Note:
The GoGeomatics conference review is now available. Check link on the right hand side of the Ernest Blair Experiment site.
This week, we had two accomplishments.
Neil Stanton and his team installed fourteen solar panels on our south-facing roof. 
It was a good feeling to see the meter going in reverse. We were contributing electricity to the grid. Given the cost of the installation, it will be a few years, before we see a positive payback. But it seemed to be the right action in these times. Perhaps one day, we will be able to store the electricity in a battery which can provide power for an electric car, for short drives around the Valley.
The second accomplishment was triggered by a visit to the Bridgetown library. I picked up Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a misunderstood Way of Life. This book, by David Adams Richards describes his life, growing up in the north woods of New Brunswick.
I particularly liked the following quotation from p.89.
“My neighbours do not understand me. That I am the fellow who devoted his life to writing books….
And I think of many of them like this:
”If people were actually paid for their value, these people of self-reliance would surely be living in the finest houses.”
“A nice enough woman novelist once told me I shouldn’t give too much credit to the working class. I don’t – it’s just that I refuse to give them less credit than I give anyone else.”
Here is a follow up to recent blogs. I managed with the help of Kyle to transfer all my blogs from GoGeomatics and Ernest Blair Experiment to a thumb drive. Integrity Printers will give me a quote on a hard copy version.
Yesterday, I had a meeting with Ed Symons, Planning Instructor at COGS. Ed told me that he had converted the blogs into a podcast MP3 file for use on his mobile phone. That way, he can listen to them on his Highway#101 commute from Port Williams to Lawrencetown. I will ask for the link.
Acknowledgements
Kyle Hackenschmidt at Bridgetown Computers for his technical skills. Likewise for Ed Symons and Edward Wedler.
Reference
David Adams Richards. 2011. Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a misunderstood way of life. Doubleday Canada.
PS. Perhaps, after I have curated my blog collection, it could be titled:
’Seeking the Geographer: Reflections on a Misunderstood Way of Life’.
It was a challenging but worthwhile reading experience. The book is divided into four sections: roots, trunk, crown and seeds. The roots section introduces us to the lives of eight individuals. Each person has a relationship to trees on the earth.
My next book on the bookshelf is 
Over the weekend, I have been reading a draft of Brian Arnott’s book Going to Town: the small town as micropolitan centre in the age of climate change. It should be published in 2020.
Musique Royale brought the 
Bob Bent’s book put these events into their proper perspective. It was only the day before (12th.) we had Kevin from 
With Bob Bent’s book in our suitcase, we can enjoy a Silly Little Christmas with grandchildren in Ontario. Best wishes for the Christmas season. I look forward to 2020 with its music, art and books.
After attending the Climate Action Summit, my recommendation would be for both citizen groups and politicians to do some reading.
Yesterday, we went over to Lunenburg and picked up six bottles from the first shipment of 
Quick Note
At the Tidewater Books and Browsery, I found a small book by Graeme Wynn. Graeme is Professor, Geography at UBC. The book, Culture and Agriculture on the Tantramar Marshes is based on his M.A thesis at the University of Toronto. It describes the utilization of the Chignecto Marshlands between 1750-1800, the Acadian settlement, the Planters and the Yorkshire and Loyalist influxes.
I had noticed on a previous visit that they had a good selection of books by Harry Thurston, who lives at Tidnish Bridge. This time, I purchased 
One last literary reference. Last Summer in Langley, BC I was reading Wendell Berry’s 
This is his third book in the Politics of Place series. It includes chapters on walls in China, the United States, Israel and Palestine, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Europe and the United Kingdom. Of particular interest was the chapter on the UK and its relationship to the Brexit vote. Looking at the map of voters who want to stay in the European Union and those who want to leave. Scotland, Northern Ireland, some of the cities in England want to stay whereas ‘rural’ England want to leave the EU.
Marshall quotes from the book by David Goodhart, 
My interest was the relationship between the different religious and education movements in rural Nova Scotia. Willy brought to my attention the book 
This week, there has been very little time or energy for reading. Picking apples in the orchard consumes both time and energy. I have fallen behind on my reading of George Woodcock’s story of George Orwell, 
Meanwhile, at home, we are busy picking up the apple drops in the orchard. We wait for the apples to grow larger on the trees. We also wait for the first batch of Hunter’s brandy at 
Ernest Blair Experiment 