DON'T BUY IVORY PRODUCTS-SAVE AN ELEPHANT

CTV-W5 had an amazing documentary Saturday night on the illegal ivory trade and poachers on some reserves in Africa that are decimating the elephant population. Ivory art is sought in China by the Nouvelle Rich! The stock piles of ivory confiscated when the trade was deemed illegal is released in small portions annually. However, the amount of ivory carved in China surpasses that amount. One advocate of the elephants stated the animal could be extinct in the wild in 10 years. What is disturbing is the fact that those that have ivory can keep it and when a new supply is no longer available, their ivory will increase in value. Some advocates say there are just not enough people and police forces who can work in this area due to the fact that drugs and other areas take priority. The commentator stated that maybe ignorance is a factor as some may believe the ivory tusk is like a tooth that falls off the elephant and the animal does not need to die!! Well let's teach the ignorant! Teaching about elephants and how intelligent and family oriented they are, may help with their survival. Endangered animals are every one's responsibility! If possible go to the CTV website and try to view the documentary yourself! I have not done it justice!

THE TORONTO ZOO-WORTH A TRIP ON A JULY SUNDAY

The Toronto Zoo is a fun place to visit. But put on your walking shoes as it very spacious to allow for many animals to run and roam in their enclosures.. A visit after many years of absence has seen some changes. My first visit was in in 1975 when it first opened. Now there are full grown trees that shade pathways and allow for relief from the hot summer sun. The elephants are gone to a reserve in California to allow them to have more of a natural environment. Regular visits occurred when my children were small. Now they take their little ones for a visit each year. Of course the Pandas are there which has brought in some crowds. The Panda Pavilion is very interesting before actually seeing the sweet animals.

I remember their last visit when the girls were little in 1982.

Zoos are great places to experience the animals of the world. Of course, for those of us that will never see them run wild in places like Africa it is the only opportunity to be up close and personal. Besides there are no poachers ready to kill and maim them. Even the elephants that needed a new home bring those thoughts to mind. Perhaps they survived because they were safe from the hunters. One had been born at the Zoo and was allowed to have a safe life.
Zoos do attract families with lots of children. Especially on a sunny Sunday! One must be patient with the strollers, wagons and little bodies excited to see all the exhibits.

There are many possibilities to help with the preservation of various animal species. A day at the Zoo brings many thoughts and reflections.
Sometimes I wonder when the animals are lying and shading themselves if they are looking at us and wondering who the strange creatures are and why are they walking in the hot sun? Have you been to a Zoo lately?

A POSTCARD FROM THE ELEPHANTS AT THE TORONTO ZOO

The nice thing about postcards is they tell a story. Looking for cards to use in this blog, I found many I have bought from various trips to the Toronto Zoo. Innovative when it opened in 1975 some of the concepts are common now. The Elephant compound was always popular but the elephants were aging and one bull had some behaviours. Bob Barker the television personality visited the Zoo finding the elephants should have a better home. Controversial with debate and varying opinions, he wanted to move the elephants to the PAWS Wildlife Sanctuary near Savremento, California. It was suggested so the elephants could live in a warmer climate. Toronto Council voted in 2011 against the Zoo Board and agreed the elephants could move. It took negotiations and planning so finally in October 2013 aboard trucks and after a 50 hour trek across 9 states with helps, veternarians and zoo staff- Toka, Thika and Iringa arrived in California. A CBC-Fifth State documentary in the Fall of 2013 showed the trek and the arrival. So was the move a good one? Would the elephants adjust to thier new digs? I would miss them at the Zoo as I have several pictures from the many visits there. Elephants in captivity have a life and no need to worry about poachers killing them for their ivory. So the Toronto Zoo elephants did have a life. What about elephant behaviour? The argument is this-elephants like to live with other elephants. Elephants like and need to roam. The sanctuary in California allows it. There are other zoos that have asked to let their elephants go to California but the requests has been denied. I love elephants and have read and watche many shows on them. They are social, matriarchal and mourn their dead. Anyone who has been to Africa seeing them on the reserves there as there is a risk to live anywhere else due to the poaching say they do not want to visit a Zoo. However zoos are not the enemey. Zoos do save rare species of animals allowing for breeding. People are the enemy. So to my Toronto Zoo elephants, here's hoping you will live a better life with other elephants. In the meantime-I have my postcards and pictures.

If you want a postcard featured here, email me at abdm@rogers.com, and I will send you my address so you can send me a postcard.

BY MY HANDS

Crafts, handwork, knitting crocheting, quilting have always been a part of my life. As a young girl I learnt to knit and would attempt a scarf. It would grow and grow as I would add a stitch, drop a stitch and it would become an odd shaped project. Over the years I have endeavored to make many items. Clothes for my girls when they were little. Sweaters. In recent years I have preferred to make the baby blankets, baby hats as the grandchildren started to come. I do love quilts and one of my more industrious projects was my anniversary quilt. Around the time Adolph and I were celebrating our 25th anniversary, the film- "How to make an American Quilt" was popular. I thought why not an anniversary quilt for our anniversary. By the time it was finished I think we were celebrating our 27th anniversary. I found the initial idea for the finished product expanded. I started with 8 contained rectangles but realized that marriage was not so contained! Life had overlap. So the items spilled out of the rectangles. I used symbolic ideas and fabric from many times in my life like the purple squares bought on my honeymoon to Hawaii. The colosseum and Italian flag came from the anniversary trip to Italy. Flowers, the beach fabric, elephants, garden, Christmas- all meaningful aspects of our marriage. My quilt hangs in my front hall. One day when I am tired of it, I''ll wash it and use it as a blanket. Have you made a special project with your hands that is so reflective of your life? Has it grown as the realization that it had a life of its own? Do you relish in your own creative process? If not, why not? Do you have an idea you want to begin? Why not begin it today?