Posted on September 12, 2015 under Storytelling with one comment

The dreaded 8:15 class

( Originally published August 2013 )

 

 

On most days I walk to and from work, a trek of about two and a half kilometres. The good news is that the trip to work is all downhill and the wind is at my back. Of course, I have to come home at the end of the day and while the walk is not arduous, the north wind is always blowing in my face. In the summer this is a wonderful thing. In the dead of winter, it can be torturous.

This street is a major thoroughfare, and this being a university town many students use this route to get to classes. Some things never change. As long as I can remember, the first class of the day has always commenced at 8:15. Last spring, on my way to work, I came over the last hill which brings one to Main Street, and on both sidewalks was a long line of students with their back packs, making their way to campus. It looked very much like a column of ants.

Now, lest you think I am being disrespectful to be referring to students as ants, may I remind you that ants are very industrious, bright insects. They are the animal with the largest brain in proportion to their body size. They are known to be the smartest type of insects with about 250,000 brain cells. There are warrior ants who engage in hand to hand combat and apparently execute well-planned strategies to overcome their victim.

In a rebuttal to the phrase “It’s a man’s world”, the male worker ants have a lifespan of between 45-60 days while the queen ant can live upwards of 20 years. Reminds me of that old country and western song; “She got the gold mine. I got the shaft.” And apparently, slavery is alive and well in the colonies… the ant colonies, that is. The slave- maker ant raids the nests of other ants and steals their pupae. Once the pupae hatch, they are made to work as servants within the colony. Sort of like a hostile corporate takeover.

And finally, ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight. One of the varsity football players would have to lift a mid-sized car over his head to equal the strength of an ant. Some have tried.

The ants walking down the sidewalk on this winter morning are the engine of the local economy. Antigonish has been welcoming students since 1855. Technically the university was started in Arichat but later relocated to Antigonish. While there has always been a healthy tension between town and gown, it is a symbiosis akin to anything in the animal kingdom.

Every time I witness this parade down the sidewalks I start humming the soundtrack from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; High ho, high ho, it’s off to work we go. Let us celebrate this ant colony. Brains and hard work should pay off for them too.

 

 

Posted on September 9, 2015 under Storytelling with no comments yet

A crow seeking redemption

 

 

The wind is howling and rain is falling in buckets as I pull into the parking lot at the hospital for an early morning shift. A work crew of arborists is in the final stages of delimbing several beautiful, stately pine trees that guard the entrance to the hospital. Truthfully, until this very moment, I had never noticed them before. The branches of the trees looked perfectly healthy. A few hours later, I happen to be outside when the cleanup is winding down. I casually ask a member of the hospital’s maintenance crew, who supervised the work, the reason for the felling of the trees.

“Crows.”

It seems that many people are fascinated by birds and spend a lifetime watching and photographing them, cataloguing their every move and habit. Many species are noted for their brilliant plumage while others are held in awe for their spectacular feats of long distance travel. But in many small towns and cities, the humble crow has become something of a nuisance.

I must admit that I have never paid much attention to birds other than my quest to score at least 1 under par over the years! Our family had a budgie which was all the rage back in the 60’s. We all had to take a turn cleaning the floor of the cage which had back issues of the newspaper to catch the droppings. It’s funny how these memories stay with us all our lives; like eating liver for the first time.

Back in 1974, on a road trip to California, I was on a tour of San Francisco Bay … a harbor cruise that included a circumnavigation of Alcatraz. It was a spectacular day and the boat was packed with tourists. I was enjoying the scenery when I noticed almost everyone on the boat moving from one side of the vessel to the other. I thought this rather odd. Actually, I wasn’t thinking at all as moments later I felt a splat of excrement as it nestled into my afro. High above, on the ships mast, sat a seagull that seemed to be laughing at me along with all the other passengers.

This past January, on a road trip with my son, I was at Fisherman’s Wharf and was dive bombed by an aggressive gull who was quite interested in the crab roll that I was consuming. Could this possibly have been an offspring of the bird who rained on my parade (literally!) some forty years ago?

According to people who know these things, crows are among the smartest birds in our hemisphere. Apparently, a crow’s brain is the size of a human thumb; huge relative to its body size. This puts their intelligence on a par with primates, allowing them to solve complex problems. I wonder if they can crunch the numbers to define a recession?!

It seems like the most pressing question about crows is this:   Why do they congregate in such large groups (known as “roosts”), keeping neighborhoods awake at nightfall?

One theory is that they gather in a favorable spot to protect themselves from predators, such as owls; the “wagon train” analogy. Another has to do with food and food sources. Apparently the crows communicate with each other about such weighty matters, so they get together before dark to compare notes. A third explanation is that they assemble around a reliable food source; the “bed and breakfast” concept. I guess this explains why hundreds of crows routinely hang out in the large trees adjacent to The Wheel Pizza and Sub Shop!

Crows are able to recognize human faces. They have long memories and tend to take things personally.  The story is told of an incident at a golf course in Dartmouth when a woman inadvertently struck and killed a crow with an errant drive. It was early in the round. A murder of crows followed her for the remainder of the game … and every day she golfed after that. She joined a new club: The Raven`s Roost.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, an animated discussion ensues about the crow problem. They have become regular denizens of this stand of trees and routinely pester hospital patients, staff and guests as they make their way from the parking lot to the entrance of the hospital. There are reports of unprovoked attacks, some of the boldest birds grabbing food from unsuspecting pedestrians. They also forage in garbage cans and routinely pillage the beds of half ton trucks looking for food and building material. They are known to perch on the roofs of vehicles as they sort through the garbage, scratching paint and occasionally leaving droppings.

We know that crows are very smart, recognize people, retain knowledge, recall events and are known to be somewhat vindictive.   One wonders what they will do now that their roost has been eliminated.

I notice that the trees haven’t been cut down to the ground. Apparently a local artist has some ideas on what to do with what’s left of the firs. Perhaps he will carve a parliament of owls from the stumps.

There’s a roost on the loose!

 

Posted on September 7, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

1277 reasons to be grateful. Welcome X Frosh

 

 

It was “back to school “last week and I decided that this was a good time to further my education. I enrolled in a nutrition/fitness program. There are not many people I know who don’t struggle in some way with unhealthy eating habits and who are not as active as they should be. I promise I won’t go preachy on you here but as we get older, our health quickly becomes our number one priority.

You are well aware of the expression, “ you are what you eat.” This is not so good if you eat too much bread and supplement your diet with muffins, fries and sweets. I am re-learning how to eat properly. Back in my marathoning days, I could get away with eating almost anything , when I was burning calories as fast as I could consume them. If you are interested in learning more about the program, send me an e-mail ( len.macdonald@eastlink.ca ) and I’ll put you in touch with my coach, who just happens to be my daughter, Margaret!

I know it’s a long weekend and you have much better things to do than read my material but just in case you missed it, I published a story on Saturday that is one of my favorites. It’s a true story about a couple who have to go to Halifax to get their car serviced. The routine maintenance is anything but routine. The story involves construction tie ups, epic heat and humidity, frayed nerves and a trip to several malls…. to find an adult coloring book! If you missed it, go back and check it out. It’s called “ Be Mindful.”

So, are you heading down to Inverness next weekend to “Chase the Ace?” The size of these jackpots is quite astonishing. I was reading a piece in last week’s herald about this phenomenon and they were interviewing the folks who got the craze going in earnest in this part of the world down in Havre Boucher. One of the organizers mentioned that overflow crowds were being directed to an adjacent funeral home. He said that the event was quite an “undertaking.” ( Pause for groan ).

I have been taking some good natured ribbing about the picture I posted last week of me playing the harp. When I retired, I wanted to try something new. I think it’s good to try new things throughout one’s life. It’s so easy to fall into ruts so shaking things up from time to time, isn’t such a bad thing. Someone wondered if I was trying to get an inside track to heaven. It’s going to take a lot more than playing a harp!

Are you fascinated by crows? I was at the hospital last week and noticed that they cut down all the pine trees right at the front entrance to the building. They looked perfectly healthy ( which they were ) but apparently they have been having an awful time with crows who congregate there on a regular basis. They have become a nuisance and have been attacking patients and staff when they see food. I knew that crows were amongst the smartest birds so I did a little research and wrote a story called “ Nothing to Crow About.” It will be published soon here and in the Cape Breton Star.

The first person who can tell me what a collection of crows is called will win a Week45 baseball cap.

Hope you have an awesome Labour Day.