From: David Tinker <dtinker@blunile.guild.org>
  To  : Granville Times <dtinker@blunile.guild.org>
  Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 15:23:42 -0400 (AST)

The Granville Times Vol. 4 No. 1
January 7, 2001

Greetings from Wintry Granville

The Year in Review

It's been quite a while since I last wrote one of these newsletters, so there's a bit of catching up to do. Members of the family who already know about all this can skip ahead. I really cannot remember much about last winter, except that I celebrated my 60th birthday. Hmmm, maybe there's a connection there.

I'll begin with last spring. In early May I had a chance to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as part of a field trip from the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia. We visited a number of communities and parishes. Spiritually it was a breath of fresh air, for this wasn't the church your grandmother knew! Rather the church in the U.P. is a whole new way of being Christian, specifically of being Anglican. If Christianity has a future (which I often doubt), it must surely be something like what we saw there - vigourous, democratic, informal, active, freewheeling, authentic, and true to its heritage.

The U.P. (as everyone calls it) was a new area for me. Though on the latitude of Sault Ste. Marie, it is outside the Canadian shield, so the woods looked like the Central Ontario woodlands I loved so much, with carpets of Trilliums, Trout Lilies and Marsh Marigolds. As in Nova Scotia, the U.P. economy is in difficult straits. The old mining, forestry and manufacturing industries have gone, as has the USAF base at Marquette. The main hope is tourism. But it's really gorgeous country, with rugged hills and forests inland, the spectacular unspoiled shorelines of Lakes Michigan and Superior, beautiful old villages, and a general absence of pollution and overcrowding. In winter, they get more snow than anywhere in North America east of the Rockies, and it's ski heaven. I'd recommend it as a vacation destination for those of you in Ontario.

In June Katie graduated in Honours English from Dalhousie University. Hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly. We are, as you can guess, very proud of her. She spent the summer at home, working as a cook in one of Annapolis' numerous gourmet establishments, The Sunshine Emporium. In July we took a short break to travel on the South Shore, staying at Shelburne. It was the summer of the Tall Ships, and several hundred thousand souls converged on Halifax to see them - but not us. We did however see the Libertad, one of the largest, in Shelburne. As well on this trip, we discovered one of the most spectacular wilderness beaches I have seen in Nova Scotia.

For much of August through October the house looked like an episode from "This Old House", the popular renovation program on PBS television. We had a major exterior renovation done, including scraping, replacing much wood, flashing, and repainting. It was in the plans, but I hope this was the last major expense. Some of you will be surprised at the new appearance when you visit. An unwelcome surprise during the summer was the discovery that the septic system had to be replaced - actually, it turned out there was no "system" as such. With the scaffolding on the house, noise of hammering and sawing, power shovels digging up the east lawn, and general mess, it was not a summer I'd like to repeat soon. But it's all finished now, and of course - we are flushed with pride. <groan>.

It is not possible to write about our area without mentioning the Arts scene. The participation per capita in the visual arts, music, dance, theatre must be higher than any community in Canada, perhaps even North America. Not only are there innumerable amateur performances by talented local people, but we are on the circuit for major touring companies and exhibits as well. In fact, one could attend an arts function on the majority of evenings per year. Sheila continues to rediscover her considerable gifts as a painter, and is selling stuff through the local gallery. She also is organist at one of our country churches, and continues to teach. Your editor is mainly an appreciator of music and art, though I still soldier on as a tenor in the Annapolis Chorale.

Another successful boating season passed by with "Little Fox", with some lovely, peaceful or exciting sailing days on Annapolis Basin. Once again she is resting under a blanket of snow next to the barn. My other hobby, MG touring, had a setback in early fall: while in church on a Sunday morning, with the MG parked in front of the church, a large limb fell from high, neatly missing newer, less interesting vehicles and squashed the front of the MG. Truly, as you would say, an Act of God, who works in mysterious ways. It is now good as new, thanks to an excellent restoration shop (and a cooperative insurer) but there was not much fall driving. She rests inside the barn, waiting for spring.

Great Moments in Home Repairs Department

Family News

Tim and Julie are still located in Santa Cruz, working on Sea Otter biology - Tim returned from another adventurous field season in the outer Aleutians. Their work was featured in an article in the LA Times, see: A Wilderness Ecosystem in Collapse. Isn't technology wonderful! You may reach him at <ttinker@glenside-eco.ca> The REALLY BIG news from California is that Julie and Tim are expecting a baby in March. We (especially David) are thrilled to tiny jagged little pieces!

Tobias (aka Michael) and Athanasia are now living in Frankfurt Germany, where Tobias continues to perform in a rather amazing circus entertainment extravaganza called "Pomp, Duck and Circumstance" - originally part of Cirque du Soleil but now an independent company. It's the big leagues of entertainment, folks, and will probably move to Berlin in 2001, having been in Munich last year. Write him at tobiastinker@music.com, a good address don't you think?

And finally, Katie has left us for a year to live, work and tour in Ireland. She now lives in lovely Cork, and can be reached at ktinker@music.com.

Christmas Celebrations

Weather News

Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you come back.

                -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler"

However, just in time for Christmas we had a snowstorm, and it has been snowy since. In fact, we are enjoying a "snow event" right now. Brian <tinkerb@wow.net> wrote in a recent newsletter from sunny Trinidad:

"We are back 'home', back from an old fashioned Christmas, cold and snow, and salt encrusted cars and windshield washer fluid, and treacherous driving and boots and hats and mitts and furnaces working overtime and chopping wood and everything I remember of winter. A nice place to visit but would I want to live there?"

It is hard to argue with this! But there are compensations. A spruce woods on a sunny winter day, each tree laden with snow, the sun glinting on the ice crystals floating through the air, with perhaps some winter birds sending a snow shower down from branches overhead - is a picture featured on a thousand calendars and not a few famous paintings. It's beauty is there to be discovered anew after each snowfall. Even the blizzard now blowing outside has its beauty. The snowy fields with arabesques of brown grass fade off into the white continuum of the storm, and my rickety fence lines appear to me like musical staves on a white paper.

Of course, it helps to be retired and not to have to travel anywhere in this weather! And I certainly would not trade our NS winter for the floods in Europe and the US right now.

Birding News

Bird enthusiasts should be sure to visit the Bird Studies Canada Website at <http://www.bsc-eoc.org/bscmain.html>. This is a goldmine of information and has links to over 6000 bird-related internet sites.

Th' th' th' th' th' Thats All Folks!