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This week, (May 22,2024) we held a meeting of the Ernest Buckler Literary Event Society (EBLES).

Jane Borecky, Anne Crossman, myself and Heather Stewart met at John Montgomery’s house in Bridgetown. Our motto remains Reading where we live: A Celebration of Local Writing (read posts Eccentrics, in Paradise, Authors Among Us, and EBLES Meeting).

Once again, I went to my bookshelves. I found the EBLES program for Saturday, June 3, 2017, at the Bridgetown Legion and one for Saturday, June 29, 2019 at the Temple on Queen. Somewhere, there is a program for the West Dalhousie Community Hall event for Saturday, May 19, 2023.

While browsing, I found a newsletter from the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia (Summer 2012) plus a self-guided tour of Elizabeth Bishop ‘s Great Village. It amuses me that both Ernest Buckler and Elizabeth Bishop share the same initials EB (read posts The Pastoral Economy and Geography III: Place Writing and Maps)

Two other finds.

The Nova Scotia Policy Review (2008, 2009) and Coastlands (2009, 2011), edited and published by Rachel Brighton, a resident of Bridgetown (read post Bring Back Coastlands).

MapAnnapolis Community Mapping project (read post Mapping Annapolis County)

About us:

‘Community-created asset maps are based on the premise that local residents possess expert knowledge of their local environments which can be expressed in a geographical framework which is easily understandable and universally recognized. Participatory maps often represent a socially or culturally distinct understanding of landscape and include information that is excluded from mainstream or official maps.’ Map Annapolis.

EBLES continues to support both the West Dalhousie and Centrelea communities. This seems appropriate: The Mountain and the Valley is important to David Manners (see post The Curious Mind), Ernest Buckler and those of us interested in the literary legacy of this part of the Annapolis Valley.

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This week spent time financing property in Middleton. Changed our bank from Scotia Bank to Credit Union. Despite its name, Scotia Bank is not serving the needs of Nova Scotians in rural areas, closing branches in Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown.

Acknowledgements

Thank you John Montgomery for the hospitality. Jane Borecky and Anne Crossman for their hard work. Heather Stewart, for sharing the load.

References

Rachel Brighton, 2009, Coastlands: The Maritimes Policy Review, Vol 3.1, An ethical look at agriculture.

Rachel Brighton, 2011, Coastlands: The Maritimes Policy Review, Vol 4.1. Feast to Famine.

Claude Bissell, 1989, Ernest Buckler Remembered. University of Toronto Press.

David Manners, 1941, Convenient Season, Dutton Press.

One of the surprises that comes from Decluttering is the discovery of old newspaper clippings. I found the following four articles from the Annapolis County Spectator of interest. All written by the author.

1) Geography matters: place-based economic develop. October 29, 2011
2) Geography, technology and scale. October 11, 2012
3) History, information and cultural mapping. February 21, 2013.
4) Connecting the stories. October 21, 2013.

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GEOGRAPHY MATTERS ARTICLE

It is significant that the NSCC fired the author, Chris Hopkinson and Jeff Wentzell on November 22, 2011 (after the first article was published).

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HISTORY, INFORMATION & CULTURAL MAPPING: GEORGETOWN LETTER ARTICLE

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On a different note, I found the obituary for Roger Tomlinson, the Father of Computerized Cartography; a full page in the Globe and Mail, Saturday March 1, 2014.

It includes a photograph of Roger conducting field work in Labrador in 1957.

The author was in Labrador at the McGill Sub-Arctic Research Lab in Schefferville conducting field work in 1964-65. He completed his B.Sc. Honours thesis ‘ A Biogeographical Study of the Shoal Lake Area, Labrador’ at the University of Birmingham, UK.

ROGER TOMLINSON OBITUARY ARTICLE

These last couple of weeks I have been Decluttering our house and my mind. We have decided to move to Middleton where we can walk to the grocery store, health services and the bank. Philosophically, we want to increase our level of walking and decrease jumping in the car to buy the necessities of life.

At the same time, in preparation for a talk on ‘Fifty Years of GIS and RS at COGS’ I have been Decluttering my mind.

A third dimension is going through the book cases, determining which books that I likely won’t re-read. They can go to Endless Shores in Bridgetown. Thank you, Jennifer Crouse.

Two books did demand my attention.

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Next week, I am scheduled to speak at the Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia (GANS) AGM. It will be a chance to test out a few ideas before the Canadian Society for Remote Sensing (CSRS) keynote talk in June.

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As the post-war boomer generation reaches eighty it seems appropriate to declutter life. This means simplifying, identifying core values, and looking at the larger issues of our generation (e.g. climate change).

The provincial government has scrapped the Coastal Protection Act; instead, it downloaded coastal problems to the municipalities and individual landowners (see post Two Emails).

The Coastal Zone is essentially a geographic problem. Here is my question. Has the government approached the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) scientists and faculty?

In addition, the Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) under Tim Webster has access to field equipment to monitor changes in the coastal zone.

If the plan is to download the problem to municipalities, do these organizations have access to these tools and trained staff? Do Planning graduates from COGS have these skills? ( see previous blog)

From my perspective, the NSCC should ensure there is a sufficient number of graduates with both the technical skills and the geographic science.

I will forward this blog to Tim, to find out whether AGRG has been approached to provide both types of expertise. The Coastal Zone remains a critical component of both the economic and environmental future of Nova Scotia. We need to prepare for this future, through education and training.

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The location is Spa Springs, just outside of Middleton. The story is fiction. Leeson has also written The Dome Chronicles about the back-to-the-land movement in rural Nova Scotia.

Acknowledgements

Edward added the graphics and links.

Reference

Garry Leeson, 2021, The Secret of the Spring, Moose House Press.

This week, we had to make two trips to New Glasgow. It is a three-hour drive, one way. One redeeming feature was that we took different routes.

Highway #101 to Windsor; the first time (our traditional route) through the Rawdon Hills to Truro, the second time, through Old Barns to Kennetcook. Either way, there are opportunities to savour the rural landscapes of East and West Hants municipalities with their roller coaster roads.

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This week, too, I received a letter from Nick Lasch. He was Director of Planning in the 1980s for the Municipality of the County of Annapolis. He enclosed a copy of the Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) (Fall, 1988). At that time he had a strong relationship with both Mike Donnelly and Phil Hore, instructors in the Planning program at COGS.

“Together, they used GIS and Remote Sensing to develop a comprehensive property mapping project for the County. This was done with the support of LRIS, NS Remote Sensing Group and of the province’s orthophoto mapping. With the completion of the property mapping, a GIS project was initiated to develop a database to include specifics for each parcel, and tied each parcel with an ID to property maps.”

Roll the clock forward thirty-six years. What is the current status of property mapping and the application of GIS and RS in Annapolis County?

”The main purpose (1988) was to provide a comprehensive database for the county to facilitate decisions and provide valuable information for the proposed MPS, LUB and future planning endeavours.”

As part of my background research for the CSRS (Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing) keynote presentation this June, I shall try to find the answer (see post Fifty Years of GIS and Remote Sensing at COGS).

Also, what is the status of the Planning program at COGS today?

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Bruce Gillis and Nick Lasch for their interest and background information.
Hopefully, Edward is back from his art retreat in Florida and can add graphics.

This Saturday, we went to the Farmers’ Market in Wolfville. I wanted to see the results of FAN-fare. It was very busy. There was a tremendous sense of community. Lots of Food, Arts and Nature. Afterwards, we stopped briefly at The Odd Book store. Heather found Wild Foresting, Practising Nature’s Wisdom by Drengson and Taylor published by New Society. This brings back good memories of the West Coast.

Our next stop was an excellent lunch at the ArtCan cafe in Canning. Here, I happened upon Ways of Life. On Places, Painters and Poets by Andrew Motion. Afterwards, given the blue skies and sunshine, we opted for the backroads: from Canning to Kentville; then the old Highway #1 home to Paradise.

Earlier in the week, I had picked up tickets for the house concert at Dawn Oman’s gallery in Bridgetown. In the intimate atmosphere of the repurposed church, we enjoyed the songs performed by Permanent Resonance. This capped a full day.

Sunday, time for a walk through Valley View Park. We followed it with the long drive up the Morse Road to West Dalhousie. The community hall brought back memories of the world of Ernest Buckler, and the community efforts of the Ernest Buckler Literary Event Society (EBLES). Thanks, Jane, Anne and John.

Acknowledgements.

Heather shared the busy itinerary. Edward is away painting in Florida; we may miss his contribution.

References

Alan Drengson and Duncan Taylor (ed.) 2009. Wild Foresting. Practising Nature’s Wisdom. New Society Publishers.

Andrew Motion. 2008. Ways of Life. On Places, Painters and Poets. Selected Essays and Reviews 1994-2008. Faber and Faber.

In my cluttered office, I found two posters that define my current thinking — from Esri, “Make Every Place a Creative Space” and a second from Kenneth Field’s book, “Cartography”.

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Yesterday (Saturday), Heather and I went to ARTSPLACE in Annapolis Royal. We wanted to see the exhibition by artist Janice Leonard ‘Postcards of Paradise,’ (March 1-23).

’These pieces are small 5” x 7” paintings on board. The time of day, place and date are noted on the back, as well as an excerpt from my journal of the day so as to mimic a postcard, an archaic form of communication.’

The series of postcards of Paradise, Nova Scotia since 2016, reminded Heather and me of similar scenes we see on our walks around East Paradise, and along the Annapolis River.

Afterward, we stopped at the Brown Dog for lunch. In the Library, I found Thomas Cooper’s “The Roots of My Obsession: thirty great gardeners reveal why they garden”.

On the way home, we decided to take the Spurr Road from Round Hill to West Dalhousie. For old-times sake. Unfortunately, as we passed Wrights Lake and reached the junction with the old Military Road between Annapolis Royal and West Dalhousie, the road was closed (washed out ?). We back-tracked to Round Hill on Highway #201 and home.

Acknowledgements

Edward added the graphics and links. Heather shared the drive to Annapolis Royal and up onto South Mountain.

Reference

Thomas Cooper (ed.), The Roots of My Obsession: thirty great gardeners reveal why they garden, Timber Press, London.

This morning, I received two emails from Anne Crossman. The first, her column, concerned the Coastal Protection Act (Annapolis Valley Register, March 7,2024).

I find it remarkable, given the coastal nature of this province, that the provincial government is not taking advantage of the post-secondary institutions in the province. Many Nova Scotia researchers understand both the science and the technology for monitoring coastal erosion.

Even in rural Annapolis County, we have access to the resources and expertise of the Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) in Middleton, led by Tim Webster.

Anne was also kind enough to forward the obituary for Gilles Plante. It brought back fond memories of our visits to Mabel Murple’s Bookstore and Dreamery in River John, the children’s stories of Sheree Fitch, as well as the Read by the Sea Summer Festival.

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Meanwhile, here in Paradise, I continue to research new developments in both GIS and Remote Sensing; in particular, the impact of new technologies for collecting digital images of our landscape, the analyses; and the sharing with government and other agencies, both academic and community-based.

Acknowledgments

Anne shared both her column from The Register and the obituary from CBC PNA Maritimes. Edward added the graphics and links. Heather shared her memories of the Book Shoppe in River John.

References

Anne Crossman. Annapolis Valley Register. 7 March 2024.

Obituary for Gilles Plante. November 18,1956 – March 2, 2024. CBC Pensioners National Association.

In the latest Grapevine, Issue 21.3 for March 2024, p.3 Redefining Tourism in the Annapolis Valley: the journey towards regenerative practices with FoodArtNature (FAN) is a collaboration between Wolfville Farmers Market, Blomidon Naturalist Society, and Earth Rhythms.

’ It’s about changing the way people think about tourism – not a passive act of consumption but a pro-active endeavour to nurture and restore rhe places we visit and love.’ (foodartnature.ca)

Heather and I met Celes Davar at Earth Rhythms when he helped us organize a tour of Raymond Hunter’s orchard (across the road on Andrew’s farm) (see posts Guided Walk and Preparing for Experiential Tourism).

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This morning, I picked up Heather after Chair Yoga at CORAH. In the parking lot at NSCC, Middleton, I noticed a van with AVISPL on the side. The website was avispl.ca. They provide technology for online video conferencing. Helping the NSCC?

Acknowledgements

Congratulations to Celes Davar and others for inventing FoodArtNature (FAN). Heather conducted the tour of the Hunter orchard, including the brandy tasting.

References.

Grapevine, March 2024, Redefining Tourism in the Annapolis Valley: the journey towards regenerative practices with FoodArtNature (FAN), Issue 21.3 page 3.

We arrived in New Glasgow last Friday. Over the weekend, we were impacted by a severe Winter storm. (Email note to Edward: “We are stranded in New Glasgow for a few days by a heavy Winter snowfall“.)

The days have combined shovelling the cars out of the driveway and finishing a one thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, Songbird Tree.

The first strategy was to complete each of the birds. The second was to find each of the individual flowers scattered throughout the scene. Each flower had a different colour combination and a number of petals. The final strategy was to recognize that each puzzle piece had a unique shape. This, of course, started with finding the edge pieces.

The secret of success is to combine these individual strategies and maintain a holistic approach. Seems like a recipe for problem-solving. The same would be true when shovelling out cars lost in a two-metre snow drift.

It did not take much consideration to recognize that our quick weekend run has turned into a multi-day stay. We should be able to return mid-week.

On Saturday night, we were able to indulge in a ‘Brit-night’ on Maine PBS — “As Time Goes By”, and “Doc Martin”; afterward, Kate Humble’s “Coastal Britain”. The Southwest Coastal Path boasts the Valley that inspired R.D. Blackmore’s 1869 novel “Lorna Doone”. It certainly made me want to return to that part of England.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Edward for the graphics. Thanks to John Stewart for his hospitality.