[Tyler_1]

We have one of the best flags in the whole wide world.
I feel kind of sorry for all the peeps who only have stripes.

[raydan]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

He had me bring the car to a screeching halt.

I would be surprised if you have sugar maples in Edmonton. They were certainly introduced, if so and I'm very surprised that they've survived the Alberta climate. They are almost "Carolinian" and they stop abruptly at the southern rim of the Shield.

[Jabberwalker]

Correction: They are, most definitely Carolinian and Southern Ontario, Southern Quebec and the Maritimes are the northern limit.

The Maple Leaf on our flag is a bit stylized but it is very clearly based on the Sugar Maple (which we also call "Hard Maple", here in Eastern Canada).

That's where the AMAZING syrup comes from. ... not the Aunt Jiminy crap. You get that stuff from tapping telephone poles.

[raydan]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

That's where the AMAZING syrup comes from. ... not the Aunt Jiminy crap. You get that stuff from tapping telephone poles.

That's why in Québec, we call that crap "sirop de poteau".

[ShepherdsDog]

They are starting to exploit the Manitoba maple for syrup production. In 2013 we attended the Maple Festival in McCreary. There are significant stands around Riding Mountain National Park and Duck Mountain Provincial Park to the north. While not great producers like the maples found to the south east, the syrup they produce is quite tasty and growing in popularity, although consumption is quite regional.

[Jabberwalker]

Yeah, they work. Even the scrubby, little maples way out west produce nice syrup. It's just that neither species is very efficient at it.

btw. Birch makes a tasty syrup, as well but you need a lot of sap. No kidding.

[raydan]

Don't want to start a global warming debate, but the ideal region for sugar maple growth is shifting north and west.

[Strutz]

raydan raydan:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

That's where the AMAZING syrup comes from. ... not the Aunt Jiminy crap. You get that stuff from tapping telephone poles.

That's why in Québec, we call that crap "sirop de poteau".

I've always only purchased 100% maple syrup regardless of the cost. If you're going to use that other crap you might just as well pour sugar on your pancakes or whatever because that's all it is. I even avoid ordering anything that I would put maple syrup on in restaurants because I know they serve the artificial crap. Not worth it.

[Jabberwalker]

It's a good thing. They are magnificent trees. There is one near my maternal family homestead on the Niagara peninsula that is 500 years old. It has even made it onto a Canada Post stamp. It is VERY close to some important family events, for us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_Maple

[ShepherdsDog]

$1:

If you're going to use that other crap you might just as well pour sugar on your pancakes

Actually that's all your body sees the maple syrup as being. It's only your taste buds that creates the difference.

[raydan]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

$1:

If you're going to use that other crap you might just as well pour sugar on your pancakes

Actually that's all your body sees the maple syrup as being. It's only your taste buds that creates the difference.

That's why they call it taste.

[CDN_PATRIOT]

andyt andyt:

To me the flag talks about peace.

When I look at it, I see hope, freedom, and quiet strength. And then I just start tearing up at the pride I feel being able to be a part of it.



-J.

[Jabberwalker]

I see a new, modern and very cool country. No ancient heraldry, just top notch, modern graphics that tell a little story about our land.

[bootlegga]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

bootlegga bootlegga:

When I look at those other designs, all I can say, is what were some people thinking? Stars on a flag for Canada? Seriously?

Thank goodness we got the flag we did - it's so different and striking from almost every other flag on the planet.

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

I remember having a group of business guests here one late October for a conference and golf. I was driving a guy around from Edmonton who, I don't know, had never been here before. We're roaring along and he sees a flaming red tree, about the colour of our flag and he went "WOAH!!! What IS that SPECIES?" We stopped and it was, of course, a sugar maple ... just like the one on our flag. Guess what folks, it really is flaming red for a time each year . This is a subtlety that a lot of us miss. It is a little less stylised than a lot of us may have known.

That's odd, he must never have been to the north end then.

97 Street bordering on the former CFB Griesbach (now a housing subdivision) is surrounded by maples (red, orange and yellow) and is a favourite spot for photos every fall here in Edmonton.

He had me bring the car to a screeching halt.

I would be surprised if you have sugar maples in Edmonton. They were certainly introduced, if so and I'm very surprised that they've survived the Alberta climate. They are almost "Carolinian" and they stop abruptly at the southern rim of the Shield.

Well, I don't know if they are specifically sugar maples, but they are certainly maple trees.

[Batsy2]

The old one was much nicer with the Union Flag in it. I'm sure most people would agree.