Dec 25 2022 - Charles' First Christmas

 

Silly me!  Of course there is a Royal Family Channel.  And what was on it yesterday?  King Charles' First Christmas Speech.  That was a long time in coming.   Last year's speech with the queen spoke of  "passing the baton" to the next generation.  Gone are the colourful dresses and pretty (expensive) jewels, replaced by a sombre suit.   The BBC gave its view: "In terms of changes in style, the King delivered his first message standing up, rather than a formal address from behind a desk, and his themes addressed more current social issues. But there was much that was traditional. This was a Christmas Day message delivered in a chapel with a choir singing, touching on themes of faith, hope and the importance of serving others. The choir finished, as it had last year for the Queen's last message, singing the carol O Little Town of Bethlehem, with the King highlighting its message of "light overcoming darkness". And what about that Royal Channel?  Are two of them.  One says that the Royal Family Channel is a British YouTube channel that uploads daily videos that are related to the news revolved around the British royal family.  It says it was launched in 2010 and has 2 million subscribers.  Then there's another statement saying that the  Queen launched it in 2007, with her Christmas message .  Vanity Fair says they launched their channel in 2021 with "better late than never."   Do William and Kate want more press - have they been squeezed out by the "new" Royal Family? It seems very busy on the RoyalTube front.  The "Harry & Meghan" docudrama on Netflix just came out.  Is this their offering of what a Christmas special is now?  Thegardian.com website has  the synopsis - a blow by blow of the milestone moments - or more accurately "complaints and grievances."   I wondered if Harry and Meghan had launched their own Youtube channel, and find out instead that Anti-Meghan Markle Youtube channels  were deranked earlier in 2022. That was around the Oprah Winfrey  interview time.   And back to us "common folk" on Boxing Day.  This used to be a buying day for North Americans.  But we had our Boxing Day, Boxing Week and Boxing Month Sales all through December already.  So we will have a day not so dissimilar from the  Royals.  It is a private day for them.  Mind you, it is full of  fancy food and shooting pheasants.  Like the servants of the original boxing day, they all work on Christmas Day attending Church and giving the famous speech.  They get to take the day off on Boxing Day.  I wonder if they give the presents filled with gifts, money and Christmas leftovers to each other.    We are the snowiest Christmas Day country in the world.  Niagara's blossom orchards are dormant right now.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Finding Fish in Niagara

My sister took me to Charles Daley Park which is on Lake Ontario in St. Catharines.  We watched large fish swim up and down the channel that goes to the big lagoon.  She was told they have to wait in the channel until their body temperature adapts to the changes between the cold lake and the warm lagoon.  This is the migratory period for fish coming to their spawning grounds, where they will spawn in the spring.

So there's lots of fishing in Niagara, I find out.  Most of us think of going to the Georgian Bay area to fish, and not Lake Ontario.  Part of the dilemma with Lake Ontario is the pollution levels of the past reducing the number of fish and eliminating them from the table.  However, there are some interesting species listed in the Niagara area, including Steelhead, Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Carp, Salmon (of various types - Lake and Chinook), Smallmouth Bass and Sturgeon.   There are fishing adventure companies in the Niagara Falls area, with lots of pictures of big fish.  And there is a Sturgeon repopulation project at the Niagara River.  

The Niagara River seems to have a large and diverse group - this information comes from the Greenbelt Website about fishing at the Queenston Docks.  The salmon and trout come in the fall to spawn in the spring.  So they would be resident in the big lagoon at Charles Daley Park over the winter.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO CATCH ON THE NIAGARA RIVER:

Migratory Species:

 Rainbow trout, brown trout, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, lake trout 

Resident Species:

 pan fish, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, channel catfish, northern pike, carp, muskellunge, walleye

 

Ice Fishing:

Ice Fishing is a great way to have an adventure and enjoy the out doors in the middle of winter! Look for 

yellow perch, walleye, trout, and if you're lucky - something bigger!

Here's where they are swimming to:

 Here's where they are coming from:

This is the channel:

This is the 2-3 foot fish - maybe a salmon…