Author: maherrv

Posted in Book Review

Rewilding

Posted on by maherrv

In Lunenburg, I picked up George Monbiot’s book Feral.bookCover_feral It has taken me several weeks to read this well-researched work. There are excellent chapters on his travels in the Amazon, South Africa and Indonesia. His adventures off the Welsh coast in a sea kayak. At the time of writing, Monbiot was living in Central Wales. A major concern was the impact of sheep farming on landscape ecology.

‘The National Ecosystem Assessment states that agricultural land occupied some 1.64 m hectares or 79% of Wales in 2008 and that crops now account for only 3% of the agricultural land area’ p.159.

‘According to Kevin Cahill, the author of Who Owns Britain, 69% of the land here is owned by 0.6% of the population’ p.181.

Monbiot includes chapters on Rewilding the Sea, and the potential for Marine Protected Areas.

From a Nova Scotia perspective, it is interesting to speculate on the potential for Rewilding of the land and sea in Southwest Nova Scotia. Would this change our treatment of the landscape?

Feral was written in 2013. To obtain an update, I went online. Monbiot has written two new books. In 2017, How did we get in this mess? And 2018, Out of the Wreckage.

On the web site fivebooks.com he makes some suggested reading, plus: Jeremy Lent The Patterning Instinct and Martin Adams, Land: a new paradigm for a thriving world.banner_fiveBooks

Postscript

Today, at Endless Shores Books in Bridgetown, I found Joan Francuz, Press Enter to Continue. From the back cover, ‘Like Cicero, she believes that if you have a garden and a library, you have everything that you need’.

I look forward to the day when I can check out some of these books through the services of inter-library loan. Meanwhile, the garden is enjoying the latest rain showers.

References

George Monbiot, 2013. Feral: rewilding the land, the sea and human life. University of Chicago Press.
From fivebooks.com Monbiot recommends:
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Thomas Piketty, Capital
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine
Paul Verhaeghe, What about me?
Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics

Joan Francuz, 2018. Press Enter to Continue: Scribes from Babylon to Silicon. 1920 House Press.

Posted in Article Review, Opinion

Keeping Healthy

Posted on by maherrv

pic_theMindThis 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.

Posted in biographical sketch

Feral, Ferns and Feedback

Posted on by maherrv

Our neighbour has started a campaign to trap feral cats. Given my previous blog, this raises the definition of ‘feral’. Certainly, it is a positive for the migrant nesting bird species. Meanwhile, from my ongoing reading of George Monbiot, he is concerned about the reintroduction of wolves into our Northern ecosystems.

bookCover_fernsSWNovaHeather received an online publication by Alain Belliveau on the Common Ferns of Southwest Nova Scotia. This publication is supported by the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute And the Nova Forest Alliance. Looks like a useful report.

In response to my previous blog, Patrick, our eldest son had the following update.

pic_intoTheWildBus
Replica of the school bus Chris McCandless lived in.

‘Funny that you watched ‘Into the Wild’ – news last week was that the US Parks Service removed the bus he died in (flew it out slung under a double rotor helicopter). Too many tourists visiting it and dying themselves or getting lost in the process.’

At the post office in Lawrencetown, I bumped into Larry Powell. He told me that he had been terminated by the newspaper. That does not bode well for our local news coverage. A sign of the times!

Acknowledgements

Anne and Bill Crossman for an excellent Canada Day potluck supper gathering. Heather Stewart for sharing her botanical emails. Patrick Maher for his feedback. Edward for his graphics contribution.

Posted in biographical sketch, Book Review, Video Review

Heading to the South Shore

Posted on by maherrv

banner_nosyCrowFriday, we took a quick trip to the South Shore. In Mahone Bay, we stopped for coffee and a cinnamon bun at the LaHave Bakery. We discovered that it is now The Nosy Crow Bites and Brews. Many of the stores were either for rent or sale; presumably, the impact of COVID-19 on a small community dependent on the Summer tourist trade.

banner_lunenburgBoundBookstoreIn Lunenburg, we stopped at Lunenburg Bound bookstore. I picked up the last copy of George Monbiot’s book Feral, published by Penguin Canada in 2013. Heather found Zach Loeks’ book The Permaculture Market Garden with a Foreword by Joel Salatin, published by New Society in 2017.

‘Most market garden books start with plants, production techniques, marketing protocols and the like. This one dares to address the most basic climatic, topographical even community nuances into the process.’ p.vii.

The Introduction in George Monbiot’s book, Feral, admonishes the environmental plight of Canada.

‘The positive environmentalism I developed in Feral is intended to create a vision of a better place, which we can keep in mind even as we seek to prevent our government from engineering a worse one.

‘I will be happy if this book helps to stimulate new thinking about our place on the living planet and the ways in which we might engage with it. Nowhere, I believe, is in greater need of that than Canada’ p.xix.

That was written seven years ago.

Later, on Friday evening, somewhat inspired by Monbiot, I turned to watch the Netflix Movie ‘Into the Wild’, the film based on Jon Krakauer`s 1996 book of the same name. It tells the story of Christopher McCandless who hiked across North America into the Alaskan Wilderness, in the early 1990s.

This weekend, I continue with my reading of Feral.

Acknowledgements

Heather and Siqsiq were my companions on the trip to the South Shore. Edward, later, added the graphics.

References

George Monbiot, 2013. Feral: rewilding the land, the sea and human life. University of Chicago Press.
Zach Loeks, 2017. The Permaculture Market Garden: a visual guide to a profitable whole-systems farm business. New Society Publishers. Foreword by Joel Salatin.
Netflix movie, 2007. Into the Wild. Produced and Directed by Sean Penn.

Posted in biographical sketch, Book Review

Shelf Life Books

Posted on by maherrv

Tuesday, we had to go to town in Kentville. It was time for a car service at Kings County Honda. While waiting, I stopped at Shelf Life Used Books and picked up two items.

bookCover_bikingToBlissvilleFirst, Kent Thompson, Biking to Blissville: A cycling guide to the Maritimes and the Magdalen Islands. Written in 1993, before his book, Getting out of Town by book and bike. It includes two rides of interest to me in Nova Scotia. One was around Great Village, with a nod to Elizabeth Bishop, and a second, around Bridgetown, with a nod to Ernest Buckler and Ken Tolmie.

The second book, A Natural History of Kings County published by The Blomidon Naturalists Society in 1992.

“It would also be appropriate to dedicate the volume to Kings County itself, for it has had an inordinate capacity to nurture naturalists. A geographic area often becomes famous historically because of the endeavours of its people. We often overlook the obvious lesson that it is the terrain that manipulated people and elicits specific capabilities, and not the other way around.”

The book has sections on Geography, History, Habitats and appendices on field trips and naturalists of Kings County.

It makes me wonder about ‘A Natural History of Annapolis County’.

Through email, I have received three interesting notices. From Gregory Heming, I received the link to One Resilient Earth, ‘crafting new narratives for resilient communities in Atlantic Canada.banner_oneResilientEarth

‘A collaboration between the Centre for Local Prosperity and One Resilient Earth to design and facilitate a series of virtual workshops on transformative climate resilience and green recovery’.

‘Following the virtual Thinkers Retreat, the Centre for Local Prosperity will produce a publication compiling the final vision, insights and resources gathered through open dialogue’.

banner_UGuelphTheAtriumFrom Danielle Robinson, a copy of her PhD thesis defended at the University of Guelph Cultural Sustainability and rural Food Tourism in two Canadian Wine Regions. Danielle visited the Annapolis Valley in 2019 (before COVID 19). At four hundred pages, it will take me a while to digest the research results.

banner_sovereignSoil
Link to film trailer HERE

Finally, from Jane Borecky about the Hyland cinema, pay-for-view, NFB presentation Sovereign Soil about farming in the Canadian sub-Arctic.

Happy Birthday to my sister, Maureen. She is 72 years young today (24th).

Acknowledgements

Anne Crossman for remembering the name, Shelf Life. Gregory Heming, Danielle Robinson and Jane Borecky for forwarding the links. Heather for an enjoyable day in town, away from our parched garden. Edward for his Graphics contribution.

References
Kent Thompson, 1993. Biking to Blissville: A cycling guide to the Maritimes and the Magdalen Islands. Goose Lane.
Kent Thompson, 2001. Getting out of town by book and bike. Gaspereau Press.
The Blomidon Naturalist Society, 1992. A Natural History of Kings County. Acadia University.

Posted in Book Review, Opinion

From Here to There

Posted on by maherrv

A few years ago, I was Chairperson of the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association (SNBRA). I have kept in touch with the Bras D’Or Lake Biosphere Reserve Association. banner_braDorLakeBiosphereResearveThis Saturday, I received their quarterly newsletter. I was struck by three contributions.

1) Nature’s Calendar by Annamarie Hatcher
2) The Old Woollen Mill by Corrine Cash
3) Cape Breton Weather Mesonet by Jonathan Buffett

Annamarie Hatcher links the changes in Nature to the Mi’kmaq calendar. Corrine Cash describes the long history of the mills at Irish Cove. Jonathan Buffett is the founder of Cape Breton Mesonet, a network of community-owned Weather stations in Cape Breton and the eastern mainland.

Their solstice newsletter under the slogan ‘Msit No’Kmaq — People and Nature; Better Together — offers a model for SNBRA.

person_DavidColville
David Colville and Southshore weather network

In Southwest Nova, David Colville at COGS has maintained a weather network for over a decade. In this time of climate change, perhaps it is time to consider a ‘community-owned weather station network for Southwest Nova?

 

As in Cape Breton, we should embrace the slogan: Msit No’Kmaq.

Can we take community ideas from there to here?

bookCover_fromHereToThere_2This week, Michael Bond’s book From Here to There arrived at the Inside Story. Bond has been Senior Editor at the New Scientist in England.

His book explores ‘the art and science of finding and losing our way’. He reviews the work of Claudio Aporta, Dalhousie University, on Inuit geographic knowledge in the Canadian Arctic. Bond describes the importance of exploration, spatial awareness and self-directed learning. He investigates the latest research from psychologists, neuroscientists.

“ The hippocampus and it’s neighbouring regions seem to have evolved specifically to help us build mental representations of the outside world that we can use to get around and orientate ourselves.” p.71.

In Chapter 8 Bond tells the story of Gerry Largay who is lost and dies on the Appalachian Trail. It includes the Search and Rescue process.

In the final Chapter (10) he looks at Alzheimer’s disease.

The discovery that Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the brain’s spatial system long before the disease takes hold has raised the prospect of using spatial tests to diagnose it.  p.203.

bookCover_gettingLostPostscript

Reading the book by Michael Bond made me pull from the bookshelf, the writing of Rebecca Solnit, in particular, A Field Guide to Getting Lost.

Never to get lost is not to live, not to know how to get lost brings you to destruction, and somewhere in the terra incognita in between lies a life of discovery.  p.14.

Acknowledgements
Edward added the graphics. Heather provided useful feedback.

References

Michael Bond, 2020. From Here to There: the art and science of finding and losing our way: . Belknap Harvard.
Rebecca Solnit, 2005. A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Penguin Books.

Posted in biographical sketch

Exploring the neighbourhood

Posted on by maherrv

Heather has a book Waterfalls of Nova Scotia. On Sunday, we decided to walk the trail to Tupperville Falls (both photographs). A short hike.pic_waterfallBob Lalonde’s guide gives directions and descriptions to one hundred waterfalls in the province. We have also hiked into Eel Weir Brook Falls, up behind Lawrencetown on South Mountain.pic_waterfallBob_2

From Heather’s career as a botanist, we possess a significant collection of non-fiction guides to the flora and fauna of the province. This includes books by Todd Boland and Carl Munden on the wildflowers and orchids.

Another non-fiction book, one copy stays in the car and another at home, is The Nova Scotia Atlas, Seventh Edition. On Saturday, on our drive through the Rawdon Hills, we were able to navigate a new direct route from Cheese Factory Corner (Hwy 14) through Mill Village to Shubenacadie on Highway 102.

bookCover_scotlandStreetSeriesIn response to my recent blog on Swallows and Amazons, Brent Hall sent me two links to books on the other life of Arthur Ransome. Meanwhile, Andrew Ronay sent a photograph of his collection of the Alexander McCall Smith 44 Scotland Street series.

McCall Smith is Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh.

‘Even when travelling, he never loses a day, turning out between 2000 and 3000 words (a day) – but more like 5000 words when at home in Edinburgh.’

According to WordPress, this is my 200th blog under the label Ernest Blair Experiment. During the COVID pandemic, I have been steady at two posts per week. I hope they prove entertaining and informative.

Postscript

Check out today’s Brain Pickings on the subject of moss.

Acknowledgements

Heather for her photography and giving access to her large collection of botanical books. Brent Hall and Andrew Ronay for their feedback. Edward added the graphics.

References

Benoit Lalonde, 2018. Waterfalls of Nova Scotia. A Guide. Goose Lane.
Todd Boland, 2014. Wildflowers of Nova Scotia. Boulder Publications.
Todd Boland, 2012. Trees and Shrubs of the Maritimes. Boulder Publications
Carl Munden, 2001. Native Orchids of Nova Scotia: A Field Guide. UCCB Press.
GeoNova, 2019. The Nova Scotia Atlas. Seventh Edition. Formac Publishing and Province of Nova Scotia.
Roland Chambers, 2010. The Last Englishman: the double life of Arthur Ransome. Faber and Faber.
Christina Hardyment, 2007. Arthur Ransome and Captain Flint’s Trunk. Frances Lincoln.

Posted in Art, Creative writing, Poetry

One, Two, Three

Posted on by maherrv

Sandra Barry from Middleton sent me a notice on the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia (EBSNS) Virtual Exhibit 2020 fundraiser.banner_EBS This year’s exhibit, Two Arts, is comprised of twelve Elizabeth Bishop inspired drawings by Natallia Pavaliayeva (NP) from Minsk, Belarus. Sandra curates the exhibition and also interviews the artist.

EBSNS
“Elizabeth Bishop is known as a poet of geography and place. How does your own sense of place influence your response to Bishop’s work ?”

NP
“This is one aspect of Bishop’s poetry that resonates powerfully with me. I love travelling very much – and I fully understand Bishop’s keenness for changing places, along with the opposite keenness to have a ‘home’, a place where she belongs to.”

From Sandra Barry’s curatorial statement :

“It was a difficult task to select only twelve images, but the idea of ‘home’ and ‘journey’ anchor the selection. Bishop once said that the poet carries home inside, and her sense of home comprised in a large part from elements and memories of Great Village and her childhood.”

From One Art, Elizabeth Bishop Letters, I was interested in her final collection of poems (1976). “It is to be called Geography III and looks like an old fashioned school book.” p.602.

“The poems in this small volume are some of the most important of her life: In the Waiting Room, Crusoe in England, The Moose, 12 O’Clock News, Poem, One Art, The End of March. They are also some of her most directly autobiographical poems, contemplation of her life as an artist.” p.96 Sandra Barry.

From here you can join the dots to Harry Thurston, Keeping Watch at the End of the World.bookCover_ThurstonEndOfTheWorld He has a poem ‘Geography: on first discovering Elizabeth Bishop in a Used Bookstore in Manhattan’. Dedicated to Sandra Barry. It starts:

“Geography III
(So plain but for the oddity
of Roman numerals),
I lift it down and begin,
by chance, From narrow provinces … “.
p.100

Thurston lives in Tidnish, Nova Scotia.

Andrew Spacey (online) provides an analysis of the poem ‘One Art’

“Elizabeth Bishop’s poem One Art is in the form of a villanelle, a traditional repetitive poem of nineteen lines. In it she meditates on the art of losing, building up a small catalogue of losses which includes house keys and a mother’s watch, before climaxing in the loss of houses, land and a loved one.”

pic_ladySlipper
Cypripedium acaule (Lady Slipper Orchid)

Postscript
This week with the rain showers we are seeing more flowers. On my walks with Siqsiq along the Annapolis River, I found the Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium acaule).

1-2-3

One Art, Two Arts, Geography III

Acknowledgements

Sandra Barry for her curatorial work on the EBSNS web site and blog. Edward Wedler for his artwork. Heather Stewart for her love and support.

References
Robert Giroux (Ed.), 1994. One Art, Elizabeth Bishop Letters. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
Sandra Barry, 2011. Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia’s Home-made poet. Nimbus Publishing.
Harry Thurston, 2015. Keeping Watch at the End of the World. Gaspereau Press.

Posted in Event Review

Swallows and Amazons

Posted on by maherrv

On Tuesday, I returned to Great Expectations, Books and Antiques, café and hand-made chocolates in Annapolis Royal. I had three goals:bookCover_ransomeBooks

To pick up some Arthur Ransome books.
To pick up some Alexander McCall Smith books.
To obtain a copy of One Art, Elizabeth Bishop letters.

On my previous visit, I had noticed a number of Arthur Ransome books in the Swallows and Amazons series. I remember reading them as a child in England. From Wikipedia, I learned that ‘the twelve books are set in the Interwar period and involve adventures by groups of children, mostly during the school holidays.’
The books are set in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Indeed, in the Coot Club, there is an accurate map of the Norfolk Broads. The Swallows and Amazons series enhanced the tourism business in these regions. Imagine a similar situation in the Annapolis Valley. Or imagine visiting England with grandchildren, bringing along these books.map_norfolkBroads

bookCover_ladiesDetectiveAgency234Arthur Ransome was a war correspondent in Russia who gave up journalism in 1929. Between 1930-1945 he wrote the Swallows and Amazons series for children. How does one make that transition?

Heather has been reading Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Fortunately, at Great Expectations, I was able to obtain #4 and #5 in the series. Plus the purchase of a small gift of hand-made chocolates.

bookCover_oneArtI had noticed the Elizabeth Bishop letters on the shelf during the previous visit. Fortunately, it was still there.

‘One Art stands for the art of poetry to which she devoted Her life. William Butler Yeats believed that “The intellect of man is forced to choose / Perfection of the life, or of the work “ And Elizabeth Bishop chose the latter.’ p viii

‘One Art also stands for the art of letter writing, which she practised more casually and with more prolific results than composing poems’. p.viii.

This relates to my next blog on ‘Two Arts’, the EBSNS Fundraiser 2020 and the work of Natalia Pavaliayeva.

Postscript

Watched Haida Modern on the BC Knowledge Network; a forceful reminder of our excellent time living on Haida Gwaii.

Acknowledgements

An appreciation of second-hand bookstores, open again at Great Expectations in Annapolis Royal and the Blue Griffin in Middleton. Edward Wedler, an ex-bookstore owner and graphics contributor. Sandra Barry for her enduring interest in Elizabeth Bishop and her work.

References

Arthur Ransome, 1934. Coot Club. Puffin Books
Arthur Ransome, 1940. The Big Six. Puffin Books.
Arthur Ransome, 1947. Great Northern? Puffin Books.
Alexander McCall Smith, 1998. The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Penguin Random House
Robert Giroux (Ed) 1994. One Art. Elizabeth Bishop Letters. Farrah, Straus and Giroux.

Posted in Book Review

A Sense of Humus (Part 2)

Posted on by maherrv

As promised, I have read Bertha Damon’s book, shared by Jane Nicholson.

pic_mermaid
Our Mermaid in the Mulch

At the beginning of Chapter 9.bookCover_senseOfHumus

“The importance of humus in human economy seldom receives sufficient emphasis. Suffice it to say that it probably represents the most important source of human wealth on this planet” p.95.

Damon published the book in 1943 during the Second World War. It is a collection of twenty-two chapters. Besides Humus, other topics include Spring Doings, Plowing and Planting, In Defence of Weeds, Apples Old Style.

“To have a sense of humus is to have an appreciation of the past, to realize that to discard the achievements and virtues slowly built up through long periods of human society and to attempt to live solely in the present is like throwing away humus and trying to exist in more or less inorganic hardpan.”

“One who works much with humus sees it to be a symbol of democracy, in which many work for the good of one, and one works for the good of many.” p.101.

From Apples Old Style, Chapter 21.

“I have found that at least twenty two different varieties, well enough known to get into books, originated in New Hampshire.” p.230.

maher_apple_1This compares with the four varieties in our small orchard: NovaMac, NovaSpy, Liberty, MacFree.

After my earlier blog post, Brian Arnott made the comment.

“Is the mind a kind of compost pit? Do we break down ideas to create more potent matter? Yes, probably.”

On Friday afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet with both Roger Mosher and John Wightman. John kindly lent me two books by Thomas Raddall, “The Dreamers” and “Halifax: Warden of the North” as well as Will Bird’s, “Off-Trail in Nova Scotia”.
In these COVID times, books serve as a medium for sharing ideas, to add to the ‘compost pit’.

Postscript

Having a sense of humus, reminds me of the important role of elders in our society, without them, we are left with the inorganic hardpan. I also think of the work by Maria Popova and her web site, Brain Pickings. Check it out.

bookCover_wisdomOfTheEldersThis led to the following exchange with Edward Wedler.

”If society sees elders as simply ‘old people’ then we are missing out on the opportunity to harvest/apply this mental humus.”

Edward replied “There exist many cultures that value elders (Japanese and Canadian indigenous communities come to mind). David Suzuki once co-authored a book ‘Wisdom of the Elders’ where he explored this question.”

Acknowledgements

Brian Arnott, Roger Mosher and John Wightman for their contributions. Jane Nicholson for sowing the seed. Heather for her help in the garden. Edward for his feedback.

References

Bertha Damon, 1943. A Sense of Humus. Simon and Schuster.
Thomas H. Raddall, 1986. The Dreamers. Pottersfield Press.
Thomas H. Raddall, 2007. Halifax, Warden of the North. Nimbus Publishing.
Will R. Bird, 1956. Off-Trail in Nova Scotia. McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
David Suzuki and Peter Knudtson, 1993. Wisdom of the Elders. PenguinRandomHouse.