Terry Pratchett wrote a wonderful book under the title of “Wintersmith” that mentioned the essential role of the annual silent performance of the Dark Morris in ensuring that winter arrives as it should. I was reminded today, the winter solstice, of this tradition and, as a former morris dancer/musician myself felt the need [...]
I’m just getting into a collection of essays ("Vesper Flights" - Helen Macdonald) by a Historian of Science at Cambridge. I was struck by this paragraph from her introduction. "What science does is what I would like more literature to do too: show us that we are living in an exquisitely complicated [...]
I happened, thanks to the internet, upon this article from the London Review of Books that I felt was worth sharing with my friends, many of whom will understand. I am a huge user and fan of all that the internet has brought us, I don't yearn to go back to blotchy pens [...]
Common Experience 2020 A couple of days ago, a friend in England posted this short piece on her Facebook page. She got it from a friend who had it from a friend and we have no idea who composed it. But it is so clever, and so apposite, I felt it was [...]
So that's where it came from! J brought to my attention the following short poem by Longfellow. It is quite striking just how many clichés and common sayings we all know he managed to pack into these few lines. I have highlighted a few examples in bold. Actually, it's good stuff. read on. [...]
Today we had a pair of electricians working in the house installing a new bit of wiring. Making a hole in the wall of the downstairs hall they found, and removed, "insulation" from between the joists. Insulation from the original date of the house building in fact that was comprised of old newspapers. Yes, [...]
Post-Election Pondering Now the dust has settled for almost a week ... This is a rare deviation from the usual gardens and wildlife topics, but I hope I can interest you during this post-election period in a couple of non-partisan observations on how the process of electing governments might be improved next time around. [...]
Busy week ... This has been an exceptionally busy week for an unemployed chap (doing the tax returns for example) and so I have little on the gardening or wildlife front with which to regale you this Sunday noontime. That is not to say there have not been achievements, for example the annual [...]
Sparroworks Publications Click images for information Birding the Morgan Arboretum Birding on the West Island of Montreal FREE Green Birding Coming in March ... A Self Guided Walk in the Arboretum - fully illustrated with optional smartphone guidance. Learn about the forest, its plants and creatures [...]
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year 2019 The new year arrives in a couple of days - thank you everyone for following, faithfully or occasionally, our journal and photography albums. We look forward to interesting and entertaining you again in the year ahead. Rather than giving you something to read in the journal, we [...]