“The desert and the sown” seems an accurate way to describe contrasting ways of life in the ancient Middle East: nomadic herding and settled agriculture. I’ve tried to find an original source of the phrase; although it isn’t in the Bible, it describes the language of the Old Testament. It’s also the title of a…
It might have been 1984. The late Harro Van Brummelen made a call for high school teachers interested in writing curriculum units for novel study. Lloyd den Boer was there, plus Dennis DeGroot and Ray Sutton. It was a new experience for all of us. We brought our suggestions: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan…
When we bought Eskerhazy Farm in 1991, we had an active beaver colony living on the northwest corner of the property. They had created a large pond which was full of all sorts of wildlife, from shoveler ducks, mallards and teal to muskrats and a moose with her calf, the two of them standing up…
I generally dislike allegory. I’m in good company. J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.” I never could connect with Pilgrim’s Progress. Nevertheless, I have no problem with the allegorical elements of Godhanger by…
It must have been about 1980 or so. The students had finished classes and exams. We teachers had meetings and then went home early. I stopped by a bookstore to pick up a set of Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible to give each graduate as a gift. I put them in the trunk of our…
Think of Reepicheep madly paddling in his coracle (and no doubt giggling with glee and curled whiskers) on his way to the Utter East, anticipating a reunion with a Lion he once met. Or think of Elrond, Galadriel and a small host of elves setting out for the farthest western lands to an eternity without…
For a long time now, I’ve known that I am a hobbit . . . without the furry feet, of course. My Shire is the Bulkley Valley, specifically Quick, B.C., which isn’t a place at all if you’re reading road signs. But it provides me with a simple life and simple pleasures. If the doctor…
We had just moved to our present farm and were getting started with chickens and gardening. There was even a beaver pond on our property! Our neighbour, who rented the hay field, was mowing next to the beaver pond when a duck flew off her nest and right into the mower. John climbed down, looked…
Ruffed grouse exist in nearly every province and territory in Canada except for Nunavut. They are creatures of forests. When forests and woodlots are isolated – such as parts of the lower mainland of B.C. and southern Ontario farming country – the grouse disappear. When I was a child, I heard my dad talk about…
B.C. has banned grizzly hunting, and, as is all too common, this has led to confrontational thinking. Hunters say, “There’s plenty grizzlies; it’s all a PETA ploy.” The cabinet minister in charge says, “There are not enough grizzlies to continue a hunt with our current information.” My view is something like this: People who hunt so…
For her birthday, I am buying Betsey a trip to Iqaluit to visit our daughter. The ticket money, which is considerable, will come from an annuity that my Aunt Harriet bought for me decades ago and which we have now cashed in. You could say that the old annuity has been redeemed. Rather a pregnant…
When I was a child, I loved chocolate pudding. We’d put a little milk, just the right amount, on top and then use our spoon to create reservoirs, mountains, creeks and rivers. And then eat the geographic world we’d created. When I was a child, I loved rainstorms so we could take popsicle sticks, sharpen…
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