HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!!



To all of my Canadian friends I wish you a Happy Canada Day!! Saturday July 1st. is of course our holiday, and where I work we for some reason this year (never did it before) even have the Monday off. So this is a really long weekend, and nice for so many who like the hot sunny weather, because that's what we're going to have.

This great country of ours is so beautiful, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. No offense to anyone from another country at all, just that I love it here, the ever changing scenery, the people, and the many benefits we have that so many other countries don't have. I love this country!

Some facts about Canada:

Second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 miles )of the US border.

POPULATION: 33,098,932 (July 2006 est.)

ETHNIC GROUPS: British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%

LANGUAGES: English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%

CLIMATE: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

INDEPENDANCE: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)


Now for a little coast-to-coast tour.


From the east coast:


Central Canada:


The Prairies:



Western Canada:


And where I live:


Rockies:


(hah, this is me in this one, several years ago)


All the way to the West Coast:




.....for me at least, and for a lot of Canadians....

So while this weekend I celebrate my nationality (in fact I am proud of it year-round) I will also be thinking of my friends to the south of us, whose country also has a birthday coming up on Tuesday July 4th!

Happy Fourth of July to the United States and my U.S. friends!

To those of us celebrating, and to everyone else, stay safe and have a great weekend, and take care of each other!

PEACE!
Love Jude