The Night of the Owl by Mia C.

 

owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Photo taken in Fonthill, Ontario, on September 22, 2019 by Dan Pay
Heavy owls swell,
Feeling overly wicked,
Watching the moonlight.


Source: The author via Tina Chivers.

 
Mia C., a grade 9 student in Tina Chivers’ English class wrote the haiku The Night of the Owl about the owls living in Niagara
 
 
Photo of the Eastern Screech Owl by Dan Pay was first published on the Niagara Bird Watchers Facebook page
 

The Wonderful Leaps of Sam Patch by Anonymous

[n.b. This is the Niagara section only]

sam
Sam Patch Jumping at Niagara Falls
From The Wonderful Leaps of Sam Patch, c1870

Next, to Niagara thousands flock,
To see him jump from Table Rock,
Into these waters, thunder-hurled,
The seventh wonder of the world.
Folks swarmed on bank and giddy ledge,
On dangerous precipice’s edge,
Nay, really, it has been said,
They stood one on the other’s head,
To get a view when gallant Sam,
Came cool (and modest as a clam),
Pausing upon the trembling verge
To list to what might prove his dirge!

The sun was red, the cliffs aglow,
And foaming white the gulf below,
As Sammy turned his fearless eye
From crowded earth to brilliant sky,
And boldly took the fearful leap
Down, down, into the seething deep!

Each breath was held, each eye was strained—
Huzzah! at last the bank he’s gained!
A shake, a gasp, his breath to catch—
“Now! who will laugh at Samuel Patch?”

‘T was there Sam made his greatest dive—
Feet—full one hundred and sixty-five!


Source: The Wonderful Leaps of Sam Patch. Rochester, NY: Len Rosenberg, Rochester Collection. Reproduction of a book originally published by Len Rosenberg in the 1870s.

Platform built at the base of Goat Island for Sam Patch’s Jump in 1829.
From Official Guide Niagara Falls, River. Electric, Historic, Geologic, Hydraulic by Peter A. Porter with illustrations by Charles D Arnold published 1901. Image courtesy of Niagara Falls Public Library

Sam Patch did not jump from Table Rock as mentioned in the poem and as shown in the illustration. in 1829 he constructed a 120 foot high platform at the base of Goat Island and jumped from there, as depicted in the illustration.

Read more about Sam Patch

World Wonder by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem)

Cataracts cascading
Sun shining
Mist mounting
Rainbows arching

Rapids roaring
Gulls soaring
Blossoms blooming
People peering

Picture making
Breath taking
World wonder
Niagara Falls

Source: The author, 2001

A Pioneer’s Prayer by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem)

The forests tall
The waterfall
The fish and birds
The buffalo herds —
This wilderness, God bless!

Our freedom’s birth
The men of worth
The fertile soil
The strength to toil —
This little town, God bless!

The ocean’s tide
The prairies wide
The mountain heights
The northern lights —
This Canada, God bless!

Source:  The Author, 2001

 

The Niagara River by Betty J. Beam

(a children’s poem)

Wild white water is

Boil, cascade
Roil, cannonade
Crash, flume
Splash, spume

Drench, glide
Stench, slide
Gush, leap
Rush, sweep

Lunge, pollution
Plunge, solution
Outpour, overflow
Uproar, undertow

Turbulence, spray
Violence, ricochet
Stream, swirl
Steam, whirl

Penned power

Source: The Author, 2001.