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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.

After attending the industry expo, I was moved to write the story of COGS (again).

This blog post is a short précis; top of mind.

At the industry expo, the librarian Andrew Hannam had prepared an excellent display in the Boardroom of Walter’s antique map collection (see post Map Stories).

From John Wightman, we link to Roger Tomlinson who was teaching at Acadia University and is remembered as the ‘father of GIS’ (see post Journey Back in Time).

In the 1980’s it was recognized that there was a need for computer technology and GIS. This was when I stepped onto the stage. This step created a strong link between COGS and ESRI/ESRI Canada. The story has unfolded from there.

For today’s student. I would encourage them to understand this place and landscape. Read the local story tellers, especially David Manners, Ernest Buckler and, more recently, Bob Bent. Take the drive up the Morse Road from Bridgetown to West Dalhousie. Walk through Valley View Park, above Bridgetown, and head across North Mountain towards Middleton. Get on your bicycle, ride the Harvest Moon trail to Annapolis Royal. Stop at Grand Pre and admire the cartography of Marcel Morin. Take a drive to Port George on the Bay of Fundy.

Enjoy!

Postscript

This evening (Wednesday), Heather and I are joining Jeannie Barteaux to see the fantasy movie, The Boy and the Heron at the Kings Theatre, Annapolis Royal animated by Hayao Miyazaki. Thanks, Jeannie.

After returning home from British Columbia, there remain a few loose ends. On our drive between Rossland and Kelowna, there were trucks on the highway, salting and spreading gravel. We sustained a flying rock to the windscreen. This week, I was dealing with the car rental company and my auto insurance.

I also found on my return that I was unable to update the operating system on my iPad. It required more space. After conversations with Kyle at Bridgetown Computing, it seems that I am destined to update my ‘go to’ technology.

This week, I have been thinking about long distance walks. This started with Emergence Magazine, an interview with Paul Salopek. He has been on a 24,000 mile journey retracing the migration pathways of the earliest humans who migrated out of Africa in the Stone Age.

This coincided with an interview on the CBC with Rory Stewart. This led me to Lawrencetown library and his book ‘How not to be a politician : a memoir (published in the UK as Politics on the Edge).

Finally, in this week’s Guardian Weekly, ‘English coastal route on the path to completion’.

’To date, 616 km are awaiting approval while 3697 km have been signed off. Of those 2019 have work in hand and 1673 km completed’. To circumnavigate the country would be a wonderful achievement. See the Guardian’s King Charles III England Coast Path article).

Postscript

While away from home over the Christmas break, the Bridgetown Reader has morphed from a handy-sized record of local events into a full-sized newspaper. Fortunately, it contains the same valuable community content.

Acknowledgements

Kyle at Bridgetown Computing helped diagnose the limitations of my trusty iPad. Heather shared the harrowing drive through the Kootenays. Edward added the graphic content and links.

References

Emergence Magazine, Sunday January 14, 2024, A Path Older than Memory: an interview with Paul Salopek.

Rory Stewart, 2023, Politics on the Edge: a Memoir from Within, Penguin Books

The Guardian Weekly, January 5, 2024. p9, English coastal route on the path to completion.
The Guardian Weekly, December 28, 2023, Path of Much Resistance

This weekend, we headed up to New Glasgow. There remained a few presents under the Christmas tree from Patrick’s family. They were unable to join us in British Columbia.

In his 1859 poem “Paa Vidderne” Norwegian playwright, Henrick Ibsen expresses the concept of living a ‘free air life’ as our basic human need to be outside and connect with nature. He describes the need for time in solitude in nature to clarify one’s thoughts.’

The third item was a packet of red velvet cocoa.

Heather also received a parcel. It contained The Mindfulness Doodles Coloring Book and ten coloured pencils, chocolate cocoa, and Burts’ Bees hand cream.

In response to my previous blog ‘Place Matters’ Edward sent me a link to a video ‘Landscape Looking’ by UK artist Oliver Pyle. Edward also posed the question:

’How do others such as geographers, mycologists, botanists, foresters, hydrologists, geologists, historians, architects etc conduct “Landscape Looking “? Also artists, and photographers.

Postscript

Meanwhile, we are working away at 1000 piece puzzle, Songbirds Tree. Perhaps we will finish it, next time we come for a visit.

References

Oliver Luke Delorie, 2020, Connect with Nature the Norwegian Way, Friluftsliv, Sterling Ethos, NY.
Mario Martin, 2023, The Mindfulness Doodles Coloring Book, The Experiment, NY.
Oliver Pyle, Landscape Looking, YouTube Video.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Patrick, Emily, Fraser and Logan for the Christmas present selection. Edward for his feedback and link to the work of Oliver Pyle, UK artist.

Home, sweet home !
We arrived back in Paradise last night at 12:30 am (Monday). It proved to be a three day return trip. On Friday, Andrew escorted us down from Rossland to Grand Forks. Afterwards, we were on our own, until we returned the car rental at the Kelowna airport on Saturday morning.

The flight to Toronto was scheduled for midnight. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed. This meant that we did not make our connecting flight to Halifax. We arrived back in Halifax around 6 pm Sunday. It was snowing, and the roads were slick. The road conditions improved as we headed west beyond Windsor to exit #19 Lawrencetown.

Lessons

Andrew had made the travel arrangements. Talking, and watching other passengers, those with cell phones seemed able to reschedule, ‘on the fly’. Could we have obtained an earlier flight to Halifax?

If passengers can use their cell phones to intervene without going through an agent at the airport does that result in a two tier system — those of us who are cell-phone-savvy versus those who need the intervention of an agent?

I don’t know the answer. I DO know that there is a generation of ‘seniors’ who have not grown up with the technology of the day.

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What is salient about Roger is that he has spent time teaching English Literature at Acadia University. He now lives in the Slocan Valley, BC.

His collection of short stories cover both geographies.

For now, from the cover, I will only quote Canadian thinker, Northrop Frye who declared ‘that the real question defining Canadian identity is not‘ what are we?’ But ‘where is here?’ Lewis explores both questions.

Acknowledgements

I appreciate the support of both my BC families: Laurel and Nic in Port Moody; Andrew and Julia in Rossland. They provided remarkable insight into the two BC geographies. Heather shared with me the two, very different landscapes and cultures. Edward added the illustrations and links.

Reference
Roger C, Lewis, 2017, Identity Matters, Custom Book Publications.