Drake goldeneye diving on the Rideau River on Good Friday 2013.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Author Archives: geoffreyandmika
Had Justin Bieber lived in the 17th century
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Pride and prejudice
In Canadian law, enshrined in the Constitution Act and in federal statutes, Northwest Territories Act, the Yukon Act and the Nunavut Act, what is known as separate school boards are allowed to operate along side the public school boards. The law allows for separate school boards to accommodate members of the Christian faith, either Catholic or Protestant, where their numbers make them a minority–this right does not apply to faiths outside Christianity–in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan and in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. In practice, most separate school boards serve Catholic populations. Both public and separate school boards are funded by provincial an territorial governments respectively and are subject to legislation governing curriculum. While there are separate, that is Catholic, school boards in these provinces and territories, they operate under the auspices of the provincial or territorial civil authority. The Catholic Church does not have a constitutional, legal, or proprietary interest in the separate school boards. In recent history there is an ongoing controversy over Catholic teachings on homosexuality and their place in the separate school curriculum in the Province of Ontario. Continue reading
Hen merganser in breeding plumage and display on the Rideau River.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Male cardinal making his territorial call.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Drake and hen common mergansers sunning themselves on the Rideau River. They are one of the largest species of wild duck. They have long, thin, serrated bills designed for catching fish, which is their staple diet.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Two drake mallards and hen feeding on the Rideau River.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Pair of mallards feeding on the Rideau River at late afternoon.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Franky and Johnny
The election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis I on March 13, 2013, strikes me as impressive in that he makes me think of one of his predecessors, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963), who became Pope John XXIII (1958-1963). Like Pope John, he comes across as a humble and personable man. In choosing his regnal name, Pope John commented, “I choose John … a name sweet to us because it is the name of our father, dear to me because it is the name of the humble parish church where I was baptized, the solemn name of numberless cathedrals scattered throughout the world, including our own basilica [St. John Lateran]. Twenty-two Johns of indisputable legitimacy have [been Pope], and almost all had a brief pontificate. We have preferred to hide the smallness of our name behind this magnificent succession of Roman Popes.” (As cited in Wikipedia) As for Pope Francis, his choice of regnal name is inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi whom he admires as “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation. These days we don’t have a very good relationship with creation, do we?” he said. “He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man.” (As cited in Wikipedia)
Bohemian waxwing chilling on a winter morning. Not sure what makes them so bohemian, I suppose they are the beatniks of the songbird world.
Photographed and posted by Geoffrey
Geoffrey & Mika 