Nova Scotia is on the east coast of Canada! North of Maine. A wonderful place somewhat removed from the hectic life of central Canada but with a rich cultural life. Let me know when you might want to visit - I'm a great tour guide!
Of course! I've been in love with my idea of what Nova Scotia must be like ever since I read Longfellow's 'Evangeline' in the eighth grade.
I didn't learn until much later that the term 'Cajun' refers to Acadians, which was what Nova Scotians were called during Longfellow's time. They were people who were thrown out of Canada and somehow ended up in Louisiana, where Evangeline's lover, Gabriel, died just as she found him after a years-long search. (A real tear-jerker. I loved it!)
So Nova Scotia has always been on my bucket list. If I should ever be lucky enough to land there I will look you up!
Seriously consider a visit (at least a week!). Our best weather is mid September, October, into November. Sweater weather, but very comfortable. The Canadian $$ is lower than the US $$ (at the moment, although it has been falling lately!) - that should make it affordable. The grand thing about visiting NS, is the number of very interesting day trips you can make while overnighting in Halifax. And the night scene in Halifax is busy! Lots of good restaurants and music and other entertainment, including walking the city waterfront.
Thank you for this perfectly lovely ode to the natural world around us all. Thank you for giving equal attention its enduring beauty while still recognizing the damage sustained through years of human insults, both the intentional and the careless. Thank you for reminding us of the early voices, of those whose love for the earth gave them extraordinary clarity to see into a future of avoidable death and destruction, as well as the strength and conviction to become warriors in an unpopular and often unsuccessful battle simply to keep what had already been given. Thank you for recalling for us the ever-relevant Rachel Carson, whose love and understanding of the interconnectedness of all life drove her first to write of the miraculous beauty of the sea (to much acclaim), but then to sacrifice her own self-interest when she issued the starkest and most unpopular of warnings - that mankind's determination to conquer the natural world through science, unfettered by any regard for unintended consequences, would pose the greatest threat of all. I was 6, just before the first Earth Day, when an oil tanker sank off the coast of Maine and our pristine beaches became horrifying oil slicks of dead seagulls, seals, and fish; I have never forgotten it. But I also grew up and still live near The Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge where, at this time of year, wonderful people still work hard to protect wildlife, like rebuilding the dunes where the piping plovers nest each spring. And I thank them, too.
Maura, thank you for acknowledging this Earth Day with your own personal observations. We could do more. We could always have done more. And we still have that chance if enough are willing to help.
It’s not too much to ask. The Earth has given us plenty.
There is a wooded ravine near me which explodes each year at this time in blue bells and dotted with trillium. I thrill every year with its arrival, a truly lovely reminder of Mother Earth's grace
The miracle of spring. With the Trilliums we get Marsh Marigold, those beautiful yellow flowers that thrive in the wet ditches along the roads. It’s just glorious.
Those trilliums are gorgeous! The ones we have in NS are tinged with pink. Unfortunately, I have no photos to share.
Ours turn pink as they age. I thought I had a picture of them in their pink stage, but I couldn’t find it.
Sorry, but where is NS?
Nova Scotia is on the east coast of Canada! North of Maine. A wonderful place somewhat removed from the hectic life of central Canada but with a rich cultural life. Let me know when you might want to visit - I'm a great tour guide!
Of course! I've been in love with my idea of what Nova Scotia must be like ever since I read Longfellow's 'Evangeline' in the eighth grade.
I didn't learn until much later that the term 'Cajun' refers to Acadians, which was what Nova Scotians were called during Longfellow's time. They were people who were thrown out of Canada and somehow ended up in Louisiana, where Evangeline's lover, Gabriel, died just as she found him after a years-long search. (A real tear-jerker. I loved it!)
So Nova Scotia has always been on my bucket list. If I should ever be lucky enough to land there I will look you up!
Seriously consider a visit (at least a week!). Our best weather is mid September, October, into November. Sweater weather, but very comfortable. The Canadian $$ is lower than the US $$ (at the moment, although it has been falling lately!) - that should make it affordable. The grand thing about visiting NS, is the number of very interesting day trips you can make while overnighting in Halifax. And the night scene in Halifax is busy! Lots of good restaurants and music and other entertainment, including walking the city waterfront.
It sounds amazing! I’ll bet your color season is grand, as well.
Most years it is!
Most years it is!
Thank you for this perfectly lovely ode to the natural world around us all. Thank you for giving equal attention its enduring beauty while still recognizing the damage sustained through years of human insults, both the intentional and the careless. Thank you for reminding us of the early voices, of those whose love for the earth gave them extraordinary clarity to see into a future of avoidable death and destruction, as well as the strength and conviction to become warriors in an unpopular and often unsuccessful battle simply to keep what had already been given. Thank you for recalling for us the ever-relevant Rachel Carson, whose love and understanding of the interconnectedness of all life drove her first to write of the miraculous beauty of the sea (to much acclaim), but then to sacrifice her own self-interest when she issued the starkest and most unpopular of warnings - that mankind's determination to conquer the natural world through science, unfettered by any regard for unintended consequences, would pose the greatest threat of all. I was 6, just before the first Earth Day, when an oil tanker sank off the coast of Maine and our pristine beaches became horrifying oil slicks of dead seagulls, seals, and fish; I have never forgotten it. But I also grew up and still live near The Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge where, at this time of year, wonderful people still work hard to protect wildlife, like rebuilding the dunes where the piping plovers nest each spring. And I thank them, too.
Maura, thank you for acknowledging this Earth Day with your own personal observations. We could do more. We could always have done more. And we still have that chance if enough are willing to help.
It’s not too much to ask. The Earth has given us plenty.
There is a wooded ravine near me which explodes each year at this time in blue bells and dotted with trillium. I thrill every year with its arrival, a truly lovely reminder of Mother Earth's grace
The miracle of spring. With the Trilliums we get Marsh Marigold, those beautiful yellow flowers that thrive in the wet ditches along the roads. It’s just glorious.