Ernest Blair Experiment

Yesterday, Tuesday February 11, Heather and I attended a meeting of the Memory Cafe at the Evangeline Club in Berwick. It was a one hour event at 2:30 pm. Beforehand, we went to New Minas. At the Cole’s bookstore in the mall, Heather noticed Scott Osmund’s book ‘ Hidden Nova Scotia’. We picked up a copy.

Scott is from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. He completed degrees in Civil Engineering and Geography at MUN. In 2014, he established HiddenNewfoundland.ca as a place to share the Newfoundland hidden places, lost stories and natural wonders. In hopes that it would bring awareness of its history and provide others with an opportunity for adventures. In 2021, Boulder Books published Hidden Newfoundland. Hidden Nova Scotia was published in 2023..

After New Minas we stopped at Berwick for groceries and North Mountain coffee. The Memory Cafe was recommended by N.S. Health Services, Shelley Kingston.

The format was simple. Once per month groups in different communities share time together. Yesterday the focus was on a couple of Maud Lewis prints and the songs of the Beatles. Tea, coffee and desserts were available.The music was memorable for all the couples in the room.

Afterwards, checking out Hidden Nova Scotia it includes BRITEX, Bridgetown, Upper Clements Park, Nova Scotia Textile Limited Mills, Windsor, South Maitland Railway Bridge.

This morning, John Wightman and myself had a meeting with David Bowlby, MLA Annapolis County. The conversation topic was the four Moonshots developed by Edward Wedler ( I will publish #4 this week) and the relationship between the Human Resources at COGS/AGRG and the natural resources in the region: Mining, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Reference

Scott Osmond. 2023. Hidden Nova Scotia. Boulder Books.



Yesterday, with fresh snow on the ground, Heather and I walked the road to the communications tower above Valley View Park (see also A Walk in the Park). Earlier, while in Bridgetown, we stopped at Endless Shores, where I picked up Peter Moreira’s book Backwater: Nova Scotia‘s Economic Decline, 2009.

Today, Wednesday, I checked online whether he had written any further books. Instead I found a podcast: Peter Moreira reviews the findings in the latest Atlantic Canada Start Up report, dated 2022.

At the Middleton library, I found the latest issue of the Grapevine. Inside was Wendy Elliott’s, Books by Locals reviews Nicholas Hill, Sarah Hines, Nelson O’Driscoll (eds.) Wetland Restoration for Endangered Species Recovery: a multidisciplinary case study of Big Meadow Bog, Brier Island, Nova Scotia.

Off to the Inside Story in Greenwood; they did not have a copy. Apparently, the book costs around $300. I returned to the COGS library to see if I could obtain it through inter-library loan. Chelsea Heighton proved very helpful.

This evening, we have tickets to the film, A Complete Unknown at Kings Theatre, Annapolis Royal. It is about the life of Bob Dylan.

Sunday, we have tickets for Macbeth – Stage to Screen. We will travel to both with our friend, Jeannie.

Later tonight, I may have the chance to reflect on the changes in Nova Scotia between 2009 and the podcast by Moreira in 2022. He was more optimistic in 2022. I wonder what he thinks today, in 2025, with Trump in the White House.

References

Peter Moreira, 2009, Backwater: Nova Scotia’s Economic Decline, Nimbus Publishing
Peter Moreira, 2022, Podcast interview with David Campbell and Don Mills
Nicholas Hill, Sarah Hines, Nelson O’Driscoll, 2024, Wetland Restoration for Endangered Species Recovery: A multidisciplinary case study of Big Meadow Bog, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Springer Publishing.
Wendy Elliott, 2025, Books by Locals, The GrapeVine, February 2025, p.5.

Acknowledgements

Heather shared this busy day. Edward had time for the edits, before he headed back to Florida.

This week, I met with Brent Kerr. He is part of the new PC team representing Annapolis County. I wanted to ensure that our political representatives had a good appreciation of the educational and technological resources in the County, at both COGS and AGRG.

Today I attended my first class of the year, Men’s’ Strength and Fitness with Sandy Murray at CORAH – Middleton. This afternoon, we will meet Paul and Ruth Colville at the Capitol Pub for lunch. If we still have the energy we will go for another snowshoe around the Annapolis River meadow, below our house (cancelled, too cold).

Next Monday and Tuesday, COGS will be hosting a two day Industry Expo. This includes tours of the Map Collection by Andrew Hannam and Chelsea Heighton.

To assist the new PC team, I provided a list of email contacts at both COGS and AGRG. There is a long history of the application of Geomatics technology in the region. This includes the maintenance of a network of climate stations, the use of LiDAR and more recently drone technology, and the application of AI.

If the province wants to develop its natural resources, especially agriculture and forestry in Southwest Nova, then it is important that our political representatives fully understand the significance of the management and access to these geographic data sets.

I would encourage the NSCC not only to support the local community through CORAH, but also through showcasing access to these Geomatics resources within the research community. This would complement the industry showcase, where the focus is more on employment opportunities for future graduating students.

Acknowledgements

Edward is away, hence no graphics or links. Heather shared the snow shoeing experience in the meadow, below our house.

Between 1963-66, I was an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham, UK.

For two Summers, I came to Canada to work at the McGill SubArctic Research Lab, in Schefferville, PQ. I was a field assistant to graduate students working on the Canadian Shield. The research involved digging soil pits and undertaking till fabric analysis.

This Monday evening, after being saturated by the CBC coverage of Donald Trump’s inauguration, we decided it was time to find out more about David Bowlby,

our new PC representative for Annapolis County (replacing Carman Kerr, Liberal).

The AGM meeting was 6:30 pm, at the NSCC Middleton campus.

On arrival, I noticed a stack of free, used books outside the Library. I found Harold Horwood’s White Eskimo. After teaching at Memorial University,

I had always enjoyed his writing. Time for a re-read.

Later this week, I shall drop by the PC office to learn more about the current government plans for Annapolis County. In particular, I am interested in the use of modern mapping technology (at COGS and AGRG) and its application to resource management in the county (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and mining).

Acknowledgements

Heather joined me at the AGM for the Annapolis County PC party.

Edward added the graphics and links.

Reference

Harold Horwood, 1972, White Eskimo: A novel of Labrador, Doubleday Canada.

From my growler of Brickyard Red beer, purchased at Lunn’s Mill:

“In 1760, this beautiful part of the Annapolis Valley was known as Lunn’s Mill, named after the major industry in the area: a bustling sawmill owned by John Lunn. Around this time the Charming Molly set sail from New England carrying the first New England Planters. These intrepid people helped expand the community with farms and shops, and in 1822 it was renamed Lawrencetown.”

Besides stopping at Lunn’s Mill for the beer, I stopped at Bees Knees in the village to pick up a couple of slices of quiche.

The other day, I was talking with Paul Colville. We commiserated about the closure of Bistro 300, the coffee shop in Middleton, next to the Independent grocery store.

Walking home from the grocery store, we found a different route, behind St. Monica’s Catholic Church. It was marked by the sound of a pileated woodpecker in a grove of trees.

Meanwhile, at the house, we continue to be entertained by grey squirrels gathering up the acorns, and by the blue jays from the neighbouring feeder. Today, there is a male cardinal in fresh snow.

From the top of the red oaks, there is a Northern Goshawk scanning the riverside meadows..

In the next week or so, I shall be reporting on the COGS Industry Expo 2025 (January 27-28) in Lawrencetown. More on that event, once I see the detailed program.

Acknowledgements

Heather shares the exploration of the local geography.