This week, I reconnected with Cathy Bruce-West. She is a personal trainer. Before COVID-19, I had worked with her to strengthen my knees. So we had two sessions ‘en Plein air’ at Andrew’s studio across the road. The local gymnasiums are still planning their re-opening. After too much sitting, the program is designed to open up the body, through a series of stretches and strengthening exercises.
What impresses me is the knowledge of anatomy – joints, ligaments, muscles, plus the discipline of the session. It does, however, raise an interesting question: what are the equivalent stretches to open up the mind?
Heather has shared with me the Walrus podcast for June 20 ‘Your brain in COVID-19’. Would highly recommend it, especially the contributions from Andrea Soddu and Philip Mai.
The Walrus · Your Brain on COVID-19
Another local non-fiction reference, from Heather this week, Geology of Nova Scotia, a field guide by Martha Hill and Sandra Barr. It provides directions and interpretation to forty-eight sites in the province. The better we appreciate our landscape, perhaps, the less likely we will tolerate its abuse.
This concept resonated with a message that I noticed on the public notice board at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Middleton.
Reading: how to install new software in your brain
Postscript.
Edward sent me the Gizmodo link as an illustration of the contribution of citizen science towards our understanding of nature.
Acknowledgements
Cathy Bruce-West for her patience and support. Heather for her ‘scientific’ approach to life. Edward for emails and online graphics skills.
References
Martha Hild and Sandra Barr. 2015. Geology of Nova Scotia: touring through time at 48 scenic sites. Boulder Publications.
The Walrus. June 2020. Carolyn Abraham. Your Brain on COVID-19. It is also available as a Walrus Podcast.
Gizmodo: A ‘viral’ new bird song in Canada causing sparrows to change their tune.
Ernest Blair Experiment 