Category: Geography
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Just Peachy
Two seasons ago I added a peach tree to the mix, siting it in the sunniest, most-protected corner of the property. The nurseryman, who successfully grew one in his own yard, said that it was self-pollinating and would take two years to produce fruit. I wish I could tell you the cultivar of the Prunus… Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 5 of 5
See other posts in the series: P1 P2 P3 P4 ***** A satisfying read is dependent upon two critical components: what is read and when. Up the book comes, then down the book goes if the timing isn’t right. Released in 2011, it’s taken two years for Theresa Kishkan’s memoir, Mnemonic: A Book of Trees, to find its way to… Read more
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“Mnemonic: A Book of Trees” by Theresa Kishkan – Post 4 (of 5)
My husband had a nomadic childhood too and when we met, we decided we wanted to create a home for our children which would be constant. And it was. It is. Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 3 of 5
I grew up in a loving family but I wasn’t like them in so many ways. Our family culture centred on hockey, baseball, camping trips in summer. I couldn’t even begin to describe to them how the world shimmered for me, how I heard voices in the rustling of leaves, that I cried when I… Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 2 of 5
I believe that concentrating on specific details can often lead us to revelations about our lives and our history, coaxing or surprising us into unexpected truths. The American essayist Kathleen Norris said, “The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.” Read more
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Mnemonic: A Book of Trees – Post 1 of 5
I also discovered that this was one possible way to write a memoir in which I could get everything in. Not just the personal details but the things that drew me to investigate, to research, to pair with my own sense of the world. Bits of song, notes about botany, musings about family history, moments… Read more
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Geocache: Piccola Casa Curiosa
Update: The Casa is now a geocache at www.geocaching.com (and getting great traffic!) ********** We’ve been calling this piece of interactive art-in-progress the GiveOneGetOneBox. But knowing firsthand how search engines perv up any title that might possibly have something to do with naked women and intercourse, I’ve officially changed the name. Call it what you will. For… Read more
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In the Footsteps of Madeline in Paris
In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. Read more
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Welcome to Quintland
UPDATE: August 5, 2018: Annette visited her birth house in North Bay today. Cecile was supposed to join her but cancelled due to health reasons. The story is here. UPDATE: As of November 19th, 2017, the birth house and museum of the Dionne Quintuplets has been moved to the North Bay waterfront, installed on Oak… Read more
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What My Grandmother Was Doing 79 Years Ago Today
My paternal grandmother, Antoinette, was the illegitimate child of a French-born Count living in Switzerland and his mistress-employee, Francoise Mallet. Neighbours described Francoise as having fallen victim to “droit de seigneur,” and soon after her birth in 1907, Antoinette was brought to Montreal to be raised by a governess, Aldea Hogue, under the loving eyes… Read more