Eagle eggs in Whitehorse (Yukon Electric livestream) hatching today

The first bald eagle egg hatched this morning in the Yukon Electric, Whitehorse Livestream nest at 6:47 or so nest time, 8:47 or so on the scroll bar. Two more to go.

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/3935006/events/2087971

Just getting on a street corner and yelling

Let's just say that having listened to Gwynne Dyer speak on Wednesday to a group of Grade 12 students in Baddeck on the power of non-violent protest, where he explained that leaders are always afraid of non-violent protests, I read PM Stephen Harper's dismissive, glib and perhaps fearful New York remarks in the newspaper today on street corner protesters with an ear to Dyer's speech. 

Dyer said: 

 “What we are in the presence of is the culminating phase of the triumph of non-violence. In the past 30 years, as the result primarily of non-violent, democratic revolutions, we have gone from a world where about one third of the population lived in more or less democratic countries, to a world where two thirds of the world’s population lives in more or less democratic countries. Almost all of these transformations have been achieved by non-violent revolutions.” 

Harper said:

"It is not a matter of just getting on a street corner and yelling, and that will somehow lead to a solution." 

Now I understand that Dyer is speaking about countries where non-violent revolution has brought about democracy, but he also spoke of how non-violent protest in the 1960s brought about changes during the Civil Rights movement, and in my own experience saw the influence of non-violent protest during the disarmament movement and where gender equality rights of women were concerned. 

I am not naive and I do realize that Harper is right that there must be international agreements and concrete plans to effectively reduce emissions globally, but that does not preclude the need for vocal public street-corner challenges to existing practices, nor does it preclude the possibility that Canada might lead by example and enact laws and regulations that would make us a world leader in the production and distribution of "ethical oil", and that Canada might do so  before global pacts are negotiated and signed. 

Or perhaps someone might want to just get on a street corner and yell about what Danny Harvey said today in the Globe:

"Canada and Alberta need to begin now to prepare for the post-carbon world – a world that will be largely powered by some combination of hydro, wind, solar, and biomass energy – all of which are or could be produced in abundance in Canada. More importantly, the post-carbon world requires that we make energy efficiency our number one priority, because only in that way will our overall demand for energy be small enough that it can be reliably met by renewable, but sustainable, energy sources."

Watching an eagle nest in Whitehorse and waiting for the river break up in Dawson City

Yukon Electric has a webcam set up to  view an eagle's nest. Watching today, I did finally get to see the eagle take off from the nest to reveal three lovely eggs. And I did read somewhere that the eggs might hatch this week. I will be vigilant. 

While I have you here, there is a site to watch the river break up in Dawson City, Yukon, as well. The site will take you to the river as it is today but if you go to the heading "time lapse" you can watch last year's break up and it's fascinating. When the ice finally shifts, it goes so fast. (I do wonder if I have too much time on my hands watching these slow-to-change images, but there is something soothing about it -- until I get impatient that is. I check the sites in between being driven indoors by blackflies while working in the garden.) Check out past statistics, too. The latest break up recorded is May 28th, 1964. Now that must have been some winter & spring! 

Happy viewing.

Yukon Electric eagle nest site:

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/3935006/events/2087971

Yukon River break up site:

http://yukonriverbreakup.com/

Lilah

Brand new, sleeping on her daddy's (hairy) chest, Arabic for born at night, Persian for dark beauty, she is ours and we welcome her.

Sixty-two: my sunrise

My neighbour, Jim Steele, takes photos of the sunrise over the ocean every morning and these are of today's sunrise. Thanks, Jim, for the morning photos.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Easter, 2013

As the snow slowly melts and the beaten down daffodils begin to show themselves, we send wishes for a joyous return of spring, a peaceful Easter holiday, a lovely dinner with family and friends.

Easter in Pittsburgh

Even on Easter Sunday   

when the church was a

jungle of lilies and   

ferns fat Uncle Paul

who loved his liquor   

so would pound away

with both fists on the   

stone pulpit shouting

sin sin sin and the   

fiery fires of hell

and I cried all after-

noon the first time I

heard what they did to   

Jesus it was something

the children shouldn’t   

know about till they

were older but the new   

maid told me and both

of us cried a lot and so   

mother got another one

right away & she sent   

away Miss Richardson

who came all the way   

from England because

she kept telling how   

her fiancé Mr. Bowles-

Lyon died suddenly of   

a heart attack he just

said one day at lunch   

I’m afraid I’m not well

and the next thing they   

knew he was sliding un-

der the table. Easter   

was nice the eggs were

silly but the big lilies   

were wonderful & when

Uncle Paul got so fat   

from drinking that he

couldn’t squeeze into   

the pulpit anymore &

had to preach from the   

floor there was an el-

ders’ meeting and they   

said they would have

the pulpit rebuilt but   

Uncle Paul said no it

was the Lord’s manifest   

will and he would pass

his remaining years in   

sacred studies I liked

Thanksgiving better be-

cause that was the day

father took us down to   

the mills but Easter I

liked next best and the   

rabbits died because we

fed them beet tops and   

the lamb pulled up the

grass by the roots and   

was sold to Mr. Page the

butcher I asked Uncle   

Robert what were sacred

studies he said he was   

not really sure but he

guessed they came in a   

bottle and mother sent

me away from the table   

when I wouldn’t eat my

lamb chops that was   

ridiculous she said it

wasn’t the lamb of God   

it was just Caesar An-

dromache Nibbles but I   

couldn’t I just couldn’t

& the year of the strike   

we didn’t go to Church

at all on Easter because   

they said it wasn’t safe

down town so instead we   

had prayers in the library

and then right in the mid-

dle the telephone rang it

was Mr. Shupstead at the   

mill they had had to use

tear gas father made a   

special prayer right a-

way for God’s protection   

& mercy and then he sent

us out to the farm with   

mother we stayed a week

and missed school but it   

rained a lot and I broke

the bathroom mirror and   

had to learn a long psalm.

James Laughlin, “Easter in Pittsburgh” from Poems New and Selected. 

Bobby Orr turns 65

One of the big news items today is that Bobby Orr is turning 65. I wrote The Checkout Girl in part to honour Bobby's amazing ability to skate. Here's a little of what the Chronicle Herald had to say about the book:

“ The Checkout Girl is the story of a young woman who works as a cashier, while dreaming of Bobby Orr and being a hockey player. The book is set in 1970 when such dreams, at least for women, were ridiculous and predictably, she has a rough time. Yet, in the end, she does manage to find a way to make a living from the ice and she survives, even thrives."

Check it out on Facebook: 
947463364http://www.facebook.com/pages/Signature-Editions/154006

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/SigEditions

And here's where you can get information from the publisher online about the book and how to order it or download The Checkout Girl to your reader:

http://www.signature-editions.com/index.php/books/single_title/the_checkout_girl