A three-week musing

ISLAND MUSINGS, VOL. X, NO. 1

June 20, 2011 Val and Wally Ford

           

We just finished breakfast, huddled in front of a small electric heater with the floor heaters on, too, watching it rain and blow as the fog lifts. We arrived 3 weeks ago today, and the weather has been cold, cloudy and or rainy, with only one or two sunny days; temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s with lows in the high 40s at night. We sleep under two comforters in our winter pajamas, and the forecast is for more of the same. We have been able to hang out the laundry only one time. So I’m happy to be upstairs at the computer where it is warmer.

Firsts

Each year there are things we look forward to as we approach the Island, and this year, as always, we weren’t disappointed:

The first view of the sea and the red rocks that mark the Island as we limped across the 9 mile bridge on an almost empty tank;

Planting those first seeds and pulling the first weeds;

Seeing our first lupins, lilacs and tulips;

Going to our first community small hall performance;

Reading the June Buzz to find out what there is to do here this summer – always too much for our minds to take in;

Reading the Sat. Globe and Mail and the daily local Guardian both of which give us a respite from the relentless ugly politics in the US and help us locate ourselves as participants in our summer Canadian home;

Our trip to the local market and our first dozen eggs from our friend, Carol; those eggs really do make recipes richer!

Seeing our first red wing blackbird as we take our first walk along the sea, our first heron perched on the sandy beach, and our first American gold finch and purple finch at our newly filled feeders watching them fight and fuss over a full tube of  niger seed;

Sitting down with Mary Oliver and our journals for the first time and beginning our summer of reflections;

And best of all realizing that our pace can now slow to a crawl until harvest.

Gardens:

We were able to get the veggie seeds in about a week after we arrived, and everything has peeked out of the red soil, but they are not growing as fast as usual because of the temperatures and lack of sun. This year we have planted carrots, beets, green beans, romaine lettuce, chard, kale, rhubarb, mesclun, cucumbers, and tatsoi (an oriental mustard green). We have weeded all of the 10 flower gardens as the weather and my back has allowed, so it has gone more slowly and peacefully than usual. I have finally realized the weeds don’t care when they get pulled. It’s a joy to watch the beauty of the flower gardens from the front windows surrounded by the sea and bayberries.

Entertainment

Festival of Small Halls Opening: The Island is dotted with small community halls from one tip to the other, and the Festival is a ten-day event that honors these rural halls with evenings of music, storytelling and dance. This year there are 33 events with performers from away (Nova Scotia, Ireland, Quebec, US) as well as PEI, and it showcases some of the best fiddlers in the world. The opening event was sold out and included performances by Richard Wood whom we go to hear each year and who makes the fiddle strings dance; Le Vent du Nord, a group from Quebec that plays classical Acadian music featuring the hurdy curdy, the accordion, fiddle, and guitar; Irish Mythen, a marvelous lesbian singer, and Meaghan Blanchard, a country western singer plus 3 story tellers and three step dancers from the College of Piping. It was a 3 ½ hour evening and took our breaths away.

The Full Monty: We were amazed that such a raunchy musical could be performed to sold out crowds on PEI – and it was a wonderful show. The Guardian had several articles about how the director had to work with the men to deal with their hesitancy about removing their clothes. While the full monty at the end was blocked from view by strong lighting, the men did appear in red g strings, and we certainly experienced their courage – especially the very heavy set man whose g string hardly showed as his belly covered it. I loved the show because through music and drama it deals with sexism, classism, racism, and homophobia. Our uptight Presbyterian neighbor, who went with us, was offended by the language and the inclusion of two gay men who fall in love and oh, my gosh, hold hands! So I guess it worked.

Books and Movies that we recommend:

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (set in modern day India with two amazing women at its center)

Suddenly and then because I liked the author so much A Good House by Bonnie Burnard (a Canadian author who won the Giller Prize)

The Room by Irish writer, Emma Donoghue, who now resides in Ontario

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo, a Pulitzer Prize winner and one of our favorite authors

And movies include: Mao’s Last Dancer (absolutely breathtaking); Blue Valentine, Made in Dugenham (set in London in the 60s about a strike at Ford by women – a sheer delight); Welcome to the Rileys;

Wolf Hall  by Hilary Mantel (set in England in the 1520s following the steps of Thomas Cromwell).

From Our Journals (Val)

Sitting in my chair                                              Wanting nourishment

With gratitude and delight                                  Earth fed by rain opens up

Aging like the trees                                           I dance in the mud

News and Views

The daily Guardian is the primary provincial newspaper. As such, it carries stories that are quite local in importance (.e.g., a recent front-page article outlined the 30 minute traffic delay caused by a fender-bender auto accident on the bridge coming into Charlottetown) although the one page ‘world-news section’ does give us a flavor of what’s happening globally. Interestingly, a recent ¾ page article carried the headline “New Mexico Fires Smother State in Smoke.” The Globe and Mail Saturday edition fills in global news, the arts and book reviews, in-depth reporting (such as gang-life on the Rez) while offering a range of opinion pieces. We spend most of Saturday afternoon and evening perusing it.

Sticker Shock

This is the first year in our sojourns that the exchange rate has turned against us as US  citizens. The lower dollar value plus bank transfer fees takes about $.05 out of each US dollar. Gas prices continue to be much higher here, about $5 a gallon, and our first trip to the grocery store reminded us of the higher costs for food.  All of which is a good exercise in remembering the importance of frugality, reducing tendencies to frivolous purchases. Taxes run about 15% on purchases – although a little less that ½ of that is for the universal health plan – so no complaints.

Our Karma?

Before we left Albuquerque, we spent some attention attempting to rid our patio of squirrels (not that we dislike the little beggars; its just they nibble away at fresh  plants); we successfully trapped and relocated 2 of them. After about a week here, having set out our bird feeders, low and behold one shows up. They are known to be destructive if they nest in a house (as one neighbor recently found out). So I got out our ‘coon’ trap and relocated our visitor. Only to have 2 more – probably juveniles – show up. They too have been relocated into the woods.

Harvesting

Last Wednesday we had our first low tide, so out I went to do some claming; found enough for our first batch of clam chowder. Had planned to go in Saturday as well (the best low tides are around full-moon and new-moon). But the persistent wind and rain prevented that. So now must wait until new moon.

From My Journal (WF)

Tidal time not only encourages a slower pace, but also patience. As Lao Tzu teaches: Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles?” Rilke: “Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart….Try to love the questions themselves, like a book written in a foreign tongue which one day you will learn.”

            Shouldn’t trees be doing more than just standing there

            adding another dark ring celebrating a successful rotation

            around the sun?

           

            Shouldn’t dandelions be doing more that just

            growing their roots deeper,

            popping up stems with yellow flowers

            camouflaging the next population explosion

            parachuting a 1000 progeny all around?

            Doesn’t the ocean have more to do than lick away

            at my shore, taking it away grain by grain,

            then heaping them somewhere

            giving clams a free home?

            And none of these spend much time with

            “if only’s” and “what if’s”.

And this prayer offered one day in a funk:

            Spirit, dance me into the center again.

            Lift this grey cloud,

            Or at least let it become rain

            For some new seeds trying to germinate

            An enthusiasm for the day.