The Canada Thread

I remember Tim Hortons take on the fuddle-duddle - it was a lovely eclair - still made with real cream back in the day.

You guys have the best SERVICEBERRY BUSHES> I "imported" several slips in our RV engine compartment when we cleared US customs and my wife was certain I was going to Levenworth for smuggling serviceberry bushes. I was more certain that the US Border DUdes (Think postal carriers with guns) would impound my bushes and plant em in their own gardens.

I love serviceberries. They are like a cross among highbush blueberries, strawberries and a teeny bit of lemony undertaste.

We tried making pies but the berry is too delicately flavored to be used in a pie. It doesnt stand up to all the dough and junk. Maybe a serviceberry/raspberry pie.

OOOH , the tomatoes that were "
Bigger than your head" were they a Siberian tomato varietal? The Russians had developed a huuge tomato with skin as thick as an inner tube. My aunt brought some back when she last went to Moscow. She gave me a bunch and I had them for several years of seed saving, then one year he plants died off from some kind of fungus.
The really big ones are thick skinned, pink, and verrry meety. No ****, 3 of them will make most of a big pot of sauce.

You get used to it. The winter months are dark, maybe eight hours of daylight or so, it's the summer where we get spoiled. Thus the lack of Vitamin D...
Everytime I go south, I forget that you all get less sunshine, that your days are shorter. I tend to make plans and then realize to late that there won't be enough light... oh well.
This winter we've been spoiled too. The rest of Canada not so much. I had grass growing in my yard yesterday, mid january - WHAT??. Today, mother nature is blowing hard and all those tender shoots are frozen solid. For some odd reason, maybe global warming, we've had weeks and weeks of above zero Celsius weather. Unbefreakin'believable. My dad, who has lived here since the mid 50's has never seen anything like it. The farmers almanac said this winter would be even more brutal than the last. How wrong they were. So now, even if it does plunge to the -40's, it will be the shortest winter on record. No complaints here...

As for brisk walks, my two dogs drag me, rather quickly.. I keep warm, it's the wind I hate. The wind chill will kill ya.

I loved Trudeau. I was a kid but I thought he was the next best thing to a rock god.. lol
Fuddle duddle indeed. That man had a way with words.
I don't think Timmy's had made it out west in time for us to enjoy the eclair. When I was a kid we didn't have donut shops out here, that was an eastern thing, it's only in the last 10-15 years that they became de rigueur. I still find it odd how quickly it became a normalcy out here.

I've never heard of service berries. "Round here, it's Saskatoons or Huckleberries. In the more mountainous regions, you'll find the tiny wild strawberry and on the coast the big salmon berries and wild blackberry brambles that would swallow Vancouver whole if they had the chance.

As for the tomato, I think it was just a plain ol beefsteak. There are people that grow all kinds of heirloom and hybrids. I generally get what I can from my dad or the local greenhouses. He's a little more on the uptake, at least when it comes to giving the seedlings an early start.

I remember the donut shops in Winnipeg back in 1977 - 79. Best hot chocolate. Robins Donuts were big in the "near north" in those days.

Oh good.
A Canada thread!
Good on you for starting it, Ceili!

Lots of things that really interest me about Canada, so I will stay turned to see what you guys talk about....

One of the "things Canada" that I really like is CBC radio. (I love good radio.)
It's great!
As I discovered when, on a few occasions, Canadian A2Kers sent me links to podcasts of CBC programs they thought might interest me.
They did. And each time I ending up checking out other available podcasts, too. Some terrific stuff was found.

I haven't explored CBC radio for ages now & this thread reminded me to do it again this morning.
Quite a list of podcast to explore later I see, including around 10 of these:



Any other recommendations?

I still haven't figured out how to listen to CBC radio live. But one of these days I will, if it's possible.


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Surprisingly, there are a couple of dozen Robin's Donuts locations still here, Beth. Tim's hasn't driven them all out of business.

That's funny. I was thinking about this thread on my streetcar ride tonight and thought that I'd love to say something about CBC radio (and decided against it).

It is available live streaming online. You just have to decide which CBC network you want to listen to, and which time zone you initially want to try to follow.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/

CBC1 is news and more

CBC2 is music and more

CBC3 is the sort of more alternative music stream.

I'm CBC1 all the way. I love radio documentaries, radio dramas etc. News and more.

The book I'm reading now is by a former CBC radio reader.

http://www.elizabethhay.com/?book=late-nights-on-air

I've always felt that the CBC is part of what makes Canada what it is. I don't feel right if I don't know where CBC1 is - wherever I am. Over the decades I have shared so many experiences with people about where we were when we heard particular voices, songs, stories on the CBC. If they're CBC listeners, they can't be strangers.

Very, very true. My mom used to have it on all the time when I was a kid. She has said it helped her begin to feel like a Canadian. I listen to it almost exclusively. I loved that it was on Sirius when I drove out east this year. I've found that it has helped me understand this vast country and the unique problems and/or lives of the listeners. There were too many interesting stories over the years to count, but I feel there is a bond between us all because of the station.

Ha, ehBeth!
Two great minds think alike!

I will check out the live streaming link you provided, now.
(I tried before, from the CBC "official"site, with no success .)
Thanks!

ps ... I think I'm definitely a CBC1 person, too.

Same problem as before.
Not to worry, though.
Enough great podcasts to keep me happy for at least a few years!

harrumph

we'll have to figure out the service hamburgboy uses - he has some kind of online radio service (free) that we used to listen to the CBC when we visited him a couple of weeks ago

Thanks for trying, anyway, EhBeth.
Much appreciated.

I have one of those "Internet radios" where you can store URLs to radio stations (And tv stations) from all over. Anyplace that has a "Live feed" website, cant hide from my radio.
I love listening to CBC. It entertainment for adults and even though it is themed, it isnt as stupid as all the right wing crap or "all news all the time" or "Country rap".

I listen to two Maritime stations (Frederick NB and St John NB). I especially love MAritime Noon and the "Fishing Reports".
I was an early devotee of PEter Gzosky(sp) and "basic Black" and my all time favorite "Dead Dog Cafe".
The humor shows are a great treat and an intermezzo from heavier news.
But I see that the Cod are returning and now they are seeking to start up a new fishery on Georges BAnk and Gulf of MAine. .

_________________________
Some of my fav geology spots are in the Maritimes.
Red Head at Lower Economy NS has some of the neatest crossbedded sandstones
Columnar basalts at Scots Bay NS andBrier Island
The fossil and amethyst locations near PArrsboro and CApe Blomedan (NS or NB?? I forget which)
Cape Hopewell NB
The fossiliferous coal underbeds near Harveys Station NB ( dont be intimidated by the moose, In the summer they are just like cows)
Mabou Gypsum Mines at Mabou MinesNS
The heavy phenocrysts of the edges of the Shield (The Grenville Precisiely) atGaspe Q and a teeny outcrop at the tip of Bras D'Or NS (Cape Blair[I think])
The extreme (ptygmatic)folds at Chevarie Beach NS.

Ive been to Lake Louise and Bannf and like. THose kinds of grandeur are overwhelming , whereas the MAritime scenery allows us to isolate the components of the scenery and really see..
The US Appalachians are a lesson plan that must be explained with lots of interpretation. But all these above sites in Canada , especially at Chevarie, my students have always "Gotten it" when we talk about platform deformation and landmass collisions.
And the foods pretty good too.(Except for that hot spackle they call Poutine)

Ah, another CBC radio fan.
See, we're not alone, ehBeth!




...and speaking of all things Canada ...
Here's a link to an A2K thread I started a couple of years ago, if anyone's interested.:

Canada: the English & the French ...:
http://able2know.org/topic/139099-1

msolga ,
this link should connect you to the various CBC broadcasts ( radio and tv ) .
it may take up to a minute - or perhaps a double-click - to get a connection .
let us know if it works .

i've thought of getting a internet radio but not all users are happy with them - apparently the setup is a bit complicated - but once it's set up it seems to work fine .

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Radio/1447825254/ID=1404737776

Thanks, hamburger!

msolga ,
here is another link to many stations :

http://tunein.com/