the ocean

The Oystercatchers of Gwaii Haanas
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The Oystercatchers of Gwaii Haanas

Hail Brave Hearts

The great wild is calling,  An adventures awaits.  Dutifully we don our apparel for yet another great holiday in Canada.  It’s summertime, and the sun shines gloriously on long days of warmth and outdoor activity. Canoes and kayaks entice us into the waters of lakes and rivers.  The iconic Canadian transportation system, lures us into the paths of our history.  Build your canoes, build your kayaks, follow in the steps of legendary people who navigated the waters this way.

The great wild calls us to develop the skills of history makers who charted the seas, mapped the coastlines and stamped the approval of the ownership of this land.  This is ours.

The great lands of the Haida, tucked away in the northern islands, north of Vancouver Island.  Isolated and rare, a gem of discovery.  This land is our land, protected by a great nation of peoples, the Haida people of Haida Gwaii and the Gwaii Haanas National Park.  It belongs to them and their stories fill the islands.

We arrive by plane, for the trip of a lifetime, into the land of the Haidas.  Remote and alive, the area fills with eagles.  The ocean is calm and the days are warm.  We’ve packed for a week long kayak adventure into Gwaii Haanas.  This area is a paradise of wilderness ocean adventure.

Seagulls meet us, reminding us that God is here.  In the call of the birds, we clearly hear Gods name.  Seals bask on the rocks and a river otter swims past.  An Oyster Catcher stops us.  His antics catch our attention as he jumps around on the rock in a aa unusual dance.  His five chicks huddle close together in the nest and his mate slumber close by.  He is a father and proudly shows off the nest.  A thirteen year old bird, whose making a noise that sounds like Barack.  We name him Barack then, pleased that he’s shown us his fine family

Black Oystercatcher Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Our luck with the weather holds for this trip.  There are seven of us on this  July excursion, with a guided kayaking and camping company.  The Pacific is mainly calm and peaceful towards us as humpback whales surface and feed in our sights.  One comes close to us.  It’s a pleasure.  The wildlife sightings are superb, with black bear, dolphins, orcas and sea lion to add to our list.  The bird life is unusual to us as well.  Ancient Murrelet,  seagulls, falcons, puffins, rhinoceros beaked birds and red footed pigeon guillemot to add to  our list.  It’s a list of some rare bird and animals  in an area filled with ocean life.

Then, there’s, the people.  We visit the Haida of the ancient totem poles.  to see for ourselves the carvings of great masters and to hear their stories.  A far flung people, out in islands in a remote Pacific location.  An area of impressive beauty molding a nation of seafaring people, who live from the sea.  The builders of ocean going canoes paddling the great seas.  A people of unique culture, surviving in an area of wildlife wealth.  The ocean provides.

This was a dream holiday in our great land.  So much to be proud of, so much to enjoy.  The land and the people, the ocean and the wildlife.  A place of unusual prosperity.

parks.canada.ca › pn-np › bcGwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine …

The sun shines brightly on Haida Gwaii and the warm summer breeze encourages outdoor adventure.  This was a wonderful, unique  holiday in Canada’s superb wilderness backyard.  We congratulate ourselves for this choice of adventure.    We’ll be back

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

August 27, 2023

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The Mariana Trench

Hail Almighty Planet

The Earth sings to us from it’s ocean depths.  Songs of creation, of discovery, of challenge, of adventure, of conquest, of unimaginable, tantalizing delights.  The unknown, the unexplored, the difficult.  A challenge only for the most qualified, most skilled,  most ingenious and the brave.

Here is a delight, to capture the imagination of the mind of man.  A chance for a record, for a first, for a brilliant endevour.  Here, in the darkest depths of the ocean lies the undiscovered secrets of the Mariana Trench.

http://www.deepseachallenge.com/the-expedition/mariana-trench/

Oh fabulous planet, so exciting and unusual.  The exploration of the surface is still unfolding.  Thousands of years of human history and still, the planet offers more.  Again the great Earth inspires us to explore, again the great Earth temps us and tantalizes us.  Come, great human, into the depths of the dark waters.  Come great human, come to the ocean and explore.

This is a world for the curious.  Choose your adventure and pursue it. So much to see in the world around us, so much to do on the surface.  We stretch our bodies and thrill our minds.  We focus on adventure and pursue the great mysteries.  We strive to discover the secrets of the planet.  Oh, mysterious world, full of caves and space, mountains, and forest, oceans deep and endless sky.  The thrill of this lifetime is a world within our reach.  Yet still, the great planet surprises us.  Lifeforms in unusual places, defying the odds of possibility.  Cold and dark, deep and difficult, yet the light shines on something and it takes our breath away.

Something new for us, when we think we know it all.  Something still out there, still unexplored, still calling our name.

Mariana Trench | The Deepest & Most Unexplored Place On The Planet

The brilliant great planet, shows us another mystery.  We’ve conquered the seas, boats are part of our lives, we know the surface of the oceans, and much of what is inside.  Here, in the Pacific Ocean, is a new mystery.  A great crack in the ocean floor, deeper than the highest mountain.  It’s cold, dark depths await the mighty adventurer.  Oceanographers smile, with eager curiosity.  Space travel and Polar explorations are accomplished.  We go further into space, colder in the harshness of the polar icecaps,   higher to the tops of the worlds mountains, but what lies beneath the surface of the Earth is still a curious and an unexplored place.

Down beneath the surface of the Earth, down into the depths of the ocean floor.  Still, great human, a chance for discovery.  A skill testing area to ignite that flame of curiosity.  Still, oh great ones, the Earth presents itself with uniqueness and unusual areas.  New lifeforms, new beginnings, new creatures, new worlds.

The Earth, that awesome spinning globe, that speck of dust in a universe so vast.  To be here, in this life sustaining place, where mystery upon mystery upon mystery unfolds.  Oh lucky human, to be alive is such a wonderful world.  The great planet sustains us and keeps us, so very well.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

October 28, 2016

 

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

Still for the Curious
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Still for the Curious

Hail Bravehearts

To the adventure of your lives.
The discovery of the world is an all consuming past time, full of wonder and daring. Awesome planet, to fill our world with beauty and adventure. The discovery of the variety and diversity of the planet is a constant life long pursuit. The great Earth, steeped in mystery and shrouded in a millenium of dust. Dust, hiding the treasures of the Earth, of the history of species, covering the past and hiding our roots.
Dig deep, for there is life under that dust. There is life in the air, in the water and in the great seas. Behold the wonders of the sea, for here is a food source that millions thrive upon, nations enjoy and the abundance of the sea is a world of adventure of it’s own.
Deep into the dark recesses of the earth, down into the mysterious ocean depths. Into sea channels and caverns to marvel at the fabulous array of sea life, the brilliant colours and the gardens of coral. The sea, filled with so much life and so much beauty. It captures us, it holds our interest, ever curious, always calling, the ever changing, tantalizing sea.

http://marinebio.org/oceans/creatures/ creatures of the sea.

The beach is a world of it’s own. The waves crash upon the shore, leaving behind the seas life, caught in its path. The tides cast their treasure onto the sand. Shells, coral, pretty stones and seaweed. The crashing waves, pulverizing the rocks, the shells, the corals, creating sand, pinks, yellows, beige. The soft, warm sand, massaging your toes. Warm sand to lies upon, to play in, to warm your body and to rest.
Don your wet suites, snorkel, mask and fins and tumble into the deep ocean blue. To the ocean floor where the brilliant life survives and thrives in the cool waters. Fish and coral, unusual creatures, shells and mollusks and seaweed. Life thrives in these depths and again, the earth offers a world of discovery to explore. The age old question, what lies beyond?
For ancient man has lived upon the sea, sought the sea for a food source and challenged himself to explore it. Still we search the oceans for life and living, for the numerous species that the oceans hold. Still the seas captures us, holds us and nourishes us.
Come, calls the sea, live and thrive by the great oceans and play in the water. Come, oh bravehearts and explore.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 12, 2014

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The Inuit

Hail, you awesome human

To the great frontier of the far north. A call to the spirit of man, to traverse the land bridge and build a home in a land of diversity. To you the mighty hunter, surrounded by herds of migrating caribou. Their numbers in the hundreds of thousands of animals. Brave the elements, oh fearless fighters, to the call of the wild, to your own destiny, to the land of fur!
The caribou, always plenty, although now in decline, has served you for hundreds of years. Brave hunters, whose passions led you to the remote north, whose eyes spied the massive herds of roaming wildlife. Brave hunters with your sharp skills and agile bodies, keenly aware of the dangers that stalk you. The predators, the remote tundra, the climate, hunger and the deep chill.
So it comes to pass that the lifestyle of the remote and rugged Arctic, appeases the instincts of your fine survival aptitude. Aptitudes of daring, of athletics of hunting of settlement, of navigation, of founding new lands. A will to conquer and to be free.
Here in the remote Arctic, your skills are challenged. The daily bread is the catch of the day. Walrus, whale, seal, caribou, wildlife is plenty.

http://nides.bc.ca/Assignments/Nunavut/Inuit.htm

The far north, in the Northwest territories, where home is, to a growing number of Inuit, has a land of diverse landscape and animal life. The land, the ocean, the ice and snow, make this almighty human a man of his own making.
The Inuit, once known as Eskimo, are the aboriginal inhabitants of the far north. A land of challenge, but also of great beauty. Of hardship, but also of great abundance. A lifestyle wrought from living off the land, from hunting and fishing and having skills to survive. The inventive mind for making harpoons,for whale hunting, kayaks and igloos.
Thousands of years of habitation in the north, across the Arctic of Canada and into Greenland. The story of the Inuit is a story of peoples adapted to life of ocean seafaring and polar conditions. A story of people whose planetary niche is in the remote Arctic, where unique skills are honed to perfection to provide for a life of unusual adventure. Where the sea offers up its bounty of fishes and the land provides for endless hunting.
The sun has set on the land of the Arctic and the dark skies of endless night are upon them. Still, the dauntless human of this territory emerges the victor each spring.
Praises to you, the peoples of the north, for the habitation of the great land. Praises to you for your ingenuity and strength and for claiming your heritage in this nation, in that remote place and for the daily adventure of your skillful lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 14, 2014

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Igloo

Good Morning Brave hearts

Wake up to a day of architectural delights. Fascinating domains from our cold climate. The perfect dome shape of carved snow, of barking dogs and aurora borealis brilliance, to start the morning off right. Add endless darkness, sub zero temperatures, a little wind chill and here’s the start of a great day in the far north.
Brave human, a day of reckoning with severe climate, possibly predators and elusive game makes today a day of challenge for the Arctic champions of survival. During the darkest months of the year, when the cold is the deepest and the snow is the highest, those tiny domes in the snow, protected small villages of independent and high spirited individuals, who saw the great north as a frontier, called home.

Click to access 2_a_history_of_igloos.pdf

Way back in far off history, tells a time of human migration throughout Asia to Canada. People were mobile and robust, following herds of game animals, in search of food. Following the call of the wild, to the daunting task of immigration and settlement, of the new frontier, of the far north.
These ingenious people with inventive minds, created the dwelling of snow for shelter and habitation. The landed migrants of Asia, set up domiciles of snow, igloos, to house themselves, during the long winter’s cold. A snow house of warmth and comfort, easy to build, with readily available building materials.
High up in the Arctic tundra, above the treeline, where wood is sparse or non-existent, remains the ancestors of those ancient pioneers. Settlers to the far north with courage and creativity, the daring human, with perseverance and skills, tackled a task of bold survival in extremely harsh conditions and carved a niche of humanity, in a land of constant challenge.
Out on the barren landscape, stands a village of domes. An Inuit village of igloos, carved from compacted snow and filled with an Inuit family and their precious belongings. Furs to sleep on, whale oil for light and cooking, utensils and tools. The daily awakening to a wind swept view of barren, snow covered land. To temperatures dropping to more than -40 and to the more chilling need for food.
Feed the hungry, great hunters. The caribou roam in herds and the walrus plays in the ocean. Yours is a land of extremes. A call to the will of the indomitable human.
Bravo to you, almighty human and to the will of survival. To your place in our history and to your perfect domes, the igloo, on our list of the seven wonders of Canada.
written by Dr, Louise Hayes
January 10, 2014

Old Crow Flats
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Old Crow Flats

Good morning Bravehearts!

A brilliant new day, for brilliant new minds.
Clever bravehearts, the adventure continues, deep into the depths of prehistory man. Deep into the brilliant life of life above the tundra, life in the great Arctic, above the Arctic circle.
A vast and exquisite land of migrating wildlife and of the peoples who have inhabited this place for thousands of years.
The unspoilt far north. A rugged and dangerous land filled with snowcaps and frigid waters, rough tundra and alpine flora. The mighty animal life of the far north, polar bear, caribou, walrus, whale and the people who still live in this remote and harsh part of the world.
Our sense of reality assumes the worst. Freezing cold, barren landscape, months of endless darkness, but thousands of years ago, the earth was a much different place. Here, up above the Arctic Circle was a land of warmer climate. As the rest of Canada lay covered under a sheet of glacial ice and snow, the high Arctic was home to many species of wildlife. Way up in the high Arctic, a vast preservation of lakes, ponds, marshes and land is now occupied by throngs of migrating birds, to the point that it is protected as a bird refuge. Here is the home of prehistory man as he enters the continent of North America and settles in Canada. A protected land that is now a vast land settlement area which includes government land, Vuntut National Park and the ancestral lands of the Vuntut Gwitchen people.

Click to access ice_age_old_crow.pdf

How long ago, for the great human, the almighty man, who conquers all. The carbon dating of the tools indicates thousands of years ago. The migration of people into continental America is earlier than what was once believed. An area called Old Crow flats and the fossil finds in the Blue Fish caves tell a story of this ancient world.

http://www.taiga.net/wetlands/oldcrow/oc_gen.html

The pre history shows a collection of unusual animals. Fossils galore, but not of this world, not of this continent. Hyenas. A scavenger who follows predators and injured animals, waiting for cast offs, or an easy kill. Camels, sloth. A far different world, in the far north. A land of lush vegetation, abundance of wildlife, safe habitation for dwellings, an easier life than now.

http://www.civilization.ca/research-and-collections/research/resources-for-scholars/essays-1/archaeology-1/jacques-cinq-mars/significance-of-the-bluefish-caves-in-beringian-prehistory3/

The brilliant bravehearts of that world inhabited a beautiful landscape of plenty. The people stayed.
The Old Crow flats and Blue Fish Caves are areas of significant archeological treasure and environmental protection. This protected area boasts some of the worlds most significant archeological findings. Discoveries that prove pre history man was a man of skills and that the planet is an ever changing world. The migration of man, at the dawn of our nations history is revealed in the unparalleled beauty of the majestic far north. In a collection of lakes, high in the mountains, where the summer days are continual daylight and the temperature is a warm 15C.
High above the Arctic Circle where no one dreams to believe, that here is the dawning of Canada. Here is the brave new world of ancient man.
Daring human, we hear your words. Come to the far north. Come to the adventure of your lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 5,2013

Today
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Today

Good Day to you, greatness.

This is the day. Shall we choose the precious orb of life, the great oasis, the creation, the power, the unending beauty, the adventure, the life? Shall we choose the awesome wonder, the star struck heavens, the celestial glory?
Shall we walk with our ancestors into the adventure, any adventure. The adventure of culinary delights, of myth and fantasy, of strength and beauty, of daring, of nurture, of places and time, of the future, of structure, of creation. The adventure of compassion, of caring, of daring to take a stand, for our todays, our yesterdays and our tomorrows.
Hear me, almighty man, calls the ocean. I rock your boats, you play in my waves, the sound of the waters lulls you with tranquil rest. The water sounds soothe the raw nerves and the playful waterfalls entice.
Hear me almighty man, calls the wind. I rustle the branches and whistle through your windows. I am your gentle breezes, your thunderstorms and your weather.
Hear me almighty man, cries the great forest, our lives takes your breath away.
The planet moans from its depths, 7 billion.
In one square kilometre the earth easily houses 5000 people. In one square kilometer it would also house 5000 plant and animal beings.
The oasis comes to mind, the Serengeti, the Amazon, the Ross Sea.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/9134466/Fears-Ross-Sea-plans-could-be-huge-mistake

http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/fact-sheets/the-case-for-a-marine-reserve-in-the-ross-sea-85899459690

Please read the articles and make a stand to protect the great wild.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
September 6, 2013

The Ross Sea
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The Ross Sea

Hail, oh brilliant mankind.
Rejoice in life everlasting, in a world of beauty and adventure. In a world of pristine places, enchanting beauty, thrilling adventure.
Hail mankind for being the glorious perceivers of it all.
To venture into the great wild, to swim and play in the clear, clean waters. To feast on the bountiful harvest and to reap the rewards of the great planet.
Hail mankind, for achieving your duty to yourselves. All aptitudes are praised, all are accepted, all are achieved. Your duty to yourselves is accomplished. The world has quieted its throngs of birds and massive migration of wildlife. The quiet is upon us and the tranquil waters soothe the soul.
Peace. Peace to you almighty man. Rest your weary head. So much to do, so much to see, so much to accomplish. One day, only this day, but it is the only day.
Soon mankind, the great planet will concede.
Gone will be the sound of the nesting birds, gone will be the seafaring life, gone will be the catch of the day, the pride of the mariner, the joy of the ocean festivals. Gone will be the harvest from the sea, the way of life, the nets cast into the seas and filled with food. Gone will be the fisheries and the awe inspired by the interplay of aquatic life. The varieties that intrigue us and the nourishment that sustains us.
Throughout our histories the sea has always provided. The catch of the day has always been on our menus and we have always relied on the ocean to provide. Almighty man, the weary wildlife can sustain us no more. The plunder is too great and there are too many to feed.
Awesome human, the last refuge of the great ocean is too fragile for your needs.

http://www.lastocean.org/Ross-Sea/Last-Ocean-New-Zealand–__I.103

The call to the great wild has always been a bold and courageous endeavor for the human. Fraught with dangers, roaring rivers, waterfalls, blistering heat, freezing temperatures, predators, cliffs, injury, hunger. Yet the pristine wilderness lures us with adventure. The call to the wild is a call of emotion. The wild! It`s for your soul, for your heart and for your mind. It temps us with it`s imagination, it`s unknown perils, it challenges, it`s adventure. It calls us still.
It calls us to paint the great landscape and whatever dwells within. It calls us to roam the hillsides and test our athletic strengths and it call us to compassion, to nurture and care. To see the world from the eyes of the creator. All of this for you blessed human, nurture and care.

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

No plunder, no greed, only the moral man, the blessed human with contract in hand.
Save us, almighty human, sighs the great planet. Plunder no more.
The wild species only produce to their food source. As their food source declines, they also decline. The food chain is interrupted. No food for the hungry, no rest for the weary, your nets will be empty, the love song will end and they will reproduce no more.
Hail, to you almighty human, with contract in hand, to end it all or to save it all, rejoice and be happy, oh great human, for life never ending and for prosperity to all.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes
September 3, 2013

http://www.bbcanada.com/10895.html

http://www.empowernetwork.com/?id=lou

The birthing grounds
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The birthing grounds

Hear us! Calls the great wild! In your mind, in your conscience, we are yours. Hear us, almighty human, our mutual support protects this planet and together we are one.
We are your ancestors, your soul, your protection, your survival and your adventure. What great landscape thrives without us. Devoid of song, only the wind and the creaking trees, the rushing meditative sounds of streams and rivers, but no other life. No bird songs, no love calls, no chance for a glimpse of that animal majesty. No thrill of wonder at the beautiful creature. The docile doe and her shy fawn, the immense bear and her tiny cub. The howl of wolves and the chorus of coyotes. Not a sound.
The quiet rings with its earie silence. The showy flowers dazzle with brilliant colour. We are alone. Alone in the great wild, alone on the planet. Plunder no more, it`s gone forever.
The earth song of the creatures of the night has vanished. The daily sightings of wildlife is a memory of the aged mind. Imagination.
Lost to traffic, environmental damage, habitat loss, global warming, plunder and greed. The small fish flee from the nets cast out and squirm and wriggle to be free. Still the catch is plenty, but the tiny ones are gone. Too small and delicate for the harsh handling. A life too difficult to conquer.
The plunder of the birthing grounds is a challenge too great to bear.
Here, sighs the great planet. Your stomachs are full. Full of the offspring of adults long gone. A last birthing place, now silent. For you mankind long for the setting sun and the endless restful waves. The constant splashing and rocking, the peace, the tranquility, the calm. Your minds are clear and peace becomes you. The ocean fills you with meditative peace.
Gone are the voices of the disturbing birds, the call of their insistent racket. They steal your prey and fly off with your catch. The mighty whale sinks to the ocean floor, his food source vanished and love song dies.
Here! Almighty human, we know your name! cries the great planet. The creatures don’t please you. Only the wind, the rain, the storm, that’s all you want, that’s all that there will be. The birthing ground is plundered and no life will be saved.
EAT! Your stomachs will be full! EAT!

http://www.asoc.org/issues-and-advocacy/ross-sea-preservation

There is plenty, groans the planet. There is plenty.
The wild creatures hear your command, oh great mankind. You are the master, you are the champion, you are supreme. For you we vanish, we die, we perish. For you we stop breading, we stop eating, we stop being. For you are the master and we are nothing. We will stop eating your daily catch, stop intruding your playful waters, stop singing our songs of joy.
We loved the planet. We lived and played here, but now we are gone.

We beg no more. You almighty man have conquered and the great planet sighs and gives in. We are gone.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
August 27, 2013