Tundra Swans

Ontario Swans

 Last week we drove a few miles from where I now live to see a large 'flock' of swans. (They were observed from a viewing stand which had a sign telling you what a large group of swans is called, but I forgot to write it down.) In fact, there are two places close by (Aylmer and Thedford) where one can see something very much like this.

Maryland Swans

     If I had gone looking for those same swans a few months ago I would have found them not far from where I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Just a few miles outside of Princess Anne, Md. they could have been spotted in a field much like the one pictured below.

Migration

     After spending the winter in the relatively balmy weather along the mid-Atlantic coast they were just passing through on their return to the breeding grounds in the far, far north. The path they take looks something like this one and we are located at the first point where the line veers toward the northwest.

     As I mentioned back in a post about the “arrow storks”, a lot is now known about migratory routes and the migrants are often tracked using sophisticated technologies. Julia, the fine specimen pictured below wearing a cravat was, for example, banded back in 2006  on the Colville River Delta and scientists have been tracking her.

Sources: 

Aylmer Wildlife Management Area

Town of Aylmer

Discover Southern Ontario

Lambton County Museum
This location holds a Return of the Swans Festival which was held this year from March 10 to the 18th.

     There is some indication that the swans may be facing problems in Maryland. See:Chesapeake Bay Foundation
“While the numbers of tundra swans appear to be healthy across the continent, fewer and fewer are wintering in the Chesapeake Bay. This may be in part because the underwater grasses and soft clams they normally eat are being killed by pollution and other problems, Hindman said. As a result, more swans are feeding in farm fields. Others are skipping the Chesapeake region altogether and flying farther south.

 “Northern Alaska’s Tundra Swans Have a Long Haul for Winter Break:Every Year, the Birds Make a Months-long trip to Feast at the Chesapeake Bay,” Ann Cameron, Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2018

More Trash

GPGP

 

A young monk seal on Laysan Island holds a plastic fragment in his mouth. (The Ocean Cleanup/Matthew Chauvin)

    This is just an update to let you know that my recent alarming post about pollution was not alarming enough (see: Flotsam and Jetsam).  From now on when you see the initials GPGP you are likely to get the Heebie-jeebies. They stand for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.The titles of these two articles will explain everything and are all you need to read to ruin your day:

“Earth's Biggest Cluster of Ocean Trash, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Is Now 3 Times the Size of France,”  By Amanda Schmidt, AccuWeather staff writer Mar. 28

“The new analysis reveals the region contains as much as 16 times more plastic than previously estimated, with pollution levels increasing exponentially.”

World's Largest Collection of Ocean Garbage is Twice the Size of Texas,” Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, March 28, 2018.

Post Script:

    The more prurient among you were probably expecting real trashiness because of the cleverness of the title. Those of you who are actually interested in the growing global garbage problem may want to know more about the study which forms the basis for the articles above: Lebreton, L., Slat, B., Ferrari, F., Sainte-Rose, B., Aitken, J., Marthouse, R., … Reisser, J. (2018). Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 4666. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22939-w

Heading South

Trump Shunpikers

     

     One year ago yesterday, I posted a piece about the impending Trump Slump.  At that time there were calls for boycotts on travel to the United States and predictions that we were so upset and outraged we would surely not participate in the annual southern migration. Most, one guesses, are more upset and outraged now than then, but oddly enough there is no shunning of southern destinations. The returns are in and the numbers are up.

      A recent headline in the Washington Post  - "Canadian Tourists Still Can’t Get Enough of America" -  is above an article which notes that "Despite frantic calls for boycotts, overnight trips from Canada rose 4.8 per cent to 20.2 million in 2017, reversing a three-year decline....Travel to the United States from every region of the world is declining, but one country is bucking the trend: Canada." I suppose the smugness of Canadians is somewhat suppressed around the pools these days and that even the English-speakers among us need a translator to understand what is being said on Fox News.

    It is understandable that political principles would not trump the strong urges for warmth and sunshine. The loonie has also gone south and even that is not enough to keep us from going. 

Post Script

   If you are heading down,  you might want to re-visit my post - Migrating Snowbirds - where I discuss Regional Price Parities. It will show you the cheapest places to visit. As well,  that post contains the Caucasian Barrel joke which will surely make you laugh again (I can say that because it is not my joke) and strengthen your smugness.

   The headline in the Vancouver Sun yesterday: "B.C. Travellers Warned of Long Weekend Delays Due to Ongoing Construction at Peace Arch."

Children and Risk

Running With Scissors

    There is much talk these days about children and how one no longer sees them walking to school (or even walking), no longer playing outside (especially in wooded areas), and about the dangers they face in their bedrooms (which are monitored), lest they be crushed by a falling item from Ikea. The time not spent by parents in talking is spent by them in harnessing and helmeting the little rascals.

     I was pleased to read that the Brits have decided that the attempts to minimize risk for children have gone a little too far and suggest that risk should be returned to the childhood arena. Evidence for this change in attitude among the adults was perhaps first noticed with the Brexit vote, although it has long been known among the business-minded, who realized that higher risks often lead to greater returns.

Ideological Agreement

     The notion of bringing back risk, in these divisive times, may even be something to which we could all agree. It is suggested that “This view is tinged with nostalgia for an earlier Britain, in which children were tougher and more self-reliant. It resonates both with right-wing tabloids, which see it as a corrective to the cosseting of a liberal nanny state; and with progressives, drawn to a freer and more natural childhood. Britain is one of a number of countries where educators and regulators say a litigious, protective culture has gone too far, leaching healthy risks out of childhood.”

Even in Canada?

    Again, I was pleased to read that Canadians may be following along, if only to avoid the risk of missing out on the latest trend. The picture above is provided as evidence, although the pictures of the playgrounds in the U.K. showed examples of even greater peril - I just couldn’t grab them. And bringing back risk may be something even Canadians can agree upon since those of Indigenous stock, the coureur des bois, immigrants and all others living in a country that shares a border with the U.S. are certainly familiar with it. 

Sources:

    The quotation above is from, “Britain’s Playgrounds, ‘Bringing in Risk’ to Build Resilience,” by Ellen Barry, New York Times, March 10, 2018.

    The picture is from: “Putting Some Risk Back in Play:Delta Heeds Research That Says Not to 'Bubble Wrap' Kids,”  Sandor Gyarmati, Delta Optimist, March 11, 2016.

     “Should I Let My Child Walk to School Alone? Risks Come with Reward, Says Expert,” Glenda Luymes, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 1, 2017. The expert referred to is Dr. Mariana Brussoni, a B.C. Children’s Hospital and University of B.C. researcher who provides an excellent website: https://outsideplay.ca.

Post Script

   Before you decide to move to free-range parenting, remember that it was not too long ago or far away that one could be punished for providing a kid with a little autonomy.

“One recent Saturday afternoon, six police officers and five patrol cars came to my home in Silver Spring. They demanded identification from my husband and entered our home despite not having a warrant to do so. The reason for this show of force? We had allowed our children to walk home from a neighborhood park by themselves.” “When Letting Your Kids Out of Your Sight Becomes a Crime,” Danielle Meitiv, the Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2015.

The Privatization of the Liquor Business

Booze in Canada

[Update: In April 2019 the Ford government's first budget announced that alcohol would now be sold in Ontario in more places and be served at an earlier hour. A while back I did this related post which offers information about booze laws generally in Canada along with a bibliography.]

      Today there is an article in the London Free Press asking this question - "With Beer and Wine on Ontario Grocery Shelves, Why Not Liquor?" (see: "Distillers Seek Shelf Space in Supermarkets," Hank Daniszewski,  London Free Press, March 20, 2018.) Even though we can now walk to some grocery stores to buy some types of beer and may soon be able to purchase dope, the sale of alcoholic beverages is still tightly controlled.  For many years, throughout Canada, more ink has been spilled over this subject than booze consumed.

   I recall working on this subject over a decade ago and the somewhat dated results may be of use since the bibliography is a good one. Keep in mind that it has not been updated since c.2005. It was done at the University of Western Ontario (now Western University) as a guide for the faculty and students. It is no longer available on the University website and the University is not responsible for it. The document has been slightly edited (by me) and I have attempted to cure some of the 'link rot'.

   The pasting of the contents eliminated the italicization of titles and for that an apology is made. Keep in mind that it has not been updated since 2005. Still, the coverage is Canada-wide and the references will be useful. If you are currently working on this subject for a term paper, you will now have more time to go drinking.

Update: September 2005: [The Business Library had just received a print version of this report which is available online.] "Strategy for Transforming Ontario's Beverage Alcohol System", prepared by the Beverage Alcohol Review Panel. John Lacey, the chair of the panel has outlined the outcomes of the recommendations as being:
1) the consumer would get greater convenience and choice and would benefit from a competitive retain environment
2) the government would remove itself from investment risk while increasing its annual revenues
3) Ontario would continue to benefit from sound social responsibility practices
4) the existing commercial inequities would have been materially addressed.
The html version can be viewed here.

Update: February 2005:
     The information below was originally gathered in 2004. Early in 2005 there was again considerable interest in the subject which was prompted by Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's news conference. At the "Seinfeld News Conference" (labeled as such because it was " a show about nothing" ) it was announced that an independent panel would review the way liquor, wine and beer are distributed in Ontario. Here are some of the reactions: " Is LCBO For Sale or Not?", Guelph Mercury, Jan.14, 2005, p.A8; "Beer in Corner Stores? Ontario Floats the Idea-Province to Examine 'Archaic' Liquor Laws," Richard Brennan & Robert Benzie, Toronto Star, Jan.12, 2005, p.A01 and "Wine, Beer May Come to Corner Stores: LCBO Review Announced," CanWest News Service, Jan 12, 2005. We have worked up quite a thirst in striving to maintain some balance in presenting information about this subject and will continue to do so by pointing you to a couple of editorials for and against privatization; the National Post (which is consistently in favour or privatization) reprinted a Windsor Star editorial which concluded that the government should "get out of the booze business altogether" (see" "Liberalizing Liquor Laws," NP, Jan.14, 2005, p. A17.). The other view is expressed in "Don't Fix What Works," Mark McNeil, The Hamilton Spectator, Jan. 13, 2005, p.A17. All of these resources are available to you electronically and if you have difficulty locating them, consult with library staff.
[I am sure that is still the case].

     In recent months the issue of government control of alcohol sales has been a hotly debated topic and a factor in election campaigns. The subject has a long history and given the fact that political, economic and social factors are involved, many books and articles have been published and most of those are more partisan than disinterested. Our purpose here is to direct you quickly to some recent material that relates to the Canadian situation. Provided below are selected studies and articles held in the Western Libraries that relate to the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario. The list is not an exhaustive one, but an attempt was made to choose articles representing different points-of-view. For assistance in locating the articles in the collections or in databases, consult with library staff. Most of the articles below were taken from databases provided by ProQuest and in many cases the articles are fully accessible electronically to members of the UWO community.
There are many books related to this topic in the Western Libraries. There are a number of good subject headings from which to choose. Here are some suggestions: Drinking of alcoholic beverages - Canada ; Liquor Laws ; and Prohibition. For an excellent reference source see: Alcoholic Beverage Taxation and Control Policies. This expensive resource is published periodically by the Brewers Association of Canada. It contains international data relating to such things as "The Government Approach to Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages;" "Pattern of Drinking and Beverages Consumed"; "Statistics on the Alcoholic Beverage Industries" and "Per Capita Consumption". Many countries are covered ranging from Australia to the United States (the latest edition is still the 9th from 1997 as of early 2004).
Material is also found on the web. Two union sites that take an interest in the issue are the National Union of Public and General Employees (http://www.nupge.ca ) and the [Liquor Board Employees Union (https://opseu.org/sector/liquor-board-employees ). ]At the latter site, links are provided to additional studies. The issue and related studies on privatization are often found at "Think Tanks".[link deleted]
There are two studies that are often referred to in the articles below. For your convenience they are provided here since they represent two approaches to the issue: 1) Douglas West, The Privatization of Liquor Retailing in Alberta and 2) Greg Flanagan, Sobering Result: The Alberta Liquor Retailing Industry Ten Years After Privatization.

Alberta:

A New Era in Liquor Administration: The Alberta Experience.
Out of Control: Paying the Price for Privatizing Alberta's Liquor Control Board
Brownsey, Keith, "Selling the Store: Privatizing Alberta's Liquor Stores," in Public Administration And Policy: Governing In Challenging Times.
David MacLean ." Union's Liquor Store Analysis Untrustworthy,"(Oct 30, 2003), Star - Phoenix (Saskatoon) p. A15
"Distilling the Facts: Flaws in Liquor Retailing Industry Don't Justify Return to Monopoly," (Jun 5, 2003). Calgary Herald p. A20.
Fred H. Smith, "Privatized Liquor Sales Pay Dividends," (Nov 4, 2003) Star - Phoenix p. A12
Kelly Cryderman . Private Liquor Stores Drink a Toast on 10th birthday: Consumers Were Skeptical in 1993," . (Dec 22, 2003) Edmonton Journal p. A1
Mairi MacLean, " Albertans Drinking More, and Better: Tastes Change, with Red Wine Overtaking White: StatsCan Review, (Aug 31, 2002). Edmonton Journal p. E1
Michelle Lang, " Study Toasts Success of Private Liquor Sales," (Mar 2, 2003). Calgary Herald p. A1 Sorcha McGinnis "Report Raps Liquor Privatization (Jun 5, 2003) Calgary Herald , p. A10
"Alberta Streamlining, Privatizing Paperwork" (Oct 15, 1999). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"No Beer with your Cheerios, But the Critics were Wrong: The Province Rejects Grocery Chain Demands for a Wide Open Private Liquor Market" (Jul 21, 1997). Alberta Report 24 (32), p. 18-19.
"Liquor Privatization Costs Albertans" (Jun 30, 1997). The Gazette, p. A7.
"Province Limiting its Revenues from Liquor Sales" (Jun 29, 1997). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"Alberta's Liquor Store Privatization: Economic and Social Impacts Policy Options" (Apr 1997). Policy Options,Vol.18, (3), p. 24-27.
"Raise a Glass to Private Liquor Retailing in Alberta - Byfield" (Aug 17/19, 1996). Financial Post , 90 (33), p. 18.
"The Privatization Hangover: Liquor Dealers are Battling for Survival" (Aug 11, 1996). Calgary Herald p. C7,C8.
"One Thumb up for Liquor Privatization: a University of Alberta Prof. says Alberta's new Booze Retail Industry is Mostly a Success (Douglas West's study)" (Jul 15, 1996). Western Report 11 (26), p. 8-9.
"Privatization Brings Mixed Results: Study (Centre for the Study of State & Market at University of Toronto and University of Alberta)" (Jun 25, 1996). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"Report on Western Canada" (Feb 19, 1996). Marketing Magazine 101 (7), p.10-16.
"Spirit of the West: Everyone's talking about Privatized Liquor Stores in Alberta: Prices are Higher, Selection is Down, Crime is Rampant. Problem is, none of what they're Saying is True" (Dec 1995). Toronto Life 29 (18), p. 71-75.
"Beer Sales Fall Despite Liquor Privatization (1994 data)" (Aug 6, 1995). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"Reports Show Two Faces of Liquor Privatization (Debate over Alberta's decision to privatize liquor retailing)" (Mar/Apr 1995). Addiction Research Foundation 24 (2), p. 3.
"A Crash Course in Security: Private Liquor Store Owners Cope with Drive-in Break-Ins" (Mar 27, 1995). Western Report 10 (9), p. 20-21.
"Crisp, with a Hint of Profits: Three Microbreweries Open in Alberta" (Mar 6, 1995). Western Report 10 (6), p. 20-21. "Klein's Free Market Utopia," Canadian Dimension" (Feb 1995) 29 (1), p.20
"Learning from Canada's Reagan," Wall Street Journal (Feb 23, 1995). p. A14.
"West Raises his Glass to Liquor Privatization: His One-Year-Later Report says the Nay-Sayers were all Wet " (Jan 9, 1995). Western Report 9 (50), p. 12-13.
"Alberta, Public Enemy #1: Another Left-Wing Lobby Arrives to Hunt for Hard-Luck Victims of Ralphonomics" (Sep 26, 1994). Western Report 9 (35), p. 16.
"Academic Studies come Cheap these days: a Liquor Privatization Report tells its Sponsors what they want to Hear" (Sep 19, 1994). Western Report 9 (34), p. 20-21.
"Liquor Privatization Leaves Hangover, Study Finds" (Alberta) (Sep 1, 1994). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"Montana Just Keeps Getting Closer: Alberta too may soon let Grocery Chains Sell Beer, Wine and Spirits" (Jul 25, 1994). Western Report 9 (26), p. 14-15.
"A Vintage Deal for Wine Merchants: ALCB Subsidies to Wine Stores Smack of Getty-style Cronyism (Alberta Liquor Control Board)". (Jul 11, 1994). Western Report 9 (24), p. 14-15.
"Any Benefits for Grocers Rest with Patience and Time: a Toast to Alberta for its Move to Privatize Liquor Sales" (Nov 1993). Canadian Grocer 107 (11), p. 5.
"Brewing Up a Storm: Alberta's Beer Industry Bubbles Despite a Flat Market " (Nov 1, 1993). Western Report 8 (40), p.15.
"Alberta Leaves Grocers Out of Liquor Store Privatization" (Oct 1993). Canadian Grocer 107 (10), p. 7.
"Union to Sue Province Over Privatization (of liquor stores)" (Oct 12, 1993). Calgary Herald (index-only) p. A2.
"West's ALCB master stroke (Alberta Liquor Control Board): the Historic Semi-Privatization of Liquor Sales has one Motive, Money" (Sep 20, 1993). Western Report 8 (34), p. 6-9.
"Liquor Privatization Assailed" (Sep 16, 1993). Financial Post (index-only) 6 (130), p. 50.
"Privatizing the Booze Trade: Taxpayers could Benefit if the ALCB Sold off its Retail Outlets" (Aug 23, 1993). Western Report 8 (30), p. 8-9.
"Aid for Roughriders Angers Social Critics: Liquor Plan Raises Privatization Fears" (Feb 9, 1990). The Globe And Mail p. A1,A4.

British Columbia

Demon Rum or Easy Money: Government Control of Liquor in British Columbia from Prohibition to Privatization
Liquor Policies for British Columbians
Liquor Policy Review: Background Information for a Consultative Process
"Tax cuts, Government Reform Largely imaginary in B.C.", Niels Veldhuis and Todd Gabel. National Post, Dec 29, 2003. p.FP09
"Flip-flop on Liquor is a Policy Mistake," Mark Milke. Times - Colonist Victoria,Oct 27, 2003. p. A6
Setting liquor free: B.C. Unions have quasi-monopolistic grip on Liquor Sales," Mark Milke. National Post, Oct 22, 2003. p. FP17
"Alberta can Toast our Stupidity -- Cheaply," Mark Milke. The Province ,Oct 16, 2003. p. A22
"Consumers' Association Commends British Columbia Government For Rejecting Alberta-Style Liquor Stores and Calls For Major Updating of BC Liquor Stores," Canada Newswire, Oct 13, 2003. p. 1
"Consumers the Losers in Gov't Backdown on Liquor Privatization," (Oct 14, 2003). The Province p. A20
"Privatization won't mean a jump in liquor prices," Anthony Gismondi. The Vancouver Sun , Jul 30, 2003. p. C.3
"B.C. government ponders best route for privatization of liquor business" Joyce, Greg. Canadian Press Newswire Jun 1, 2003. p.n/a
"Nanaimo liquor store among first to close," Judith Lavoie. Times - Colonist Victoria, Feb 21, 2003. p. A1
"Much to learn from Alberta's liquor privatization: Nine years on, the result is generally positive, Maurice Bridge finds," Maurice Bridge.The Vancouver Sun , Nov 6, 2002. p. D1
"B.C.'s Liquor Privatization Plan puts grocers at odds," Condon, George H. Canadian Grocer, Nov 2002. Vol. 116,Iss. 9, p. 80
"Pseudo-privatization: The BC government isn't going as far as Alberta in getting out of the booze business,"O'Neill, Terry. Report Newsmagazine, Sep 2, 2002. Vol. 29, Iss. 17, p. 19-20
"B.C. following same agenda as Ontario ; Huge cuts in ministry budgets can be accomplished with a simple sweep of the pen, but the cuts come at a cost," Ernie S. Lightman. Toronto Star, Jan 21, 2002. p. A17
"Setting Liquor Free: B.C. Unions have Quasi-Monopolistic Grip on Liquor Sales", National Post
Oct 22, 2003. p. FP.17.
"How to bring Cheap Liquor to BC: a Fraser Institute Conference says Privatization is the Key" (Jul 14, 1997). British Columbia Report 8 (46), p. 16.
"Crushed by High Taxes: Despite Subsidies, BC Wines Lose Ground to the Imports" (Sep 23, 1996). British Columbia Report 8 (4), p. 28-30.
"Scaled Back, Downsized or Sold Off: Privatization of some Provincial Assets seems Inevitable if the NDP is Removed from Office" (Jan 1, 1996). British Columbia Report 7 (18), p. 7.

Nova Scotia

"Government Workers Storm NS Legislature to Protest Privatization " (May 4, 2001). Canadian Press News Wire p. n/a.
"Hamm's Christmas Wish List Includes more Federal Money for Nova Scotia" (Dec 22, 2000). Canadian Press News Wire p. n/a.
"Nova Scotia Legislature Passes Bill to End 33-Year Involvement in Steel Business" (Nov 30, 2000). Canadian Press News Wire p. n/a.
"Privatization Fight Rages in Nova Scotia" (Jul 29, 2000). National Post (index-only) p. D11.
"Forgotten Promises: Joan Jessome on Nova Scotia's Tories" (Apr/May 2000). Our Times 19 (2),
p. 28.
"Nova Scotia Considering Privatizing Liquor Business" (Apr 11, 2000). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.

Ontario

The Social Consequences of Privatizing Liquor and Beer Stores, Ted Glenn, Ontario Legislative Library.
"The Deficit; Looking at the LCBO," The Windsor Star, Jan 12, 2004. p. A6
Privatization Would Ruin Ontario's Liquor Business: LCBO boss," The Ottawa Citizen, Mar 19, 2003. p. B5
"Let the Private Sector Take Over," Kingston Whig - Standard, Aug 24, 2002. p. 7
"Privatizing Liquor Sales Makes Sense," Sudbury Star, Aug 11, 2002. p. A8
"Ontario to Grant Rural Liquor Franchises: Form of Privatization, Minister Says" (Sep 22, 2001). National Post,
p. A12.
"Cities Lining Up to Support LCBO" (Jul/Aug 1996). Addiction Research Foundation 25 (4), p. 3 .
"Ontario Gives Thumbs Up to Alberta's Liquor Privatization" (Jul 26, 1996). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a.
"Liquor Stores Top Privatization List" (Jul 20, 1996). The Globe And Mail p. B2.
"The Harris Revolution" (Jun 10, 1996). Maclean's 109 (24), (6 pp.).
"Molson Opposes Sell-off of LCBO" (Mar 08, 1996). Toronto Star.
"Liquor Privatization: Liquor Union Preparing Ad Blitz, (Addiction & Research Foundation Letter)" (Aug 3, 1995). The Globe And Mail p. A14.
"Liquor Store Union Financing Fight Against Privatization" (Jul 18, 1995). Canadian Press Newswire p. n/a .
"Tories nursing Decision on Liquor Reform: Privatization or Overhaul of LCBO will be studied for at Least Six Months"
(July, 12, 1995). The Globe And Mail p. A3.
"Privatizing the LCBO would put Union's Claims to the Test"- Forum" (Feb 8, 1995). Financial Post (index-only) 8 (4), p. 13.

Flotsam and Jetsam

FLOTSAM and JETSAM

First the Flotsam

     It is no consolation at all that those now cruising during the March Break may be ploughing through seas filled with garbage. If some chose to go to a beach instead, they may still be walking and wading through debris. I think that what I have suggested is true because I have remained in the snowy north reading rather than travelling. Here are some recent examples of trashiness that I will present with sadness rather than schadenfreude.

     One can escape the crowds and flocks of tourists by going to exotic and less popular places, but the garbage may still be there.

Roatan

     Roatan is an island in the far Western Caribbean and one might assume it is far enough away from the more popular ports to be safe from debris. Such is not the case.
“What was once an idyllic coastline along the shores of Roatan now is choked with tides of plastic waste. The Locals noticed that suddenly their coastline was inundated with plastic trash, from bags and bottles to plastic cutlery and packaging material.
It is thought that the plastic originated from the mouth of Guatemala's Montagua River, which recently carried a wave of trash from Guatemala out to sea.”
“Idyllic Caribbean Island Covered In A Tide Of Plastic Trash Along Coastline,” Trevor Nace, Forbes, Oct. 27, 2017.

Bali 

     That word makes you think of the South Pacific and you are likely hearing the song Bali Hai rustling through the palms. Keep those old images in mind because the current ones are not so good.
“A British diver has captured shocking images of himself swimming through a sea of plastic rubbish off the coast of the Indonesian tourist resort of Bali.
Rubbish has been inundating Bali for several months now, washing over mainly from the neighbouring island of Java during the annual rainy, or “trash” season.
Several weeks ago thousands across Bali took part in a mass clean up, in attempt to rid the island’s beaches, rivers and jungles of waste, and raise awareness about the harmful impacts of trash.”
‘Plastic, Plastic, Plastic: British Diver Films Sea of Rubbish off Bali,” Kate Lamb, The Guardian, March 6. 2018.

Henderson Island

     Even if you travel to one of the remotest islands in the world where there are no people you will find garbage. I will spare you the picture.
“Henderson Island lies in the South Pacific, halfway between New Zealand and Chile. No one lives there. It is about as far away from anywhere and anyone on Earth.”
“How an Uninhabited Island Got the World’s Highest Density of Trash
Isolation protects the island from human intrusion—but not 18 tons of plastic.” Laura Parker, May 17, 2017, National Geographic.

Beirut

     If you are one of those who used the break to go to Europe or some country in the Middle East, you probably assumed  that dunking  in the Mediterranean would be a bit dodgy and probably were not going to attempt to swim the the Hellespont. Even a stroll along the strand can be problematic these days. I also assume that most of the cedars are gone.
“A winter storm in Lebanon has resurfaced a longstanding national problem, in the form of a swirling sea of garbage. Piles of trash began washing up Monday on the beaches of Zouk Mosbeh, a town 10 miles north of Beirut, leaving the shore littered with refuse. An earlier storm surge had dragged trash from a landfill out to sea, later depositing it along the coastline and up to 100 feet inland.
“A Sea of Trash on Lebanon’s Beaches,” Nada Homsijan, New York Times, Jan. 23, 2018.

Now the Jetsam

     Apart from all the detritus spilling into the rivers and oceans and accidentally falling from huge container ships one has to consider all the debris deliberately set adrift. You probably read the recent story that went viral and spread quickly, much like the subject it considered - a bottle that was one of several hundred placed in the water over a hundred years ago.
“World's Oldest Message in a Bottle Found by Beachwalker in Australia: Gin Bottle Was Thrown Overboard from a German Ship Before Ending up on a Beach in Western Australia 132 Years Later,” Naaman Zhou, The Guardian, March 6, 2018
“Inside, she found a roll of paper printed in German and dated to 12 June 1886, which was authenticated by the Western Australian Museum.The bottle had been thrown overboard from the German sailing ship Paula in 1886 as it crossed the Indian Ocean, 950km from the Australian coast, according to Ross Anderson, the museum’s assistant curator of maritime archaeology.
     At the time, German ships were conducting a 69-year experiment that involved throwing thousands of bottles into the sea to track ocean currents.
His finding was confirmed by experts at the German Naval Observatory. The previous record for oldest message in a bottle was 108 years.
Of the thousands jettisoned, 662 other messages from the same German experiment have been found and returned before the latest discovery. The most recent was found in 1934.”

Have a Guinness on Me

     Even on the eve of Saint Patrick’s Day I will continue to offer the bonus stuff you expect. While you may have read the recent “Message in the Bottle” story, you may not be aware that around 200,000 bottles of good old Guinness were placed in the water back in the 1950s and they continue to roll in with the tides. I have to begin my celebrations early so I will leave you with the story rather than attempt to tell it. See:
The Guinness Bottle Drop. If you were walking on the beach in Nova Scotia you may have found one - Bottle from 1959 Guinness Promotion Washes Ashore in N.S.

Eagle Man

Charles Lavelle Broley (Dec. 7, 1879 - May 4, 1959)

    A short while back, I became aware of Edwin Way Teale who, among many other things, wrote four books about travelling across the U.S. following the seasons. I started reading the first one - North With the Spring - and was not far into the 17,000 mile trip when I took this detour.

   Teale (and his wife) were hardly into their trip (c.1950), journeying around Lake Okeechobee in Florida, when he mentioned that he was going to join up with a Canadian for an eagle adventure. The Canadian is Charles Broley and naturally I wanted to find out who he was. In terms of google 'hits' there is not much about him and there is no Wikipedia entry. There should be.

   He was originally from Gorrie, Ontario which is near Goderich and he was definitely not your ordinary snowbird. If you are interested in eagles or ornithology, you will be interested in what follows and may not be aware that this "bald-headed eagle-bander" knew more about eagles than just about anyone. He made people aware of migratory patterns and he knew of the potential negative effects of DDT early-on and was cited by Rachel Carson.

     He was also fearless. If you are not fascinated by birds, you still may be interested in finding out more about a late-bloomer who started climbing very tall trees at a very late age.

     I have detoured long enough so this short introduction will have to do. If I have not convinced you that Broley is an interesting subject, then simply read the brief biography I have linked below. If that changes your mind you will find that I have dutifully typed-out the relevant section from Teale's book. I have also provided a bibliography, which I have partially annotated and from which you will learn a great deal.
    

A Short Broley Biography

Lower Beverley Lake Association

“Charles Broley/Eagle Platform

Jan. 6, 2012.

http://lbla.net/?page_id=301

Lower Beverley Lake is near Delta, Ontario which is approximately 60 km from Kingston.

This is where the Broley snowbirds migrated from in the winter and returned to in the summer.

A good short biography of Broley is provided when an eagle platform was dedicated to him in 2011. Click on the link above to read it.

Broley as Described by Teale 

Among other things you will learn how Broley got to the top of this tree!

North With the Spring: A Naturalist’s Record of a 17,000 Mile Journey With the North American Spring, Edwin Way Teale. Dodd, Mead & Company, 1957

Chapter Six: “Eagle Tree” pp.39-54.
[The action takes place near Lake Okeechobee and the 'prairie' is the Kissimmee Prairie, c.1950]

     “At breakfast Dick Pough told us that in a couple of days Charles L. Broley was driving over from Tampa to band eagles on the prairie. Broley, a retired Canadian banker who took up the risky hobby of eagle banding when nearing sixty, is an almost legendary figure in modern ornithology. At sixty-seven he was then nearing his thousandth eagle. We decided to wait and join the expedition. (pp.39-40).

     “Outside the Southland Hotel, the next morning, we met the Broleys. They had driven over from Tampa the evening before. Both the eagle bander and his writer-wife were people we liked at once. Five feet, nine and a half inches tall, 150 pounds in weight, with a sense of humor as keen as his blue eyes, with his hair cropped so short that he has been referred to as the “bald-headed eagle bander,” this retired banker was one of the most remarkable men we met on our travels. Although he was nearing seventy, he was ascending cypress trees 150 feet high and climbing trunks so rickety that they swayed with his weight and went down in the next heavy storm.” (p.47)

     “Broley spread out coils or rope, three rope ladders, lead sinkers, stout fishline, a broom handle with a teaspoon taped to one end, a slingshot, a pair of rubber-soled shoes, and other odds and ends….”
     “Under the eagle tree our eyes ran upward along more than half a hundred feet of trunk to an immense nest of sticks massed against the sky. Bald eagles keep adding sticks to their nests year after year. Sometimes the weight of the accumulated material will exceed a ton. Broley’s largest nest, perhaps the largest in America, is lodged in the top of a Florida pine near St. Petersburg. His measurements show it is 20 feet deep and 91/2 feet wide. Among the sticks of another nest he once found about three-quarters of the handle of a heavy ash oar….”
     “He never knows, in ascending a tree, what will lie at the top of his climb. Moreover, each tree presents a fresh set of problems. The dead pine under which we stood rose for more than twenty feet before the first stub of a limb jutted out. One cypress Broley climbed had its first limb seventy feet from the ground. And, in Canada, he once reached a nest at the top of an 80-foot basswood tree which had lost all its lower limbs. In this case he threw a weighted fishline directly over the nest itself, by means of his slingshot, and with this pulled up his rope ladders. For less lofty throws he use the broom handle with the teaspoon at the end. We watched him place a lead sinker, attached to a stout fishline, in the spoon and flip it over the stub of a limb with a deft sweep of the wooden handle that was a tribute to his years as a lacrosse player. To the fishline he attached a rope, pulling it over the limb and attaching it, in turn, to a 40-foot length of rope ladder with wooden steps. When this was fastened securely in place and he had changed into rubber-soled sneakers he was ready to climb….”
     “Standing on the first limb, Broley threw a sinker and fishline over the highest limb and repeated the process of pulling up rope and ladder. This enabled him to reach the edge of the nest. Now came the ticklish job of getting over the side. The last few feet are the most important of his climb….”
     “The same tree is used by the same eagles season after season. The highest next Broley has visited is 125 feet above the ground in the top of a giant cypress….”
     “As Broley pulled himself up and onto the nest above us -- first his head and shoulders disappearing, then his legs projecting out into space and shortening until they were gone -- patches of loose bark sloughed away from the upper trunk and fell to the ground. For ten minutes he was hidden behind the wall of sticks. But we could visualize events on the nest high overhead. Before making the ascent he had demonstrated the steps required in banding an eagle….”
     “When his legs appeared over the edge of the mass of sticks and he came down the tree, loosening ropes and letting down ladders in his wake, he had banded his 932nd eagle. Since then he has passed the 1,200 mark. He has banded more eagles -- a dozen times more -- than all other birdmen put together.” (pp.48-53)

A Broley Bibliography

For more photographs of Broley see The Florida Photographic Collection

which is part of the Florida Memory Project and where you will find much else to see.

Anon. “Eagles to be Like Dodos in a Hundred Years, Conservationist Says,” Daytona Beach Morning Journal, July 5, 1954.
Broley is quoted and notes that development and land clearing are problems: “I can’t see anything else than a gradual decrease in population.” He had also issued an earlier warning. See:“Timber Cutting in Florida Threatens the Life of Eagles,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Dec. 27, 1946.

Anon. “Dunnellon Garden Club Hears Russell Mason,” Ocala Star-Banner, Jan 23, 1963.
Mason was the executive director of the Florida Audubon Society. After providing background about the AS “...he showed colored films of wading and song birds of Florida. Of special interest was the film of the bald eagle in his natural habitat, filmed by the late Charles Broley, a Canadian, whose pictures and writing sparked the effort for the preservation of this bird.” See the obituary by Mason that is provided below.

Beans, Bruce E. Eagle's Plume: The Struggle to Preserve the Life and Haunts of America's Bald Eagle, Scribner, 1996.
Broley gets a thorough treatment - see especially Chapter 5: "In at the Death", pp.72-84.

Bergstrom, E. Alexander,  (Reviewed Work:) Eagle Man by Myrtle, Jeanne Broley
In Bird-Banding, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1954), p. 82
Eagle Man: Charles L. Broley's Field Adventures With American Eagles was written by Broley’s wife Myrtle. This short review of it is available via JSTOR. Those interested in banding should see other issues of Bird-Banding where Brody is often mentioned in relation to the subject. For example in this article one will find a list of eight banded eagles which had been found after banding by Broley. Most of them had been shot! See: May Thacher Cooke, Bird-Banding, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan., 1950), pp. 11-17.

Bodsworth, F., “How to Catch an Eagle,” Maclean’s, Vol. 65, No.3, Feb.1,1952.
“Broley has taught U.S. scientists more about their national bird than any man alive.”
“Retired, he has earned a spot in a couple of U.S. biographies as the world’s leading authority on eagles, has been elected one of the few Canadian fellow members of the traditionally hard-to-crash American Ornithologists’ Union, and is in such a demand as a lecturer that if he wished he could earn more than he ever did in a bank office. He’s also, without doubt, the most actively retired businessman on the continent.” p.23.
“Roger Tory Peterson, a leading U.S. ornithologist said: “To Broley goes the distinction of adding more to the knowledge of our national bird than any man living.” p.33.
[Peterson also wrote about Broley in his book All Things Reconsidered... see the Peterson entry below.]

Broley, Charles L. “Migration and Nesting of Florida Bald Eagles,”The Wilson Bulletin,Vol. 59, No. 1 (Mar., 1947), pp. 3-20
This article by Broley from The Wilson Bulletin is available via SORA, the Searchable Ornithological Archive, and JSTOR. This is the first paragraph:
“Previous to January 1939 few Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus l.Leucocephalus)
had been banded in Florida. The Florida Bald Eagle was considered non-migratory and was regularly recorded as a permanent resident of the State. In 1938, Richard H. Pough, of the National Audubon Society, suggested that I band a few eagles as an experiment, and during the eight years, 1939 to April 1946, I banded 814 Bald Eagles along the Gulf Coast of Florida-practically all in January and February, a few in March. Meanwhile, I kept a year-by-year record of most of the nests in the banding area, which extended from Hernando
County south to Lee County.”

Broley, Charles L. "Plight of the Florida Bald Eagle," Audubon, Jan.-Feb., 1950,p. 45.

Broley, Charles L. "Plight of the Florida Bald Eagle Worsens," Audubon,  Mar.-April, 1951. p.72

Broley, C.L., “The Eagle and Me,” Canadian Banker, Vol.60, No. 1, Winter, 1953. pp.99-106.
This article has as a subtitle: "A Retired Banker's Hobby". He describes how he got started and provides a thorough description of how he climbs trees and devised his climbing gear.
"At the age of 73, I find that I can climb perhaps more easily than I did 13 years ago. I enjoy a difficult tree more than an easy one, and I hope to carry on for a few years more." p.106.

Broley, M.J., Eagle Man: Charles L. Broley's Field Adventures With American Eagles.
The author of this book is Myrtle Jeanne, Broley's wife. There is an introduction by Teale.

Cook, Hugh A.,  “Charles Broley: An Extraordinary Naturalist” , CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People, Vol.14, No.4, July 1986. (CM was also known as Canadian Material and was published from 1971 to 1994 by the Canadian Library Association.)
This review of Gerrad’s book about Broley is presented here in its entirety:
     “Jon Gerrard, a medical doctor in Manitoba, developed an interest in bald eagles. As a result of this interest, he became interested in the life of Charles Broley and had the opportunity to meet Jeanne, Charles's daughter, and visit the site of the family cottage at Delta, Ontario. This, along with the writings he had perused of Charles Broley's pioneer work in bird watching and the banding of bald eagles, lead Gerrard to write a paper for a conference on bald eagles that was being held in Winnipeg.
     Unfortunately, there are several gaps in the life of Charles Broley that Gerrard could only surmise about, and these he has acknowledged. Charles Broley was raised in Elora, Ontario. He became a banker, moved to Delta, where he met and married his first wife, Ruby, and built the family cottage on an island. Unfortunately, he lost Ruby to tuberculosis. He moved to Manitoba, where he met his second wife, Myrtle. At this time in his life he became an avid bird watcher, as did Myrtle. He became highly respected for his knowledge of birds and upon his retirement, at the age of sixty, began climbing one hundred foot high trees to band eagles. After several years of banding, Charles began to notice a decline in successful nestings of the eagles and was responsible for raising enough concern that political action brought about a ban on DDT.
     Shortly after Myrtle's death Charles died trying to extinguish a grass fire that burnt his cottage. By his personal efforts Charles had greatly encouraged an interest in bird sanctuaries and bird conservation in general. Avid hunters became avid bird watchers and photographers. This is a story that needed telling and it would be a worthwhile addition to the bird section of all libraries.”

Curtin, Dave, “The Eagle Has Landed: National Symbol Flies in the Face of Near-imminent Species Extinction,” Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Jan. 8, 1995.
    “Retired banker and amateur biologist Charles Broley theorized in 1958 that fish eaten by eagles were contaminated by the pesticide DDT, according to Greg Breining in the 1994 book "Return of the Eagle" (Falcon Press).” [This book is not available locally. A copy is searchable via the Internet and it is clear that Broley is discussed in the book which has its full title: Return of the Eagle: How America Saved Its National Symbol.]

Evanoff, Vlad, “Seen Any Pink Geese Lately?”, The American Mercury, May 1959, pp. 46-49
This is an article about how scientists are marking birds and animals so that they can obtain information about their movements and habits. Broley is mentioned in this context on p.47.

Gerrard, Jon. Charles Broley: An Extraordinary Naturalist 1983
    This short biography was published by White Horse Plains Publisher in 1983. See the review above in the entry for Cook.

Haddock, Dudley, “Eagle Scout:The Little-known Story of our National Bird: The Eagle,"
Collier's Weekly, May 9, 1942, pp. 14-15.
This article has a few good photographs.
“Because he tackles buzz saws with his bare hands as a hobby, Charles L. Broley, a 63-year-old retired Canadian banker, has supplied Uncle Sam with more information about his trade mark during the last four years than had been learned since its adoption by the Continental Congress in 1782. In lieu of golf and fishing he bands bald eagles during his winter visits to Florida.
     Until Broley became interested, in 1938, only 58 of the birds had been banded in North America. Knowledge of its habits was limited. It was believed, for one thing, the Florida species was non-migratory. Now it is known to be a long-distance traveler, for two with Broley bands have been found in Canada, one on Prince Edward Island, 1,650 miles north of the nest it left only three weeks previously….”
     Until recently much of the life story of the species was a closed book. Observation of the nests and banding of the eaglets is so strenuous and hazardous few attempt it. One must be an engineer, acrobat and strong man to do so, for these nests are in the tops of the tallest pines and cypresses. Open a great umbrella, turn it upside down and attempt to climb into it from the tip, without wings, and it may be realized what one is up against in gaining the top of a nest, even after the tree has been scaled….”
     Broley became addicted to his hobby by request. Prior to his retirement in 1938 after twenty years as manager of the Winnipeg branch of the Bank of Montreal, he had attained recognition as one of the continent's foremost authorities on ducks, geese and swans.
Upon learning he intended to spend that winter in Florida, officials of the National Audubon Society and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior requested that he band a few bald eagles. That was the beginning. His work from the outset proved to be of such scientific value Washington since has annually requested the Canadian government, which restricts the movement of its nationals during wartime, to permit him to return and continue it.”

Hickey, Joseph J. A Guide to Bird Watching, 1943.
See the section “Florida Odyssey” on pp.143-145.

Mager, D. “Charles Broley in Florida,” in J.M Gerrard and T.M Ingram, The Bald Eagle in Canada, 1985. This book was not available to me.

MacMaster, A. “Charles Broley in Manitoba,”  in J.M Gerrard and T.M Ingram, The Bald Eagle in Canada, 1985.

Mason, C.R., Obit. The Auk, Vol.77, No. 3, July 1960, p.378.
The Auk is available on SORA, the Searchable Ornithological Archive, and via JSTOR. Presented below is Mr. Mason’s obituary for Broley:
  “Charles L. Broley  of Delta, Ontario, an Elective Member of the American Ornithologists' Union, and a member since 1926, died suddenly in the early summer of 1959 as a result of fighting a brush fire near his home. He had shortly before returned from Tampa, Florida, where he had continued his long fight for protection and restoration of the Bald Eagle. He had just agreed to serve on the Wildlife Committee of the Florida Audubon Society, with special emphasis on his favorite bird. His presentation of the plight of America's National Bird at the Annual Meeting of the Society in March 1958 had inspired its officers to initiate a program of census and research leading to greater knowledge of the needs for survival of the Bald Eagle in Florida.
     Mr. Broley was a banker by profession but retired at 58 to spend most of the following two decades in studying, banding, photographing, and lecturing about the Bald Eagle. He became adept in the use of rope ladders in climbing eagle trees and developed a national and international reputation as an authority on the species. Mrs. Broley, who preceded her husband in death by a year, wrote the "Eagle Man," which described his experiences with this great bird during his retirement years. The Broleys' daughter has deposited her father's records and eagle films with the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University so that they may have further use. Many of us here in Florida, and throughout the country, considered Charlie Broley a fine personal friend, and the warmth of his association will be greatly missed as will his work in ornithology and conservation.”
C. Russell Mason,  Altamonte Springs, Florida.

McNicholl, Martin K., “Charles Lavelle Broley,” The Canadian Encyclopedia.
This is the complete entry:
    “Charles Lavelle Broley, banker, ornithologist (born at Gorrie, Ontario,  7 Dec 1879; d at Delta, Ont 4 May 1959). A banker in Winnipeg, he was also active in ornithology and conservation. In 1939 he "retired" to winters in Florida and summers in Ontario.
In Florida he began a raptor-banding study, in his first 8 years banding 814 bald eagles and ultimately banding more than 1200. Recoveries showed that eagles dispersed northwards after nesting prior to southern migration; Broley's was the first study to demonstrate this phenomenon with large numbers. Declining hatching success during his study resulted in one of the first alerts to science of the dangers of insecticides.
Broley was honoured for his work by a life membership in the Natural History Society of Manitoba. He also encouraged the early career of wildlife artist Terence Shortt. Broley was to assume membership in a special conservation committee on bald eagles when he died fighting a brushfire.”

Peterson, R.T., “Eagle Man,” Audubon, 50, 1948.
Apparently Broley is mentioned in this article.

Peterson, Roger Tory, All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures
See the chapter: “Broley, The Eagle Man,” p.124. There is a good picture of Broley on p.130.

Redford, Polly, “Counting Our Eagles, The Atlantic Monthly, July 1965, pp. 64-68
Apparently Broley is mentioned in this article.

Sterling, Keir Brooks, et al.  Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists. Greenwood Press, 1997
A short, but useful biographical sketch of Broley is provided along with a bibliography (see “Broley, Charles Lavelle, on pp.116-117.)
 [Broley’s] “ investigations were among the first to implicate DDT in raptor declines and thus pesticides as environmental threats.”
“Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring effectively used Broley’s data in combination with others to sound this warning.”

Tao, Dominick, Soaring Spiritual Bond: The Image and Aura of the Eagle Have a Clutch on Countless Lives,” St.Petersburg Times, June 6, 2010.
     “Back in the days when most of Central Florida was pine scrub and farmland, Charles Broley ventured where only eagles dare.Throughout the 1940s, the former bank manager climbed into hundreds of eagle nests across the state, often more than 100 feet up, placing numbered bands on more than 1,000 chicks so their movement patterns could be tracked.
His obsession is legend among present-day Florida eagle stewards, like Barb Walker, the coordinator for Pinellas County's Audubon Society Eagle Watch program.
She feels it's her job to carry on the torch of eagle conservation pioneered by Broley 60 years ago. "I think it's important to our children. The past with eagles is important, even before they were delisted (from the endangered species list)," Walker said.

Teale, Edwin Way, “Bird of Freedom,” The Atlantic Monthly, November 1957, pp. 133-140
Apparently Broley is mentioned in this article.

Wellington County Museum and Archives
This is from the website of the Wellington County Museum and Archives
http://wcma.pastperfectonline.com/
A1997.132 - Eagle Man, by Myrtle Jeanne Broley, 1952.
Eagle Man, by Myrtle Jeanne Broley, 1952; hardcover, 210 pages. Story of the Elora banker-naturalist Charles L. Broley's field adventures with American Eagles; written by his wife, Myrtle Jeanne Broley. Inside front cover, signed "Myrtle Jeanne Broley / Charles Broley". Includes newspaper clippings from Toronto Daily Star, July 28, 1954; Kitchener-Waterloo Record, May 5, 1959 [obituary Charles Broley].

White, E.B. “Talk of the Town,” New Yorker, April 24, 1954.
Broley is mentioned and a couple of months later one finds him profiled by Geoffrey T. Hellman in “Eagle Bander, New Yorker, June 19, 1954.
“The leading eagle bander of the world” is described as  “a wiry, sun-burned, single-chinned, bright-blue-eyed man who looks ageless…” Broley says that a few weeks before had just had a very rough eagle outing in Maryland. He is 74 at this time.

Winnipeg Free Press.
     A large number of references to Broley are found in the archive of the Winnipeg Free Press, but one has to pay to access them. According to Sterling’s sketch in the Biographical Dictionary.... noted above, Broley often contributed to A.G. Lawrence’s bird column, "Chickadee Notes," which was published in that paper.

Wood, Madelyn, “Our Bird of Freedom,” Coronet Magazine, July 1954, pp. 81-84
Apparently Broley is mentioned in this article.

[I was not able to see the two biographical works about Broley and didn't have time to track down some of the unannotated references. This is a 'detour' after all.]

Boys With Books

    Premium subscribers to this blog have noted that March has not come in as a lion, in terms of posts, and that there have been far less of them than centimeters of snow. I will attempt to pick up the pace rather than offer excuses (again), and provide you here with another post about libraries. Admittedly a rather anodyne subject, but that is not a bad thing these days.
     Boys are usually associated more with toys - things like Corvettes, Donzis and ATVs  - than books, lest they be deemed effete and bookish. Norman Mailer’s name is more likely to be seen nearer ‘machismo’ than either of the words just mentioned, but he had almost as many libraries (4) as he had wives (6). Although he collected books and spent over $1000 a month buying them, he could be rough with them. He was also tough on his wives, one of whom he stabbed. His last wife compared his books to Kudzu, which is a view shared by many others. Still, I think many of my fellow-readers wouldn’t mind resting in the room pictured below.

Norman Mailer’s Library

Norman Mailer’s home library, Brooklyn Heights, New York, 2011
© Lawrence Schiller, All Rights Reserved

Blokes With Books

     In the article discussing Mailer’s books and libraries it is mentioned that he admired the work of Colin Wilson. I am embarrassed to say that I have never read any of his many books, but do remember that he was an angry young man back in the sixties (weren’t we all). I also recall that I read an article fairly recently that said Wilson lived surrounded by books. Although size doesn’t matter, his collection contained about 30,000 while Mailer had only around 7,000. Although I couldn’t find a flattering photo of the abode in Gorran Haven where Wilson kept his books I did find some excellent descriptions by those who visited the place. Both are provided below.

Colin Wilson’s Home

     Although the setting above does look as inviting as the one in New York, you will agree, after reading these descriptions, that it would have been a fine place to visit

“He and Joy were able to offer (carefully vetted) guests smoked salmon and fine wine in their Cornwall hermitage, its rooms and sheds groaning with 30,000 books and 10,000 classical and jazz records. Wilson, still an unstoppably wide-ranging and oracular conversationalist, grew into a kind, mostly serene man.

“Arriving at the cottage we are welcomed by two black dogs, and although one is still a puppy, he is still quite large. There is also a parrot called Clovis who has a habit of chewing books. The Wilson’s house is crammed with books, records and videos, and we add to it when Colin arrives by handing him copies of Kenneth Grant’s poetry volume Convolulus. The house was called Tetherdown “...and it is just what you might expect a nutty professors home to be like, extremely eccentric and stuffed top to bottom and back to front with books, records and CDs. There were book shelves in the kitchen, in every room, they lined the walls, jam-packed must have been ten thousand books or more. The bathroom had book shelves! Outside stood three mighty wooden sheds full of, you guessed it, books. Lots of the books in the sheds were written by CW himself as they were first editions sent to CW by the publisher. Imagine my delight when Colin invited us to select a few and he would sign them. Colin is also an amazing chef, he personally cooked us a simply brilliant meal of rich dark meat and we washed it down with more red wine than I can ever recall drinking in one sitting. What a wonderful kind and interesting host.”

Sources:
    The article about Mailer and the picture are found in the well-titled: “The Naked and the Read,” by J. Michael Lennon, The Times Literary Supplement, March 7, 2018.
    The first quote about the Wilson collection is from The Guardian, Dec. 9, 2013 and the second is found at colinwilsononline.com
    I learned about Wilson’s library in a review of his book, Beyond the Robot, by Michael Dirda, The Washington Post, August 31, 2016.