Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Goodbye to Blue Rocks

Pema Chodron is a Buddhist monk
who resides in a monastery on Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia.  During this past year she has been
my teacher via her books.  I just finished
When Things Fall Apart.  Pema talks about
the present moment as our best teacher:  whatever
is before you, simply breathe it in and be aware.

The day before leaving Blue Rocks, Jeff pushed
our borrowed sea kayak into our Subaru:  its long
nose broke our windshield.
Then, on the way from Blue Rocks to Vermont, our car's engine
blew in Augusta, Maine, four hours from home.
We are still waiting for a replacement engine to be
popped into the Subara, hopefully by next Monday.

Yesterday, the g and h and the enter key stopped working
on my laptop:  a wee bit difficult to edit the book I finished
while in Canada.

Breathe.  Be aware.  Borrow Jeff's laptop.  Breathe.

I didn't think leaving Canada would be so difficult.  

But it was.  As beautiful as this area of Nova Scotia is,
it is not as beautiful as our new friends.  We will miss Kerry and David,
Erik, Faye and Katrina.

Friendship is the gift that makes any  land breathtaking.

We will slowly wind our way back to Virginia, 
after walking the trails in Vermont, 
kayaking on the pond,
tending our garden,
catching crawdads and salamanders and painted turtles,
and sleeping under a star studded sky.

The adventure continues.


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Dedicated to Ann Schaffner

 The sun has finally arrived
in Blue Rocks.  And with the
sun, two borrowed kayaks
found their way to our home.

Blue Rocks Kayak Routes
After a short drive down to the end of  The Point,
we slip our kayaks into the sea;  the rest is bliss.


slipping under the bridge in Stonehurst

Making Waves


Village of Stonehurst

Lunch With a View
I dedicated my paddling to Ann Schaffner,
a friend from Vermont, who recently
died after a short struggle with cancer. 

Ann,
You are a part of my Vermont,
 of snow shoeing through sun kissed woods,
 x-country skiing back in the winter meadow,
 walking the trails through hemlock laden woods,
 canoeing on the Green River Reservoir,
 talking chickens and bees and beavers and apple trees,
 munching from picnic baskets by the pond,
 and sharing your love of our world through many meals. 

You truly stepped through the door full of curiosity.
Thank you for sharing 
this wild and wonderful life. 

When Death Comes
Mary Oliver, Mary Oliver poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetryby Mary Oliver
(1935 - ) Timeline
Original Language
English


When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom; taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.









Thursday, June 6, 2013

Bonnie and Clyde in Blue Rocks

Kerry and I were walking by
the fishing shacks in Blue Rocks
when we spotted two goats on
the island.  Pete Tanner waved
to us and asked if we wanted to
come on over to meet them.
When in doubt say YES!!!

Pete and Shirley's Cabin on the Island in Blue Rocks
We motored the short distance
in the gut and landed on Pete's island:
the new home to  Bonnie and Clyde.
Pete bought the two at an auction
in Lewistown, NS.
Bonnie and Clyde
"Pete, did you know one of them
was pregnant when you bought
her?"

"Nope, but she's now called Clydie."
(the tri-coloured goat)

In the early days around here,
sheep lived on the islands, foraging
for food and providing food for the
locals.

Shirley and Pete, Clydie and Bonnie
Pete is definitely a local.  The oldest
house in Blue Rocks was Pete's
great-grandfather's house.  

Bonnie looking for lunch
Feeling right at home.
Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia

Little Red Shed
Shacks at the end of our lane.
Bonnie taking a stroll
Kerry and Clyde
This gate won't stop me!


















I need to stay put (somewhere) long enough 
to get me a couple of milking goats....
and chickens, and honey bees, and....

The Gut in Blue Rocks





Sunday, May 12, 2013

Thank You Mom for My Cape Breton Family

To celebrate Mother's day,
I took a wee trip up to Mabou, Cape Breton Island,
home of the Beaton clan,
my mom's people.  It was an
"in-between meals" trip, as my
brother Rick likes to say:  4 1/2 hours.

In 1809, my great-great- great grandfather,
Alexander Beaton, sailed from the Highlands of Scotland, 
and landed on Prince Edward Island.  After only a few years,
 he jumped on a boat with his brother Finlay,
and sailed (maybe even rowed) over to Cape Breton Island:
settling in the area called Finlay's Point or Mabou Mines.

His grandson, and my great-grandfather,
 Alexander Beaton married Catherine Cameron.
Catherine (Cameron) Beaton
Great Grandmother
Alexander Beaton
Great Grandfather

I first visited Cape Breton when I was
sixteen.  A lot has changed since then, eh?

Gertie Beaton (mom) Pati, Jon, Jude and Richard Prashaw (dad)
Claire Beaton, my
 first cousin once-removed
welcomed me into her convent
of the Congregation of Sisters of Notre Dame.


This "once-removed" bit is a
hierarchical technicality.
I don't feel removed at all from Claire,
except in distance:  I live in Virginia (not during the last two years)
and Claire lives in Mabou, with a small group
of amazing and gracious women.

Sisters Bertholde, Catherine and Claire
Sisters Bertholde, Catherine and Elanor
Sister Catherine
View of Mabou Harbour from my bedroom
  I barely kept up with
 a couple of septuagenarians, a few
octogenarians and one nonagenarian:  by day
two I needed a nap.  It's a good thing I only stayed with the sisters a couple of days:
homemade cinnamon buns, cookies and cakes,
and fresh, Cape Breton biscuits with
homemade marmalade.  How could I refuse?


Even though it was a school night, 
Bernard Cameron, my cousin, and his family,
Nancy, Maili and Alisdair, joined Claire,
Catherine, her sister (and Bernard's mom), and myself for dinner.
Bernard,Nancy,Sr. Claire, Maili, Catherine, and Alisdair
Camerons and Beatons
and Maggie (the dog)
Alisdair and Maili Cameron




Bernard teaches Gaelic and speaks Gaelic to
his children and also to Maggie, the dog. The 
children are fluent but it is apparent that the dog
 doesn't understand a word!

After a short, but oh so lovely visit with the clan,
I returned home to Blue Rocks, in time
to attend an Ashley MacIsaac concert
in Lunenburg.  This fabulous Cape Breton fiddler
packed the Zion Lutheran Church on a 
drizzly, Saturday evening.  With strings
shredding off his bow, Ashley fiddled,
and danced, and sang his way through
the evening.  True to Cape Breton style,
and with a slight lilt of the tongue,
he peppered his playing with hilarious stories.


All in all, a great way to celebrate
mother's day weekend.

On this mother's day,
I thank you, Gertie Beaton,
for giving me 
my Cape Breton roots.
And to Alec Beaton, my son:
 I love being your mom.


painting of Gertie Beaton
Alec Beaton and his mom, Jude Prashaw
sky over Cape Breton


  












Sunday, May 5, 2013

Spring needs a GPS

Spring came and she left,
then she came again,
and left.
She's confused.
Just when I think Spring
needs a GPS to locate
Blue Rocks,
she shows up with
eye-blinking beauty:
today, at least.




 Spring may come and go but I think these two
are here to stay.



Monday, April 22, 2013

She's Called Nova Scotia


Rita MacNeil, singer, song writer,
daughter of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
was laid to rest in her hometown 
in Big Pond, Cape Breton this week.

"Upon my death, I want to be cremated immediately. 
My ashes to be place in my tearoom teapot – two if necessary.”

News - RAW VID: Funeral for Rita MacNeil
And so she was.

Rita MacNeil:
Cape Breton,
Nova Scotia,
Canada and the world says,
May you rest in peace.






Sunday, April 21, 2013

Happy Birthday Alec

 Alec Beaton Connor,
today, and every day,
I celebrate you, my son,
my one and only.

You are kind, considerate,
loving, affectionate, smart,
 observant,wickedly funny,
determined and curious.



You are a joy to behold
and to hold.

I love sharing this life with you.
I love being your mom.
I love you more than you know.
 
Happy Birthday,
Mom (or, as you say, mum)

                                         










Friday, April 12, 2013

Beyond Bullying

Rehtaeh Parsons is shown in a handout photo from the Facebook tribute page
Rehtaeh Parsons
Seventeen-year-old, Rehtaeh Parsons,
 was removed from life support this past Sunday.
Last week, this Nova Scotia teenager, hung herself.

Why would a lovely, seventeen-year-old young woman,
 end her life?

According to her mother, Leah Parsons,
when Rehtaeh was fifteen,
she was sexually assaulted by four boys,
at a home. Apparently, one of the boys
took a photo during the assault and posted
it on the internet. After the posting,
Rehtaeh was the target of online assault:
these actions go beyond bullying.

Why were the four, teenage boys not persecuted?
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police pursued
an investigation, but due to insufficient evidence,
no charges were laid.

"The justice system failed my daughter,"
Leah Parsons said in an interview.

People across Nova Scotia, 
and throughout Canada,
are asking, "Why?" 
 Why is it, that a young woman,
a victim of a sexual assault,
 becomes a victim of cyber assault?

Justice minister, Ross Landry,
 refused to review the initial investigation.
 Due to an outcry from people across the province,
he has reconsidered.

Nova Scotia, this lovely, Maritime province,
surrounded by the Atlantic, has the highest rate
of sexual assault per capita in Canada (Avalon, 2009).
Halifax, its capital, has the third highest rate
of sexual assault in Canada (Avalon, 2009).

How are we, the parents, teachers, politicians,
counselors, school administrators, 
 friends and citizens, 
failing our children?
Why is silence still the norm,
shame the secrecy?

How young is too young, 
to teach our children,
"No," means no?

What is consent? 

While many internet posts are crying out for revenge,
Rehtaeh's mother says she wants justice,
not retaliation.The cyber-activist group,
Anonymous, apparently was threatening to release
the names of the four boys.
At the request of Leah Parsons,
they backed away.
"I think they, (the boys), need to be accountable
for what that they did,"
Parsons said. "I don't want them
to be physically harmed."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/04/10/ns-rehtaeh-suicide-reaction-todd.html
I hope Rehtaeh, you rest in peace.
I hope your story
 brings lasting change.
As a society,
 I hope we learn to say
"No:"  we will no longer
slip into silence;
we will no longer
allow shame to become
the new secrecy;
we will no longer
accept cyber assault, 
or violence against our children.

How young is too young,
to teach our children, 
"No," means no?

Teach your children now,
teach them well.
















Thursday, April 4, 2013

Welcome to Canada


With my brother Rick, visiting from Ottawa, 
we drove to Halifax and a visit to Pier 21,
where, after WWII,   "over one million immigrants
 and refugees  from Europe and elsewhere," landed.
This was their first glimpse of Canada, their new home.
Leaving their homeland to come to Canada
Our next door neighbour Erik, arrived here from Denmark when he
was ten-years old.  He, along with his mother and siblings, came
to re-unite with his dad.  You don't have to say too many "Hello's"
before you meet a Nova Scotian with connections to Pier 21.

 Many "war brides" with young children, arrived
in Halifax to meet their future husbands, soldiers they had met
overseas.











War Brides on board ship

They arrived tagged, wondering if they
would recognize their husbands,
wondering what their new life
would be like.


Before any immigrant could
land on the Canadian shore, a doctor would examine
them.
Imagine this---
 after travelling across
 a sometimes stormy ocean,
 after arriving in a land
where  perhaps they
 did not speak
the language,
after waiting for oh so long,
they would have to wait even longer,
to be examined by a complete stranger,
to have their papers processed,
their baggage examined.

 Many Canadians, not only on the East Coast,
 but throughout Canada, trace their history back to
Pier 21 as the point of entry for a new life,
far from the ravages of war.

Pier 21 was also the departure point for 496,000 Canadian
troops during World War Two.

ships ready to leave
 Bedford Basin in Halifax
during WWII

 
Our father, 
Richard Arnold Prashaw, 
was one of those troops.
At 27 years of age,
 dad  arrived in Halifax,
 a soldier with the Perth Regiment
from Southern Ontario, Canada.
Along with his regiment,
 he boarded the Reina del Pacifoco,
on October 5, 1941,
 heading to Liverpool,
England, leaving his fiance,
my mother, behind.
Reina del Pacifico
 Dad never talked to us about
the war. All we know is,
three days after the war ended,
his buddy, marching just a few
feet in front of him,
stepped on a land mine.
Shrapnel from the mine
pierced my dad's face,
near is left eye.  My dad lost
some of his hearing.  He also
lost his buddy.

I'm not sure why history,
especially of the wars,
seem to be following
me around.  Perhaps because
I live with two guys
who are fascinated about
the history of WWI and WWII,
or just history in general.

All I know is,
my father fought on the front lines
during WWII.  He received
a Mention in Dispatches for bravery
in the field.
PRASHAW, Richard Arnold, Private (A.106881) 
- Mention in Despatches - Infantry (Perth Regiment) - awarded as per Canada Gazette 
and CARO/6074, both dated 22 September 1945.
http://www.perthregiment.org/perthcitations.html
All I know is,
I am grateful that he came back,
that he married my mom.

 The rest is,  well, seven kids history.
Alec, Jude and Rick
Dutch Memorial at Pier 21 


Welcome, to a little piece of Canada.

Jeff, the wanna be and Alec