From: David Tinker <dtinker@blunile.guild.org>
  To  :  <Granville Times:  ;>
  Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2001 10:11:18 -0300 (ADT)

Granville Times: Vol. 4 No. 2

The Granville Times
Vol. 4, No. 2
July 1, 2001

How time passes when you are having fun :-).  Not only have six months
elapsed since the last Granville Times, but so have years and years of
Canada Days (aka Dominion Days).  I can remember a few: July 1, 1967,
setting off fireworks in our backyard in Willowdale for two small,
amazed boys (and burning a patch on our landlord's lawn).  A warm July
1 evening at Bath, Ontario, watching fireworks over Bath Bay, then
walking a mile back to our boat with fireflies giving us their
pyrotechnic display.  And many more - all drifting into the long years
gone by.  Today we'll celebrate by attending a concert in the "Musique
Ste. Bernard" series, at St. Bernard's Church on the French Shore:
today an organ concert on their magnificent Casavant.  I believe I
have mentioned these concerts in previous newsletters.  If anyone is
contemplating a vacation in Nova Scotia (we encourage you to think
about that), June is a good month to come if only for the concert
series (and of course, the roses, the good weather, and the relatively
uncrowded tourist accommodations.  I must say though, that we are
already welcoming lots of visitors to the town).  Tonight we'll watch
fireworks over the Annapolis River, and again, our own firefly display
in the back fields.

This Canada Day is, as usual, absolutely gorgeous - a hot (but not too
hot) day with high, hazy clouds.  This morning as I went out to the
garden to run up the flag, all the senses were treated to a workout:
the sight of Sheila's rose garden (with over 30 varieties in bloom,
not counting the multiflora roses and delicate wild roses in the
hedges); the fragrance of all those roses plus garden heliotrope, and
the fresh smells of meadows, woods and the sea; the songs of Common
Yellowthroat, Goldfinches, Yellow Warbler, Bobolinks in the meadow,
Barn Swallows flying in and out of our woodshed (where a fresh crop of
swallows is being reared); the feel of the warm breeze on my face and
bare arms (so much nicer than the sting of winter Nor'Easters).  And
all around the vista of meadows, and wooded hills.

Walking round the property yesterday, discovered that the deer are
eating our young fruit trees.  They join the earwigs and cutworms who
are eating the rest of the garden.  Aahhh, wildlife :-(.  The
abundance of wild mammals and birds is not unpleasant, on the whole,
and often exciting (as the night when we had an altercation with an
irate skunk on the back lawn).  Last evening from the vantage point of
my office window, I watched a Short-Eared Owl slope in, do a couple of
circuits over the back lawn right under my window, then zig-zag across
the wide expanse of meadow, and suddenly pounce down.  I assume his
pounce was successful, as he shortly after flew over to the back fence
line and alighted somewhere in the dusk.

We have now been here four years, and it's increasingly difficult to
remember living in suburban Toronto, and the smoggy commute to the hot
pavement.  On days like this, we certainly miss weekends on the boat
in Presqu'ile Bay, the Thousand Islands, and other lovely places in
Ontario.  But we are certainly more than compensated!

Next week I'm off to Waterloo, Ontario, to take part in the Synod of
the Anglican Church of Canada.  An exciting, once-in-a-lifetime
experience for me, at a critical time in the Church, owing to the
ongoing mess left by the Residential Schools fiasco.  I'll be in the
Toronto area for a short visit on July 11 to 13 (probably coming to
the university on July 12).  This is not enough time even to telephone
everyone on this mailing list, but I hope to see a few of you on my
visit.  The rest will just have to come visit us here!

Best wishes to all, and enjoy your own Holiday wherever you are!

David


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 David O. Tinker                    |   E-Mail address:
 4311 Granville Road, Box 2030A,    |         dtinker@tartannet.ns.ca
 RR 2, Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia |   Alternate E-Mail address:
 B0S 1K0                            |         dtinker@blunile.guild.org
                                    |   Voice: (902) 532-2916
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