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. BY "'85- EMlLyl‘M'Oi-J‘RE :l l ICandlemas day; is a church fies: thval on 2nd February in handr- Iof- the purification of the Virgin ‘Mary. Sunday 'Was ‘Ca'ndlemas 3 Day and the Writer's birthday- .‘ “It‘s Candlemas Day! Just half :the meat, and half the hay, and the winter is half gune‘ away." So swings an old bit of Canadian pro- phecy Csmceminc the 33rd day of any ordinary YEar. Just how true ‘and how old this little jingle is. l could be anyone's guess. But scor- es of country (people, especially [those of the older generation. set 1 a great deal of ~‘stock' by the time iworn rhyme. I”:Half the meat!" ‘ simply meant that the ‘big wooden barrel containing the fan'my win» -ter supply of salt pork was. or at ileast should ”be. at just about the middle hoop if the barrel had been full to start with. ‘But then. that depended on Whether the ‘barrel was one of the one or two pig capacrty. as well as how long those aunts and cousins had 5 . ed when they came for a Visit. tay .Irlalf a century ago, half‘ hour VlSltS‘Were yet unborn. No one dreamed of gOing anywhere unless they could stay for dinner or SUP" peg. or more often both meals. And luckily. your host expected you to unnam. ’They Wanted the chance to sh . on their special brand 0‘ smok 11am, an original Plele recipev .d other delicacies of a well-stocked cellar and pantry- Quite often the day was not long eHOl-lgh to get caught up on all the family's dmngs so thy, ‘brief visit' was extended to another 24 hours- sreveral days often passed before every item of news had ibeen‘wlq' lAnd toil. Of an eyemn there was. a outlining bee, or an .Eld fashion- 9d housemarty. and there were al- .ways occasions for plenty of eat; ingi ’9‘ course all this time. 01d :DUbblfl'had‘l‘lhfida‘yed too. He had been glyen the best stall in the stable, ”‘8 ‘Cl‘Uicest of hay. a daily “WP ”f 3mm and blanketed every “WW. Mmefim‘e. no doubt. than angel he recetvad when at home- l So it was. on 'Candlemas Day." thOugh 4 days-sh - a' hallway winter 0“ 0f the actu 1 anticipation of an 6an - and lrelease from new inilfiagnkj bumPY-mfids. caused this ins ‘non of the Pork barrel and the hay .bann. And how the family and 5i°?k.’h‘ad fared. and would fare untll green»up' time in April and May was sanguine the salt mark 011’ the barrel! and the'space of daylight seen through the end boards of the barn just above the topmost reaches of the hay mow. i .. Another old folks Candlemas {Jingle went something hke'this:- i If calid‘lcmas morn dawns dull and y - gray. .The winter is half gone away. But if ‘BEBF and Groundhog their . shadows up, Stock UP 0“ Nut and wood. l Eprusix more Winter weeks there'll » " 7e. Some Folks now claim it's if they seeilhell' Shmwl some it they don't. we will have 5 weeks- mow winter. here nor there. We get it anywaM And heres some advice to ever)“ l'unl'y chill. one. . I Don't forget in . a day" vitamin To take your "« . pill. ”nits will ‘lielp the'hnimes to shake- Mid new you not! from W W“ collar - ’ Though Melhfi round on ’15 plate. . And ucVC‘l'Jl-“r people .(lfi‘nUW- pm li'n nuli- illi‘ mmuht d? the calorie count; l ‘ ' ,.l . ‘ bipolar/ills j'D'AY" mark â€"' hopeliu‘l. But I say that's nelther, 7 . alizh ate what he _. . _ ’ He ate'it'becausc it was chow. He wasn't disturbed as at dinner he sat. . - Devouring a, roast or a pie. i To think it was lacking in granular ‘ fat, l Or a couple of vitamins shy. l He :Cheerfully chewed each species} of food. Unmindful of troubles and fears] L‘est his health might be hurt. By some fancy desert: i And he lived over 900 years. A FEBRUARY SUNSET , Is lands of ‘blue in a sea of gold i Shimmer and shine in the sunset? sky. J Casting a glamor o'er hill and i wold ‘ ' Where stark trees hold their bran-I ches high: ' Silent the twilight shadows fall, l Over the winter waste of white. ,i Heart responds to the spirit's calll In the luring thrall of the sunset's" light. . Sunset dies and the light grows dim._ Slowly the landscape fades from sight. Like blue of sea the horizon’s rim ‘ Shading the snow with purple light. Beautiful hour when 'the daylight dies! Soothing the peace of the sunset time! . Tranquil the glow of the twilight skies Stirring the hearts to thoughts su» ‘blime. . â€"(Poem by Helen B. Anderson). (Taken from a Birthday .Book' given me at Sunday School 1905. "Cleanse then me lronf secret: faults". February 2nd. 1905). h was. leaâ€"am . . » ]TH.E PLEASURE OF GREEr‘Lne. CARDS Takingi’gne last look 1 at my {Christmas cards before putting ithem'away. I can hardly realize that more than a month in 1969 and cutter waiting at a railway station, the ladies with their hands Chrisomsx of oyer 60.years ago. The little country poshol’fice, Gib bert‘s Mills. was in the home of J. Lester Doxsee. father of the late Curtis Donsee. Our home was ovr Gr three miles from the post of- fice. which was a long walk on a cold winter's day. So Mr. Dex» see used to bring the mail for him- ilules on Ben Gill St. and rand to Bothel cheese factory. to the home of his brother and sister Jasper and Susan Doxsee. and children would lpiult it up on their way home Eliza. mother‘s sister in Enhlund. also a letter for me from my cnu table. They were very much darn ed woollen mittens. gh a very cold day I did not miss them till hall way home. as I hnd‘ a muff to put my ha’n‘gls in. Measures tightly I continued on my . Willy. The next timefll want for the mull it was punter , .. the Picton WI‘ and remix: '- i'u AFte-l' annuirin if I find loll: my mittens him-e. in Do- 19 handed ilhem to. me, also the rs neatly tied Jon-then sayi o leunht tlwy . ml: to carry. has passed. Lodking at a picture on one of the cards. of a horse . in' mums... I am taken bacl'c to a ‘ l‘rom school. One day a mimol and . letter come For mother. from Aunt . sin. In my hurry to get home with ‘ them. I 10M my mittens on tlie‘ Hugging my . l nations. the WI containing ' WNW the exam (Mid who“ now. ' “him a liltle u Were hr the. Min lilKSee had i. ipmy i . in town to-h 3 a right size and. puitcrn. I think this was one of thc n‘ t (tlmst J't.‘ (ll. l l l I wonder how many county 'folks . know thatrthc Big Swamp was at our time the nesting place for two or three hundred cranes? Thc‘sc birds, I believe. are now considered almost extinct These - long necked, long legged birds would return from the south. about the same time as the geese‘ and ducks Their nesting place was at . lllc top of a group of tall elmztre‘cs. Every spring they returned to the same nests, of which 'somejwcrc two and one-half to three feet wide. Made of sticks crisscrossed. piled on top of one another. and lined with long soft grass. and perhaps some horse hair; These cranes used the nests year after year. but they always liouselicl'enned the old’lining and replaced il.‘ wittymcw. Those nests in winter. high in . those ielmvs. after a‘ fall of snow. would- make tho‘dc elms look as if they had huge, white flowers on them. the size of a-jdisl man or wide 'bnimmed- hats'. wit -:a big pile-of meringe in the centre. , . . . ; ~ . .. a! \i‘. Nfiémm’t ,3. noise they made at nestinig time. While the young were. in the nest, from early morn till late at ni-giht. it was 1i ‘e the‘sound of a doneiil threshing ,machines all running at. once. That caak. caali =ound fhornjllat many birds. And then some folks complain 'of a little owl-mater crowing! Cranes very rial 31y laidgr hatched more than t‘ o $.35; ”it was said they in for .1 . "l " ' l l When Dad drew peas to the can hing fiabmry, withl-‘horses and a steel tirdd wagon. if he had to wait and was lgte getting. home. mother and I‘ would listen for the lsound of the wagon wheels‘ovel‘ 1the road. But he always arrived without us hearing him. Between ‘ the noise of'thoseg cranes; and‘ mil» ' lions of frogs. we had an oliblmstra all its own. I always waited up with mother till Dad got llama-on ; those nights. . to have Ele‘ lantern l luzrd‘y to take the team to the barn. l One summer. my brothers and :1 found-u crane with an injured wing, tangled in the long timothy lnnd clover in a hay fleld, Worried . that it might get killed. when Dad lclrove around with the mower. we lcndeavorcd to take it from harm's jway. That crane standing on its ilong legs. and stretching its long lixeck, was nearly as '1: ll as we . ‘ '.B.v Niki EMILY MOORE" '. . . , - 4 .IC’RANES' Nests RECALLED - . 1. l _ xI . 'Dad's permission to go_inti> the swamp to take pictures of these birds and nests; He came equipped with‘high rubber boots and'c’alm- eras for the task. Dad toldllhim anyone who. would risk going 'in there and putting up with black flies and mosquitos, was welcome to all the pictures he could“ get. A few weeks later these pictures were in the Family Herald. with tho story of those cnalics,.lth i1- nesting habits. emu I'-~kep hilly paper for years in a trunk‘. till such a time as I would have time to put it in a scrapbook; but I‘can not find it now. l . The‘ last Lime I saw cranes lwas in'thc spring of 1959. I saw six, cranes flying south-west glowait‘dsl the swamp and reported it to thul Pictoll papers. as I knew more: were so few seen at_ that timp. The answer I got was. lady y0u must be'mistgligen. lhBSe birds are ' nearly extinct. I. replied, I‘ know;. 'lhat‘s why~I am so excited about it. But , nothing was mentioned 'about it. Two years later I saw two wimopei‘scomedown in a field‘ .near the house. This time I was; more excited. A Show squall had come up. and one .could. hardly see. Those birds sat there wait. ing out the storm, then when the storm cleared those beautiful birds ‘ took off towards the swamp. Thlsl I reported also and was told I must have seen geese. I told them. if they were geese. it was the first geese I'd ever seen walking my stilts! Till I recorded it in my diary, 1 I did not guess why perhaps they ‘. did not believe my story. The date was April lst. perhaps they thought I was trying to pull an April fool joke. i Another beautiful bird that is ex. iinct or almost here is the bluebird Their song similar to the whim? was also a jOyous harbinger of spring A pair of bluebirds‘ camel for a number of years,. and built their nests in a large post in from. of the kitchen window. mother and; I got great pleasure watching them and. listening to their song. The lasti'ti'me I saw a pair of bltlEbil-ns in that post was 1957. After that. the post swallows took over. ;. . (Editor‘s Note: There are some i areas of Ontario where bluebindsi abound and conservation mounts l livere. It fought and sqll wked and .we each got a peck in the face. . and believe me that bill sure hurt. ‘lF‘innlly gelling it to the swamp ' where we thought it could at least. gel; food. But not before we were liked to have got our eyes peeked out. ' About the your 1915 Ul‘ 1916 the late Sylvester Church bought the {swamp where the cranes nested- Ho out many of the tall elms. and sold them to Mr. Woods on Talbot; Street. for mnklng choose home. My Dad. Wm. Broadbl'ldgc. bought . the farm and swamp in 1918. There? was still rquilk'i a number of tall olrns th' , and the crimes cnmci uncle in number of years. Grad . only trees were cut down m. had in lesser numbers. ' A ' ii; they . 30’s 41 m‘ _ ‘ (5%: ‘W mgltmuw Fumlilngqfinn (my... .1: ( ntmnI ”no naked .... ”.5. .mm _ _ ._ A build nesting box for them.) __i_-