Ernest Blair Experiment

Everyone has arrived. We have five cabins in a row, with easy access to the pool and hot tub. The view towards the Northumberland Straight is spectacular. We can see Pictou causeway, fire tower, Scott paper and other evidence of local forestry operations.

In Pictou, we will likely visit the Hector, the McCulloch House museum. It is a town with a number of sandstone houses, and of course, the waterfront.

The party includes six grandchildren, plus their parents (again six) and then Great-grandfather John, Heather’s sister and brother.

To date, we have had the opportunity to stop at Sandy’s ice-cream bar, Grohmann Knives and Logan’s for cooked lobster.

Between trips to Sobeys grocery store, we have had time to enjoy the trails on Fitzpatricks Mountain, whether walking or bicycling.

Wednesday morning, we had breakfast at Deb’s cafe in Scotsburn. Apparently the Governor General was there yesterday. Next door is the Farm Museum, giving us the history of the Creamery and the dairy industry. Later in the day, we will check out Caribou Beach and Pictou Lodge (closed after tropical storm Fiona).

We will head back to Middleton on Friday. This will allow us to attend Kings Theatre in the evening. Tom Allen and friends, ‘JS Bach’s long walk in the snow‘.

Yesterday we arrived at Smith Rock Chalets in Scotsburn, Pictou County for our annual family reunion. In the past, the venue has been Pictou Lodge, but after tropical storm Fiona, it has been closed.

Smith Rock Chalets sits on top of Fitzpatricks Mountain.

Three weeks ago, Andrew and his family arrived to help us move from Paradise to Middleton. This weekend, the house in Paradise is ready for sale; the house in Middleton contains our furniture and other assets. This next week, we can enjoy Pictou County with Patrick and Emily with Fraser and Logan; Andrew and Julia with Quinn and Isla Rose; Laurel and Nic with Marcus and Owen.

In addition, we will spend time with John Stewart (Heather’s Dad), Heather’s sister Sandy and Don; and brother Stephen.

With hindsight, the biggest challenge from the move has been technology. Changing banks led to a different procedure for E-transfer; i.e. Credit Union requires cell phone for verification.

In addition, I went to the Hearing Institute in Kingston. This led to hearing aids that need to be charged overnight. The new overnight routine includes charging the iPad, cell phone and the hearing aids..

Fortunately, at Smith Rock chalet, life will be simpler. Time to catch-up with grandchildren, their use of technology in this rural landscape. I can simply listen to the birds and enjoy a new landscape, overlooking the Northumberland Strait shore. Should be back to ‘normal’ in a few weeks. We can look forward to rediscovering the community of Middleton.

Just stepped outside, to enjoy the view at 7 am. The chalet door closed behind me, keys inside. Heather has just offered to walk down to the lodge to obtain a house key. An inauspicious start to the day !

We have survived the week. The ‘old’ house is empty. The next step is a thorough clean and photographs to put online.

Today, we took a well-deserved break. We went over to Hampton Beach on the Bay of Fundy. It was low tide, and not a soul on the beach. This caused me to reflect on Ernest Buckler : the mountain and the valley. What was missing ?

The landscape of Annapolis County must include the effects of the tides and the Bay of Fundy. It is truly a microcosm: within a few kilometers we can enjoy the new agriculture: apple orchards and vineyards in the Valley; the woodlot management on both North and South Mountain; the fishing resources found along the Nova Scotia shore.

Afterwards, we drove back through Clarence. We remembered the tradition of dairy farming. Our old house has been replaced by a new building, owned by the Den Haan’s.

We stopped at the Clarence Country Market in the community hall. Live music on a Sunday morning. sale of crafts, plants, books by local authors. Beautiful lavender plants, quilts, home-made preserves.

After lunch, I returned to our ‘old house’. Time to tidy up the lawns. An opportunity to ride on the Z-track. We visited the orchard across the road, and mowed the trail down towards the triangle field (above the Annapolis River). This has been a form of therapy for a number of years.

Afterwards, stopped at Bees Knees in Lawrencetown, for a loaf of brown bread and a slice of chocolate pie.

Acknowledgements

Heather and I both appreciate the changes in land use, land ownership and the landscape of Annapolis County. We first arrived here, with two young boys, in 1980.

We have been moving our household effects from Paradise to Middleton for a week. In between, we have made multiple trips to Valley Waste Resource Management in Lawrencetown. We have changed our mailing address from Lawrencetown to Middleton.

We have learned the importance of cell phones in the movement of household items between houses, and the need to keep in contact.

Perhaps the biggest lesson has been the changing of banks. This includes movement of pensions and interactions with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

After a week working closely with Heather and Andrew we realize that moving books, outdoor equipment, furniture etc at the same time as our financial affairs creates considerable strain. Besides rediscovering personal effects from twenty four years in the same place.

Initial reaction is confusion. Items are no longer in familiar places. New rooms contain a mixture of furniture. Some items will take a few weeks to be rediscovered.

We had our first visitors to the new house. Tim and Judy Easley came from Fredericton. We were able to remember good times working together at Sir Sandford Fleming College at the Frost campus in Lindsay. Plus enjoy lunch at the Green Elephant cafe in Kingston.

Today, we had some reaffirmation of our decision. In ten minutes, we could walk to the Middleton hospital for a blood work appointment. Stopping on the way home we checked our mail and purchased a few grocery items. My knees much appreciated the exercise.

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge the contribution of our son, Andrew. Besides the heavy lifting, he was able to bring next generation logic to a lifetime of collection and clutter.

We often slipped into emotional attachment to old technology and past interests. This includes records, CDs and IT equipment. He helped us identify our E-waste.

Until the house is sold, we can enjoy the luxury of two houses and reap the harvest from our fruit bushes e.g. blueberries, red currants and gooseberries plus this years planting of lettuce, broccoli, runner beans and tomatoes.

Finally, I can still enjoy the clandestine pleasure of the ‘ride-on’ lawn mower to cut the grass at the ‘old’ house.

Contact information

Bob Maher and Heather Stewart

46, Connaught Avenue, Middleton, Nova Scotia. B0S 1P0

Box 255

Home phone: 902-825-8175

Cell. Bob 902-825-7012. Heather 902-825-7406

While it is still fresh, I thought it might be useful to reflect on the move. Here is the context.

We have lived on rural route #201 for twenty four years.We have managed an orchard across the road on our son’s property. We have enjoyed maintaining a sizeable woodlot up to the Inglisville Road. We have noticed changes in the local demography. We have noticed a significant increase in traffic and speed on the highway. This has led to a couple of minor accidents.

Our children recognized, before us, that we need to reduce our workload. We also need to reduce time in a car driving for necessities.

Our priorities in selecting a new home.

1) must be in a community, with easy walking access to groceries, banking, health services.

2) must be accessible to the local landscape e.g. walking, bicycling, canoeing.

3) we selected a neighbourhood in Middleton with view/access to the Annapolis River/wetlands, woods and wildlife.

The move itself has three steps:

1) purchase new house;

2) move furniture/ possessions into new house;

3) sale of old house.

Access to both houses allowed us to pace the movement of goods and possessions.

Because the distance between houses was roughly ten kilometers we were able to declutter our personal possessions. Leaving the old house only with large furniture items. The moving company was able to move furniture in a half a day.

We were fortunate that Andrew was able to visit with his family for a week. This permitted a rigorous assessment of our possessions. After 24 years we had accumulated a significant book collection that expressed our life interests. With two houses, we could accommodate our family and ourselves.

What would you do differently ?

1) Timing. With hindsight, we might have made the move ten years ago (after retirement) .

2) Time will tell, if we are able to adapt to small community life. First impressions are positive.

3) From a health perspective, it is imperative to keep active. This relates to both mental and physical health.

It would be worthwhile to update this blog in twelve months. What expectations have we missed ? What were the surprises ?

Clearly, we won’t miss driving to town for services.

Have we engaged in new community-based activities ?

Do our family feel that it was the right decision ?

This week, we are living between two houses. Next week, we should be able to move the heavy furniture and sleep in Middleton. Today’s achievement was to arrange with Bell Aliant for the transfer of phone, TV and Internet service to the new house..

Between the moves, I have been reading three books. The first, I picked up at the Clarence Sunday market, is Inside, an anthology of writing collected during the COVID-19 pandemic on the theme of isolation from writers on the South Shore of Nova Scotia and beyond.

The second, recommended by Edward Wedler, Ronald Rubin Against the Tides. Reshaping landscape and community in Canada’s Maritime Marshlands. It arrived this week through Interlibrary loan.

The third, recommended by Peter, my brother. Edgelands: a Journey into England’s True Wilderness by Paul Farley and Michael Simmonds Roberts.

This morning, we celebrated Heather’s birthday: an early breakfast at the Green Elephant Cafe in Kingston. blueberry Waffle and an English breakfast. This was followed by more U-Haul boxes of collectables to the new house.

Postscript

Finished the Cryptoquote in today’s The Bridgetown Reader (July 12) ‘Life Goal’.

‘I had this problem work or starve so I thought I’d combine the two and decided to become a Writer,’ Robert Bloch.

References

Inside. Thoughts from a Pandemic. 2022. Nevermore Press with South Shore Public Libraries

Ronald Rubin. 2021. Against the Tides. Reshaping Landscape and Community in Canada’s Maritime Marshlands. UBC Press.

Paul Farley and Michael Simmons Roberts. 2012. Edgelands: Journey into England’s True Wilderness. Vintage Books.

We were early for our appointment at the Hearing Institute Atlantic in Kingston. We decided to stop for a coffee at Spurr Brothers in Wilmot.

Sitting outside looking across the landscape, it raised many questions.

How long have they been in business ?

How large is the acreage ?

Do they have a map showing the variety of crops ?

I asked the waitress if they had a map. Could we produce a map using drone technology ? Could this be an example of Agri-tourism ?

I decided to follow up with three colleagues from my previous life at COGS.

To Jeff Wentzell, now with the provincial Department of Agriculture. Is this an example of a new direction in Agriculture ?

To David Colville, what would it take for a student at COGS to produce a three-dimensional fly-over of the property ? Could we identify each type of crop ? Or apple variety ?

To Celes Davar, does this represent the leading edge of Agri-tourism in Nova Scotia ? What type of collaboration is necessary to develop a new form of Agri-tourism in the Annapolis Valley ?

The answers to these questions, could be linked back to ‘a flight of cider’. (see June 30th blog).

We are in the middle of downsizing. Everything in one house has to be assessed, and a decision made about its future value. This process is both cathartic and overwhelming.

While we are making the transition, we have to combine it with day-to-day living. We have been discovering new geographies, discarding some old geographies. We will enjoy the benefits of living within a community. We will miss being close to the trees on South Mountain. We will not miss the fast-driving traffic on Highway #201.

We will miss the birds, butterflies, and the array of shrubs and flowers planted over two decades. Hopefully, we will not miss the accumulated possessions from earlier lives and outdoor pursuits.

We will not miss the regular commutes to Bridgetown or Middleton for groceries, banking, health services.

With the simplification comes time to re-evaluate our interests in an ever-changing world.The road ahead is littered with decisions about the management of our own habitat: the local landscape in the Annapolis Valley; coastal protection in a time of rapid climate change. It includes the relationship between the politics in Canada, North America, Europe and the planet Earth.

Fortunately, we have lived and worked in many Geographies. Some will be worthy of a re-visit Just to benchmark our perception and understanding. Others will remain ‘once in a lifetime’ visitations. We started with very little. We have accumulated much. Now we can divest ourselves, and return to the basic needs: physical and mental health in a supportive environment. That includes ‘community’.

Acknowledgements

I look forward to Heather, Andrew, Patrick and Laurel and their families help in making this major transition. No graphics or links.

This week, we have become sharply aware of the changes in demography in rural Nova Scotia. We are moving from a rural route into Middleton.

Our neighbours have moved from Toronto to Hwy #201, Paradise., with their young family. Furthermore, we met another young family who have moved from Slovenia via Penticton. Arriving this week to purchase a farm property on Hwy #201 in Carleton Corner.

I hope that the residents of Annapolis County will extend support and welcome to these new residents. They are seeking to live close to the land and become part of the farming community.

As part of our move into town, we have had to deal with the bureaucracy of different banking systems. In particular to move assets from ScotiaBank, Bridgetown (closing in November) to the Credit Union in Middleton. The challenge has been exacerbated by the intricacies of online banking.

Hopefully, this weekend, Andrew (our son) will arrive after the long drive from BC to NS.Then we can move the heavy furniture from Paradise to Middleton.

The move presents a time of stress. We have accumulated many artifacts, books and memories from twenty four years at #6326.

Taking a break, we walked the Middleton Marsh trail. It includes new signage prepared by CARP. Thank you Sandra Barry, for keeping us current with the wetland project.

Postscript

Edward is away in Newfoundland. No graphics or links for a few weeks.

Monday (June 24) we took possession of a new (to us) house in Middleton overlooking the Annapolis River.

We were tired of commuting from Paradise to either Middleton or Bridgetown, for groceries, banking and health services.

For the next month, we will declutter and move our essentials to our new community. We had for some time considered Bridgetown but the demise of banking services encouraged us to consider, and finally choose, Middleton.

Middleton allows us to walk to the grocery store, bank and hospital.

Already, we are making discoveries in the Middleton geography. We celebrated on Wednesday, stopping at Spurr Brothers, Wilmot, for fresh vegetables, and a flight of cider. The setting was idyllic, looking up to the orchards on the north side of the Valley. There seemed to be no traffic noise from Highway #1.

We have lived for over twenty years on Highway #201, just beyond the boundary of Lawrencetown. It will be difficult to leave behind our garden, the woodlot that runs up to the Inglisville Road. We will miss the convenience of Lunn’s Mill, and walks down to the Annapolis River through the old Lawrencetown tree nursery.

We look forward to exploring the trails around Middleton; the opportunity to canoe on the Annapolis River, to bicycle along the Middle Road. We will have easy access to the CORAH workshops on the NSCC campus and events at the MacDonald Museum.

Acknowledgements

This is a huge step for Heather and myself. I am eternally grateful that Heather can share the journey.

Postscripts

As we discover the neighbourhood, I hope this will lead to more time for writing (read post Explore Local: a Micro-adventure Concept and its Implementation).

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Edward and Anne will tent and paint en plein air in Twillingate, Fogo Island and Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, this July. You can follow their journey on their interactive map, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube at Footsteps (Farther) East from their website wedlerfineart.com

Edward will return to our blog in August.