It was raining yesterday on the Summer Solstice so I didn't go out for the sunrise but... it was supposed to be nice this morning (June 21) and soooo... I went out to catch the sunrise...
A few posts back, I was asked if BC had a provincial fish... I had to look that up! And... I thought I would do a post about all of our provincial emblems... natural ones, that is. We also have a flag and a tartan and a seal and a shield and a coat of arms but... we'll just leave those aside since none of them involve a bear. Hmph!
Official Flower
First up... our official flower is the Pacific Dogwood which is actually a tree but... I guess we'll let that go by. Did you know it is illegal to pick dogwood flowers in BC? I had no idea... good thing I've never picked any!
I'm also going to try and get a picture of me with each of the emblems... the Pacific dogwood is easy peasy...
Official Bird
Next up is the official bird which is the Stellar's Jay - they are pretty loud and raucous and while we do get them in the backyard... I have yet to get one to pose for a picture with me. Hmph.
Official Mammal
Next up... the official mammal is the Spirit Bear also known as the Kermode Bear. Cool. It isn't an albino bear, but a colour variation of the black bear... I like that my province has a bear on its list of official emblems!
Again... posing with a real, live Kermode bear is a bit of a problem. Even Mama says she's only seen one or two her entire life... But, the Vancouver International airport has some pseudo-bears that get well-photographed!
Official Fish
Ah... so glad to know that our official fish is the Salmon which is actually a whole genus with many different species. While Oregon has chosen the Chinook Salmon as their official fish, BC just went for the whole kit 'n' kaboodle... Chinook Salmon, Chum, Coho, Pink, Sockeye as well as cutthroat trout and steelhead... mmmm... so many choices.
Here's me with a sockeye salmon... yummmmm!!!
Official Gemstone
Our official gemstone is jade... we have big jade deposits up near Dease Lake and Cassiar in the far northwest corner of BC. There are apparently other places in BC but... northwestern BC is the coolest...
Hmmm... me with jade... heh-heh... This is a turtle...
Official Tree
Right then... the Western Red Cedar... it's everywhere and I have a lot of pictures of me with cedar....
Not the most photogenic shot but... apparently I haven't done any photogenic shots with cedar... go figure... It is, however, one of the trees where I know it's real name without look - Thuja plicata!
Now... that seems kind of a skimpy list of official emblems or symbols... where's our:
- official fossil
- official insect
- official mushroom
- official rock
- official seashell
- official microbe
- official soil
- official nut
- official fruit
- official crustacean
- official grass
And I could go on but... you get the drift... Oregon has most of these!! Mind you... Oregon's official animal is the American Beaver - a.k.a. Castor canadensis... hmmm... should that not be the Canadian Beaver??
Mind you... BC did hold a vote for favourite candidates for an Official Fossil... There were seven candidates and I think we voted for the Ammonite... but...
The big winner, with almost half the vote was the Elasmosaur found on Vancouver Island!!
Cool! Mind you... the voting was held in 2018 and the government still has designated the Elasmosaur as BC's Official Fossil... governments are slow you know...
Hmph... I am going to assign some official candidates to the other categories... cause I'm a little bear... and I can!
I... Sandy Bear... put forward the following for Official Provincial Emblems...
- official insect - Bumblebee - cause they are cute and love our garden
- official mushroom - Matsutake (Pine Mushroom)
- official rock - Volcanic Porphyry - cause they are cute
- official seashell - Blue Mussels - cause I see them everywhere
- official microbe - Oregon has an official microbe (Brewer's Yeast) but... I am a bit stumped by this one...
- official soil - Glacial Till - cause it's everywhere...
- official nut - Hazelnut - they are yummy
- official fruit - Blueberry - mmmm
- official crustacean - Prawns - yummy
There we go... my list of official candidates for provincial status. Do you know the official symbols/emblems of your state/province??
Wow, BC has selected some cool symbols...like the spirit bear and salmon and jade. As for the official microbe...hmmm, I'm sure Drunk Fox would be intrigued that Oregon holds Brewer's yeast in such high regard...
ReplyDeleteI kinda thought the same thing about Oregon's microbe... wonder if Little Fox knows about this?
DeleteVery educational! I am glad salmon is the official fish - phew!
ReplyDeleteHow about official stuffie? *hint hint* you...
now there's a good idea!! I will have to add that to the list... or does it need a vote like with the official fossil?? Hmm...
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