It's a quiet, cold and kind of misty morn until I come in range of Manfred Man singing his heart out- you know the song: Bliiinded by the light, we were bliiiiinded by the light- Earthband's big and much giggled over hit (did he say DOUCHE?)
So ya Manfred singing. But picture this.... the big sound, blaring tunes? It's coming out of a very petite blaster plugged into a large extension cord- the bright orange kind?-that wraps it's way around the building, past the guy putting up new shingles and a fancy new sign, up the side stairs off the parking lot and into what will always be known to me as Snow's funeral home.
I repeat FUNERAL HOME.... are you with me???? Blinded.... we were Blinded by the light....
Glad I'm not a carry my latte kind of gal cuz you KNOW I would have sprayed that sucker all over the baby. All I could do was give him a big thumbs up with my red mittened hand. Nice one buddy. You made my day.
Snow's is where my grandparents and great aunt went or displayed or whatever and heck even a colleague of mine had her visitation there. It's becoming another Cruikshanks apparently. The Dignity logo has taken center stage. Very Six Feet Under.
Anyway with the change comes a revamp and I've been watching the slickyfication in progress. And last Tuesday there was guy on scaffolding nailing up shingles- nice neutral silvery gray.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Stretch
The answer to the telephone pole question is: usually cedar- mind you that's off of yahoo answers and may not be accurate for our neck of the woods...
The first time I remember being asked emulate a tree I was 7. It was an introduction to dance class and I was the only one with a pink leotard. Made my Buddha belly that much more obvious. The other little girls wore black over pink. How posh of them right? I had begged to go to this thing. It was a lot of money. I couldn't even formulate what was wrong when I refused to go back getting grounded as a consequence. The only thing that I truly enjoyed during that miserable class was when we pretended to be an elephant and then a tree, reaching up up up, sending roots waaaaaaay down low from the bottom of our feet.
In Hatha yoga the tree pose is associated with the root chakra said to connect to survival, primal urges, safety and security issues. Some people say a person has lost their connection with earth's energy if he or she cannot hold tree pose. Guess my earth energy has always been strong.
I did some yoga yesterday- including tree pose- to ground myself.
First snow, only a few yellow stragglers left on the nearly bare branches. I used to get paralysed with fear of falling around this time of year. Icy slippery conditions still get my heart rate up. aim for limber legs and centered weight my physiotherapist told me once.
The first time I remember being asked emulate a tree I was 7. It was an introduction to dance class and I was the only one with a pink leotard. Made my Buddha belly that much more obvious. The other little girls wore black over pink. How posh of them right? I had begged to go to this thing. It was a lot of money. I couldn't even formulate what was wrong when I refused to go back getting grounded as a consequence. The only thing that I truly enjoyed during that miserable class was when we pretended to be an elephant and then a tree, reaching up up up, sending roots waaaaaaay down low from the bottom of our feet.
In Hatha yoga the tree pose is associated with the root chakra said to connect to survival, primal urges, safety and security issues. Some people say a person has lost their connection with earth's energy if he or she cannot hold tree pose. Guess my earth energy has always been strong.
I did some yoga yesterday- including tree pose- to ground myself.
First snow, only a few yellow stragglers left on the nearly bare branches. I used to get paralysed with fear of falling around this time of year. Icy slippery conditions still get my heart rate up. aim for limber legs and centered weight my physiotherapist told me once.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Question
Walking around the city with a stack of posters to put up.
It's illegal to poster on the poles in Halifax. You can get fined apparently.
Nevermind. The old ones ripped or peeled, staples stipple: birchbark. The poles are branch less tree trunks. Sticks whittled by big machines. The posters are paper from trees. I can feel a poem percolating. I won't staple leaves back on you, bones of trees. A new layer of bark won't bring you back. I'll stick them on windows instead: wet yellow leaves, some of them forcasting future wild nights.
I don't know what kind of tree poles are made of. Do you? The buses that buzz me have names like Lacewood and Hemlock ravine.
It's illegal to poster on the poles in Halifax. You can get fined apparently.
Nevermind. The old ones ripped or peeled, staples stipple: birchbark. The poles are branch less tree trunks. Sticks whittled by big machines. The posters are paper from trees. I can feel a poem percolating. I won't staple leaves back on you, bones of trees. A new layer of bark won't bring you back. I'll stick them on windows instead: wet yellow leaves, some of them forcasting future wild nights.
I don't know what kind of tree poles are made of. Do you? The buses that buzz me have names like Lacewood and Hemlock ravine.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
fruit trees and education
Wendell Berry. Manifesto: The Mad Farmer's Liberation Front. Dates back to 73 and I'm learning it by heart. Lovely turn of phrase that eh? By Heart? So that you can have it there with you at all times.
Been a while since I've used my brain that way. First time I can remember was in school in France. Can't remember what poem it was though. Maybe something by Victor Hugo? I do remember the venerable pear tree in the court yard where we went to play for la récré- as in recreation- and how the asphalt came right up to it's roots. How did it drink I wondered. We had pears in the fall to snack on or throw- though doing the latter would result in classic punishment: ear pulling and writing lines on the chalkboard. I suppose that`s another way to memorise something. I never threw pears. Too tasty to waste.
Around here there are a few good apple trees along the steep hill up to Needham park.
Been a while since I've used my brain that way. First time I can remember was in school in France. Can't remember what poem it was though. Maybe something by Victor Hugo? I do remember the venerable pear tree in the court yard where we went to play for la récré- as in recreation- and how the asphalt came right up to it's roots. How did it drink I wondered. We had pears in the fall to snack on or throw- though doing the latter would result in classic punishment: ear pulling and writing lines on the chalkboard. I suppose that`s another way to memorise something. I never threw pears. Too tasty to waste.
Around here there are a few good apple trees along the steep hill up to Needham park.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Urban Forest?
What do you imagine when you read: "urban forest"? Telephone poles?
Pete next door thought I meant the wilderness area behind the Sportsplex in Dartmouth. The one that is scheduled to be paved over (I know Joni, I know...) to make room for the bus terminal.
I imagine a cool place, wild in a creative kind of way, you know: it stands opposite the Concrete Jungle. At a poetic level the Urban Forest is more than just the total number of trees that make up the canopy cover in HRM (a rapidly declining 40 percent of the city is covered ). That's the dry definition though if you were curious. Our Haligonian Urban Forest is made up mostly of Elm, Norway Maple and Linden.
Pete next door thought I meant the wilderness area behind the Sportsplex in Dartmouth. The one that is scheduled to be paved over (I know Joni, I know...) to make room for the bus terminal.
I imagine a cool place, wild in a creative kind of way, you know: it stands opposite the Concrete Jungle. At a poetic level the Urban Forest is more than just the total number of trees that make up the canopy cover in HRM (a rapidly declining 40 percent of the city is covered ). That's the dry definition though if you were curious. Our Haligonian Urban Forest is made up mostly of Elm, Norway Maple and Linden.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
rally inspiration
I went to a rally organised by a very thoughtful and talented person, Jamie Simpson to raise awareness about and call for the protection of our Nova Scotian forest. It was inspiring and devestating. Inspiring to hear from such carefully chosen and diverse speakers that offered a real range of voices and facets on the issue. Devestating because the situation is grim, though Jamie really underlined the fact that it's not too late to act to place restrictions on clearcuts and change legislation so that tax payers money isn't subsidising that particular practice.
Where am I going with this? I guess one thing that came up for me during the rally was that no one talked about the urban forest. I live in the city. a lot of people do. infact the stats tend to show that urban dweller numbers are on the rise right? I want to be a part of the paradigm shift that will take place around thinking of the city as a place to live in , a cool shaddy, artfull place to livein. Trees are one of the only nature grounding things that are available to us city dwellers. Ours are mature and majestic, and vulnerable and I want to create a space to celebrate and contemplate what is nature in our city. I'd like to use this blog as a place to gather and tell stories about trees in HRM, mine and hopefully yours too.
Where am I going with this? I guess one thing that came up for me during the rally was that no one talked about the urban forest. I live in the city. a lot of people do. infact the stats tend to show that urban dweller numbers are on the rise right? I want to be a part of the paradigm shift that will take place around thinking of the city as a place to live in , a cool shaddy, artfull place to livein. Trees are one of the only nature grounding things that are available to us city dwellers. Ours are mature and majestic, and vulnerable and I want to create a space to celebrate and contemplate what is nature in our city. I'd like to use this blog as a place to gather and tell stories about trees in HRM, mine and hopefully yours too.
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