Category: Book Review

Garry Leeson describes his book, The Secret of the Spring as historical fiction.

What I gained from Leeson was how through historical research, it is possible to create a sense of livelihood, lifestyle over several decades in rural Nova Scotia.

It also generated an interest in Historical Geography. How much geographical fiction exists in the mountain and the valley? This will lead to my reading Leeson’s The Dome Chronicles describing the ‘back-to-the-land movement in the 1960’s and 1980’s.

After checking with Paul Colville, I made a side trip to The Inside Story. Not only did I find the Dome Chronicles, but also I discovered Dan Johnson’s Ashes, the sequel to the Secret of the Spring. A great success!

Acknowledgements

Paul Colville helped me locate Leeson’s books. Heather shared the drive through Spa Springs. Edward added the graphics.

References.

Gary Leeson, 2019, The Dome Chronicles, Nevermore Press via Nimbus Publishing.
Gary Leeson, 2021, The Secret of the Spring, Moose House Publications.
Gary Leeson, 2023, Dan Johnson’s Ashes, Moose House Publications.

This week, I found two interesting used books.

While looking for brown bread at Bees Knees, I discovered David Suzuki’s The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature. It was a revised edition. I recall reading the original years ago. This time, I forwarded it to Patrick in Peterborough, as a belated birthday present.

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I finished the draft abstract for my talk for June’s CSRS conference in Halifax (see post 50 years of Remote Sensing and GIS at COGS). I continue to research and receive links on the use of AI and GIS.

Michael Goodchild, my graduate supervisor at UWO sent a link to a conference at UC Santa Barbara, last December, in part sponsored by Esri. Edward Wedler sent me another link via email, ‘Bayanat, Geospatial and AI’. For both Edward and myself, we wonder what is required to prepare COGS graduates in these new technologies.

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Meanwhile, Heather and I had a micro-adventure on our property, snow-shoeing along the powerline and following the west property line — a good two hour work out on crusty snow.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Michael Goodchild and Edward Wedler for forwarding the links between AI and GIS. Heather shared the micro-adventure snowshoeing.

References

Patti Callahan, 2018, Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis, Thomas Nelson.

David Suzuki, 1987, The Sacred Balance: rediscovering our place in Nature (25th anniversary edition, Greystone Books).

Bayanat Joins World Geospatial Industry as a Council Member, News Desk, Geospatial Worl, 26Feb2024

Michael Goodchild, Spatial Data Science in an Age of Scientific Disruption, 8-9Dec2023, UCSB Geography.

Postscript

This Wednesday evening (Feb 28) Arts for Life in Annapolis Royal, Kings Theatre 7pm, shows Films Celebrating the 40th anniversary of ARCAC and ARTSPLACE and Annapolis Royal’s Rural Renaissance.

I finished reading Donald Savoie’s ‘Democracy in Canada’.

”British-inspired political institutions are spatially blind because it suits England’s history and national character because England is a unitary state – and because its main political cleavages have not been around geography. Being spatially blind in England is one thing. Being spatially blind in Canada is quite another.” p.16.

Am I the blind leading the blind?

On the weekend, Heather and I snow-shoed through Andrew’s old property down to the Annapolis River, and then across to the Lawrencetown tree nursery. This reminded me of the potential at Lunn’s Mill. It is next door to the tree nursery. After snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing, one could return to the warmth of the brewery restaurant. Yet another micro-adventure (see post Explore Local).

For Valentine’s Day (my birthday) we will check out the fare at the Green Elephant in Kingston.

My next read will be John Norberg ,’Open: how collaboration and curiosity shaped mankind’. From the back cover,

”Norberg examines why we’re often uncomfortable with openness – but also why it is essential to fight for it more than ever”.

Acknowledgments

Heather shared the snowshoeing micro-adventure. Edward added the graphics.

References.

Donald B. Savoie, 2019, Democracy in Canada: The Disintegration of our Institutions, McGill-Queens University Press.

John Norberg, 2021, Open: how collaboration and curiosity shaped humankind, Atlantic Books.

Postscript

I received Volume 8, 2023 blog from Integrity Printing, Bridgetown. This blog post is #563.

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This weekend, we find ourselves in New Glasgow, prior to heading to British Columbia for Christmas and New Year. This week, I received a call from the Lawrencetown library. I picked up an inter-library loan; James Bridle’s Ways of Being.

To date, I have read the first three chapters. In praise of the book, Jane Goodall writes:

’We humans are not alone in having a sense of community, a sense of fun, a sense of wonder and awe at the beauty of nature. Be prepared to re-evaluate your relationship with the amazing life forms with whom we share the planet.’

Thinking about other ‘ways of being’, I reflect on my recent visit to Annapolis Royal. At MareGold Bookstore, we talked to Russell and Geoff Butler. Russell described his work at the store, in terms of a curator of the books. This extends to the recently opened children’s section.

These ‘ways of being’ seem a far cry from the endless advertising to purchase products over the Internet — or managing scams over the telephone.

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With a certain trepidation, we look forward to our travel to British Columbia. But we shall enjoy different ‘ways of being’ with family, available through a different geography.

Reference

James Bridle, 2022, Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines, The Search for Planetary Intelligence, Farrah, Straus and Giroux.

Acknowledgements

Edward has been travelling between Nova Scotia and Florida, hence blog delays. Heather and I will travel to British Columbia to share time with family in Port Moody and Rossland. Again, leading to delays.

We managed to get to Kentville this week and were able to stop at Gaspereau Press on Church Street. We found three books of interest.

Sue Goyette’s, Monoculture: a commentary of monologues.
Ray Cronin’s, A Gaspereau Field Guide to Canadian Artists, No. 1: Mary Pratt, Still Light.
Ian McLaren’s, All the Birds of Nova Scotia: Status and Critical Identification.

This remains a contentious issue, regarding saving old growth forest and the practice of sustainable forestry.

Ray Cronin is the author of the series ‘Gaspereau Field Guide to Canadian Artists’. I selected #1, Mary Pratt: Still Light. On a previous visit I purchased #7, Alan Syliboy: Culture is our Medicine. Other artists in the series include Gerald Ferguson, Alex Colville, John Greer, Maud Lewis and Colleen Wolstenholme.

Heather made the third choice. Given the number of birds coming to our feeder. She was interested in Professor Ian McLaren’s All the Birds of Nova Scotia: Status and Critical Identification, published in 2012.

Acknowledgements

Edward added the graphics and links.

References (all published by Gaspereau Press)
Sue Goyette, 2022, Monoculture: a commentary of monologues.
Ray Cronin, 2018, Mary Pratt: Still Light, Field Guide to Canadian Artists #1
Ray Cronin, 2022, Alan Syliboy: Culture is our Medicine Field Guide to Canadian Artists #7
Ian McLaren, 2012, All the Birds of Nova Scotia: Status and Critical Identification.

December 1st: a wonderful warm day.

Late afternoon, went to Bridgetown. I had read in the Reader that Peter Wyman had published a new book, The Last Whale in Nova Scotia. Luck was on my side, I picked up a copy at the Endless Shores book store. Perhaps on Saturday I will get him to sign the copy at the Mad Hatter bookstore.

Previously, Wyman had published a number of separate ‘small books’. This time, he had gathered seven short stories. Before falling asleep, I had digested the first six, saving the longer, The Last Whale in Nova Scotia, for another day.

The stories took me to Delaps Cove, canoeing on the Annapolis River, Blandings turtles and Kejimkujik National Park.

Perhaps in a good way, it offers a partial explanation to the grandchildren ‘Why are Granny and Grandad living in the country, down in rural Nova Scotia? ‘

From the beginning, the book references the work of Carl Jung. I am hopeful that by the end I will have a better understanding of the ‘curious animal spirits’.

Meanwhile today, I am presented with a choice — either heading out to Annapolis Royal (book signing) or Kentville (browsing the Christmas offerings at Gaspereau Press). We went to AR; stopped at the Mad Hatter and Mare Gold.

Acknowledgements

From the Centre page of the Reader:
“Reading: reduces stress, enhances knowledge, feeds your imagination.”
Thanks to Endless Shores Books and MareGold Bookstore.

Thanks to Heather and Edward for their support and contributions.

References

Peter B. Wyman, 2023, The Last Whale in Nova Scotia: stories nurtured by curious animal spirits, Cardigan, Little and Crow Publishing, Annapolis Royal.

Postscript

I read the final story, The Last Whale in Nova Scotia, early Saturday morning. This deserves to be in its own separate book. Simply excellent. Thank you, Peter B.

My real objective was to find a copy of Alan Syliboy’s Where the Owl Calls Your Name. I had this in mind for one of the grandchildren. Fortunately, we made a stop at Endless Shores in Bridgetown. It is a beautifully illustrated Mi’kmaq legend. It did not disappoint.

So far, I am part way through Skidmark Calligraphy. I will wait for Heather to work her way through Naomi Klein. Thursday (30th) we look forward to live music at Kings Theatre. It was an excellent show. Well worth, the night drive !

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the booksellers in both Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown. Next stop will be Gaspereau Press in Kentville. Edward added the graphics.

References

Arthur Bull,2023, Skidmark Calligraphy, Moose House Publications.
Naomi Klein, 2023, Doppelgänger, Knopf Canada.
Alan Syliboy, 2023, When the Owl Calls Your Name, Nimbus Publishing.

This weekend we went up to New Glasgow. By chance, late Saturday evening, we watched Doc Martin on PBS Maine. Besides the regular episode, there was a documentary on the final season of the show: number ten.

The show is set in the picturesque Cornish village of Portwenn.

As I watched the documentary it was apparent that the series, on the air for eighteen years, has had a significant impact on tourism in rural Cornwall.

Would it be possible to take this model, and apply it to rural Nova Scotia? We have the geography. We have numerous writers who have set their stories in rural Nova Scotia . Could this form part of the ‘creative rural economy’ (see Edward’s blog post “What do the films Outlander, Titanic and DevCon-4 Have in Common?“)? Or can a model be a continuation of Celes Davar’s ‘Fundy Riches and Valley Traditions’, Experiential Tourism workshop (November 2007).

Another dimension would be to build upon the writing of Ernest Buckler, The Mountain and the Valley, and more recently the work of EBLES ( Ernest Buckler Literary Event Society).

From my bookcase, I pulled down seven volumes of blogs. Volume 1 GoGeomatics, Volume 2 2017 – Volume 7 2022.

In a few weeks, I shall go to Integrity Printing in Bridgetown and request Volume 8 2023. This blog will be #538

This week, I was invited to give a keynote talk at the upcoming Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing, Halifax, June 2024. I accepted the invitation.

Fifty years of Remote Sensing and GIS at COGS (1974-2024) is my working title.

Initial research has led me to two sources.

1. Making Government Science work for Canada and around the World{ A legacy of excellence at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) June 2019.
2. Bob Ryerson and Stan Aronoff, 2010, Why ‘where’ matters: understanding and profiting from GPS, GIS and Remote Sensing, Kim Geomatics Corp. (see book review by Jeff Thurston).

Acknowledgements

John Wightman provided the reference to CCRS. Heather stayed up late to watch the Doc Martin documentary. Edward added his contribution to the blog.

Doc Bob

This weekend, we found ourselves in Kentville. I picked up a card giving directions to the new location of Tides Art Gallery between Brad’s Decor and the Half Acre Cafe.

This was an uplifting memoir, describing life in Nova Scotia leading to the Oceanstone Seaside Resort on the South Shore. Part of the pleasure was the scattering of quotations throughout the book; each in a sense being ‘a note in a bottle’.

Given the state of the world, it was refreshing to read a personal journey, with an emphasis on joy, love and beauty.

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Sunday morning, after checking out Cottage Cove on the Bay of Fundy, we arrived at the Clarence Country Christmas Market. We were pleased to bump into a number of old friends and colleagues. Again, I was attracted to a book stand. I picked up a free copy of Trap Street (Issue #1, November 2023). It included a short story, Making Believe by Bob Bent. He is the local author of Spy on Ice and Ida Red.

”Both in my personal world and in my professional life, do I think about small places, often with long histories, that are unique but also recognizably and often painfully entangled in large world phenomena. Some of these places appear similar in Norway, England, Canada, Australia.” G.B.Ween, University of Oslo.

Both of these books by local authors take me away from the relentless news of the times.

Acknowledgements

Heather and I appreciate the sterling efforts by local authors. I was happy to see Trap Street #1.

”In cartography, a trap street is a fictitious entry in the form of a misrepresented street on a map, often outside the area the map nominally covers, for the purpose of ‘trapping’ potential plagiarists of the map”.

References

Daniel Lillford, 2022, Ghost Breezes, Short stories, Illustrations by Jesse Lillford-Brighton, Moose House Publications.

Ron MacInnis, 2014, Note in a Bottle, Balboa Press.