Valerie McCracken 🇨🇦

A bright red glow reaches up into the darkness, illuminating the silhouettes of tall slightly scraggly, spruce trees

Swirls of green and red light sweep down from the sky, lighting up the forest and contrasting against the Stark silhouettes of trees

Dramatic swirls of green and red light swirl down from the middle of the sky, starkly contrasting against the bear of Poplar, tall Spruce trees.

Still more dramatic curtains of light sweep down from above in sheets of green and red. The tall bear poplars and spruce spires our starkly silhouetted.

I really need to get to bed, but I just poked my head out the back door again. This is the view from my deck. All of this is looking south. When the geomagnetic storms are like this, the oval overshoots me and stretches into the US, which is why so many are seeing it tonight. #aurora

The Canadian Poppy Blanket.

This was initiated by Winnipegger Sheilah Lee Restall.

It’s over 60 feet in length and has more than 8,000 handmade poppies and 2,000 ribbons.

It’s on display at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Lest We Forget.

#winnipeg #lestweforget #remembranceday

“the truth about a city’s aspirations isn’t found in its vision. It’s found in its budget.” — Brent Toderian

Many city halls are deep in budget-time. Some are pushing austerity ideologies, and are ignoring the difference between costs and cost-savers/value creators. Citizens, PAY ATTENTION, and never forget that the TRUTH about a city’s REAL aspirations isn’t found in its visions. It’s found in its budget.

RURAL ED CLOSURES - REAL AB Case #4

A male in his 20s with severe asthma, very short of breath and having trouble breathing.
Presents in distress to his local ED - but it is closed, and he didn't know.

He calls 911 for help, and there are no ambulances available to respond...
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1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose.

Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵

Friendship and pride grow through Forever Canadian petition drive From downtown Cochrane to Springbank and beyond, 34 local canvassers spent months listening, sharing and collecting signatures—finding in the process that Canadian pride runs deep. Many of those local...

Friendship and pride grow through #ForeverCanadian movement.

From downtown Cochrane to Springbank and beyond, canvassers came together to share a meal, trade stories and celebrate a campaign that turned strangers into friends.

Amazing movement!

#ableg

cochranenow.com/articles/fri...

Study compares heart risks of COVID-19 infection and vaccination, and the results may surprise you The risk of children developing rare but serious heart complications is higher after a COVID-19 infection than after vaccination, according to a new study.

Buried in the article:
“Over a period of six months, researchers estimate that COVID-19 infections led to 2.24 extra cases of myocarditis or pericarditis per 100,000 children, while vaccinations led to 0.85 extra cases per 100,000.”

The scare tactic of the headline is what’s wrong with media today

A sign at the water’s edge reads “THE LOOKING AT THE OCEAN CLUB MEETS HERE THURSDAYS AT 4PM.”

Thursday, 4:01pm

"Still there."
"Yep."
"Looks blue."
"It certainly does."
"Wet too."
"Totally."
"See you next week?"
“Count on it."

Little tufts of moss grow in the edge of a stone retaining wall, and their little tendrils of - sporophytes (I think?) have collected little crystal orbs of dew. The background is just blurred out greenery. This scene is maybe about 4 centimeters long. So tiny and cute!

Little orbs of dew on tiny tufts of moss growing on a stone retaining wall for #WaterWednesday #Dewdrops #Moss #ISeeMoss #Macro #Nature #Photography #PNW #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #YouMatter

Keeping up with the UCP government's democratic transgressions can be difficult.

But not impossible.

Here’s a running list since Danielle Smith became premier. 🧵👇

A large polar bear stands solidly on the dry moss of the tundra. The light casts him in harsh shadow, making him look a bit more beat-up than he actually is.

A large polar bear stands on the dry brown moss of the tundra in the harsh light of late morning. He looks ready for a fight, but is just getting up from a nap.

I'm particularly found of the light on this big bruiser. He was just waking up from a nap. #BearSeason2025 #mammals 🌿

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🚨 ALBERTA'S HEALTHCARE IN DIRE CRISIS ALERT 🚨

ER physician Dr. Paul Parks is sounding the alarm.

He's warning the system will be overwhelmed by the coming #Flu / #COVID season.

"It has never been this chaotic," he tells The Tyee. "It has never been this bad."

#AbHealth #AbLeg #AbPoli

Numerous basins in Alberta are experiencing water shortage advisories, which can affect lots more than just drinking water. A lack of sustainable water sources can cause farmers to lose crops, or livestock/wild animals going without.

rivers.alberta.ca

#Alberta

🧵3

Hey folks. I am blowing out all of my paper prints.

50% off all 53 different prints. There will be no more reorders on stock so once they're gone, they're gone.

Shipping in Canada is $25 so buy 2+

Sorry no US orders. I can ship to Europe & Mexico.

earthskyart.ca/product-cate...

Meanwhile, in Manitoba…

At least one premier has a grasp of just how serious using the notwithstanding clause is…

And is taking steps to ensure that at least one province doesn’t use it before hearing from the courts.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Make Polluters Pay The Alberta government's dirty deal with Big Oil

A dirty deal's being cooked up between the Alberta government & #BigOil so they can stick their MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR cleanup tab on YOU the taxpayer while a grotesquely complicit #AER watches & shrugs. Here's some of the people saying HELL NO #abpoli #PolluterPays www.podcastics.com/episode/3890...

COCHRANE #ForeverCanadian movement organizers came out in full force. Who knew that we would have this many volunteers there! Thank you!!!
#ableg

Got off the plane and walked into a drug store in Ottawa and got my COVID vaccine in under 5 minutes. No line up. No appointment. No cost.

Was even asked if I wanted Moderna or Pfizer.

It’s unconscionable that we can’t get this same level of service in Alberta.

Key quote from the great Lewis Mumford in 1955 — “Adding car lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.”

It's a goal of mine to help make this the most famous, well-known and UNDERSTOOD quote about cities in history. Please share it as much as you can.

🚨 This is inexplicable news to share. If in Alberta and you want flu and covid shots for NEXT year (2026-2027), you have only until December 15 of THIS year to order them.

This is not incompetence. It’s a deliberate choice to prevent as many people ..

bookvaccine.alberta.ca/vaccine/s/pr...

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Good morning from Lake Winnipeg.

Unbelievable. Chills.

Tens of thousands of teachers converging downtown just outside where Danielle Smith is addressing an audience.

I’ve never seen anything like this.

Time to listen up, Premier.

Time for a fair deal.

We stand with teachers.

❤️✊

Mergansers in the mist. I took this from my kayak on Tuesday morning. #birds 🌿

COVID-19 is “Airborne AIDS”: provocative oversimplification, emerging science, or something in between? COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is often compared to other pandemics for its societal and global health impact, with some commentators drawing parallels to HIV/AIDS due to the immune dysfunction caused ...

🚨Important new article! 🚨
“Both [SARS-CoV-2 & HIV-1] can establish persistent infections in tissue reservoirs, immune dysfunction, vulnerability to other infections including opportunistic, systemic damage including hallmarks of accelerated biological aging, and premature neurocognitive disorders.”

Pair of owls at Calgary Zoo die from West Nile virus The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo says its great grey owls Catelyn and Arya died suddenly last month due to West Nile virus.

www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti... #Calgary

Nearly done posting the videos I’ve created about my 10-day trip to Copenhagen this August. But one of the biggest things that is sticking with me is just how different a place can look and feel when its third spaces are actually invested in. From public transit to parks to street infrastructure.

Drinking tea and coffee linked to improved cancer outcomes High intake of the popular beverages appears to be be associated with a 24 percent reduction in cancer progression.

"...high coffee and/or tea intake has been linked to a 24% reduction in the risk of cancer progression..."

via www.newsweek.com/cancer-drink...

From study: "This meta-analysis suggests a protective role for coffee and tea in cancer survival."

#TeamCoffee #TeamConfirmationBias

Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”
― Jane Goodall

💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

From a poster called “just shower thoughts“ reading: when people talk about traveling to the past, they worry about radically, changing the present by doing something small, barely anyone in the present to really thinks that they can radically change the future by doing something small.

I may have found my defining quote.

Pair this with my pinned post and you will see what I mean!