colony

Still it Snows
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Still it Snows

Hail Bravehearts!

Awesome!  The wonder of life in a new land.  Brilliant and courageous, the spirit soars.  Life in a new land.  All unchartered, all unknown, all mysterious with secrets to reveal.

The sound of the wind as a storm blows in.  Batten down the hatches, close the shutters, stock up the wood supply, fill the larder.  The soft quiet  of winter is blowing in with the storm.  Swirling, dainty flakes of white, fill the air and the temperatures have plunged to zero. ” Let it snow!”  we sing.  “Let it snow!”  For us the first snowfall fills our lives with the changing season and brings joy to our world.  Joy to the world, the winter has come!

Mother Earth sends her children off to a deep winters sleep in hibernation.  The migrating birds have called to each other to flee the snowbound north and fly to warm destinations in the south.   The rest seek shelter in the depths of the forest, where thickets protect them and the shelter of the trees hide them from the elements and the cold.

Winter.  The Earth wraps it’s sleepy head in a soft blanket of snow and sleeps.

The snow falls, it’s quiet intrusion freezes the ground and the lakes and now the water sleeps.  Deep change with the deep freeze and winter storms and icy blasts greet us for the next few months.  Snow!  It piles high.  Higher and higher.  A few inches, a few feet, higher and higher.  While those snug in their warm homes watch in anticipation of the changing season, the snow comes.  Beautiful and white,  dazzling in the sun.  The spectacular change is a gorgeous site.  Still it snows!  It snows relentlessly.  It snows, and snows and snows.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/Canada/snowiest.php  Snowiest places in Canada

The animals vanish and the world is changed.  Higher and higher the snow piles in deep feet of snow.  The weather persists.  Winter storms rage in.  A tiny colony of stalwart humans, set in for the long winters’ sleep.  The larder is full, the woodpile stocked high, prepared for the winter and ready for anything, the tiny colony waits out the deep chill.  And it snows!

Our greatest passions are winter fun, winter play and winter sports, but for us, survival is expected.  We are secure now, in our grand and special place.   A place of sport and hospitality, of snowmen and snow angels.  We learn at an early age to enjoy the spectacular change in season and the joy and privilege that it brings.  A breed of sportsmen, playing and laughing, thrilled for the joy that winter brings.

But a small colony of people, out in the lonely wild, of eastern Canada, did not enjoy the snowbound world so much. In the early 1600’s our great joy of winter, was their peril.  The sleepy, quiet snow, lulled the great planet to sleep.  It nodded it’s great head in slumber and the world slept.  In darkness and cold, the colony sank into slumber as well. The tragedy of the cold, snowy, winter, taking its toll of human life, as temperatures plunged, as the snow fell, as food rations were depleated and disease set in and many lives were lost.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 23, 2015

It Persists
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It Persists

Hail, oh brilliant ones!

The morning shines with light and warmth, the shadows of the darkness pass.  Into this world comes the strong passion of the rising soul.  Now, another day, another quest, another memory.  Each day lived brings us closer to the cause.  To peace, security, life and prosperity.  The greatest achievement in the minds of mankind.  To build a nation and to be one.

To be one with the land, to be one with the people, to join in a massive undertaking of privilege and success.  To be the ones who made it real, to set the stage of your own destiny, to carve footsteps for others to follow, to be the unbeatable champion.  Rise all of you.  Rise to glory.  It is with duty that you come forward, but it is  glory that you aspire to.  Rise, oh champions.  This is your day.

This day, of setting the boundaries, of felling trees, of building dwellings.  This day of toil, of laborious, hard work, of companionship, of perspective and perseverance.  This is a day of duty, of care, of obligations.  This is just another day, way out there.

Way out across the ocean in a land of newness and wild.  The great wild.  So tempting and so secretive, so majestic and so dangerous.  In unison they toil and in unison they strive, to build a fortress of security to protect themselves, shelter, and keep them, in this brave new world.

The great wild is lurking, we hear the howls in the night.  The barks of canine species as they call.  The hoots and coos, of the unknown, the swirling flight of night creatures, the croaks and chorus of singing sounds, the eyes of creatures in the dark.  The night in the forest, so loud and alive, as hunting and singing and playing rings in our ears and the watchful wild stare in the dark, lurking and forbidding us to trespass.  The night sky, a shining mass of stars and the brightness of the moon casts shadows across the grass.  The insects sing in a deafening crescendo and the sounds of the night in the forest fill their dreams and disturb a restful sleep. The wild, so haunting and forbidding, so silent and so eerie.

But the test for a colony comes from adaptability,  foresight, ingenuity and preparedness.  The strength to carry on. The ability to survive.  Good leadership,  sound judgement, skills and ability.  Determination.

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/perr1/newfrance/  A Brief History of New France

Here, in the wild frontier of Canada, where hope and dreams and dares and challenges fill their every day, comes the human of fortitude.  An illustrious European, with desires of grandeur, with minds focused on a colony, with dreams of prosperity.  Persevere, oh great ones.  All is for fame, for fortune and for us.  It is for a place in history and a place for you.  A new world!

Oh awesome human, venture forth.  To a new world!  To a new beginning!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 15, 2015

In The Beginning
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In The Beginning

Good Day Bravehearts!

Welcome to this awesome new day.  The world brings light into your lives, life into your existence and hope to those who sing for  it.  Brave new world, a world of hope and inspiration.  A world of challenges and excitement.  A world for the bold, the daring, the skilled and the champions.  Light our lives, oh daring adventurers, for the great good earth has presented a brave new world for exploration, adventure and settlement.  Light our lives, oh torches of strength and courage, as the great swells of the ocean, cast you about and hurl you through the darkest and most dangerous storms, to a landing of somewhat safety.  Cast your doubts aside and persevere, oh bold and talented chosen ones. The angels fly and their wings surround you as you step to the chosen shore.  Safety.  The security of the land, the chosen place of a new birth, the cultivation of civilization, wrought from the timbers of the land.

An opportunity so profound, it could not be overlooked.  The opportunity of life, of fortune, of fame, of grandeur, all for the sake of a few strong souls who could make it real.  The hope of success, the plea for courage, the compelling need to try.  The fortune hunter, the inspired authority, the wealth of riches, the greed of plunder.  Dreams, inspiration, imagination and flights of fancy.  The mind races with prospects of achievement, the brain spins with possibilities.  Unlimited opportunity for those who dare.  A new world.  A new life.  A new beginning.  To be on the breaking edge of new discovery, new possibility, new everything!  A chance.   A roll of the dice.

Sooth sayers, fortune tellers, tarot readers, crystal balls.  What does the future hold?  Tell us, oh wise and enchanted ones.  What does it say?  Will we be rich?  Will we survive?  Give us your answer!  Tell us our fortunes!  Will we survive.

Our luck is surrounding us, the King pledges his trust.  His command is omnipotent.

Bold and daring, we must adventure, to cultivate a civilization from the forest of a far flung world.  A world of temptation, of persuasion, of allure. The call of this land is the song of the siren, enchanting and haunting it begs us to stay.

” Come!”, whispers the wind, and the swaying branches wave us ashore.  The rustling leaves catch the sunlight and play with our senses.  A pretty sight.  A friendly world.  A breathtaking, heart stopping, thought.

Build it!  Build it and they will come.  The fortune seekers, the treasure hunters, the rich and the poor.  Build it and they will come.

To the might of France, to the power of the authority of the King.   A brave new world, a fabulous civilization, fashioned from the rough hewn timbers of the forest.  An indomitable human spirit.   The sailor, the ministry, the adventurer, the pioneer.  The champions of new life, new liberty, new beginnings.  The torch shines brightly for the souls of those days, as we feast from the harvest of their workmanship, negotiation and peace.

Hail, almighty ones, a country is in the making.  Hail oh bravehearts, your backs are breaking.  The long and difficult journey to a colony is at hand.

To greatness!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 1, 2015

The Uncommon Common Man
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The Uncommon Common Man

Hail Bravehearts!

Look to the great planet and the adventure that it offers you, for this great new day.  Look to the wild and the remote places, the vast unknown land, the pristine  sparkling lakes, the forest and the glade.  Look to the tumbling rivers, the majestic water falls, the open prairie and the grand mountain.  This great land, is the land of plenty.  Test your skills and entice your courage, quell your fears and boldly stride onto that path.  The land provides an adventure for you and you, oh brave and daring one, can walk a route that made this country great.  A route of homesteaders, of pioneers, of fur traders, merchants, courier de bois, negotiators, ministry and leaders.  A group of brave hearts.  The uncommon, common man.  For in this time of colonization, the fabulous almighty man, decreed the settling of a land of ice and snow and the common man was chosen to attempt this feat of danger and peril.

The commoner, the common man, who takes his direction from his great lord and master.  The common man, a mere mortal, a human cast in clay and dust, who obeys the decree of the king.  Who is this common man, so roughly hewn that he is merely a servant to the demands of greater minds and greater powers?  So common, so plain, so uneducated, so lowly.  The common mind, from the birth of poor genetics, cast to fulfill great tasks of high achievement and immense dignity and power for the mighty.

Hail to you, for who you are, soldiers and skilled craftsmen, your duty is your worth and your lords will must be done.

Champlain and the Settlement of Acadia 1604-1607

The land was offered and the spring sunshine helped to ease the anxiety of the unknown.  Trust the leadership and their knowledge, their superiority, their greater strength and education.  Trust that the Lord will shine his light upon you and will save your mortal souls.

So it was, in the spring of 1604, that a site was chosen for a colony in the brave new world.  Brave souls, worthy of such an immense attempt.  Skilled craftsmen and intellectuals, seeking peace and prosperity in a land of harsh winters and short growing season.

Basking in the sunshine of the clear, blue Atlantic was small St. Croix Island.  The fishing was good, the dwellings were erected, the security of the settlement was established and hope for the future of a successful colony stirred in their hearts and their minds.  Praises!  Praises to their lord and to the Lord most high.  Praises to the negotiation and to the success of this challenge.  Praises to their accomplishments, to the peace of their living.  Praises!  Praises!

Praises to the foresight of their leaders, to choosing this safe place, to knowledge and security, to peace among us.  Hail great minds and great leadership.  We are successful in the spring, the summer is warm and fills our lives with hope, we are successful in the autumn, while supplies still last, but then?  The long, harsh winter bears down upon us, longer this year and in the spring of 1605 the snow is still piled high and spirits fall as the doomed colonialists count the numbers of those who perished.  Thirty five strong, robust people, die of scurvy this past winter and leave the rest with too much work and too much sorrow.

Brave adventurers, this was not the best place, we move now, to a new plot of land, a new attempt at survival, a new beginning for us.  Fear not!  We are your leaders, you will survive.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 2, 2015

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We Have Landed

Hail, oh brilliant ones!

The rising sun warms the great good Earth and the song of the wild rings in our ears. Birds nesting and singing their love songs.  Trees blossoming and the early shoots of flowers poking their heads up high. Warm us , great good Earth. Fill our bodies with sunshine and goodness and we will praise you with our gladness, our beauty, our vibrant colours, our fragrance and our being. The world fills with the busyness of life.  With splendor and grandeur the planet awakens to the heat of the sun and the tiny insects stir in their nests and start the daily task of survival.

Nourish us, oh great planet, for we are the necessary, the tiny, often dismissed ones. The work of our labour is a workforce of love.

Sweet nectar!  The pollinators thrive in a land of such plenty, and flowers, fruit, vegetables and other plants, rise and shine to capture the attention of these healthful species.  Hardworking bees and dainty butterflies fill the air in pursuit of their own life’s work.  Thy will be done!

This is the day that saves us.  A day to plant your harvest and to rejoice in the new season of springtime.    A day where the birds are singing and nesting, when the world is warming to spring fever and the plants proclaim that the soil is rich and that they will grow and thrive.  This was the kind of day, in the kind of world, that greeted the colonialists from France.  A day when the Earth tossed off it’s winter coat and revealed the lush green foliage beneath.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening.aspx  Mother Earth News, Organic Gardening

This is the  kind of world where dreams can flow.  A promise of  hopes fulfilled.  Energized and refreshed, the land calls to the new comers.  Fulfill your dreams on this great land, prepare the soil for planting and share this world with it’s inhabitants.  The dream of a colony can be a  reality.  It can exist!

The reality for all of us, is that food is one of  the most important tasks of the day.  We must eat.  The soil must be prepared and tended, the seeds must be sown and the garden must be cared for.  Toil and work, dig in the dirt, a colony is an immense task of building shelter and community.

Hail, almighty one!  was the call to the king.  We have landed.  Your loyal subjects will do our duty to our king and your schemes of riches, wealth, abundance, opulence, whatever we can achieve, will all go to the glory of France.  You are the great mastermind of cunning and we will strive to fulfill your desire.

So now, the colonialists have set foot on the land and a place to construct their dwellings has been chosen.  Build your shelter, bring in your supplies.  Food and equipment to start the new life.  From grand notions and great inspiration, come deeds of immense proportions.  A small group of people, with skills and endurance, have been called by their leader to be champions of courage and self sufficiency.

So, all of you bravehearts, look to the colony of France.  There, out in the new world is a small group of people, whose destiny has called  them, to live to the adventure of this brave new day.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 20, 2015

For France!
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For France!

Good Morning!

Rise! Rise! Shine and be joyous! A brave new world awaits you and you will be victorious! Rise! Rise! Straight from your beds! Look to the glory of the new found land. Brave new world! Brave people! Come all of you! Rise!

The will of the king will be done! Everyone, rise to the glory of this brave new day! The brave new venture! This brave new undertaking. Hail to the great and almighty king! Hail to our lord most high!
So, in the beginning, when the world was new, came the song of praises from France. Come you brave and daring adventurers, come to the brave new world and colonize the brave new lands, for France!

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/du_gua_de_monts_pierre_1E.html Pierre de Monts

A lucky, privileged and trusted aristocrat with decorations, medals and honors galore, came forward for the quest, of a place of a colony, on the grand lands of the new world. Lucky was he to be the entrusted one, the daring, the brave the courageous one. Wealth and abundance, pride and sacrifice, learning and wisdom, all hail to the strength, the fortitude, the might, of the honor of this man. Hail to Pierre de Mont, a new found land, a colony for him to choose and to manage.
His quest was to establish a colony and to settle 60 colonialists a year. His other duty was to convert the natives to Christianity.
And so it will be, in 1604, that his ships set sail and he, the dauntless, spirited champion would win the day. The day to colonize the new world for France and to settle the great white north for the privilege and honor of France. A place was chosen, a fort, of sorts, was built, with housing and kitchens and room for everyone.
So much excitement, so much work, so much devotion and time and effort. This will must be done, for the sake of our lives, this will must be done! Labour and gratitude, the work was immense, for not only shelter, but food and warmth as well. A colony is an immense undertaking, survival is key. The perils of the dark side must not enter in. Rejoice all of you robust and hearty stalwarts. Your spirits are high and your abilities soar. Companionship and congeniality, trust and devotion. A small and close knit group of single minded champions, whose dream is to fulfill the scope of the grand destiny of France.
For France!
Typically, the winter was harsh and the snowfall, as usual, was heavy. The area chosen for the first settlement was in the path of typical eastern weather. Blizzards and storms, gales and cold, frigid, freezing, cold weather. So much so, that there was still nearly 4 feet of snow at the end of April, 1605. The outlook was suddenly bleak, with half of the colonialists dying in the first winter, the hardship and death toll was to much to bear.
But a great notion, a plan, a dream and a reality are not so easily dismissed. The misfortune of one yesteryear will not be the destiny of this awesome plan. Fragile creatures, these will not be. For these are the tough, the strong minded, the determined. These are the skilled adventurer and this plan, from the mind and will of the almighty man, must not fail.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
May 18, 2015

I am Your King
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I am Your King

Good Morning all you brilliant ones!

A day for adventure into the great unknown, to challenge your wits and your courage. Another day to relish in the delight of a call to greatness, to rise to the challenge, to set your course on a path of duty, to live bravely and to sing the songs of champions in the quest for a new destiny. A call from the great wild, from the wind swept lands of plenty, to colonize a great new land and to set your fellows free. History calls your name and the log books fill with the brave deeds of strong and mighty humans.
Cast off from shore and abandon your tasks, a new day, a new world, a new life awaits you.
“They’re at it again”, whispers the wind and their neighbors on foreign soil watch in curiosity as the French embark on yet another attempt to colonize the great white north. It has been 80 years since their last venture into the land of plenty, where the wild north wind blows and the snow piles high in winter. The friendly natives had offered their wares, fur to trade for knives and supplies and the hopes and dreams of fortunes of gold had dulled their wits to the perils of doom and disaster that would certainly come.
Friendly natives, offerings something small, maybe squirrels in exchange for much needed items to make their own lives easier. A small offering of just a little animal. Think, think, what is this exchange? Trivial and small, but eagerly offered. This is what we have, can we trade? And so, trade it is, commodity for commodity, mutually agreed upon price, from a small beginning to a large and profitable undertaking. So large and prosperous that it filled the nation, built forts, built friendships, ties of compassion. Trade; the fur trade.
But in 80 years, still no colony.

http://www.canadiana.ca/citm/themes/pioneers/pioneers2_e.html Samuel de Champlaine

Now the time has come for more adventure, for the common man to come forward and offer his services to his king. Righteous lord with command of presence, dignity and glory. All glory to this awesome king, a human of spirit and praises and worthy bearing. Glory and honor, dignity and power. Thy will shall be done, oh mighty one, our lord most high and we your lowly subject will obey, dutifully, your high command. Praises lord, oh awesome king! Praises to your glory, your adventure, your high and mighty ways, your awesome power, your might, your right, your rule!
So be it master, you have the brains. It’s ideas and brilliant thinking that pursuades us. We are only your loyal subjects, only poor humans of weak minds and strong bodies, work all day. So be it master, have your way.
The lofty almighty man, the king of great adventures has now spoken.
The French will colonize Canada. And we all know why. Because, I am your king, and it shall be.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
April 29, 2015

To be the First
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To be the First

Hail Bravehearts!

The daring adventure has begun! In trepidation of a world unknown, the human is compelled to respond to the call of the awesome land. Adventure! So exciting. Marvelous. A colony. What an idea. To venture into the unknown and leave this country behind. To be the first. The first in 500 years. The first to set foot on the land, make claim to it and to win the prize of rights to colonize.
The others do not dare. Look at them, casting their nets, fishing and trawling, feeding the hungry and making their fortunes. Look there at those other nations, so easily distracted to their everyday fare. Not noticing the wealth and the grandeur of these lands. Not noticing the potential and the purpose of our journey. Not recognizing the value of this land and the value of nation building. Look at them, just feeding the hungry, not caring to add to their cargo.
The sailors of other nationalities still fished the Grand Banks, watching the French in their pursuit of glory on the soil of a land still unconquered. Will their own monarchs rise to the challenge of colonization as well? The answer evaded them. Although their reports were answered with nods and acceptance, no one else was instructed to land.
The daring and brave of the other nations, lie in wait. Wait, watch and listen. When the time is right and when the world calls their name, they will answer to it. Stand down and let the French try. Later, later, we will look to this land ourselves.
So the mighty strength of the French forces, led a group of hopeful colonialist to enter into a contract of great and awesome proportions. Be first! First to set sail, to set your foot down on the soil, to be heroes to your nation and heroes to the world. To be admired and inspired and to dwell in a land of bountiful plenty. Cheer and wave and be happy with your lot. You are cast in iron and your blood is warm. Seek the adventure of this great voyage. Your names are inscribed in history and you will be made famous.
The joy of discovery is apparent. A new home, a new world, a new life, new beginnings, new friends, new everything. How enticing.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/goweezer/canada/z16champ2.htm Champlain 1604

While the other nations fished the waters, the new migrants landed on the wild land of Canada. The forest creaked and swayed its welcome, the forest animals chattered and called. Invaders!
Newcomers. The landing was successful.
Now to begin the toil and trouble of clearing the forest, for homes and for crops. Farming was the calling of the day and the wild forest fell to the axe. The timbers came down, crashing to the ground and a dwelling sprang up for shelter. The task was immense and the work was constant. Day after day of constant hard work. The forest standing resolute and unbending. Tree after tree came down and finally a clearing and seeds were sown. Work and work, work and work. Still the weary cannot rest.
Hail to you, for great beginnings. A milestone in history. The challenge of a colony in the new world.
The daunting task lay with the skills and intellect of France.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
April 6, 2015