Reading on November 25

As part of Soulpepper Academy, Courtney read at the The Young Centre for the performing Arts.

The plowing season begins and so do other tasks.

November 23 saw our first snow storm and the steady fall left a foot of snow on the ground. The drifts are higher in places. In the morning the three cats refrained from going out and want extra litter boxes. The blocked wood need to be split and some have been done. Chain like gadgets have been installed on the 2 front wheels which did allow us to drive up with the groceries today. Now for a bit of supper.

November 19 and November 20

Updated. Last night my brother was able to connect with me through Skype at the hospital. This allowed me to see my parents and vice versa. My mother took to the new experience in her stride. This was at my 9pm Atlantic Time and their 9am Malaysian time.
This morning, my morning, we connect again in her home through an additional gadget:the DG Internet stick.  Meanwhile, I received an email from my niece on her wedding day. Events that make our lives.

Sweet Silence

There is a gale outside on this Remembrance day. Quite a blow,wild and wet, but there is one sound I am not hearing and that is good. About 3 weeks ago we surmised that there is a hole around the bathroom vent on the roof. So we bought a tin of roof cement. This rain storm was expected and so 2 days ago the cement was applied. The absence of a steady drip is what I am hearing. Sweet.

Gobsmacked Twice

The handy man was in his workshop when he heard a loud bang and as he was aware of sightings of black bears he circled the building warily. Against the white wall he saw this brown partridge. It was alive when he picked it up gently but died in his hands. I have kept bantam chickens a dozen years ago and not to use this bird was too complicated an emotion to go through. Still it was a chore to dress it. I hung it in the cold porch and on the second evening went to task. The beauty of life or ex-life at close quarters can stop a person dead on. Intricate designs and functions for different feathers; there is down and there is flight. On top of that there are pretty patterns in the brown.

In the end, I have in my hand a translucent pink mound of flesh, still a thing of beauty.                                                                                                              

Shitake mushroom on log

Last spring I attended a workshop on the cultivation of mushroom. We inoculate bored holes on a birch log and sealed the holes with a brush of melted wax. This spring I had expected some fruiting but there was none.  So today's sighting was a surprise.

Entertaining harvests

The last tomato with a pink blush has been picked. It will join the the dozen or so on the table. Many have imperceptibly turned red. Yes imperceptibly; the word owned by Emily Dickinson. How does it go?                                                                   

As imperceptibly as grief                                                                                       
The summer lapsed away,                                                                                     
Too imperceptible,at last,                                                                                      
To seem like perfidy.                                                                                                          
Imperceptibly,then, they have reddened and acquired a taste that gives a fleeting joy to relieve the grief she speaks of.                                                                                        

                                                                                           

The Playlist

October 15 with a daytime temperature of 22degrees C. To carry on with the building we needed our ladder which is at Upper and so we had to make the 2 hr trek which turn out to be very enjoyable. We started the playlist with Dustballs by Two Apple Tobacco. The cloudless sky and the autumn hardwoods on both sides of Highway 104 does make the region a Squinter's Paradise. Simon Garfunkel threw in a little nuance with his "I rather be a forest than a street". Then somehow on the secondary road Kraftwerks accompanied the driving with "fun fun fun autobahnn..".
 On the return journey we explore the works of fairly new artists: Andy Brown, Grouplove and others. Enjoyment comes with a little familiarity. At the bottom of the driveway TAT told us we are where we want to be.

Thanksgiving Monday

A little learned drudgery to do,best done cold. Blow on the embers see the gray ash fly. By little trys see the red sparks come. Sun too,tints the sky.

Thanksgiving Sunday October 9

Happy Good Morning. The tree is more eloquent and we are both embracing the bright and blue morning with exuberance. Yay.

The Afternoon of Yesterday Sept. 27

A slim chance of frost and so I put a poncho on each of the seven tomato plants. September is really such an unsettling month. The sight of ripening vegetables on warm days thread Keat's line through the grey cells: Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! the rest of the poem is of diminishing relevance. Unless there are small, smart and sustainable household gardens. Meanwhile, like the bees, I think the warm days will never cease. Then comes the intermittent frost alerts to gear one up. Still there is a little more good weather as the geese have yet to fly south. And that is a pleasant sight on bright October skies.

Quilting my day.

A pleasant start with a nod from my number two son and a forward from my number two brother, photos from my number one son and a facebook reply from my number one brother. The real start was before 7am and caused by a 17or 18 year old cat. Scruffy will meowed continuously until I get up to give her soft food and then ,if I return to bed, she will give a second round  of meowing until I get up to turn the blob over for licking. That cat did rural service for 15 years and was then never needy. So we do what we do doggedly.
Hanging the light colored wash was not a chore in the breezing and brightening air. Lunch and then I shall read about the three toed sloth whose coat carries an algae. This algae gives the sloth camouflage coloring. Not technicolor just brown and green.                                                                                     

Something Given

My good neighbour called to say that she is going to the beach to read and would I like to come. I certainly would on this lovely pre-fall day.                                         
Her destination turned out to be Cribbon's Point. Following her lead,I opened my chair on a middle ledge of a 3 tiered and massive rocky outcrop.  I had the afternoon sun on my back and the gentle sea in front. The usual sound of the waves breaking against the rock had a solo voice in it. There is a cut in the rock at right angles to the front of the waves and this gap makes a gulping sound at intervals. More than contentment.
 Walking on the beach to the car, we realized that we had also enjoyed the heat radiated from the rock. That bubble of warmth.

The Asparagus Patch in Mid-Autumn

Weeding the patch I fell in love with it again. This spring I have nonchalantly agreed to have it ploughed under. Something must have stayed the hand of the tractor man and this morning, a delightful mid-autumn day, I went towards the fronds. One thing leads to another and I found myself clearing the surface weeds while being tickled by the waving mature fronds. The young shoots are sturdy.

Filling the Footing Tube on Labour Day Monday

On Saturday the hole for the footing tube was dug to below the frost line at a point dictated by the 2 fixed walls for the porch. The tube is 24 inches wide at one end and tapers to 8 inches over the length of 60 inches. So today we mixed concrete in a wheelbarrow. About 21/2 litres of water to a 25kg bag. Mixing is not a piece of cake. That tube took 9 bags and a bit of the tenth. The man who did the heavy lifting also added rebars to the process. The base, of the metal holder for the support beam, is inserted into the fresh concrete. The tube in the centre of the base is prevented from filling with concrete by taping a Canadian quarter to it.

It is now 4pm and a lovely breeze adds to the kind sunlight. It makes for watching concrete sets.

Isabel ,author and actor

While we were in Fredericton Sarah came across wisps of brunette locks in Isabel's bedroom and the bathroom. So she has the mindfulness to ask Isabel about it during a bedtime reading session. Said Isabel, " I found a small pair of scissors and I tried it on my hair. Cut my hair and hide it. That is my story." To Sarah's cool reception she asked,"You are not angry?"

Isabel's mother has invited Isabel to join her at the hair salon if she wants to.
Isabel is 4 years old and embarking on the 'I, Author and Actor' stage.

Jack

I have to read Jack Layton's Letter to Canadians. He died today.

The Late Gap Year

http://english.cri.cn/4406/2010/04/01/1981s560635.htm
Sun Dongchun came across the concept of a Gap Year while employed and saw his need of it.

Hatchlings in nest

The nest is in the tall grass by the side of the house and not under the verandah.Also there were 4 eggs of which 2 have hatched.The mother does leave the nest to get food for her young.David has put a trestle over the nest to give the occupants some protection.

Digitalis purpurea

I saw a bumble bee disappeared into one of the flowers on the stalk - a complete body wrap and not just a finger glove. The common name is foxglove. It takes 2 years for the plant to flower.

         

Another photo using the Tablet

                                                    2011   Poppy

Attempt on insert images

 

2011 peony

                                          Yard sale at Upper Stewiake.......going going gone

Three eggs in the nest under the verandah

The mother bird is around hiding from Lily, the cat.

The Cat got in the Act

New Brunswick day was a lovely warm Monday, just perfect. So we decided to meander in the front yard. Lily, the cat, thought likewise. This household has 2 indoor cats, one is content to be so but the other will break out every few weeks. The breakouts are never convenient but this last one was critical that she not be allowed to stay out long. A bird is sitting on 3 eggs in her nest under the verandah and there is where Lily has her hideout. With great exasperation David had to set about coaxing her in after instructing the kids and the dog to be away. No easy task with the dog. Then he dribbled water through the slats while keeping the front door open. She came in followed by David who saw that Izzy had left the back door ajar. Mercifully Lily had her fill of the great Outdoor. Lunch and naps went fairly smoothly and at 4.30pm we set out for Jungle Jim leaving our own behind.

the weekend after the Friday

Norway derangement blip.
High speed train crashes in China.
Amy Winehouse.
Marsupial cull.
Quiet repair:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY1j3jDw4U0

Samuel Beckett:
Ever try. Ever fail. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Sun, heat and no rain

Well ,finally, we are getting 23 degrees Centigrade today after a week of highs in the low teens. Today is July 17. Some of the summer chores will need attending to. Second chance for grasshoppers which I have yet to see. I saw one with Gabrielle last summer.
Plenty of fat slugs on strawberries, radishes and even asparagus. If one is what one eats what is a slug.

Forearm forklift straps

Two days ago we move the queen size bed upstairs. The 2 straps are laid out in a X and the mattress put in the centre. The 2 amateur movers put their arms in the loops at the end of the straps and then place their palms on the mattress in a prayer like gesture and lift. It works. The box base is lighter but more awkward around corners as the rigid frame cannot flex. Mildly proud of ourselves and will indulge in further procrastination and much love to all. But will not volunteer as movers.

It is Summer and the DIY season

Real heat in the day now and appropriate responses all around. The Korean Lilac is blooming and its fragrance hangs at the western corner of the house. The Candy Tuft puts out a scent and I think the 2 aromas clash. On Monday Ian joined the DIY at Upper. As I had sufficient notice I was able to send a meal up with him. He came home at near 11pm.All the while exuding sympathy for the crew on the project,he says that he has to go again but I don't have to cook. Unintended reverse psychology. A provided meal helps the process.
So from this Upper I join the DIY at Stewiake; cook a pot of chilli, a skillet of noodles and a single crust blueberry pie. Last year's frozen tomatoes prove useful.
DIY projects do activate the COW (Coalition of the Willing).

Travails

I have put in 75 percent of the transplants and wishing, as I was doing them, that there is a single plant in each slot. None of this swishing around to disentangle the roots while black flies target me. At the entrance mirror I noticed that they got me,3 bites on the neck and it is not dead skin as they drew blood. Yesterday some expert on CBC claim that black flies and mosquitoes have a place in the ecological scheme of things but I don't want to know.Earthworms yes.With all that rain we have fat laid back crawlers.

There is still a frost warning for tonight but the day is still and bright. Hurrah.

Smell the onions

It is the second day of Summer;June 22. The day is generally gray with a northerly wind and there is a warning of the temperature going down to 4 degrees Centigrade with the risk of frost. Well there you have it,the sough of the wind and me. Good thing we have to eat and Minestrone soup it is. This allows me to use those ripe tomatoes of last summer. It was a very good year as the song says. Frozen tomatoes must be cooked without thawing-remove skins under running water and chop up rough and add to the sauteing onions. So no canned tomatoes this time which should make my brother happy as he is warning me off BisphenolA. A line of communication I appreciate. I am also cheered by the clever thought that I captured some of last year's sun. And to paraphrase my brother the sun is not yours until you eat it. A little narcissism,maybe not just a little touting at something. Here is to the oncoming Summer. Game on.

That first cup of Cha

My number 2 son once mentioned that the moment can occur in a good cup of tea when the first sip allows you to Aha and radiate a pulse of gratitude. So this morning,after waking to the demanding ancient cat and feeding it soft food,I made my tea. It was lovely,the day is bright and beckoning and one is delighted and humbly grateful.

The Dandelion and I

This year I am managing my argument with the lovely teeth of the Lion. As soon as the flowers appear I mow them not allowing them to go to seed. Those gray heads that are singled out by photographers to reveal delightful designs. Meanwhile a few weeks later more blooms appear, just shorter.  Same process. The Dandelion is not winning and I am not losing; we both are getting shorter.

Not exactly a Mayhem

So we had a Federal Election on May 2. Among the youngsters we know and their friends there was great interest encouraging one another to rouse themselves and go and vote.
Such enthusiasm and hurry result in some hilarity. Out west people were begged to go and vote as the pools were still open. In New Brunswick 3 years old were eager to accompany their parents to the stations only to exclaim in great disappointment;"Where are the boats?" These " darling buds of May" do make our day.

A perturbed day and yet

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every
man is a piece of the continent, a part of the
main. If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory
were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or
of thine own were: any man's death diminishes
me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bells
tolls; it tolls for thee."

John Donne
Devotions upon
Emergent Occasions, no. 17
(Meditation)
1624 (published)

"Nothing is so beautiful as spring - when weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring the ear, it strikes like lightning to hear him sing."

Today we vote in Canada. I am asked to be a scrutineer. I shall squint mightily.
Today Spring sprouted in NS.

Notes and nodes

April 1-SoulPepper
April 15-Stagette
April 23-Wedding/Birthday
April 27-Advance Voting
April 30-Weeding strawberry patch

Second Sunday

I thought yesterday was Sunday;today is and really sunny. The flies are buzzing,birds are chirping,earthworms are reddening and a myriad other lives are pulsing. Manure is being spread on a field. Would that radiation smell as good.
We are being poked and primed for a Federal Election. How to have a governance that is good for the babes,the young,the dolphins,the whales,the dispossessed; I may have to just enjoy my second Sunday.

April 10, Sunday

Well we did have beef,potatoes,beans and Yorkshire pudding as the weather is a little on the chilly side and solid food seem appropriate. A cup of Nescafe with condensed milk for a pick up as I talk myself into believing that Spring and warm weather await.A little believer did appear in the form of a delicate white crocus with a rich yellow centre.
A little Crocus
Three inches tall on coarse grass
Consoles like white Crane.

Small Mercies

March 20 in Canada. Yesterday 2 persons were pulled out alive from the rubble 9 days after the earthquake and its companion tsunami. May there be more small blessings for the half a million homeless and a million without water. Such grace under fire.

Inadequacy

March 11,2011 a 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sendai, Japan at 2.46pm. Pictures of the sea water eating up the land and upturning the houses were terrifying. Four trains have disappeared and a sea vessel carrying 100 people is missing. There are fires. And there is a malfunctioning nuclear plant. Dear God.

Snow blindness.

March 3 and I may have had enough of winter. No get up and go.A morass,white and bright.

enough snow for an igloo..

So we came back on Sunday,February 20, reaching the bottom of the driveway at about 5.30pm. We were barred by a 2ft snow bank.It was a good thing that we had a relaxing 3 days in Halifax with pleasant company and new culinary experiences. Consequently nobody pulled a Lear act and disowned the car, the driveway or the daughter. Instead we walked up,not trudged.And he jumped on the tractor and plowed the driveway.

Today the snow is falling quietly and persistently. "A few acres of snow" is a thing of beauty.

Cheer from fellow creatures

http://5thworld.com/Paradigm/Postings/!Wisdom/OrangutanAndHound.html

Shards

http://apod.nasa.gov/image/1102/moonvenus_kaplan_1804.jpg
Wednesday and I saw last night's deposit of snow. Wet and heavy. The dog was up at 5am and I am refusing to hate it. Richard will come to help with the driveway. I shall gather myself while sipping my tea.
There I did it. Put the link to see the Moon and Venus. The first moon of the Year of the Rabbit.  I do feel energised. 

February 2011

The visible crescent moon and Venus provide a lovely picture to ponder on:
APOD: 2011 February 2 - Moon and Venus over Switzerland
apod.nasa.gov
The Spring Festival starts from new moon (Feb.3) to full moon (Feb.17) the 2 weeks in which the weather is such that the time is better spent celebrating. At least in the northern hemisphere where it will be cold with heavy snowfall. Today we have 2 feet of snow on the 200yard driveway.Sarah carved a path to the top of the driveway and Ian plowed it.Granted the snow was light and easier to work with but I thought the end result is very pleasant to look at and to stroll along; a mandala.
Lychee for dessert and as an added bonus Orin and his mother called in for a video chat.So a Happy New Year,Hao,Hao,Hao.
I have to learn to insert a picture or a link.

The Blink and the Blank

The week was a blink.We were marshalled to do sensible things like getting rid of books, redundant electronics and more electronics. That went very smoothly and efficiently as our Marshal was focused.On Wednesday we took in the movie "The King's Speech"In which there is no violence and no nudity just how to fail and succeed royally. On Friday I attended a session on Mindfulness given at Bethany. It is a very mind blowing cognitive tool.

Orin and Facetime

Last Friday Isabel was at her dance class and this allowed Orin to have a bath all by himself. His Mother had the bright idea to call us and so Orin, at under one, could see us on their iphone and we could see him on our ipod touch. No wonder Apple shares are so high.Orin made sounds at us and Aunt Sarah. That 10 minutes of ogling was pure delight. And now I have to go and call my Mother on the google phone. We are thankful for devices.

A Blast from the Past (1986)

I found a letter that I did not send dated August 8 1986 to my brother and his family when they worked at Duke University.
Dear Chong and Margaret,
Come your birthday (Chong's)it will be a month less a day since we came home from our Grand Tour. We enjoyed and recall with pleasure our visit with you.David is very taken with James. We did go on the last section of the Skyline Drive(105 miles) and came out to a town called Front Royal. We stayed there for the evening and continued on to Rochester in the morning.
The slow drive along the Blue Ridge at an average height of 2500'was refreshing;we saw over 50 deers. The waves of neighbouring hilltops entangled in mists were a delight to David, the older ones were too sophisticated to show enthusiasm,while we were only too willing to join David. From Rochester we re- entered Canada at Niagara,an area familiar to Ian.We proceeded to behave like tourists,classy ones of course. The kids and Ian saw the falls from a helicopter and took video from that perspective.An added bonus was the presence of rainbows. Hunger struck and we had to look for a place where hamburgers were not 4.50 each.
After lunch a short drive took us to Welland where Ian showed the kids the various houses he had stayed in when they first came fro England.We stayed at a motel a little way outside of Niagara but still on route to Toronto. On reaching Toronto we went to an area on Lake Ontario developed as an Amusement Park known as Ontario Place.Quite middle-brow after Smithsonian Institute but fun in its own way.An item of technological excellence is the facility for showing films on a curved screen bigger than cinemascope,as well as ,an almost 3-D effect. Everybody let their hair down and did silly things like going in paddleboats and down water chutes. We did not go far that day but bedded down in a motel called The Flying Dutchman just outside Oshawa. The next day we headed for Brockville to visit CJFR,a radio station where Ian Had worked for 2 years.His ego was pleasantly assuaged when the boss's son showed him a picture of himself (Ian) working as a broadcaster at the Montreal Expo in 1967,the picture is still on their public relations portfolio. Having done the nostalgia bit we proceeded to Ottawa and checked in at a Best Western motel. As it was still early in the evening we took the kids to have a look at the Parliament buildings and was able to grab the last official guided tour. We planned to stay another day and night in Ottawa and thus was able to visit Ian's brother Richard who lived 30 miles outside of Ottawa. From Ottawa it was a long drive to Edmunston,New Brunswick. Mercifully, the Best Western motel we checked in had a heated pool with a lounge area and the kids and us were able to unwind. Next day was a long drive home. We got a lot of satisfaction out of the venture.

The Granary

I left a 4 lb bag of brown rice encased in thick and strong plastic on a clothes drying rack (brand name Jasmine cargo rice) in late October. On December 5 I went away with the 3 cats as entourage leaving the house unoccupied. On my return on January 1 I decided to put things in some appropriate order and so pick up this bag of rice and was surprised at the light weight;it was cleanly empty. I saw two holes, the larger the size of a quarter and the other half the diameter of a dime. Not a grain in the bag or spilled on the floor. Admiringly,I showed the plastic bag to Ian and Sarah, whereupon Sarah said that she found brown rice in a shoe box containing letters, and thought that this was my way of keeping letters fragrant. Today she found a mound of rice behind the books on the shelf in an adjacent room. I would have love to have had a camera installed to record such industry. Not a grain on the routes from granary to caches.

A flowering

We came home on Jan 1 travelling on clear roads and more importantly a snow free driveway. The 3 cats were released and the thermostat set higher and we settled in.
The next day I put on the wood stove to feel the radiant heat, a labour -intensive difference from that provided by the heat pump at David and Tiresa's house. Both are green technologies,one is post Neanderthal and the other is 21 century. Why post Neanderthal? Because the stove does have a catalytic unit which allows for a cleaner burn and the operator understands catalysis at a low brow level.
Today I woke up to a valley of dark branches bearing white blossoms.Very tranquil with momentary sunlight on and off. When on, the light sparkled off the crystal beads on the clothesline.