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Hill 70
By far the most emotional aspects of my trip to France were the times I tried to walk in my Grandfather’s footsteps. When I stood near where he jumped off at Vimy I was overcome with emotion remembering my grandfather, and failing in my efforts to imagine what it had been like for him that…
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Good Birders Don’t Wear White
Essay collections make up some of my favourite books, and part of the charm of them is that they don’t require much commitment. One can leave the book lying around, pick it up and read an essay at a time, and not worry about keeping the flow going. The latest essay collection to land on…
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Clare birds France – In which I realize that the bird identification section of my brain has atrophied into a small dried garbonzo bean
I suppose it is an inevitable part of living up here full time, and not getting out in over four years, and consequently seeing only a couple of dozen species on a regular basis, and only one species for months at a time. I can’t identify birds anymore (looks shamefully at his feet). Now I…
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Lottery ticket time
So. The other day I thought I’d take advantage of the beautiful day and spend some time on our deck for the first time this year. It was gorgeous out and I stood by the railing, soaking in the warmth from the sun in shirtsleeves, listening for Snow Buntings (Okay they are in Iglulik, why…
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Fields of Graves
It is almost impossible to put into words just how many graves there are in the area around Vimy. I’d like to be able to tell you of the emotions that course through you after visiting graveyard after graveyard after graveyard, filled with young men, but I can’t. Nine Elms cemetery was the first cemetery…
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Guns and Violence
Okay, I don’t often find myself screaming epithets at people on TV but I just made an exception. Because of the terrible incident in Virginia I’ve occasionally veered away from my usual Treehouse TV fare on to CNN, a network I have to admit I rarely watch. A short while ago I flipped over just…
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Back at it.
Well I’m back at home. Actually I’ve been back now since last Thursday, but I’m only now getting up to speed. Writing has been hard, I’ve tried to write a couple of articles and have re worked and re written one several times. But I’d best get at it, I’ve a lot to talk about.…
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Kilt
Any fool can toss a caber, but catching one, now that takes skill
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And I’ll call Rusty
I took a walk along the river this afternoon, with my cousin Tracy, and I had the opportunity to watch some birds all along the way. Two things quickly became apparent. For one thing trees get in the way. I’m no longer used to looking at birds in trees. In fact I haven’t seen a…
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I need to get out more.
I need to get out more. As I start to compose this post I’m in a plane high above Baffin Island, on the first leg of my journey south. The thing that struck me as I was getting a ride to the airport this morning is just how little I’ve been out of the House…
