history of canada

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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

Colonize
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Colonize

Hail Oh Brilliant Ones

A time for change, a time for growth, a time to let go of the past and to enter into new negotiations.
The wind calls your name, the trees bend and bow, the earth sings its songs to you and the world is new. Enter, oh brave ones, calls the wild, come into this new land. Come, you daring ones, enter the wild and seek your fortunes from this great land. Poets and writers, sailors and knights, mighty in strength and captivating in mind. The bold and courageous, the clever and witty, the gentle and mild and the purest of intentions. This land is made for you.
In gladness they rise and step onto the soil, a climate of cold and harsh conditions, covered by the warm sun and the gentle breezes, filling the air.
The tall splendor of millions of trees, a forest of life and song and beauty. An escape to a place of far off fantasy, the imagination soars with ambition, adventure, creativity and hope. A land, a new land, a brave new world of dreams and passion, of exploration and capital.
Some come to live, to play and dream, to dwell and inhabit and toil with caring. Some come to adventure, to explore and conquer. Some come to hunt, for dreams, fortunes, possessions and might. Some come for community and some come for gold, but whatever the reason, they now enter this land with hope, with fear and with purpose.
Colonize is the word of the day. A word that sends shivers down the spine and reckless abandon enters the mind. Off to what? Who will they be? Glorious and famous, privileged and mighty. A new land, a new world, seeking the steps of settlers, of colonialists, of hard working folk with persistence and single mindedness. Strong, brave, adaptable people with fitness and endurance. Who will be chosen?

http://www.slmc.uottawa.ca/canada_new_france# the French colonize Canada

There’s fear in their eyes and they cast down their gaze. Off to a new world, a lifetime away, to work for the glory of their lord, the King of France. The brave come forward to add their names to the list. It will be long enough. Long enough for companions, for company, for support. Long enough for caring, for a collaboration of minds and skills.
But still, the new world is a long way away and they will be abandoned there. Left alone on the soil, of a sunny, warm beach, with help, of course.
Line up, all you sailors and with this perfect breeze, we set sail for adventure. Cross the planks from deck to ship, with all of your earthly belongings in hand, prepare to sail. Untie the knots, cast off the line, set the sails and with the rolling of the tide, the ship slips into the great seas and rises to it’s own quest.
Set sail, almighty ones, set sail. For king and for country, your duty awaits you. Set sail, oh brave ones, set sail.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
April 3, 2015

Quiet
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Quiet

Good Day, oh brilliant ones.

Welcome!

Welcome to this world in a far off place. A land of forest wealth and wild orchard plenty. A land where the nomad would be secure among the currants and the berries.
The land stretched out its hand and offered food to the adventurer who would dare to traverse the oceans to find it. No more starvation in this land of plenty. Food, to nourish you and food to sustain you. Come to this land and fill your vessels. Fish from the sea, to fill your platters. Dine from the sea, oh great adventurer. Fill your vessels and make your fortune. A harvest of wealth and nourishment from the sea.
The Europeans fished the shores of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, enjoying the easy catch from casting nets into the seas. Fish, by the thousands, swam in the ocean depths and the bounty of the sea was plentiful and the catch was successful. Harvest the seas, oh brave ones and fill your bellies from the Earth.
Although the Grand Banks are a long way from Europe, over fishing in the waters off the European shore, had depleted the fish stocks there. The next best available, was the long ocean voyage, across the Atlantic to the great fishing hole of the Atlantic, the Grand Banks. A journey of 4565 kilometers across the tumultuous seas to cast their nets into the abundant ocean and return with the victorious catch.
A way of life, the fisherman. Coming from several European countries, the fishermen were English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Filling vessels by the load, of delectable treats. Over fishing the oceans was not a new issue.
The problems continue. Too many people, not enough food. Even the mighty oceans can’t sustain us.
In the sixteen hundreds, the world was new. Canada and it’s great land of plenty, was opening it’s doors to the impoverished world. “Come, calls the great land, I will feed you!” Come, harvest my platter, you poor, starving souls. There is plenty here.
Four hundred years later, it’s gone.
The great fishing vessels, cast their nets, no more. A crisis in survival, as the oceans are exhausted. Those breeding specimens, caught and eaten, spawn no more. Critically endangered, their numbers plummet. Striving to survive and to live themselves, the stores of the great oceans are closing.
The ecosystem is in peril. Without the variety in the food chain, other species are plundered and perish. The larger, more desirable fish are vanishing and the smaller ones can’t keep up. We’re eating the babies and we’re eating the mature, mating adults.
Eating and eating, plunder and loss, the oceans quiet and the stillness resounds in our ears. The lonely tide rolls in, with no calling birds to greet it, and leaves behind a sterile beach, without shells and seaweed. The tiny shells, a food source for some birds, are vanishing.
Extinction.
But still the tide rolls in and still the oceans call us. Come, mankind, I will feed you no more, but come into the oceans and play.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
March 4, 2015

Dream of Peace
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Dream of Peace

Good Day, you Awesome Human!

Splendid day. Warm and snowy. The birds are singing gaily from their roosts. The elk lie in the meadows, relatively calm, after a long autumn of elk battles and rutting. The peaceful does with wombs full of the promise of another successful spring of calving. The big horn sheep, also resting, caring for the silent burden of their soon to be offspring.
The great wild! The drama of the wild as it plays out its role, in the never ending cycle of creation. Born to this place, the wild entices us, with its riches of spectacular views, muscle strengthening climbs, varieties of lifeforms and the gift of providing us with natural wonder to explore.
A peek into this place, of grand beauty and grand design, which fills out hearts and souls with wonder. Oh mighty planet, to give us this gift, from a highway, cut through the mountains. Those of us who have time, will exert ourselves more and climb to a pinnacle on a well traveled trail, for a look at what lies on the other side. A steep bit of climbing, a scramble, an effort, but where it takes us is to the grand view of the wild. A view of what lies on the other side of that mountain range. More forests and rivers, cascading waterfalls, animal tracks, mountains and valleys to explore. We are the hungry. We thirst for more and more. Show us your splendor, oh great planet earth, as we strive to reach your mountain tops and intrude into the land of your wildlife, to photograph those elusive species, and brag.
The world turns for us, on these snow covered days, as we strap on snowshoes and venture out to play. A daunting world of snow and ice, but for us to trudge through, a winter’s delight. Animal tracks. There’s plenty of life in this snow covered domain, but no one shows their faces today. Instead, it’s us, joining the tracks in the snow, plodding and chatting and breaking trail. These small few hours of exertion, to remind us of by gone days and years of exploration, as the well traveled adventurer set off to discover this new land. Tracks of snowshoes in the forests, tracks along the winding creek. An easy day of healthful activity, to fill our lungs with pure, clean air, to strengthen our bodies and refresh our minds.
The luck of an easy day of refreshing activity. The joy of adventure into the quiet winters solitude. A brush with nature as she plays out her part. The wild calls us and the wild whispers. Save us, oh mighty ones. Don’t plunder here. Spare us from the weapons of mass destruction and a world of madness and we will give you the peace of a quiet winter’s day, with snow on the mountains and the crisp, crunchy snow beneath your feet.
Let this stand of the earth be your playground, oh great ones, and may you forever venture into the wild and breathe.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 19, 2015

The Real Santa Claus
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The Real Santa Claus

Hail Bravehearts

The holiday season is upon us, filled with love, light, peace and happiness.
Joy to the world, even nature sings!
Some lucky people witnessed the unusual event of a caribou sighting at Marmot Basin Ski Area, Jasper National Park on December 17, 2014. Eight handsome caribou, made a grand appearance on the ski run. These are eight of only 41 left in the Park.
The significance? Come Dasher, come Dancer, come Comet, come Vixen, come Prancer, come Cupid, come Donner, come Blitzen, and the rarest of them all, the Mountain Caribou.
My photo shows a female caribou and her calf on a snow patch, taken from the top of the Mt Edith Cavel Meadows, in July 2014. We needed binoculars to see them.

http://www.thejasperlocal.com/caribou-make-rare-appearance-as-closures-loom.html Caribou sighting at Marmot Basin, Jasper,Alberta, December 17, 2014

The Christmas season is heralded by a merry old gent in red who brings us gifts of Christmas joy. No poverty during this warm season of friendship, worship and brotherly love. The real Santa Claus is not an elf, but a real person, so revered for his abilities to enact miracles. A marvelous human being with powers so great that he could raise the dead and bring gifts of gold to the needy.

Miracles! The holiday season is filled with joy and fellowship. A miracle of humanity and community sharing, of peace and goodwill. The merry old gent, who fills your stocking, is a saint of immense proportions for humanity. His story is told and his contributions deserve our continued respect. Jolly old St. Nicholas who helped to ease the needs of the poor in his day, is remembered still as Santa Claus.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/ Who is St. Nicholas, the real Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Happy holiday season.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
December 24, 2014

New Found Land
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New Found Land

Hail Bravehearts.
To visions of grandeur and to the thrill of victory, the passionate human, arrived to the call of the land. Courageous human, to venture forth into the high seas, for a life of adventure and discovery, to the land called the new world, the land that was also called new found land.
A small ship sets forth from Bristol England in 1497, to capture a new title of exploration across the Atlantic. John Cabot was the master of this vessel, with his small crew of twenty people and a daunting voyage of 30 days of ocean travel. The perils of the high seas were know to this man. His past was brilliant and his experience was superb. The feats of ocean travel were difficult and required specialized skills. This one small ship, with it’s one small crew, were courageous people, skilled and daring.
What lies beyond the horizon and across the huge ocean, was a land worth exploring, worth the money, the time, the extravegance of the venture. A land of unusual wealth, riches in food, raw materials, a different kind of money.
For twenty people to choose to embark on such a journey, cast alone into the high seas, proves their capable experience, congeniality and self confidence. Brave human. The call of the land whistles in your ears and the wind pushes you onward to a destiny of true brilliance. The land, the new found land! Full of promise and enterprise. Here is the opportunity of lifetime. As perilous as the journey is, this opportunity cannot be passed by. To take a ship and traverse the ocean, to navigate the high seas and to return victorious, unscathed by the adventure, instead, proud and accomplished and famous.
Such a fate followed John Cabot as he and his crew left England and surpassed their own previous accomplishments. They landed on the shores of New Found Land and found some articles proving human occupation of the land, but no encounter with the inhabitants. They laid claim to the land for the King of England and established a route to prosperity in the land of plenty, across the high seas.
Now, to venture forth again, with more ships and more intention of discovery. The mighty human rises to the call of the unknown and reaches a destiny of triumph. The land, a new land. The discovery of Newfoundland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cabot

written by Dr. Louise Hayes,
September 28, 2014