The Hinge

TaDa! The hinges in our house are stunning. 

Right!

Chickens!

I love that our local butcher has its own little flock of chickens. They scratch around in the door yard and lay eggs in the hay bales. 

A Quiet Week at Our NS House

Ending with the return of our local Annapolis Royal Winter Farmer's Market... this first week of January was a quiet one for Construction. Our haul from the first winter market of 2023! And a first fresh local veggie cooked meal…

Traditional foods: Solomon Gundy

As a child I remember having Solomon Gundy occasionally. Over the past few months here in Nova Scotia we have found a fish guy whose product we really enjoy. When we were there on New Year’s Eve he was kind enough to gift us with an in Normas jar of his Solomon Gundy. What is it you ask? Pickled herring. And very tasty.  Certainly not beloved by all but as the ad goes: ‘those who like it, like it a lot’.

Grandma Poplar (originally meant to post March 10, 2022)

Today I adventured on a new trail with my friend Linda. We had intended to see a waterfall, but we noticed another trail heading uphill after the waterfall, so we took it. At the end of the trail we found a gigantic tree. I thought it was a oak, but the bark was wrong and there were no acorns. When I got back to the house our wonderful local carpenter ( who features in other posts) told me that tree is know as grandma poplar (or poppal as they are called here). All the other poplars around are her children. 

This idea of the grandmother tree is something I’ve heard repeatedly. From First Nation elders and in the book, ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’. It certainly resonates with me. 

It was a beautiful hike. 

New Year’s Eve at the garden

The Annapolis Royal Gardens had a New Year’s Eve morning fire. It was a beautiful morning and we wanted around the grounds looking at the winter color.

A rogue by Burnham in flower.. Apparently it flowers irregularly all through the year.

We all love the red berries on these plants but I don’t think we figured out what they are.

In the slanted light the bark of this tree was very attractive.


And this elm is still my favourite architectural feature in the garden.

Happy new year

🤬 Deer! Ate My Yew Trees

We think last night the deer were celebrating and wanted a tasty snack. I walked back from the levee at the legion and thought, ‘hmmm, those don’t look as lush and full’.  Then I closely examined them and found them to be nibbled. So I spent the afternoon dressing the trees in burlap. Chris was invaluable getting it finished after I petered out. 

We included the fruit trees in the dressing.