Valley Highlands Area – Scouts Canada
Notes’N’News
Volume Two #2 Editor
Scouter Chris Tyler email Firstscoutkim@aol.com
Year of the Veteran….
It is important that we as leaders take the time to
discuss the deeper meaning of this Remembrance Day with our youth that they may
also appreciate the sacrifice made by our fathers and grandfathers that we may
live in peace.
Editorial…
Welcome back all our Scouting members from last year and a very special
welcome all new members.
Although
most of you will have joined a Group, you are also a member of Valley Highlands
Area, and Voyageur Region, and of course of Scouts Canada and the worldwide
organization Scouting fraternities. Let us all remember as we head into a new
year that we are here for the benefit of the youth, we are here to give a
little of ourselves so that the youth may learn and grow by our example. Etta and I would like to take this
opportunity to wish all the very best of Scouting, lots of fun and success in
your all your endeavours.
Tiny Terrariums… You may
recall that in the February 05 Notes’N’News we put
forward the idea of growing square tomatoes and such, well here’s the low down
on bottle gardens your Beavers and Cubs can grow… Guaranteed.
A terrarium is simply
a glass container used for growing plants indoors. Here we re-invent the concept, creating a
world-within-a-world that’s both simple and sophisticated. It’s habit of
thriving on neglect makes this closed terrarium hard to kill and easy to
love. Stand or hang your terrarium in a
window where it will get sun for part of the day.
Start with a quick trip to your
local Dollar store and local nursery that will soon have you geared up with
little in the way of expense.
You will need a clear glass or
plastic bottle, with close fitting lid.
Or if your really cheap a large jam jar will do
but will not look as pretty. Some of you
may want to dig out some of those clear glass ornaments off the Christmas tree
and go micro Gardening, and that’s fine too.
Tools. You will need chopsticks or long tweezers, a small amount
of fine gravel as used in fish tanks. Drinking straws or eyedropper for watering.
You will need a growing medium – Soil.
Your terrarium needs a soil mixture that holds water and air, and keeps
plants firm.
Equal parts vermiculite, perlite and builders sand works best, but good quality
potting soil is ok. (Avoid potting soil with fertilizer pre mixed.) No need to add fertilizer as this will make
the garden grow too quickly overwhelming the small vessel.
Water.
To maintain a steadily moist environment, a closed terrarium requires a
tight fitting lid. Because a closed
terrarium recycles its moisture it can go a month or more without watering. It is important only to add water as needed
and only at the base of each plant. The
condensation on the inside of the container will decrease when it is time to
water. Add water through a drinking
straw directly at the base of the plants.
Don’t flood the globe as this will cause mold and rot, and throw your
little ecosystem off balance.
Pinching. From time to time pinch out the tops of the
plants and sometimes snip back the wayward fronds. This will help keep your plants fatter rather
than taller. Remove all debris. When they get too big for the container scoop
them out and plant in the garden.
Bedding the plants. Make sure that
when planting your plants that you do not break the tender roots. Lay the roots flat on the gravel and spoon
soil mix over the roots to completely cover them. Don’t put too many plants close to the front
of the globe. Leave room for plants to
grow yet still have room to see them.
Here is a list of plants that thrive on
humidity, and have compact or spreading growth habits. Select a variety of type and colour.
Baby’s tears – Tiny leafed spreading ground cover.
Creeping Charlie- Trailing or
creeping perennial with deeply quilted pale green leaves.
Hedera
helix ‘Itsy Bitsy’ miniature Ivy. Has very tiny pointed green leaves, grows in
small bushy mounds.
Creeping Fig. Tiny crinkled
green leaves with bright yellow centers.
Miniature Pilea. Tiny dark green leaves; doesn’t need much
water. (Invasive weed: not for outdoor planting.)
Oxalis ‘Rubra.’ Has a red leaf. (Again an invasive weed;
not for outdoor planting.)
Peperomia Caperata. With rosette of
deeply corrugated, heart shaped dark green leaves; sometimes sends off spikes
of tiny white flowers.
Polka-dot
plant.
Pink dots cover deep green leaves; can get tall but takes well to
pinching back.
Selaginella. Tiny mosses that range from pincushion habit
to arching plumes.
Sinningia Pusilla. Micro version of gloxinia; Dark green leaves;
sometimes sends off spikes of purple flowers.
Peperomia ‘minima.’ Tiny green leaves on upright, bright red
stems.
Sundew. Uses
its leaves to trap moisture. Very colourful.
Sword fern. Densely
growing miniature fern with fine lacy fronds.
Wintergreen. Spreading
ground cover with fragrant, tiny leaves.
For fun put plastic
farm animals or zoo animal’s etc in the front of your terrarium.
A word about Moss. Think twice about
adding mosses (except as above) most mosses can rot turning your terrarium into
a moldy, sticky, smelly mess. If you
must, then use only living sphagnum (ask Florist) or Java moss (used in fish
tanks and found at Fish/Pet suppliers.)
As with most plants, some of the above are
toxic, therefore be sure youth wash hands thoroughly after handling plants. From
Cottage
Living 2004
How about a worm farm… Worm farms
are a good way to watch worms in their (almost) natural habitat.
Earthworms can be kept in a jar
for a few weeks; all you have to do is provide them with fresh water and
food. Get hold of a large glass or
plastic jar, a 4litre /1 gallon pickle jar from a restaurant would be perfect. Fill the jar three quarters full with loose
garden or woodland soil and sand in layers.
Do not pack it in tight. Sprinkle lightly with water and add a few
small pieces of lettuce leaf. Keep your
worm farm in a cool place such as a basement or shed away from sunlight or heat. Now you’re ready to hunt for worms.
Make a brown paper sleeve to fit
loosely around the jar to keep out light and heat. Replace the lettuce leaves every other day.
Now prepare for some serious worm
watching. Keep the soil moist by adding
a little water from a straw. (Dip the straw into a glass of water and put
your finger over the end of the straw, this will hold the water in the straw
while you move the straw to the farm jar, release the finger and the water
dribbles into the jar.)
Or Try Natural Dying…
You will need an apron to protect your clothes.
2-3 liters of water in a large pot, a wooden spoon,
and a large fruit basket of plant material. Break up the plant material and add to the
water. Bring water to a boil and boil
gently for about an hour. With fresh
water wet the T-shirt or whatever you plan to dye and add it to the pot. Boil for half an hour more stirring
occasionally with the wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove the T-shirt from the mix and hang up
to dry outside. Compost the boiled
plants. Here is a list of plants and the
colour of the dye to expect.
Sunflower. Soft Yellow. Golden rod flower, beige/yellow. Rosehips, Oatmeal. Blue Lupin,
pale green. Oak Bark, dark brown. Wild
holly berries, pale pink. Black walnut shells, very dark
brown. You can experiment with others
but don’t mix them unless you want to make mud.
Try tie dying, to do this tie a pebble tightly into the T-shirt with
string and plunge the T-shirt into the dye for a few moments, hang up to dry
without untying. When dry untie the
string and you will have white rings and streaks where the tie was made. Enjoy Fishing…? Paint your fish with natural dye and cover
with a sheet of tissue paper, patting the paper down carefully, lift off the
fish and allow to dry.
Hey presto a picture of your fish to hang in your bedroom window.
Plaster Casts. What better time to try making plaster casts of animal
footprints? They make pretty
paperweights or door stops. You will
need heavy cardboard about 20cm x 5cm (8”x 2”) A paper
clip or two, a margarine tub and a pack of Polyfilla.
Water. Find a
footprint and make a circle from the cardboard securing it with the paper
clips. Place the circle round the
footprint and press lightly into the sand or soil. Mix the Polyfilla
into a pancake consistency and pour into mould.
Allow drying for several hours.
Remove the cast from the ground and brush off any dirt. Allow more time to dry thoroughly then paint
or leave it white. If you paint it,
allow paint to dry then give it light coat of white glue to stabilize it. No tracks handy – No excuse. Make your own handprints, curl your fingers
into a bed of sand and carefully remove. Cast one
finger at a time then the rest of the hand, paint in loud colors and white glue
covering. – Kids will enjoy this.
Make a weather rock. Find a nice large fairly smooth rock and
paint it with a face or other pattern.
When dry coat it with white glue. Place the rock in nice spot in the
garden… next to the sundial would be a good place. Now you are ready to tell the weather. If the rock is cold to the touch, it’s
cold. If the rock is warm the
temperature is warm, if the rock is covered with snow – it’s been snowing, if
the rock is blowing away – watch out!
Smile a while…
Two men from out in boondocks went to
the city for the first time ever and decide to go and see a John Wayne
movie. When they arrived at the cinema
the film had already started, so it was quite dark. As they made their way to their seats an
usherette followed them with a flashlight.
‘Watch-out’ said one man to the other ‘here comes a bicycle.”
A month later they again went to
the cinema. In one scene John Wayne was
riding furiously towards a cliff. “I bet
you ten dollars that he falls over the cliff,” said the first man. “Done,” says the second man. John Wayne rides over the cliff and the
second man reluctantly hands over the ten dollars. “I feel a bit guilty about this,” said the
first man. “I’ve seen this film
before” “So have I” said the second man
“But I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to do it twice.”
On the way home that night they
came upon a milestone. The first man
says, “Look, we must be in a graveyard.”
“Yes” said the other; “A chap named Miles from
The next day they went to work
building a house. “Hey’ said the first
man “These nails are defective, the heads are on the wrong end.” “ You
fool,” Said the second man, “Those are for the other side of the house.” Later in the day one of them fell off the
roof and was splattered all over the garden.
“I bet that fall hurt,” said the second man a little later. “Not at all” said the first; “it was the
sudden stop that hurt the most”.
Computer
Virus… Thought
you would want to know about this email virus.
Even the most advanced Norton or McAfee shields cannot take care of this
one. It appears to more frequently those
who were born before 1950, But…
Symptoms – 1. You
send the email twice. 2. You send a blank email. 3. You
send an email to the wrong person.
4. You send it back to the person
who sent it to you. 5. You hit send before you’ve finished writing
an email. 6. You hit delete instead of
send. 7.
You hit send when you should hit delete.
This is called the “C-Nile
Virus.”
Useless
Trivia… Lights
shine brightest - in the darkest corner!
Love
is like bread…. It has to be made fresh every day. Anon.
It could happen to
you… Don’t boil water in the Microwave… !
I was glad to receive this email from a friend because I
have often heated water in the Microwave.
You’ll be glad you read it and I hope you will
pass it on to all your friends…
“Last week my 26-year old son
decided to make a cup of instant coffee.
He took a cup of water and put it into the microwave to heat it. (Something he had done numerous times before). I’m not sure how long he set the timer for
but said he’d wanted the water to boil.
When the timer shut off the oven, he removed the cup. He looked into the cup and realized that the
water was not boiling. Then instantly
the water in the cup exploded into his face.
His whole face is blistered with 1st and 2nd
degree burns which may leave scarring, He may also
have lost partial sight in his left eye.”
The Doctor at the hospital
stated that “this is a fairly common occurrence. Water should never be heated in a microwave
alone. If you must heat water in this
way something - such as a wooden stir stick or a tea bag should be placed in
the cup to diffuse the energy.”
Here is what the local science
master has to say on the subject… “ It is caused by a phenomenon known as super heating. What happens is the water heats up quicker
than the vapour bubbles can form and the water does
not “Boil” but continues to heat up well beyond the normal boiling point. What then usually happens is the liquid is
jarred or bumped, which is just enough of a shock to make the bubbles rapidly
form and expel the very hot liquid.” He
went on to say “that the rapid formation of bubbles is also why a carbonated
drink spews when opened after having been shaken.”
A Dog-eared
story… Smith,
seated in a cinema, couldn’t help being aware that a man sitting in front of
him had his arm around a rather large dog.
The dog was clearly taking in the picture with understanding. He snarled at the villain, yelped happily at
the funny parts and so on. Smith leaned
forward and tapped the man on the shoulder saying, “Pardon me sir, but I cannot
get over your dogs behavior.” The man
turned back and said, “Frankly it surprises me too. He hated the book!”
A Friend from
Smile a while… My
grandmother was travelling with a friend and her
small daughter on a crowded bus. A
rather large Nun, complete with white starched wimple, was seated next to the
child who, naturally was very shy with strangers, was soon chatting away with
her companion. At the end of the journey
the nun turned to the child’s mother and said; “I hope you won’t reproach your
daughter for talking to a stranger but she thinks she has been talking to a
penguin.”
“A woman is like a tea bag – You never know
how strong she is until she gets in hot water”
Anyone can stop a man’s life – but not his death.
Formaldehyde + Tea
= Well not quite. But people who suffer nausea or sore throats
when exposed to fresh paint or glue are probably reacting to the formaldehyde
many of them contain. Relief may be
available from the humble Tea Bag.
Scientists in
Taking the
Pledge… Many
years ago, just after the War, there was a children’s magazine entitled
“Sunbeam” Young members of the family belonged to the “Sunbeam Club,” But before you could become a member you had to make
the pledge:
“In order to promote happiness,
efficiency, and civic welfare, I sincerely promise that wherever I am:
I will talk
health instead of sickness.
I will talk
prosperity instead of failure
I will carry
good news instead of bad news.
I will tell a
cheerful tale instead of a sad tale.
I will mention
blessings instead of burdens.
I will speak
sunshine rather than clouds.
I will think
cheerful things instead of gloomy things,
and my thoughts will shine on my face.
I will praise
whenever I can those who are putting
forward honest effort to perform their tasks creditably.
I will always
remember: a merry heart that doeth good is life’s medicine.”
To this day I can remember
standing in front of my family and making that pledge. My Grandfather, (Who I later learned had paid
the 6 pence membership fee for me) read out the words on the card, with me
repeating each line, then, me, signing the card which mother sent to the
magazine to obtain my membership. Each
year we received a birthday card from the club and renewed the pledge. To the best of my knowledge I am still a
member of that club and although I have not verbally reaffirmed the pledge in
many years I still try to live up to its premise. If you read it again it’s not that different
to the Scout promise which I also made for the first time just a couple of
years later. I sincerely hope that
Grandfather got his 6 pennyworth. I
certainly did.
And Finally….
To cut a long story short…
Eleven
people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter at 2000 ft, (which had rescued
them after a skiing accident) ten men and one woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them
all, so they decided that one had to leave, because otherwise they were all
going to fall.
They weren't able to name that person, until the woman gave a very touching
speech. She said that
“She
would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to
giving up everything for her husband and kids, or for men in general, and was
used to always making sacrifices with little in return.” As soon as she finished her speech, all the
men started clapping their hands....
That’s all for now….
Till next time.