Galwegians-May 2022
The Galway Hall remains open for meetings, events, and activities. Booking information may be found at www.galwayhall.ca. The Kinmount Agricultural Society has had several meetings to date which is a good indicator that the Kinmount Fair will be a ‘go’ for the Labour Weekend, 2022. The local Tai Chi group is also making arrangements at the Hall to resume classes shortly. The Galway Hall Board has a meeting at the end of May to finalize the plans to have our Strawberry Supper fundraiser on Saturday, July 2nd. As things begin to ‘loosen up’, the Galway Hall is always looking for volunteers to help. Again, the contact information is available on the Hall’s website.
With March Break ending, and students heading back to classes again, it is a good thought to remind eligible students, pursuing post-secondary education, of the bursary money available from the Kinmount and District Bursary Committee. All the information is posted at: www.kinmount.ca and www.galwayhall.ca.
The “Friends of Galway” have not been meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The hope is to meet at the Galway Hall for the summer equinox meeting, tentatively booked for Friday, June 24th. However, FOG’s “Shamrocking Galway” program is going ahead again. This will be Year 4, providing purple shamrocks to area residents that are interested in this endeavour. The planting of the corms into the peat pots usually begins around Earth Day.
Well, the beginning of March in our area came in ‘like a lamb’. However, the last week of February and the early days of March were quite blustery. There were lots of twigs and branches littering the ground. There were even a few trees blown down in the area. These winds were blowing the snow and leaves about. Leaves? Yes, the winds were strong enough to take the dry leaves from some of the maple trees and some of the beech trees and blowing them about. Yet, there are still many of these marcescence trees that are holding onto their leaves, despite the big winds.
The few ‘balmy’ days over March Break brought the return of some of the wildlife such as crows, robins, red-winged blackbirds, grackles and Canada geese. The warmth also awakened the chipmunks and the raccoons. Warmer weather also encourages the pests. The Weather Channel listed three pests that homeowners should deal with sooner than later. They are; Wasps, the LDD (gypsy) Moth, and Ants.
With St. Patrick’s Day just over, and spring a day away, here is some trivia. The odds of finding a 4 leaf-clover on your first try are between 1 in 5000 to 1 in 10000. The odds of finding a 5 leaf-clover on your first try are 1 in 24000.
The full moon in April appears on the 16th. It is called the Full Pink Moon. Pink is a reference to the appearance of moss pink or wild ground phlox. This moon is also known as Sprouting Grass Moon, Growing Moon, Egg Moon, and Fish Moon. The Lyrids Meteor Shower occurs from April 16th to April 23rd. It peaks after midnight on April 22nd and the early morning hours of April 23rd. On April 29th, Mercury will be at its best viewing, low in the western sky just after sunset. It has been reported recently that there are over 2500 pieces of ‘space junk’ littering our skies. Small pieces of space debris (the size of a marble) can reach speeds of up to 2800 km/hr.
CBC radio mentioned a term recently-‘Solutionism’. It originates from technology and it often relates to the use of apps. The meaning of Solutionism is that technology can provide all the answers and solutions and potentially at the push of a button or two. Really? I’m thinking this word will not be part of my limited vocabulary.
In a recent conversation, the phrase “Single Point of Failure” was mentioned. It is an aviation term. It refers to the situation that every function has a ‘back-up’. And that back-up, has a back –up. And that back-up, has a back-up and so on and so on. Think about how many people or organizations don’t have one single back-up plan. There are probably many “Single Point of Failures” in today’s world which is a scary thought.
Advice from the “Best in the Cupboard” book for this month comes from the Painting and Repair section:
If a door sticks, just rub a piece of soap over the tight places.
To keep white paint from yellowing, add 10 drops of black paint to each quart of white.
If you have a hole to fill with wood or putty, try a golf tee. It is tapered and fits a variety of holes. The tee also has a broad head which tends to keep the wood from splitting. Hammer to the desired length, clip it off, tap again, and sand.
To prevent a ladder from slipping, place the bottom legs into the heels of an old pair of rubber books.
To get spots of paints from your hands, face, or arms use ordinary paste floor wax. It is a lot easier on the skin than turpentine.