Say Hi ! Day

Today is the first annual Say Hi Day which was implemented by the Community Safety & Crime Prevention Council of Waterloo Region. I have noticed Say Hi signs along roads in our area and on the back of our city buses but didn't know what it was about until today. The program was started in 2004 as part of the Get Connected campaign to encourage increased community engagement, especially among youth.

Making eye contact with strangers and greeting them can be intimidating for many people. I remember the halls of high school and the dread I sometimes felt when I had to pass a group of people I didn't know hanging around in the corridor. There was seldom any basis for my fear other than my own self consciousness and insecurity. These days, I often walk the streets and trails in our community alone and make a point of giving everyone I pass a smile, nod or greeting. And nearly everyone reciprocates graciously.

The Say Hi website gives these reasons for the campaign.

By reaching out to neighbours and friends - you can help build a strong community.

• You'll get connected with your community
• You'll remove barriers that separate people
• You'll nurture a sense of belonging & inclusion
• You'll start a dialogue about community safety

I know few of my neighbours well as most people work and sitting on the porch is a rare past time these days. And our cold winter days keep people indoors for months. Our community includes our workplace, schools, recreational, social and spiritual centres. We need to teach children to be street smart without making them fearful of everyone they don't know.

So Hi there! Welcome to my community!

Photos from the Say Hi website

Bald Eagles and more

Bald Eagle from The Record

Last week a local photographer, David Bebee, captured this image of a Bald Eagle flying near the Grand River along a trail that I frequently walk. The eagles have arrived for the winter and there have been a number of sighting by birders in the area. I have never seen a Bald Eagle in the wild and hope to see one this season.
Last weekend I walked a trail where eagles are frequently reported. I was there shortly after dawn, which isn't too early any more. I was also looking for some different woodpeckers as a Red-headed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and a Pileated Woodpecker had also been recently reported in our local birding forum.

Common Mergansers with Canada Geese

The river was full of birds and at first glance they all seemed to be Mallards and Canada Geese and gulls. But a careful second look revealed two pair of Common Mergansers in the mix. The interesting birds are usually just out of my camera's range for a good picture.

Common Goldeneye

A number of small diving ducks travelled in larger groups of about twenty birds, including these Common Goldeneyes. There were also quite a few Buffleheads around.
There were many Robins and Cedar Waxwings around the berry bushes in a sheltered area below the high river bank. I did see one Hairy Woodpecker and while some dead leaves blocked a clear camera view, I did get an adequate look at the tail feathers to make certain that this was not a Downy Woodpecker.

Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpeckers are noisy and large in comparison to their Downy cousins and lack the black spots on their outer tail feathers.
I saw a large brown raptor in a willow tree upstream from where I stood. When it flew away, there was an enormous, noisy bird scatter. Another birder who had a scope said it was a juvenile Bald Eagle, one that he had seen several times recently. I do believe him, but I won't count it as my sighting until I can ID it myself.

American Coot

There are some excellent photographs posted on our birding forum by avid birders with expensive cameras. Many of them have been visiting the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, braving very cold winds to get pictures of wintering birds. I took the picture of these American Coots in the Hamilton harbour a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few links to pictures worth viewing of less common birds being seen in SW Ontario.

Long Tailed Ducks, Rusty Blackbird, Bohemian Waxwings, Scoter, Common Redpoll

Backs and Bones

This is the view I see too often as I work with patients who are trying to regain their mobility and independence. In the past ten years I have kept a database of my adult Home Care patients including the reason for their referral to physiotherapy services. I have seen nearly 3000 patients in this decade and the most frequent diagnosis is a fractured hip. After that, general frailty, falls and an assortment of other fractures including spinal compression fractures, shoulder and pelvic fractures compose the majority of my caseload. This pattern is also seen in the admissions to the geriatric rehabilitation hospital where I work. In fact, I see many of the same patients repeatedly in the hospital and community.

This lady's kyphotic spine is typical of many like her who have advanced osteoporosis (not to be confused with osteoarthritis). Women in her age group have often been under treated for this condition. There are improved diagnostic and treatment options available now and osteoporosis does not have to lead to disability. One in four women over 50 and one in eight men have osteoporosis. The Ontario Osteoporosis Strategy is working to improve education, identification and treatment of this condition. By identifying people at risk, particularly younger, ambulatory patients with low impact fractures, providing educational materials starting in elementary schools, and improving the use and accuracy of BMD testing, the goal is to decrease the cost of osteoporosis to individuals and the health care system.

Early detection of this condition is very important. Here is a list of risk factors from the website of Osteoporosis Canada. It is important to note changes in height as the loss of 2 or more inches during adulthood is a strong predictor of osteoporosis. Femail Doc of Doc of Ages wrote a post this week about the class of antidepressants known as SSRI's and the increased incidence bone fragility and falls in people who use them. It is important to be informed and proactive about our health and the health of our loved ones. My husband's mother had a height loss of several inches, a shoulder fracture and hip fracture before she was started on medication to improve her bone density. There is no need for this to happen any more.
Here is an interactive bone health tool from the USA National Institute of Health called Check up on your Bones. Or follow any of the other links above for plenty of useful information.

Packing Snow!

We receive a good amount of snow in our area each winter, but very seldom is it good packing snow. Packing snow is essential for snowballs and snowmen and the temperatures must be close to freezing for it to be heavy and sticky. This is what fell around evening rush hour yesterday making a slippery commute for drivers and a very pretty decoration for the trees.

The Becka and I went out to clear some snow before my husband got home and it was very heavy to push and lift the shovel. We decided it would be much easier to clear the driveway and sidewalks by making giant snowballs for a snow man. We have a corner lot and a double driveway so in no time we had our snow man made.

The shoveling was much easier after this. Dakota loves the snow and tried to catch snowballs we threw his way. Snow has come much earlier than last year when we never had snow that stayed until mid-January. The local ski club has been making extra snow for its slopes since the weekend. The white ground does brighten the grey, short November days and snow is preferable to freezing rain. More is on the way today, but the temperatures have dropped and we will have dry, blowing snow. Maybe we will have a white Christmas this year.

Fish for Breakfast

I took a very chilly walk along the river early in the morning this weekend. At the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers, the water was full of ducks, geese and gulls. Our over-wintering birds have arrived from the north and the sections of the river that stay open due to strong currents attract large number of birds. The temperature was -10C which is cold for this time of year. I watched this gull for some time as it tried to deal with a fish that was a little too big to handle. The gull was fishing from an ice-covered rock that was surrounded by shallow water.

The fish kept falling back into the water and the gull would retrieve it and return to the slippery rock. The fish would be placed on the rock and then the gull would try to eat it. But the ice provided no traction and the gull would slip off the rock and lose the fish again. The cycle would begin again.


If only the gull could have heard my advice! "Fly over to the river bank and have your breakfast on the shore where the grasses and ground would make a eating surface." Another birder was watching the river too and said the birds would stay as long as the food supply remained good and the water stayed open. The river is still very low for this time of year. Time will tell if nature will be kind to the winter residents that rely on its delicate balance to survive.

I'll be Home for Christmas

God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

Hebrews 13: 5,6

I was walking along the river on Saturday and passed this bench that was decorated with a seasonal wreath. The bench is inscribed and was placed along the river trail in memory of a woman I knew from our community who died an untimely death from cancer. Someone who cares for her memory put the wreath here instead of at a cemetery as the woman loved the outdoors. While the Christmas season is a happy one for many people, there are those who will be separated from family by distance, illness and death. Grandma kept a Christmas scrapbook for many years and I remember a pasted clipping on one of the pages with the words of the song below. The illustration depicted a WW 2 serviceman overseas as he was trying to decorate a palm tree with Christmas lights.

I'm dreaming tonight
Of a place I love
Even more than I usually do.
And although I know
It's a long road back
I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas.
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.

I am separated by distance from most of my own family every Christmas. The memories of others who have passed on come to mind at special times of the year. This bench reminds me to seek out someone who needs a special gift of friendship this Christmas season.

Buy Nothing Day 2007

Vancouver's Adbusters says: buy nothing tomorrow

Emma Gilchrist
November 22, 2007

This has to be the easiest call to action of all time: do nothing.

Well, you still have to wake up, go to work, walk the dog and feed your kids, but you can leave your shopping list at home. Today is the day to take a break from the Christmas madness that's beginning to creep into your life.

Instead, for the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day, make a conscious effort to participate by, well, not participating.

Environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in 65 countries will hit the streets for a 24-hour consumer fast today (in North America) and Saturday (internationally), marking a global cultural phenomenon that originated in Vancouver and has now gained attention worldwide.

The day is timed to coincide with the Friday after American Thanksgiving - one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The brainchild of Adbusters magazine, Buy Nothing Day has picked up speed alongside concern for the environment, as average folks seek greener alternatives to unrestrained consumption…

Lasn, the Buy Nothing boss, says the message is bigger than a single day.

"It's about finding out how addicted you are to consumption," he says. "Everyone has their own way of waking up to the fact that 'my lifestyle really stinks' . . . It's about having that epiphany."

Lasn insists there really aren't any rules. What's really important is a mind shift - and not just a personal one, but a cultural one, too.

"It's really not enough anymore to change your light bulbs. You need to change your lifestyle, not your light bulbs," he says, pointing out that the richest one-fifth of the world's population consumes four-fifths of the world's resources.

"The real message is to take it seriously. You are one of the lucky one billion people on the planet. What part can you play, besides changing your light bulb? In that spirit of seriousness, go on a fast. Really go deep that day and come out of it transformed," says Lasn.

"What I'm really hoping is that millions of people participating in Buy Nothing Day will have a spiritual awakening."

"Buy Nothing Day isn't just about changing your routine for one day. It's about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment."

Buy Nothing Day survival plan

Here are five things to do today instead of buying stuff.

1. Pack a lunch. Put yourself to the test and see what you can come up with. And don't forget coffee. We don't want you heading to the mall for food, and then breaking your Buy Nothing promise.

2. Get outside. Explore somewhere you've never been before.

3. Catch up with friends and family. Stay in and call some people you should've called long ago, or invite a bunch of friends over for a Buy Nothing party.

4. The other three Rs: Read, relax, reflect. Take this day as an opportunity to take stock of your life and consider your consumption, and then make it an annual tradition.

5. If you find yourself in a stitch, thinking: "Oh no, I really need to buy this," take a second to think about what the word 'need' means. Could you get by without it? Re-evaluate what you require. You just might find abstaining from your consumer craving a liberating experience.

First Snow Fall

The sun that dim November day
Had failed to kiss the clouds away
From quiet Nature's furrowed face,
Where autumn tears had left their trace.

And, by and by, on fields of brown
The feathered flakes came floating down
From Heaven to this world of ours,
Like spirits of departed flowers.

And fast and faster through the night,
Till Morn arose on meadows white,
And o'er the landscape lightly stepped
Where tired Nature, smiling, slept.

Albert Bigelow Paine

These shots were taken in the same park where I took pictures for the Pooh Sticks post last week. What a difference a few days can make!