He is at Gullfoss, which is a multi-tiered waterfall in the Hvitá River in Southwest Iceland.
To see more pictures and read more about Bob’s family’s adventure in Iceland, check out
http://www.traveladdictonabudget.com/2017/10/exploring-iceland.html
I love looking at the old buildings in Charleston, South Carolina. I noticed that many have decorations on them. It kind of looks like the buildings are wearing fancy pins or brooches. There are usually two or three identical brooches in a row on a building.
These pins come in many shapes: crosses, circles, stars and more. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any shaped like chickens.
I later found out that these decorations had a purpose. After the 1886 earthquake, people put rods through their buildings to straighten them out and secure them. They added fancy decorations to the ends of these rods to pretty them up called earthquake bolts.
If you go to Charleston, check out how many different designs of earthquake bolts you find and please, let me know if you find any that look like chickens.
Recently, I met up with my cousin Hoover, in Washington DC. (Hoover was named after one of the United States past presidents.)
Hoover enjoyed showing Washington’s sights to me, Mom, her friend and the kids.
One of our favourite places was the Smithsonian National Zoological park. Mom liked the fact that it’s free to get into.
Hoover and I loved the bird house. I took a great picture of Hoover on the eagle statue by the bird house.
Many of the animals were hiding or sleeping because it was so hot outside, but there were many active animals in the indoor exhibits. Check and see if the Pandas are up on the Panda cam.
We loved the reptiles in the Reptile House. Did you know that evolutionwise, reptiles are related to us birds? Maybe that’s why I have such scaley feet.
Mom thought the Meerkats…you know, the ones that look like Timone from Lion King, were really cute.
With it being so hot, the kids loved the misters that were located around the zoo. The mists of water sure helped to cool us down.
I’ll be telling you more about our trip to Washington this week, so keep checking my site.
I’m not the only bird in our family home. I live with a Quaker Parrot named Kirby.
Quaker Parrots like Kirby are also called Quaker Parakeets, Monk Parakeets or Grey-Breasted Parakeets. Quakers are usually green with a pale grey chest, throat, cheeks and forehead but some of Kirby’s friends are blue or yellow.
When living with pet humans, Quakers usually learn to talk,laugh and even sing.
Quaker Parrots originally came from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in South America but like me, they are prone to travel. I have seen Quakers in Southern Florida, Brooklyn and even Brussels, Belgium. If you don’t believe me, check out the You Tube videos.
Look at the time! Gotta fly. I promised Kirby that I would meet up with him and some chicks tonight.
I’m getting ready to party!
This Friday, July 1 is Canada’s 144th birthday. It’s the perfect time to wave our flags, enjoy fireworks and crow with national pride.
Canadians have a lot to be proud of. We live in an amazing country. Check out some of these Canadian facts from the National Geographic Kids site.
Many famous people come from Canada including Justin Beiber, Wayne Gretzky, Avril Lavigne and Jim Carrey to name a few. Check out this much larger list of famous Canadians.
So stand proud Canadians, and belt out our national anthem.Happy Canada Day!
I visited a Neob Lavender Boutique and greenhouse in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada. After taking a really cool tour of the growing area, I spent some time sniffing out the history of these pretty flowers.
This herb has had many names over its 2500 year history, including Nardus (named after the city of Naardus in Syria), Spikenard (because of the shape of its flowers) and Lavender (after either the latin word ‘lavare’ which means to wash or ‘livendulo’ which means bluish.)
Lavender is mentioned over and over again in different cultures, time periods and places.
Ancient Egypt
King Tut had his own stash of lavender. We know this because they found some in his tomb. The Egyptians used lavender for perfumes, cosmetics and mummification but only royalty and rich people could afford it. The Egyptians even made special contraptions called stills so they could extract its oils.
Biblical Times
Lavender is mentioned many times in the bible but it was called spikenard. According to the bible, Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with an expensive ointment made of lavender.
Ancient Greece
The Greeks learned about lavender from the Egyptians. Where the Egyptians used the scent on their heads, the Greeks used it on their feet. That’s probably the better way to go since your feet usually stink a lot more than your head does…especially if those feet have been sweating in a pair of old running shoes all day.
The Greeks also explored the healing qualities of this plant.
Ancient Rome
The Romans took it a step further and bathed in lavender water. After all, if lavender helped stinky feet, why not smelly arm pits?
They put lavender in linen drawers and in their laundry. They even hung the flowers around the house…I can see where this would be especially in handy in the washroom.
The Romans really appreciated lavender’s healing and antiseptic qualities. It helped keep away insects because bugs hate the scent. A Greek military doctor under the rule of Emperor Nero studied the medical uses of this plant and found that it helped tummy aches, gas, sore throats and headaches. The Romans also used lavender to clean wounds and burns.
Arabs
Some of the first types of lavender were probably grown by the Arabs. They used the plant for healing.
Look for my next post when I tell you gruesome lavender stories from the Great Plague and more.
