A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Animals

Review: A Dog in the Cave

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I have to admit, I am not quite sure how to write this review.

I found the book fascinating despite the fact that I don’t believe in evolution.  I do believe that species can change over time to suit it’s environment better, but I don’t that reptiles can become mammals or that a one-celled critter can suddenly become a fish.  There are no gap animals.  This book is less about evolution, though that thought comes up frequently, and more about how two species influence the development of each other.

The book Synopsis:
We know dogs are our best animal friends, but have you ever thought about what that might mean?

Fossils show we’ve shared our work and homes with dogs for tens of
thousands of years. Now there’s growing evidence that we influenced
dogs’ evolution-and they, in turn, changed ours. Even more than our
closest relatives, the apes, dogs are the species with whom we
communicate best.
Combining history, paleontology, biology,
and cutting-edge medical science, Kay Frydenborg paints a picture of how
two different species became deeply entwined-and how we coevolved into
the species we are today.

My thoughts:
The premise of the book is that does and humans have been together for far longer than has been thought, and the question is this… when did those first dogs start to coexist with people?

Numerous examples from archaeological finds are used to further the questions being raised.
Could prehistoric dogs be distinguished from prehistoric wolves?   Current dogs have a shorter, broader muzzles today than wolves have so perhaps that might be true from days gone by. 

Contained within the pages of this book you will find seven chapters.
1. Close encounters of the Canine Kind
2. Written in the bones
3. Wolf-dogs: these skulls are how old?
4. A meeting of minds
5. Written in the genes
6. The dog on the couch:  Canine Psychologists
7. A wolf on the bed

The premise of the book is this.   Dogs made us the people that we are today, and we made dogs the creatures they are today.  There is I think, some truth to that statement… from how dogs make the job of a shepherd easier, how dogs can provide comfort to individuals, and then on the flip side, how dogs are been specifically bred to be companions, guardians, or hunters.   

We shape them, they shape us.

Did they make us human?   Read the book…you decide.  🙂

A Dog in the Cave: The wolves who made us human
by Kay Frydenborg

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books for young readers
244 pages
Aged for 12 years old and up

 Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

 Amazon.ca: A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human

Amazon.com: A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human

Review: A Dog’s Purpose

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Out in the theatres now is the movie A Dog’s Purpose.

So I can’t say I was really surprised when I was sent “A Dog’s Purpose” (the book) to review.   Kind makes sense to promote both book and movie at the same time eh?   🙂

I read Ellie’s Story a while back and thoroughly enjoyed that book, once I got into it.  It was a nice story about a dog and her person, a dog with a job to do, a dog with a purpose in life.   It’s a bit unusual reading a book from the dog’s point of view, but once I got past that… a good book.

So when I was given A Dog’s Purpose I was admittedly curious to see if I would like it. I have to admit, it was interesting story.   Would I like a book, meant for adults, written from the dogs’ point of view?

Well.. I have to admit, it was a nice story.   It was.

I struggled though.   I dislike the idea of reincarnation..and having a dog live, die, a dog live, die and so on throughout it’s life just didn’t set well with me.

If I could have separated out the separate stories about the dogs’ and their lives and somehow managed to have them interconnect without the reincarnation bit I more than likely would have enjoyed the book more.

It was very funny in sections… seeing how a dog might interpret what we are saying to them and how disappointed they might be at missing out on a cookie.   It was intriguing to see a dogs perspective to their family being in peril, or hurt, and how they just might see their “job”.   Of course it is also the personification of dogs and the failure to see that dogs are NOT people.  Seeing things through their eyes also helps make that apparent.  Dogs are not people as much as we want to personify them.  

As it was I can say “nice overall story, but not one I would read again”.
Makes me wonder how they’ll end up turning it into a movie.  🙂

Would I recommend it?
If you are able to separate the idea of reincarnation and simply enjoy a story from a dog’s point of view, complete with the humour contained therein, then yes.   If you cannot, then I would recommend giving it a pass. 

Author: W. Bruce Cameron
Publisher: TOR
Pages:: 335
Size:  7.56 x 4.63
Book for adults
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Amazon.ca: A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans

Amazon.com: A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans

The Lad’s Research: caribou

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Caribou can be found in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, Greenland and
North America. Caribou can be found in coniferous forests characterized
by swampy areas, Lakes and rivers.

Caribou are also known as reindeer, There are two types of caribou the woodland caribou and the tundra caribou. The tundra caribou has six subspecies but the woodland caribou only has three. Caribou can reach up to 4-5 feet at shoulder height and up to 700 ponds in weight. The body of caribou is covered with a winter coat which provides insulation at
the low outer temperatures. The furs color depends on the species. It can range from dark to light brown.

Caribou are the only species in the deer family were both males and females have antlers though the females have smaller antlers and lose them after giving birth. Males shed their antlers after mating season. Caribou will also use their antlers to dig in snow.

Reindeer are herbivores (plant-eaters) and depending what time of year, they will feed on various plants, grass and lichens. They will travel up to 3,000 miles each year in search of food. They can run at 50 miles per hour. “Caribou have scent glands at the base of their ankles that are used when the animal is in danger. It will rear up on its hind legs to release a
scent that alerts the other caribou to the danger it is facing.” (source).

Sources are here or here.

Canadian Research by the Lad: The Raven

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Last week I researched the Artic Tern in order to show my lad how to do a quickly research a topic.   That we aren’t looking for indepth, but just to find out some basic information about a topic.

Yesterday I had him pick a topic by reading through the woodlands section of our history book.  He choose the Raven.

Here is his report.


The intriguing Common Raven has accompanied people around the Northern
Hemisphere for centuries, following their wagons, sleds, sleighs, and
hunting parties in hopes of a quick meal. Ravens are among the smartest
of all birds, gaining a reputation for solving ever more complicated
problems invented by ever more creative scientists. These big, sooty
birds thrive among humans and in the back of beyond, stretching across
the sky on easy, flowing wingbeats and filling the empty spaces with an
echoing croak.  (SOURCE)  they are complete black even the beak legs and eyes 

You can learn more at this link.
You can hear a raven’s voice and see where they live in the world.

here are some videos on ravens

and

D is for DogSledding in Canada!

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You know… I was all set to talk about different Canadian river beginning with “D” and as I was browsing through books at Costco a kids Canada alphabet book had D is for DogSled…and that was WAY more interesting than talking about the Dubwant and Don Rivers!   LIKE WAY more interesting.

One of my dreams, oh… for such a very long time has been to go on a dogsled ride.   In fact, I had a dog when my lad was young who needed a job to do so I got her a harness so she could pull the lad around.  🙂   My goal was to help her become more accepting of the lad by giving her something she liked to do…work and feel useful!   (we didn’t succeed but at least had fun trying).   When the lad was I think 8 we went to an Archaelogy day and he got to go on a dogsled ride…man… I was jealous!!!  But they didn’t allow adults to go….ah well…

The world’s biggest Dog Sled race, as far as I know, is the 1000 mile race called  the Iditarod.  There is also the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest which runs between
Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska.   There is also the 211 mile long Hudson Bay Quest and the 200 mile Canadian Dog Sled Races which are among the biggest races just in Canada.

There are two main styles of dog sled hitches.   Fan hitch and gangline.  Gangline tends to be the more popular of the two for dog sled races.    They each have their own advantage.

 The fan hitch allows dogs to spread out their weight over a larger surface area, helpful on rough surfaces, treeless areas or on ice.   The Innuk often use this method to travel.

The gangline has the dogs held closer together which is excellent for running in forested areas or on narrow trails.  Numbers of dogs can vary in this type of hitch.

Travel by dog sled used to be one of the major forms of transportation in Canadian winters, particularly among the more northern peoples.    In fact, the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports states that
archaeological evidence shows dog sledding in Canada, North America, and
Siberia originated 4000 years ago.  (source)

Did you know the word mush came from a poorly understand early French Canadian word where the drivers of the dog team would say “Marche!” in encourage their teams to run well.  English explorers misunderstood the term and henceforth dog sled drivers were called Mushers.(source)

  A famous sled dog is Balto…who was the lead dog in a dog sled
relay of 1000 miles, in January 1925, when a deadly diphtheria epidemic
threatened the children of
Nome. Medicine to stop the outbreak was in Anchorage.  Balto’s team
covered the last 53 miles.  (source)  A statue of Balto can be found in Central Park, New York.

So there you have it, information about dog sledding and Canada.

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A Net In Time Schooling

A Net In Time Schooling

Learning about Canada: Artic Tern

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This morning we were learning about some of the different animals of Canada using this book.

We learned about seals, walruses, a variety of birds, reindeer and so much more. 

I said to the lad “pick an animal and we’ll learn more about it”.

He picked the Artic Tern.

The Artic tern is a fascinating bird, did you know it flies an annual trip of 40,000 km, from it’s Artic Breeding grounds to wintering grounds in the Antarctic.

The Artic Tern is a medium sized bird. Newborns are gray or brown. Adults are gray to white in color during the
breeding season. Their beak and legs are red, and a black patch covers
the head and forehead. During the non-breeding season, the legs and beak
are black and the black patch of color on the head shrinks.

Artic Terns are a long-lived bird, living into their decades and don’t start to breed until 3 or 4 years old.

Artic Terns can moult so quickly that they can be flightless.  When they moult they tend to sit on blocks of ice near the water’s edge.

The downy young come in two colours, grey and brown, and colours can be mixed in a single hatching.



They normally eat fish and crustaceans, but will also eat insects.   They also will steal food from other birds by flying at them and startling them into dropping their catch.  

Anyways, that’s a lesson in the Artic Tern.    Ready for my boy to learn tomorrow.  🙂

B is for Beavers!

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Welcome to blogging through the alphabet. Amanda and I are having a hoot with this series. Join us won’t you?  Today we are at letter B.

I have to admit, beavers wasn’t my idea, it was completely my son’s.

He is all into Canada this year and beavers are an animal we just finished learning about.

I thought I’d start off with a simple primer on beavers, it certainly doesn’t tell you everything, but it’s a good intro anyways.

We learned some interesting facts about beavers
  1. The sound of running water makes them build a dam.  This is why, if a culvert is running water and a beaver is anywhere nearby, they will keep building a dam as often as you tear it down.
  2. They do not use their tails to carry mud.   They carry stones and mud in their very capable front paws.
  3. Their tails are used as an early warning device for family members and other animals that live near the pond.  They sometimes slap the water for fun, and their tails are a fat resevoir to help them over the winter.
  4. Their latin name is Castor Canadensis
  5. They are North Americas largest rodent, weighing 40-60 lbs, and are clumsy on land, preferring to stay close to water for quick getaways. 
  6. They compensate for their poor eyesight with an excellent sense of smell and hearing.
  7. Beavers do not hibernate, in fact they build stash piles of wood under the water to hold them over the winter. 
  8. They have a double layered coat, which is part of the reason they were hunted so extensively when Canada was forming as a nation.  Beaver skin hats and coats were guaranteed to keep the wearer warm. 
  9. Vegetarians, with webbed feet that are strong swimmers.  Warm coats, large animals, beavers are an important part of Canada.
  10. Beavers are a symbol of Canada.   The fur-trade was an important part of colonial North America bringing in people from all over to exploit this natural resource.  It brought in money for the developing colonies, which fed a range of other businesses, all helping with the growth of our nation.    They are seen as a hard-working animal and as such are placed on our nickel. 
Feel free to link up your family friendly posts using the letter B this week.   

A Net In Time Schooling
A Net In Time Schooling

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