A sonnet

I've had a goal: to write a sonnet sooner, rather than later. A snowy, windy day inspired me. It is tougher to write one than it looks, if you follow the rules of engagement!

Still winter in this place of snow traditions
In March the wind it howled and surely roared
Worn out with life full of white conditions

Despite embracing pleasures, never bored

Mittens, shovels, all that clitter-clatter
Braving ice, snowshoes, wetland frozen
The birds they sing, they flit, they chitter-chatter
Our backyard: deer, turkeys fly, ever chosen

But winds they blow, snow still is afallen
It's time for sap to run and snow to leave
I hope that Spring she will come aknockin'
For winter I will not be sad to grieve

Hopeful: winter days they are anumbered
Nature wakens after she has slumbered

Shakespearean sonnet.' 4-4-4-2'. abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
A sonnet is an argument. Its metaphors builds this argument, moves from one metaphor to the next. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the argument builds up like this:

• First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.
• Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
• Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), introduced by a "but" off the ninth line.
• Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image.

See also:"rules" of The English Sonnet  by Crosland, who disallowed rhymes using...

• words ending in ty, ly and cy must not be used as rhymes whether in octet or sestet.
• applies to the pronoun "I" and to easy or over-worked rhymes such as see, me, be and day, may, play. Be, bee, maybe, sea, see.
• Words ending in cy do not rhyme together, and must not be rhymed in either octet or sestet. (Crosland, 1917)

MORE REFERENCES

 Introduction to Shakespeare's Sonnets

 Shakespearean Sonnet Basics Iambic Pentameter and the English Sonnet Style

A rhyme scheme in which each sonnet line consists of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet.  An example of an iamb would be good BYE. A line of iambic pentameter flows like this: 

When I / do COUNT / the CLOCK / that TELLS / the TIME (Sonnet 12)

 Shakespeare's Sonnets: Q & A 
 Shakespeare's Greatest Love Poem

• Read some examples at Sonnet Central.
• explanation of iambic pentameter and hints on writing love poetry.
• Try some Sonnet Magnets  - This is a really novel wordmagnet applet!
• Discuss sonnets and sonnet writing on the new sonnet board.

Wish litterbugs would hibernate over winter

Between Wendy's and Timmy Ho's in Perth, we get a lot of garbage dumped overboard. We are one large coffee, or 1 1/2 hamburgers south of town!
This latest customer seemd to supersize his order: one iced tea and hamburger and cheeseburger, plus fries.

Wendy's hamburger dumped overboard

Bought it at 11 pm, chucked it out,
I found it the next day

After the snow melted, I did a major cleanup. April, 2011

And again in the fall, several bags full.

They rolled the rim
and chucked it overboard.

 I emailed Wendy's to complain, heard nothing. I even put it out on Twitter, nada.

I shall have to go into the store...
Tim Horton's is the same. They need to come up with a strategy for challenging this issue.
We can't teach some how not to litter, but maybe there is a way to deter them.

Collection from Earth Day 2006,
Sir Win. Middle School

White-tailed deer – I've lost count!

We counted 19 in this photo, last night there were 20, altogether.

Now, we aren't professional trackers, but it would be interesting to follow them!

We know that they winter together, in 'winter yards', but once summer comes, they spread out in the forest and we seldom see them.

Lots of moose and deer across highway 60
through Algonquin Park

I love watching our deer. They are tricky to photograph.

Tigger last summer!

This is why they call them 'white-tails'

There is a researcher, Ph.D candidate Keith Munro, tracking deer in the Marlborough Forest. You can find this forest just west of North Gower, near Paden Rd., north of Merrickville. 

Keith Munro  You can follow him on Twitter: @thedeerproject

I'm a PhD candidate at Trent University. I am capturing and collaring white-tailed deer to study their biology, behaviour and response to humans.

Peterborough/Kemptville, ON

He's made the CBC news!
Deer tracked with GPS in Ontario study
... Natural Resources and Trent University are in Eastern Ontario tracking deer in ... them away from roads and drop deer/vehicle collision rates," he said.

I think it a good idea. He plans on tracking deer using GPS collars. I have written about the high collision rates in near-by Mississippi Mills. It is peculiar how some spots are worse than others.

Nap time, mommy?

I hope that tracking the deer doesn't change them. Ours are so easily spooked. The cats, or turkeys make them run, and they spook easily. Watching the captures on the CBC video makes me feel for the deer.

Ours are easily spooked.
Todays high winds, 60 - 90 km gusts, have the deer quite petrified. They bolt when the gusts come through.

A bird can startle them, when mourning doves flap about and flutter, too!

What you want, woman?

Hey, you!

I love the turkey's colours!

They look upset by the turkeys!

Camera Critters #204!

Tis time to find the colour in our winter

Unfortunately, Ottawa's famous canal was only frozen enough for a 28-day run, which is bad for us, for tourism, and for those who enjoy that exercise.

They say this isn't such a bad year for illness, since the cold season was short, and people got out in the good weather to play! I'm not sure about that!

My kids had a bad bout with the dreaded Norovirus last week. There are lots of things going around, however.
I'm glad we live in a country where children don't die from such bugs, despite Izzy barfing all night, she has lived to tell the tale and get good clean liquids back into her system.

I decided to wire them a cheery batch of flowers with a happy face mug!
It made me feel good, too!

My bronchitis/whooping cough(?) is getting better.
But I got bored. Going through several boxes of tissues, and 2 hankies per hour...

I had bought some Valentine roses, the buds made of chocolate, for my girls. Scrumptious dark chocolate, set on a stick, wrapped with proper florist tape, and a realistic green leaf. I decided my sore throat warranted a bit of chocolate... GONE!

While healing at home, I decided to get crafty. My faithful readers include nature nuts, wanderers, great aloha walkers & writers, chameleon teen author, writer omnivores, skywatchers, caregivers, cooks, camera critter photographers, floral photographers, artists, deckside photographers, vagabondes, fishermen, lots of retired teachers, travellers, crafty poets, house boat gardeners and gardeners, near (South Ontario; Central Ontario) and far across the pond, ranchers on this continent, ranchers afar, hilltop skywatchers. I felt hopeful I could create something, too.

I figured I ought to replace the chocolates with a homemade flower! I'd bought some craft foam and traced many sizes of the same shape, then plunked them on the top of the stems.
Not so bad!!!! I glued a bead on top, with my trusty hot glue gun.

We had planned a visit, abandoned when I went on antibiotics! I still believe that it was undiagnosed whooping cough. People my age haven't usually had their pertussis shot in recent years. I did a bit of research, after I heard about some other cases, and this I believe is true: it is going undiagnosed in many cases presented in the ER.

Norovirus infection Fact Sheet - Toronto Public Health

What are the signs and symptoms of Norovirus infection? How long do symptoms of ...What should I do if I, or a family member, become infected with Norovirus?
See also: Norovirus

Number of Whooping Cough Cases in B.C.

About 150 cases of whooping cough have now been reported in the Lower Mainland as health officials warn the disease is spreading west of the Fraser Valley.

Rotavirus Vaccine

Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration among infants and children in the world. In Canada, 36 per cent of children with rotavirus see a doctor, 15 per cent go to hospital ERs and seven per cent require hospitalization. 

Ottawa Valley Books and Authors

Many books and publications by Ottawa Valley Authors!

1. Armstrong, Audrey. The blacksmith of Fallbrook : the story of Walter Cameron. 1979
2. Baker, Dean J., Baker's bad boys.  2010
3. Baker, Dean J. The Herald. 2010
4. Currie, Terence M. The Ottawa Valley's great fire of 1870 : the nineteenth century press and the reality of a great disaster. 2009
5. Dick, Mary-Ellen. A tribute to some special whitetails. 2009
6. Douglas, Helen, William's gift : one veterinarian's journey. 2009
7. Fischer, Doug. Willsey, Ralph.Each morning bright : 160 years of selected readings from the Ottawa Citizen. 2005
8. Fisher, Andy. Radical ecopsychology : psychology in the service of life. 2002
9. Flannigan, Clara Raina. Raina, Anne. Clara's rib : a true story of a young girl growing up in a tuberculosis hospital. 2010
10. Hall, Phil In the early 80s, Phil was a member of the Vancouver Industrial Writers' Union. He is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada, & lives near Perth, Ontario. The little seamstress. 2010 Also: Killdeer.  2011
11. Kalbfleisch, John. This island in time : remarkable tales from Montreal's past. 2008
12. McManus, Patrick. The Rideau Canal and its corridor : a site to see 2011 

    Rideau Corridor Landscape Strategy on Vimeo
    ► 5:55► 5:55	vimeo.com/2103033214 Mar 2011 - 6 min The Rideau Canal and its Corridor have been honoured with many distinctions; a National Historic Site

13. Pike Lake Community Association. Report on the state of Pike Lake and it's watershed. (PDF)  2010
14. Roberts, Wayne. Get a life! : how to make a good buck, dance around the dinosaurs and save the world while you're at it. 1944-1995
15. Rogers, Kay. Voices of Pike Lake. 2011
16. Theobald, Clark. Duty, conspiracy, obsession : the story of Daniel Joseph Davern's journey from dishonour to dedemption. 2011
17. Existing conditions and trends in the Tay River watershed /2000
18. Vettese, Sharolyn. Life teacher : the role of a parent. 2004
19. William, Arlene Stafford. Lanark County Calendar. 2013
20. Willsey, Ralph. This fair town : Perth in photographs. 2009
21. [PDF] Report on the State of Otty Lake and its Watershed
22. The intent of the Report on the State of Otty Lake and its Watershed is to ...... of OttyLake “Jebbs Creek”, and the creek into which it flows, “Pike Creek”, later to ...

    
    

Jennifer Jilks

Living and dying with dignity : A daughter's journey through long-term care /Jilks, Jennifer A. 2008

James K. Bartleman

James Bartleman at a book signing in Perth.
He and I traded books! A great way to read other writers

• Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka/ 2007
• Out of Muskoka / 2006
• Rollercoaster : my hectic years as Jean Chrétien's diplomatic advisor, 1994-1998 / 2005

Roy MacSkimming

• Gordie : a hockey legend : an unauthorized biography of Gordie Howe / 1993
• The perilous trade : publishing Canada's writers / 2003
• On your own again : the down-to-earth guide to getting through a divorce or separation and getting on with your life / Anderson, Keith., MacSkimming, Roy. /1992
• Out of Love, 1993
• Cold war : the amazing Canada-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972 /1996
• Macdonald
• Laurier in Love, a novel

Roy MacGregor

• Screech Owl series for children
• Escape [novel, McClelland & Stewart, 2002]
• A Loonie For Luck [travel, McClelland & Stewart, 2002]
• Canoe Lake [novel, McClelland & Stewart, 2002]
• The Seven A.M. Practice: Stories of Family Life [non-fiction, McClelland & Stewart 1996]
• Roy MacGregor's Valley Christmas [fiction, General Store Publishing House, 1996]
• Home Team: Fathers, Sons & Hockey [non-fiction, Penguin, 1995]
• Road Games: A Year in the Life of the NHL [non-fiction, McClelland & Stewart 1993]
• The Road Home: Images of the Ottawa Valley (photography by Steve Evans) [General Store Publishing House, 1991]
• Quantity Time: Words of Comfort for Imperfect Parents [humor, non-fiction, McClelland & Stewart, 1990]
• Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada - with Ken Dryden [non-fiction, McClelland & Stewart, 1989]
• Chief: The Fearless Vision of Billy Diamond [biography, Penguin, 1989]
• The Last Season [novel, Macmillan of Canada, 1983]

Signage – good for a laugh or a cry!

Please wait to be seated!
How creative!

There can be indoor or outdoor signage!
I've posted on 'signage' before. Especially in winter, when the plows go down the road at great speed!

They left a lot of Muskoka signs a bit wobbly!
Nope, no exit! No entrance, either!

Here is a great sign in Perth

Sign in Bob's in Delta, ON

Sign of the old times!

Happy sign!

Could have used this in my classroom!

Eats, shoots and leaves!
Plural vs. possessive!

Fish naked?
Sign in  Bob's in Delta, ON

Glad this is a sign no longer used.
Sign in  Bob's in Delta, ON

Muskoka deer are busy,
and clever!