Galwegians February 2020
The Galway Hall’s first Board meeting of 2020 was held on Monday, January 27th. This meeting was the start of the plans, activities, and events of this New Year at the Hall. Recently, the Galway Hall Board purchased 14 new light-weight, foldable tables, another upgrade for our Hall. The preparation details for the Kinmount Bursary dinner and the set-up for the Hall were firmed up. For this important fundraiser, doors open at 5 p.m. and the dinner is served at 6 p.m. Monies raised help support the post-secondary endeavours of our local students. To date, scholarships have been distributed to seventy-two local students. Bursary information and applications are available at www.kinmount.ca.
Speaking of websites, information about the Galway Hall and a list of its upcoming events can be found at our webpage: www.galwayhall.ca. Thanks to the awesome folks at Solve-All Computers for getting our website up and running. One can also access “Friends of Galway” information and stories which are linked to the Galway Hall website.
The “Friends of Galway” held their annual year-end potluck supper on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen friends enjoyed a bountiful array of foods. Meeting dates for 2020 were selected. This group is dedicated to preserving local history, local characters, and stories through word and photos.
The first FOG meeting will be on Friday, March 20th at the Galway Hall at 7 p.m. The conversational topic for this meeting will be words or objects or expressions that were commonplace ‘back when’ that are now uncommon or unknown by many people today.
As always, all are welcome.
If the evening skies are clear, look ‘up’ in February. February’s full moon is on the 9th and its face will be fully illuminated at 7:34 p.m. Indigenous peoples called this moon the ‘Full Snow Moon’ (heaviest snows) or the ‘Full Hunger Moon’ (hunting was difficult). February’s full moon is the first of four super moons in 2020. Curiously, these four super moons occur consecutively- in February, March, April, and May!
Look for Mercury on February 10th. It will be low in the western sky just after sunset. In late February, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will all line up in the night sky. All three can be seen via binoculars, or a telescope, or with the naked eye. From February 18th to 20th, the moon will pass close to each of these three planets. Again, here’s hoping for clear skies for all of these celestial happenings to be visible.
It has been mentioned before in this column how fortunate we are to live in this part of the world. Another case in point is the occurrence of wolves travelling through our area. Imagine experiencing this wildness within two hours of the largest city in Canada! On a morning run on December 23rd, wolves were heard howling near the Coppermine Creek Bridge over the Galway Road. My late uncle, Bob White, told me many years ago to always mark the date on a calendar when you heard wolves howl. From his extensive outdoor experiences, he noted that a wolf pack took about three weeks to travel through and mark their territory. Curiously, again on a morning run, wolves were heard howling near the intersection of East and West Clear Bay Road. This was on January 15th– twenty-three days between documented howls.
Near the opposite end of the food chain from the wolf, is the mouse. Did you know that mice communicate with each other by using pheromones? Pheromones are chemicals excreted from their bodies that will trigger a response in other mice. Mice will leave these invisible pheromone trails to your home or cottage for other mice to follow. Consider the following: An area lake house has four baited traps set in close proximity to each other. Since the fall, ten mice have been caught. Nine of the ten mice have been caught in the same trap and two of the nine were caught in this trap without any bait! This is a good example of pheromones at work indeed.