But I believe it is a positive story for all of us.
We are often told “It can happen in an instant…”. Life changing events typically with devastating results. Fortunately, amazing things also tend to happen in an instant! Too often, these moments go unnoticed because disaster was averted. Nothing to see here, folks!
For all of us these moments happen on a regular basis throughout the course of our lives. One such dramatic event happened in ‘our’ life a few years back. My husband came home early one day with a splitting headache. Although he is not prone to headaches, he decided to lay down for a bit and hope that it would pass. It did not. The next morning I asked him if he wanted me to take home to the hospital to be checked out but he declined. I left for work. A couple of hours later he decided that he should in fact get checked out. He pulled on shorts and a t-shirt and called a cab to takehim to our nearest emergency room. Entering the emergency room, he walked past a door that happened to open at that moment. A young doctor sitting at a desk glanced up and saw Dan. In that brief moment, the doctor noticed a strange rash on Dan’s leg. He jumped up, ordered a gurney, and had Dan taken straight into a treatment room. If, if, if… If the stars had not aligned perfectly in one instant, I would probably have lost Dan to sepsis. It was that close.
There have been countless other moments in our lives. Some more notable than others . Like the day that we were driving to Gravelbourg, one of the few times that I was behind the wheel. Just as we approached the turnoff to Gravelbourg, a vehicle coming towards us sped around a curve and came straight for us – in our lane. I honestly have no idea how a head-on collision was averted, but at the last second the other driver swerved back into his lane.
I could recount dozens of such moments in our life and I am sure there are hundreds more that went by totally unnoticed.
There were of course other moments where an ordinary day turned extraordinary just due to one incredible instant of synchronicity. That chance encounter, that stroke of luck, the perfect moment in nature, that perfect photo, or that perfect sports shot – all happen in one instant.
What I think this says, is that one needs to be aware of the potential for bad and good in life. And, we need to live in the moment – because that moment holds the possibility for the devastating and the miraculous.
Take care and have a great day, filled with special moments. 💞
According to a news article on The Weather Channel, it is official. We are not as bright as we used to be.
According to this article, as our oceans warm our level of cloud coverage is reduced. As cloud coverage decreases, we do not reflect as much light to the skies as we used to. This in turn means more sunlight reaches earth’s surface and is contributing to global warming.
My View – I am no expert on the subject of global warming. In Saskatchewan, there is much denial on the subject – especially as far as how much global warming can be attributed to humanity. I personally believe that global warming is a problem and that this problem is growing exponentially. I believe that anything that contributes to global warming creates other issues that contribute to global warming. Issues that are out of our control.
It has long been understood that humanity causes, or contributes, to global warming by carbon emissions via the burning of fossil fuels. It may not be the only factor. It may not even be the most significant factor. But, it is one factor that we can address.
We are not at a place where we can end our reliance on fossil fuels. We are at a place where we can be aware of what we are doing and how we can do it better – from the recovery of fossil fuels, the processing of fossil fuels, the delivery of fossil fuels, right to the end use of fossil fuels. That is at least an acknowledgement that there is a problem and that we can all contribute to the solution of the problem.
That is my News & Views for today. As always, feel free to comment below.
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 