I took this picture in the Narrows of Cambridge in early November. We've had a bountiful crop of acorns and the blue jays have been going crazy on my lawn. They swoop down, grab an acorn and then flutter up to an overhead branch. Then the peckin' begins. They're quite aggressive with the acorns, but they have to be. Even as a human it takes a lot of strength to crack an acorn (without stepping on them).
The Leafs in this image aren't maple, they're oak. They're leaves, not Leafs. I wonder how the Toronto Maple Leafs became Leafs and not Leaves. Hmmm...is there an answer to my question?
Some very spotty research has yielded this explanation: The team was formed in 1917, but wasn't called the Maple Leafs until 1926 when the new owner, Conn Smythe, renamed it after the Maple Leaf Regiment from WWI. Since the proper name of the group is "Maple Leaf Regiment", Leafs, not Leaves would be grammatically correct. I think it is because they are a group wherein each member is a Maple Leaf; used as a proper title. If a family has the last name Leaf, you do not refer to them as the Leaves, you refer to them as the Leafs.
I'm going to buy in to this explanation, and I hope the other Vartys who read this agree with me. Or perhaps the other Varties will disagree? You see....it makes sense for now, and forever.
| In days of yore, from Britain's shore, Wolfe, the dauntless hero, came And planted firm Britannia's flag On Canada's fair domain. Here may it wave, our boast our pride And, joined in love together, The thistle, shamrock, rose entwine The Maple Leaf forever!
Chorus:
The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,
The Maple Leaf forever! God save our Queen and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf forever!
At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane,
Our brave fathers, side by side, For freedom, homes and loved ones dear, Firmly stood and nobly died; And those dear rights which they maintained, We swear to yield them never! Our watchword evermore shall be "The Maple Leaf forever!"
Chorus
Our fair Dominion now extends
From Cape Race to Nootka Sound; May peace forever be our lot, And plenteous store abound: And may those ties of love be ours Which discord cannot sever, And flourish green o'er freedom's home The Maple Leaf forever!
Chorus
On merry England's far famed land
May kind heaven sweetly smile, God bless old Scotland evermore and Ireland's Em'rald Isle! And swell the song both loud and long Till rocks and forest quiver! God save our Queen and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf forever!
Chorus
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The Maple Leaf Forever is a Canadian song written by Alexander Muir (1830–1906) in 1867, the year of Canada's Confederation. Therein ends today's Canadian Heritage Moment...almost.
Today's Patriotic Challenge: do you know where Cape Race and Nootka Sound are located?
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