While I was out here placing another cache nearby, I realized I was being watched by not one, but three muggles of the large, horned variety. This, in turn, got me thinking about one of the stranger more obscure phrases in the English language: though famous enough that is has its own Wikipedia page: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
Before you think I've gone crazy- this is in fact a real, gramatically correct sentence, with a (quasi) intelligible meaning. From the aforementioned Wikipedia link:
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." is a grammatically correct sentence in American English, often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity. It has been discussed in literature in various forms since 1967, when it appeared in Dmitri Borgmann's Beyond Language: Adventures in Word and Thought.
The sentence employs three distinct meanings of the word buffalo:
- as a proper noun to refer to a specific place named Buffalo, the city of Buffalo, New York being the most notable;
- as a verb (uncommon in regular usage) to buffalo, meaning "to bully, harass, or intimidate" or "to baffle"; and
- as a noun to refer to the animal, bison (often called buffalo in North America). The plural is also buffalo.
More easily decoded, though semantically equivalent, would be: Bison from Buffalo that other bison from Buffalo bully [themselves] bully bison from Buffalo.
See the following for an even better explanation:
Fortunately, I did not see the various bison nearby buffaloing each other. They seemed to be getting along, more focused on staring me down and munching on whatever grass they could forage in the deep snow.
The cache itself is right across the fence from Elk Island National Park, in a 90 degree nook where the Strathcona County line abruptly veers north. You do not need to cross the fence or enter into the National Park in order to find this cache, and it is located within the county road allowance.
And, of course, you are looking for a large bison tube.
1. This CARW2019 cache will be published about 6pm on Thursday, February 21, 2019.
2. This cache has been placed for the CARW event with the intention that it not be located prior to 9:00 a.m. Saturday February 23, 2019. The caches for the CARW event are released early so that the geocaching community has an opportunity to plan their routes and strategies prior to the event start.
3. Should you hunt and find this cache before the event start, it will not count for the event, and FTF points are only valid as of 9AM February 23rd.