It’s getting to be that time again—but while we begin to dig out the toques and boots, there are a number of things we can do to prepare the roof for winter,...
Cottage Revival
WE HAVE this little cottage in our family on the south shore of Nova Scotia. My grandfather built it with the help of some of my uncles in the 1960s. It’s a...
Made in the Shade
In the song “Morning Morgantown,” Joni Mitchell leads off with the image of merchants rolling their awnings down. In this idealized vision of small-town...
What’s The Price Of Safety
The winter checklist kicks in when temperatures drop in the fall. Service the snow blower. Switch to snow tires. Search sheds and garages for shovels and ice...
Chilling in the Great Outdoors
A FEW YEARS ago I spent some time in Warsaw with my husband, Steve. It was seasonably chilly, yet the most striking thing we noticed was how weather had not...
Grass Roots
Last issue, I wrote about gardening as a form of healing…this issue, we’re looking at how we humans can help nature heal with our gardening skills.
Trash to Treasure
IT DOESN’T REALLY have a name. They’re just garbage bins after all. But among the cottagers of Molega Lake, in Queens County, NS, that dusty area to the side...
The happy houseplant gardener
Green is good for your mental and physical health
A Passion for Peonies
CAN YOU REMEMBER the first time you saw a peony? If you’re like me, they seem to have always been in someone’s garden—maybe your own, maybe a family member’s...
Gutter Talk
IN THE HEADY world of home improvements, checking your gutters may not sound that enticing, but maintaining and replacing them is an absolute necessity in...
A Place in the Sun
Mary and Dave Barrett thought they had waited too long to add a sunroom to their Beaverbank, NS home. “We’re seniors,” says Mary, “so we questioned whether it...