Moving into summer

The election is over and we can finally pay attention to our own lives. Pack away winter clothes, put screens on windows, start the lawnmower. Dig up plants for the…

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This fragile world

Middle of April, still parka weather. Our morning walk takes us through the summer camp and down the slip to the water. Lately we’ve been finding tree fossil fragments all…

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Spring cleaning

We did it. It’s Spring. Six months of darkness are behind us and we have officially stepped into the six brightest months of the year.  The Oxford English Dictionary requires…

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Snow tracks

It’s been a real old-fashioned winter with plenty of frigid days and nights, and enough snow to satisfy the needs of every outdoor enthusiast. We’ve snowshoed in every direction, across…

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Bread poultice

“Well I never! A bread poultice!” I whispered to my neighbor, “Did you ever hear of such a thing?” She shook her head. “It’s easy to make,” said K the…

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Charlottetown Christmas

My dear Cove friend and neighbour Kay lived in Charlottetown in the 1950s and ‘60s and shared these thoughts with me. We lived in a lovely old house on Hillsborough…

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Chestnut fatigue

A high wind came up after dark, and the long night was spent listening to hundred-year-old horse chestnut trees gleefully hailing down their spiky-coated fruits on the shed roof. In…

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Fall bounty

The garden is finally starting to wind down. No more fresh tomatoes, basil, cilantro, cucumbers… dare I say “whew”?  What about corn on the cob this year? This bicolored corn…

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Shifting gears

We ease our way out of one season and into the next, shifting gears, breathing differently, inhaling clear crisp air. Lawn mowing is intermittent and tracked-in grass is only occasionally…

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