I started the weekend with a visit to the Middleton library. I was interested in the relationship between short stories and blogs.
I found two relevant books, ‘Blink and You’ll Miss It’ by Moose House stories, Vol 2
and ‘Beyond the Passage. memories, real and imagined’ by Jim Prime, co-author of Fish and Dicks.
From the first, I enjoyed two stories by Bob Bent: The Black Sedan and Dracula’s Dotage. Part of the satisfaction is that they capture descriptions of the local landscape, including orchards, flowers, and birds. I also enjoyed reading the stories by Jeremy Ackerman and William Dockrill.
While picking up a growler of Brickyard Red at Lunn’s Mill. I found a postcard advertising Spyglass Secrets by Jane Baskwill; another local author.
From Jim Prime:
“To the people of Long and Brier Island, your geography has made you resilient, independent and proud. Your geography has forced you to rely on one another. Your geography has made you unique. Don’t ever change.“
How could a Geographer Emeritus resist that endorsement?
Saturday evening, I visited John Wightman with my growler. John, knowing my interests, greeted me with a book, Errand Boy in the Mooseland Hills, by Johann Magnus Bjarnason, ‘Stories from Nova Scotia’s forgotten Icelandic Settlement’.
Meanwhile, this morning, we awoke in Middleton to a river valley filled with smoke from the Long Lake wildfire.
We noticed yesterday, the helicopters transporting water from the DNR building in Lawrencetown. Having lived in West Dalhousie in the early ‘80’s, we wondered about the safety of the ‘historic’ Ernest Buckler house.
I received an email: notice of the closure of Integrity Printing in Bridgetown. I shared this information with John. He commented too, on the move of the Credit Union to the recent Bank of Nova Scotia location. These changes reflect the impact of COVID on our rural economy.
Finally, I was left wondering how to obtain a hard copy of my blogs, with the closure of Integrity Printing.
Yesterday, Saturday, Heather and I escaped to the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal. To enjoy a coffee and dessert at the Elm Tree Café. We walked the gardens, with the breeze blowing up from the Basin.
Today (Sunday) we will go back to the Lucky Rabbit bookstore. Anne Crossman will be signing her book, Commonplace, from 2-4 pm.
References
Blink and You’ll Miss it, 2022, Moose House Stories Vol. 2.
Jim Prime, 2023, Beyond the Passage: Memories Real and Imagined, Moose House Publications.
Jane Baskwill, 2025, Spyglass Secrets
Anne Crossman, 2025, CommonPlace, Moose House Publications
Johann Magnus Bjarnason, 2001, Errand Boy in the Mooseland Hills, Formac Publishing.
Acknowledgements
Both Heather Stewart and Edward Wedler contribute to the blogs, in their own unique way.
John Wightman provides a helpful ‘sounding board’ on the state of the rural economy.
Moose House Publications supports local writers in the Annapolis Valley region.
Postscript
Edward returned from a weekend artist retreat at Goéland, near Wellington, PEI, where he painted en plein air with about 20 other PEI artists.
Ernest Blair Experiment 