City Deer Herd

Truro ,Nova Scotia has a huge natural park running right through the center of the city. This park is home to numerous deer. The deer are  beautiful to people travelling through the area but become a real pest to those living near or adjacent to the park.

My friend Don lives right next to the park and has visitors every day from the deer family. Theresa loves deer and she has taken pictures of the animals in peoples yards. They eat the tulips, cedar trees, vegetation of all types and prevent some from planting a garden or flowers. My friend Don has a beautiful flower garden but the flowers are made of plastic.

Other cites have the same problem but the deer usually win out. I guess we just have to share our space and gardens with the beautiful deer.

Mom's Flocks

In 1966 when we bought our first home we visited home in Cape Breton.  My mother had a beautiful garden made up of mainly flocks and planted in what I would call an ash pile. The flowers flourished and I wished to have some. Mom dug up a small root and put it in a bag with earth and watered it well.

When we arrived home in Pembroke I carefully planted it and the next year it came up and flowered. It was purple. We moved several times and when the moving day came I took along some of the flocks. Here in Oakville I planted them in the back yard and each year thy were a different colour.

This year I moved them to the front yard facing the road and they grew very well but this time they came up white and mauve. I have had these flowers now for a long time and every year I receive a surprise when they bloom. Perhaps Mom is trying to tell me something.

Sydney Cape Breton

At a point during the war (WW11) Sydney was a very important port city and a producer of steel and coal. Because of its strategic location and huge safe harbor it became a marshaling port for convoys travelling to Europe helping the war effort. The coal mines were working overtime and the steel mill was turning fine steel for manufacturing needed war products.

After the war the city began to lose its coal industry because of the use of diesel power over coal. The steel mill closed and the city had to find new industry to stay healthy. Many people went West and to Ontario to find work. Tourism became a major industry as Cape Breton became a destination for thousands of people seeking beauty and a place known for its hospitality.

Cruise ships became a welcome sight at the government dock and people from the cruise ships filled the streets and visited Louisburg and travelled over the Cabot Trail through Baddeck .New life was pulled into the city and with this in mind the city built a huge waterfront development which has become popular with all who live and visit the city

Theresa and I find that its location in the center of the island makes it a hub of activity.

A Former Student, A Friend and a PHd.

I meet former students all the time but some are more remembered than others. While visiting Cape Breton we had the good fortune to call upon the daughter of good family friends. This student was known to me since birth and because her parents were great friends we shared some times that remain special. She was always an excellent student and in junior high was a leader.

In 1991 she and her parents and my wife and I had a opportunity to sail the Virgin Islands. We visited many of the American and British Islands and with water everywhere we swam and dove every day. One special day when we were anchored in a sheltered cove we dove free style and discovered what a magical place there lay hidden beneath the surface of the water. We encountered giant turtles, giant rays and a myriad of colorful fish. By the time we were finished our dive we were exhausted or at least I was.

One special shell fish I found was covered with mud and seemed ordinary enough until we cleaned it up. At supper time I showed it to a native and he said it was worth a $100. Hearing that I immediately threw it far out into the water. A live creature rare and valuable should remain in its environment and not on a mantle piece.

This young lady is now a professor at CBU and her husband is also. They have two boys and plan to become Capers. During lunch we had time to share old times but mostly we talked about the future. These young professors have unique knowledge which they are going to share with their students .Cape Breton will be better off for the inclusion of these intelligent young professors and I look forward to following their careers in the future.

Uncle Stan and Aunt Jean

I have only one Uncle and two Aunts living. This when I was fortunate to have in excess of twenty when I was a child. Uncle Stan and Aunt Jean remain in my Grand Mothers home and lead an active life with church work and a beautiful cottage on the Bras D'or lakes. I have tried to visit them many times and was only successful on two occasions. This time Theresa and I shared a long visit and it was rewarding to talk of the family an the influence they had on our young lives.

Our Vickers side of the family lived on Vickers Lane and nearly a dozen of the family settled right there centered around our Grand Mothers home. As youngsters our social life was shared by our uncle and aunts and uncle Stan was the second youngest, He is a fine example of what an uncle should be and I have fond memories of his involvement with we kids while playing ball and horse shoes. In the winter Stan and his brothers built a rink in the back yard and we played hockey together.

What a rare exchange of past times were shared during the time spent at their home. It

was worth the trip home to Cape Breton.

Visit With Family And Friends In Cape Breton.

This year we were so happy to share our whole time with family and friends. A casual visit with Carol Ann resulted in Melvyn dropping in and later David. Jeannie was the first stop and the last one before we left for home. Stories were shared with all and I gave each a copy of my new book Restless and Inattentive. We had a few laughs about our younger days and the topic turned to our children.

Each of us is proud of our children and grand children and it is  a great feeling to hear of their successes and challenges. Time flies and it is difficult to keep all the family straight but it is a must to maintain that special bond. Our siblings planned a dinner in Baddack followed by a musical called Cape Breton Smile. This musical was exactly what Theresa and I desired when we went home this time. It featured the Barra McNeil's and others. Two hours of comment and Celtic music gave us a evening to remember. My brother Melvyn planned this party and it was a great idea.

When the week ended and we left the Island for home Theresa and I agreed it was the best holiday we ever had while visiting Cape Breton. To top off the visit my youngest brother David took me to his favorite fishing hole and I was fortunate to catch and release several brook trout. How could you end a holiday in a finer fashion?

Garden Overdrive

Arriving home after a two week vacation was a shock to me when I entered my garden. Glenda looked after the place when I was away and did a great job making sure the produce was picked and plants watered when needed. All that being equal I was still surprised to see the amount of produce hat had accumulated during the two weeks.

Cabbage, cucumbers, beans, peppers and carrots and most of all the tomatoes. I worked my way through the mess of plants and weeds and ended up with four large pans of fresh vegetables. Theresa and I will be eating well for the next weeks with garden fresh produce. The squirrels an raccoons did a job on my pears but left a few for us to eat. This is the great season in Ontario with the best garden and fruit produced anywhere in the world.

Many people have small or kitchen gardens here and reap the benefit of fresh vegetables and fruit right from their own small plot. I believe that in the future people will be going back to this tradition to provide produce that is clean and free from the multitude of chemicals that are applied to the company farm products.

The Heros Of The Second World War...Merchant Marine

In Cape Breton where I was born and a witness to the influence of the sea on the outcome of WW11 has been a source of conflict in my mind for many years. As school children we used to take up a collection every Friday during Red Cross time for the Merchant Marines. The merchant marines were a brave group of men who signed up for the most dangerous job in the world. Their task was to take ships laden with food, guns, supplies of all kinds and materials vital to the war effort from Canada to Europe.  The task was the most dangerous as the convoys ( groups of ships, often hundreds) left Sydney and Halifax and escorted by air and naval assets tried to deliver their ships and cargos through packs of submarines when travelling at slow speeds of about 9 knots.

When these ships left port they were constantly in danger and if their ship was hit no one was permitted to stop and help. They were on their own and thousands perished. This vital branch of the war effort was not recognized as a military unit and received none of the benefits of the regular services. Only recently has this been rectified but too late for the thousands who served in our Merchant Marine.

In Sydney and other ports along the east coast there are monuments to the bravery and importance of this vital service. As a child I saw the convoys and witnessed the air cover provided by the giant seaplanes like the Catalina's and the sea ships like the Corvettes which played a vital role in protecting the convoys. I get a little choked up when I see and read about the brave deeds I can only think of the families who suffered with their brave men and women serving their country without recognition. There is a anchor on the shore in Sydney which gives some recognition for the bravest of the brave The Canadian

 Merchant Marine.

Yearly Journey To The Maritimes

This year was a special year as we missed last year due to my surgery. This was also our 59th  anniversary of our class reunion .Theresa and I planned a more relaxed journey this year with a few stop overs along the way to enjoy the countryside and to arrive more relaxed and rested. Riviere De Loup was our first stop and we were able to look around at the impressive scenery and French architecture present in many of the buildings.

This little city is the turning point for people travelling through Quebec and down through New Brunswick. Many accommodations have sprung up and the tourist trade has taken off. We usually stay here every time we travel east. The landscape leading up to the rugged shoreline of the area is built on the old French Seigniorial system which shows up in the farming method of long strip field from the river to the main road. This time of year with the ripe crops it is not short of just specular

From the beginning my laptop computer would not take the Wi-Fi from the hotels. I decided to put my thoughts way back in the dark recesses of my already cluttered mind and write when I came home. We left that beautiful part of Canada and drove down through New Brunswick (Theresa's home) and experienced the St. John River Valley. This is one of the most beautiful drives in the province with huge potato farms bordering the highway and vistas on top of every hill. Although we have been by this way numerous times we love to see it one more time..

Overnight this time we took up residence right on the border of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We walked around to get that special view and decided to take a back road the next day to see Parr borough and the highest tides in the world. We were almost at our destination at The home of Donald Hollett where we would  share four days of fun and remembrances

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Summer in the High Arctic

In the High Arctic this would be mid summer. While I lived up there the summer months were actually weeks. Although there was total sunlight for three months the summer really began around the end of June and ended when freeze up began as early as mid August. During this period of time everyone who could left the Hamlet and went out on the land.

Many Inuit just used a white tent for the weeks on the land but many built little shacks by the ocean where they kept busy catching char and drying it for winter.This was busy times for the families who had to catch hundreds of fish to keep them in food during the long winter. I used to visit many of these little settlements and was always greeted by the Inuit with a hearty welcome and time for tea. Tea pot was always on and pilot biscuits and canned jam nearby  for guests and drop ins like me.

The char were caught in nets which were strung out into the salt water and anchored to the shore. The char travelled in huge numbers along the shoreline and would run into the nets. The Inuit would then pull in the net catching many char. Sometimes there would be so many fish that it would take a long time to clean and cut the fish. The fish then were hung out to dry in the wind and sun. There were seals acting as thieves as they would hang around the nets and when they would see fish caught they dove for the free food.

On one particular day I was nearing the camp of the Commissioner of the NWT when I herd a calling and stopped to see what the fuss was about. Mart the Commissioner and husband John had just shot a seal which was stealing some fish .John was about to cut up the seal and invited me to share. I was not much for seal meat as I found it oily and bad tasting. I did however on this occasion share some fresh seal liver which I liked. The seal was skinned and offered to me so I Took the gift. After staying for tea and biscuits I left with my new treasure.

I brought the seal skin to my camp and cleaned the flesh carefully and tacked it to a plywood to dry. Not knowing that you could not leave the hide unprotected I returned home and left the freshly stretched hide in the sun outside my camp.When I returned next day there was the board minus the hide. Foxes love seal hides and completely ruined my gift.

Summer was great for the Inuit as the families bonded at their camps away from alcohol and distractions that interfere with their real roots as people of the Tundra. I treasured my time with these people who were so sharing and I learned much about their way of life.

Sabotage at the UN

The mess we have in Israel and Palestine is a perfect example of why the UN is unable to be a driving force in the world. Although nearly every country in the world belongs to this organization and should have the teeth and power to deal with situations like this one they cannot. Great powers like Russia, USA, Britain, France, China and others play outside of the rules, If the decisions taken up at the UN do not serve their national interest they go on their own.

This week the President of the USA spoke in a manner that would cause a cease fire. That public statement was backed up by supplying Israel with4.3 tons of rocket engines and earlier delivered rocket launchers, guided missiles and artillery. In addition the USA approved another $225,000,000 for Israel's Iron Dome system against Hamas rockets. Incidentally there was no mention for protective devices for the Palestine military against the Israel artillery and guided missiles and air attacks.
Our Prime Minister feels all is OK and he would do the same thing. Hamas talks of destroying Israel and killing Jews but it is Israel that has destroyed Palestine for the second time in six years and killed some 2,000 Palestinian and wounded some 8400 and most of these were civilians. The basic problem is that Israel is occupying Palestinian lands for 47 years subjecting the people to inhumane and cruel punishment.

How can we have a world peace organization with conditions such as we observe in that region. Why does Israel have such a hold on our world leaders? Canada has always been a fair and balanced nation but our leadership has become the same as third world countries and quite frankly it is a total embarrassment.