The oak tree is a symbol of strength, of endurance; “the mighty oak”, as it has been referenced in many a poem. The oak was a sacred symbol in ancient cultures, universally considered to have “unyielding strength”, not from being rigid, but rather with a deep resilience, a patience, representing […]
Wendi Stewart – Wendi with an ‘eye’
Wendi lives in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, but the farm on Rainy River in Crozier will always be her home. MEADOWLARK, her debut novel released September 15, is published by NeWest Press of Edmonton. She is the mother of four daughters who did the unforgivable: they grew up. http://wendistewart.writersresidence.com
Some members of my family are here visiting with me, which is the most wonderful gift anyone can receive. Two daughters are tucked into my wee home and a grandson whom I call “George” (not his actual name) and he calls me “Denise,” for which neither of us can provide […]
Are you familiar with Tod Maffin? He was a national CBC Radio host and producer during his career. Maffin was born in Vancouver, beginning his career in journalism in the 1990s. He was an early advocate of podcasting. I became more aware of Maffin’s work with his Canadian Healthcare Infusion, […]
Industrialization began around 1750, which marked the transformation from agricultural societies to industrialized urban centres, bringing us to the beginning of the computer age in the 1940s, with the shift from manual computation to digital computing. Humans first walked on the moon in 1969, and we considered that a great […]
I sometimes feel a conundrum in that the child version of myself is obligated to exist inside this aging body that I am carting around these days. I seem to know or understand less about this human race we are part of than I did when I was eight years […]
Prison gardens foster rehabilitation and healing for incarcerated men, according to a study funded by The Canadian Institute of Health Research, reported on in 2019. Many agriculture programs in the correctional system focus on the financial benefit of offsetting institutional costs, but in Canada, a prison garden program engages incarcerated […]
If you’re feeling down about the state of the world, and there certainly is good reason to these days, I have another antidote for you—join a community group of gardeners. It’s a failproof remedy for all the troubles in the world. That may seem to border on hyperbole, but I […]
Summer is coming, though it seems doubtful, judging by the temperatures here in Nova Scotia. My heat has been on all but one or two days for the entire month of May, and with those chilly temperatures, rain has tagged along. I will not complain about the rain since most […]
A friend of mine was recently trapped by a Telus impersonation scam. I don’t know all the details, but suffice to say, the scammers violated her security and sense of safety, having accessed her bank accounts and credit cards. I am amazed at the number of scams I receive via […]
I’m still trying to convince myself that I am a watercolour artist, with tongue in cheek. The qualification in my case is laughable, but what a lot of fun I am having. Something that interests and confuses me is the colour names of watercolour paint. I found one source that […]
Someone I love has started down the path with dementia. No one wants to take that road; we would put up our hand and say no thank you, but we’re not always driving the bus. I hear friends and neighbours express the shock of how many of us fall victim […]
Do you believe poetry can change the world? Your immediate response may not support that premise. I’m certainly not a poet, but after stumbling upon the poetry of Daragh Fleming late last year, as I wrote in a column, I changed my position. Recently, I collided with Harry Baker’s poetry, […]
