Month: February 2020

February 22: Over the last few days, daily temperatures have begun to reach mid- to high-single digit territory. Daylight is more intense and now extends well past 6 PM. If you can find a spot out of the wind, the sun is noticeably warmer. Near our home there is a row of tiny green shoots poking out of the soil; the buds on the Saucer Magnolia at the end of the street are engorged and covered with tender fuzz. Squirrels on the courtyard are scrambling around gathering mouthfuls of leaves as they prepare their nests for this years’ litter of pups which will be born in the next few weeks.

It was the familiar call of the Cardinals that alerted me to all this activity. I really should have expected to hear it because they started singing during the same week last year. Cardinals are very industrious and their call is well known; a long and descending phew followed by repeated whit, whit, whit notes. During the summer I often hear them before dawn – usually before sunrise and before those lazy Robins are half-awake. When I lived in the Lakeshore, this was also the time when Red-winged Blackbirds returned and began nesting for the season. Unlike Cardinals, they are migratory and among the first to return to face late blizzards and still-freezing temperatures.

While the birds are interesting to many including myself, all of the signs of Spring are quite predictable. Bulbs sprout, blossoms bloom and animals nest on a regular schedule if we are attuned enough to simply see them happening. Left to her own devices Mother Nature is very resilient and will continue to do what she does best in spite of our interference. So my advice, for what it’s worth, would be to get out there and enjoy the rebirth happening all around us. Keep your eyes and ears open to the changing seasons; a wonderous pageant is unfolding.

February 27: Then again …..

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/overview

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird

February 1: When I first saw this picture in the Globe and Mail this morning I thought it was of a militia somewhere in the middle east. I was wrong: It turned out to be a Second Amendment demonstration inside the capital building in Frankfort, Kentucky. Clearly, this is not a gathering of thoughtful and concerned citizens raising a philosophical argument about gun control. It’s about intimidation and the threat of possible consequences.

I’ve seen video of some gun ownership advocates arguing that this type of weapon is really only used for target practice or shooting deer. They must have some seriously aggressive deer in Kentucky if you need that sort of power to bring them down.  Whatever their intended use, advocates always seem to speak in a menacing and vaguely threatening tone, as if to say “I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it ….”  Against you.

Until recently, I believed that Canada had a different frame of mind when it came to gun control. Now, I’m not so sure. I recently watched a TV report from western Canada which included interviews with several reps from the gun ownership lobby and the parallels in argument and language with their American counterparts was striking. I found it extremely worrisome because, unlike the United States, we have no “right to bear arms”. It’s a privilege.

At one time, long guns were registered. But, in what was clearly a move that pandered to rural voters, the long-gun registry was dismantled by our former Glorious Leader Harper, thereby removing one tool that Police might have used to track dangerous weapons. Roughly 7.5 million weapons were removed from government records. I suspect that, here in Canada, relatively few citizens are killed by rifles or shot guns. So arguably at least, perhaps there was not a lot to gain from registering these weapons. Farmers and hunters have a legitimate reason to arm themselves; life here in the city is different.

In Toronto last night, 3 people were shot to death at a house party. Little is known as I write this. The victims are all in their early 20’s. They were at a rented Airbnb when things went sideways. For whatever reason, someone felt sufficiently aggrieved to haul out a pistol(s) and try to settle the score. Clearly, the guns in question were not intended for hunting or target practice; I suspect they were “rented” from organized crime (like gangs) and smuggled into our country from the USA.

The Toronto Police Service reported 492 shootings last year resulting in 44 deaths and 246 people injured – that’s roughly 10 shootings a week with at least 5 people wounded or killed. The Police suggest that if we are not involved with gangs or crime, the chances of being a victim are slim, yet I am now seeing reports of “unintended victims” with greater frequency. Mayor Tory has been pushing for a handgun ban for some time, and the Federal parties have both been ragging the puck for far too long. The gun lobby would suggest that banning handguns would only penalize law-abiding owners, and to an extent, I understand that argument. That said, I think the time has come for us to do something about the spread of weapons in this country. I don’t ever want to see an armed militia on Parliament Hill. We are better than that.

 

The Globe and Mail weighs in:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-on-gangs-and-guns-politicians-are-missing-the-point/