#shubenacadie

[juliesandothings]

Three from Una Abrahamson’s Crafts Canada: The Useful Arts published by Clarke Irwin & Co. in 1974

Top: sterling silver necklace, with pearls and moonstone, by Haakon Bakken

Centre: plastic table with three heights, designed by Stephen Hogbin

Bottom: Indigenous designed and created chair back, Mi’kmaq at Shubenacadie / Nova Scotia about 1890  

[taashed]

seasonal depression cured, shout out to my boy wiarton willie for the early spring prediction

[spockvarietyhour]

Groundhog Predictive Success Rate

[super-oddity]

sir is not happy with punxsutawney phil’s prediction

[bossymarmalade]

- september 30th, national day for truth and reconciliation -

Survivors experienced horrific atrocities while prisoners in these institutions. It is important that this image show the love and strength that colonialism tried to steal from us. Despite genocide, we are still here – still fighting for justice and restitution, as true Warriors. - Dorene Bernard, Mi’kmaq Survivor who attended Shubenacadie Residential School

[spine-buster]

To Sail Beyond the Sunset ft. Sidney Crosby | Chapter 4

gif credit @/9116

A/N: Surprisingly, no flashback scene in this one...but we finally get to figure out what June's hiding! And some interesting thoughts from Sid...

Lazy nights with June on the lake were Sidney’s favourite thing to do in the summer. Besides fishing, it was probably the one activity that brought him the most solace. It was the only time that his mind was completely clear from any worries, doubts, overthinking, everything – even hockey. Time with June was the best medicine in the world; it was the cure for everything, and the thing Sidney always wanted.

It was Canada Day, which meant that June was over. Sidney heard his screen door open as the sun set over Shubenacadie Grand Lake, and saw June carrying their drinks – a Jack and coke for him, a margarita for her – before she closed the door with her foot and walked over. “Thanks Junebug,” he said as she handed him his drink.

“Anytime,” she smiled, settling in right next to him, as she often did, the entire left side of her body pressed up against his right. She raised her margarita and he raised his Jack and coke. “To Canada,” she said.

Sidney clinked their glasses together. “To Canada.”

“And to Mr. Canada-who-scored-the-Golden-Goal.”

Sidney snorted. “You just had to, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” June put on an exaggerated smile, clinking their glasses together again for good measure. “Do the people across the lake still do fireworks?”

“Mhmm,” he nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

“Good, she said, leaning her head against Sidney’s bicep as they looked out onto the lake. “Nothing can beat this sunset, though.”

Sid smiled, taking another quick sip of his drink. They were quiet for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of the lake waves gently rolling. Sidney was thinking about the feeling of June nestled into him. This was far from the first time that they’d been in this position, but the feeling of her body so close felt…different now, especially when Andy’s words were still mulling around at the back of his mind.

Sidney thought about June as a wife. She’d been engaged before, to a man named Cameron Currie from Toronto. His family bred thoroughbred horses at a farm north of the city and had been doing so for generations – they socialized in very prominent circles and donated money to the arts, which is how June met him. He was a nice guy, well-to-do, great pedigree and all that, but they called off the wedding. June told him it was because they couldn’t work out some things, and that they could never find a resolution. While Sidney was happy for her, and wanted to see her happy, at the back of his mind, he would think about her life as a wife. Would they buy a new house together, or inherit his parents’ farm? Would June be a hostess to the social circles and put on parties with passed canapés and champagne flutes? Would she put all their commitments on a shared calendar? Would she visit him at work and support him in his business endeavours? Would she take off her robe at night, get into bed, put hand cream on, and read a book until she fell asleep? Would she kiss him goodnight? It was probably sick to think about, but Sidney did it anyway. And whenever feelings of jealousy would arise in him, he’d squash them down quickly, wondering why he was even feeling jealousy in the first place.

For the first time, Sidney’s mind wandered, and he let it go further, further than he’d ever taken it before. He thought about June as his wife. He thought about her teaching her classes and him dropping by more often and how her girls would probably giggle and call her Mrs. Crosby instead of Miss June just for fun. He thought about her being home when he got home from a game or a road trip and hugging him at the door. He thought about her running him an Epsom salt bath for him after a long road trip or gruelling game. He thought about her making him grilled cheese sandwiches when he missed home. He thought about her cuddling into him at night and holding each other as they slept, or being one of those couples that always had to be touching somehow when they slept, even if it was just a foot. He thought about her attending his games – more of them, obviously, since she’d be around all the time. He thought about waking up together in the morning and making coffee. He thought about hearing the sound of little feet running down the hallways and jumping into bed with them to cuddle underneath the covers.

He thought about June as a mom. He held his breath in his chest when he did, but his mind was running wild. He thought about breakfasts together in the mornings and dinners together at night. He thought about everybody helping out in the kitchen and throwing spaghetti against the cupboards. He thought about being at the table and doing homework together. He thought about school runs and birthday parties and hockey practice and dance classes. He thought about Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations. He thought about baking cookies for Santa and wrapping the kids’ presents and staying up to put them under the tree. He thought about June scooping their kids up in her arms and peppering their faces with kisses. He thought about her brushing and braiding their hair. He thought about them reading to their kids at night. He thought about them sitting out on the deck, with their kids in their lap, watching Canada Day fireworks over the lake.

Their kids.

Sidney could feel his heart skip a beat at the thought of having a family with June. To say he never thought about it would be a lie, but every time his mind wandered and it did come up, he would think to himself that it was impossible. They’d grown up together, they had been separated but still stayed close, they had entered into other relationships with other people and never once mentioned the possibility of being together. Being with him – was it something June even wanted? Being with him in that way? And more than that – she wasn’t just with him. She was with Sidney Crosby. He knew that he wasn’t “Sidney Crosby” as an abstract idea to her, as he was to everybody else, but she would be with Sidney Crosby and the idea of Sidney Crosby, and that was a lot to take on. He could understand completely if—

“Sid?”

“Yeah Junebug?”

“You were just sort of…out of it there,” she said, her tone having a bit of worry. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, trying to play it off. Just thinking about you as my wife and the mother to our children. “Just had a rough workout with Andy.”

“He didn’t even give you the day off for Canada Day?”

“You know Andy.”

June laughed slightly. “I do. He never quits.”

When the sun had set, and the sky became pitch black except for the light of the moon and stars, the fireworks from neighbouring cottages on the lake began. The distant sounds of kids screaming every time a pop went off and exploded into the air made Sid and June smile. They were done their drinks by the time the fireworks finished, and they were both almost too comfortable to get up. But it was getting cold, and June’s feet were always colder than the rest of her body. When they moved inside, Sidney immediately got a blanket out of a pouf June made him buy for the family room and turned his TV on to Netflix. “What are we watching?” he asked.

June was bringing their glasses back to the kitchen. “I don’t know. Something patriotic?” she joked.

“I don’t think so,” Sid grinned. “Come on. What have you been watching?”

“Honestly? Selling Sunset.”

He burst out into laughter. “Seriously, Junebug?”

“It’s addicting!” she defended herself as she walked back to the family room. “It’s mindless and mind-numbing and I love it, okay? Forgive me for getting into a show like that after the doom and gloom of the last year and a half.”

Sidney rolled his eyes playfully. “Alright, fine. Selling Sunset it is,” he said, plopping down on the couch, into the corner of the sectional. June unfolded the blanket, sat on the couch next to Sid, and lay it at their feet. She leaned into him just as she’d done outside, using his bicep to rest her head against. He scrolled through Netflix to find the show, and played the episode and season June told him to play.

He had no idea what was happening, so he would ask June some questions. “What’s her name?”; “Her husband is how old?”; “Wait didn’t we just see her?” At some point, he noticed June’s voice get softer. Eventually, when he pointed out how ugly a house was and she didn’t respond, he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep against him, her chest rising and falling softly. She looked incredibly peaceful that Sidney couldn’t help but smile. Like many things, this wasn’t the first time, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time. This time, he decided not to wake her. Instead, he let the TV show be background noise and allowed himself to fall asleep too.

***

Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche had, unfortunately, been defeated in the playoffs by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. That meant now that Nate was back home in Halifax, but it also meant that Nate was angry and trying to get over yet another second-round exit by his team. As one of his best friends, but more importantly his mentor, Sidney took the role very seriously. He had talked to Nate already – a long, emotional conversation – and assured him that he felt the same way about his own team’s exit. It took a while, but Nate did seem to get over it – superficially, at least – and was in the mood to work out on a consistent schedule with Sid and Andy. This was a positive, since Nate loved them. He took his diet, nutrition, and fitness extremely seriously – unlike Sid, who ate what he wanted to eat (like four grilled cheese sandwiches made by June) and drank what he wanted to drink.

However, despite the workouts being consistent and Nate’s typical responses of getting hot-headed and angry when he lost a race or a drill, Sidney was shocked to see that at this particular workout, Nate was paying more attention to his phone than he was the pylons for his lateral movement training. But when he saw the tell-tale answer – a smile from Nate – Sid knew he was going to rib him. “What’s keeping you on your phone?” he decided to start off light.

He clearly caught Nate off guard. Nate looked up quickly, pretending that he hadn’t just spent the last few seconds staring at his phone screen and smiling. “Nothing. It’s nothing,” Nate was dismissive.

“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Sid pressed, a grin growing on his face.

“It’s nothing. Just drop it,” Nate insisted.

“Stop pretending it’s nothing,” Sid countered, being an ass.

“Not pretending.”

By Nate’s tone of voice, Sid knew he had him right where he wanted him. “Then why were you smiling?”

“God, what are you, a private investigator?”

“Detective Crosby at your service,” he said. “Come on, man. Is it a girl?” he asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

“No.”

“Is it a guy?”

“No.”

“Is it—”

“—Sid, I’m asking you nicely. Please drop it.”

Sid could tell Nate was ready to explode by the playful line of questioning. Nate didn’t like to get called out on his mysterious behaviours and when he did, he went off. Sid was one of the only people who could call him out on it though. Though Sid wanted to take things further and aggravate Nate a little more, he dropped it. “Okay, fine. But if it’s a girl you should bring her around sometime,” he put in one last quip.

“Oh, you mean just like how June’s meeting us for lunch?” Nate decided to bite back. Two could play at this game.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nate rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I have to spell it out for you, do I?” he asked. “You guys are in love with each other. Always have been.”

Sid furrowed his brows. “Where’d that come from? Did Andy tell you to say something?”

Nate laughed out loud. “Andy thinks so too?” he asked. Clearly Andy hadn’t said anything to Nate, which made what he said all the more shocking to Sid. “Nobody has to tell me anything, Sid. I saw it the first day I met her, and I see it in you all the fucking time. We can all see how in love you guys are.”

Sid shook his head. He couldn’t take this from a guy eight years younger than him. “It’s not like that. It’s different with her. She’s my best friend.”

“Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?” Nate asked rhetorically. “You wouldn’t want to marry someone you’re not friends with, right?”

“Well, sure, but—”

“—But what? It’s not rocket science. You guys just don’t see it, do you?”

Sid couldn’t say anything back. He couldn’t talk back to Nate because he knew Nate made a good point. Just like Andy. But Sid couldn’t say that out loud, because he was still trying to grapple with his feelings, whatever they were. “Hey Nate?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m asking you nicely. Please drop it.”

Using Nate’s own words against him was the only way Sid knew to fight back at this particular moment. Nate understood that completely, but he wasn’t going to let Sid off the hook. And truth be told, Sid shouldn’t have let him off the hook either. They were best friends – they should be able to talk about this stuff. “Her name is Sorcha,” Nate revealed. “We grew up together. Went to all the same schools. But she was bullied really badly because of her size and her hair and all that stupid shit, and I was friends with the guys that did it. I saw her the other week in a café and we’ve been reconnecting. I don’t know exactly what’s happening but I know that I want to be spending almost all my time with her.”

“So you like this girl?”

Nate nodded. “I like her a lot. It almost scares me how fast I got really into her. She’s a sparkplug and she takes no shit from anybody, let alone me. She’s got this confidence to her and I—I’m just so attracted to her and I don’t know what to do.”

Sid nodded softly. He and Nate would always end up this way – being secretive before spilling their guts to one another. “June’s already been engaged. I don’t know if she’d ever want to do that again. And to do that with me. I mean I know—I know we’ve known each other forever, but nowadays, being with Sidney Crosby means something a hell of a lot different than if I was just some guy from Cole Harbour.”

Nate nodded his head now too, completely understanding where Sid was coming from. But Sid was still so blind, and Nate wanted to open his eyes. “Do you want my honest opinion?”

“Of course.”

“She’s always been with Sidney Crosby, bro. From Shattuck to Rimouski to the Penguins and the gold medals, she’s always been with you. I don’t think your question should be if she wants to do it with you. I think she has been doing it with you and will always do it with you no matter what. It’s just up to you guys to have that conversation about your future together.”

Fucking hell, Nate was right. He was exactly right. How could he be so dead-on about something? Sidney wondered what he and June looked like to outside eyes if this was the opinion of the majority of people around them. Did everybody think this? Was everyone just waiting on baited breath until they got together? “Since when did you get so mature?” he asked Nate,

“Since I started hanging out with you, bro.”

***

June said she was working late again tonight. So Sidney had a plan.

Late lessons meant that lights would be on in the studio. It meant June’s car would be in the parking lot. It meant that he’d see a parent’s car dropping off their daughter and coming back after however long to pick her up. It meant that Sidney was in his car across the street watching and waiting to see if all that happened.

It didn’t.

Once the lesson was over, parents did come to pick up their daughters. But nobody returned. Not after an hour. Not after two hours. Not even after three hours. It was only June’s car in the parking lot for the entire night – nobody else came or went, not even a cleaning crew. That’s when Sidney knew something was up, and that’s when he knew he needed to get to the bottom of it tonight.

When he saw from across the street that the lights in the studio were starting to be turned off, he got out of his car and walked across the street. When he saw June emerge, locking the front door behind her, he approached. “Junebug,” he called out her nickname so she wouldn’t get startled and scream.

She still jumped at the sound of her nickname. She looked up, clearly shocked to see him there. “Sid? What are you doing here?”

“You told me you had extra lessons,” he said. He didn’t want to make this too confrontational, but he knew that if he didn’t press things, he wouldn’t get anything out of her. “I saw everybody leave and then nobody came back.”

“You were watching?”

“I—right across the street,” he pointed over to his Range Rover in the parking lot across from them. “You’ve been acting funny and now all of a sudden you’re supposedly giving extra lessons when I know you want these girls to live a normal life outside of ballet. Why’d you lie to me, Junebug?”

June let out a sigh. She’d been caught – and of course she’d been caught, because her best friend in the entire universe was Sidney fucking Crosby. “Sid, it’s not what you think it is.”

“Really? Because I’m thinking you’re keeping a big secret from me, and we never keep secrets from each other.”

“Sid, I—”

Suddenly, it hit him. “Do you have a secret boyfriend you’re not telling me about?”

“Oh my GOD Sidney,” June rolled her eyes like she was a fourteen-year-old girl again. Why on God’s green Earth Sidney would ever think she’d get a boyfriend and hide him was a mystery to her. “I do not have a secret boyfriend and you know that.”

“Then what’s going on? Were you seeing anyone in there?”

“I wasn’t seeing—UGH!!!” she let out a loud, slightly angry, and exasperated groan at his jumping to conclusions. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down – so did Sid, waiting for her to answer for her secretive behaviour. She didn’t – couldn’t – even look him in the eye as she mustered up the courage to reveal to him what she’d been doing. She didn’t know what reaction to expect from him. “I’m dancing again, Sid,” she finally revealed.

He was shocked. June watched as his jaw dropped slightly, but he must have been aware, because he picked it right back up after a few moments. “You—you’re dancing again?”

“Yes. After the girls leave I just—I just sort of dance alone in the studio.”

Sidney felt so stupid that he accused her of having a boyfriend now. This was not what he was expecting given what had happened to her. “I can’t believe it,” he didn’t know what else to say. “I—pointe shoes and everything?”

“Mhm. Pointe shoes and everything,” she used his words, nodding her head slightly as looking down at her feet. “I’m just seeing if I can do it again. The pointe, I mean. And the movements and variations and grand pas and all that. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to become a professional dancer again or anything—”

“You’re still a professional dancer, Junebug,” he interrupted, his voice soft. “Nothing or no-one will take that away from you.”

June didn’t respond, looking away after Sidney’s words. If she did look at him, she was sure she would burst into tears. “Anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing. Not off gallivanting with some secret boyfriend.”

Sidney felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“Can I watch you one day?”

June’s eyes focused on his. He’d seen her dance countless times before, but they had all been when she was in the National Ballet of Canada and their company. Every time he’d seen her, she’d been at the top of her game. She hadn’t danced in a proper ballet since her injury, obviously, and though she knew Sidney wouldn’t have an ounce of judgement in him, she didn’t know if she was prepared for him to see her dance after not dancing for almost six years. Especially since he was still at the top of his game, so talented and gifted despite his age. To her, he still played like a 21-year-old when he won his first Cup. The things he did on the ice still inspired her. Though she was still surrounded by ballet in her every day life, their situations were vastly different. “Maybe one day,” she said hopefully. She knew she would have to fight for the courage.

Sidney understood. June took a lot of pride in what she did. He bit his bottom lip slightly. “When you are ready to let me watch, can you tell me?”

“Of course.”

“Promise?”

June held up her hand, extending her pinky. Sidney let out a chuckle and he raised his too, locking their fingers together. “Promise.”

[fleurcareil]

Nova Scotia: North and West shores

Before heading to Nova Scotia, I'm visiting the Hopewell Rocks which are at almost high tide this morning so that people kayak around the flowerpots rather than walk on the ocean floor. The Bay of Fundy is infamous for its fog so many viewpoints did not have much to show but the walk along the cliffs was still a great way to start the day!

After having rounded the end of the bay through Moncton (which I visited a few years ago but didn't find interesting), I dove into Acadian history at the Monument-Lefebvre National Historic Site in Memramcook and at the Fort Beauséjour – Fort Cumberland National Historic Site. The first time I had heard about the Acadian people and their horrible deportation by the English had been in Cape Breton many years ago, so I knew their story but it was interesting to learn more... many of the original settlers came apparently from the area of La Rochelle in France, which is close to where my grandparents lived! The Lefebvre monument is at the first French college in the Maritimes, which allowed Acadians to get educated in their own language, which in turn spearheaded efforts to reclaim their identity. It was also the location of the first Acadian Convention in 1881, which continues to be held every 5 years celebrating Acadian culture across the world. Driving along Nova Scotia's north and west shores, the display of the Acadian flag everywhere shows that people remain proud to this day! 👌 The visit to the fort gave pretty views over the bay but also sobering thoughts as this was the site where the English deported many Acadians after having taken over the fort from the French (who had forced the Acadians to fight with them despite having proclaimed neutrality) ... It makes me shudder to be reminded time & time again of how brutal humans can be against each other!

A completely different type of history is told at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, which is a UNESCO world heritage site recognised for its preserved sequence of Carboniferous sediments and, due to the high tides continuously exposing more rock face, a tremendous collection of fossils from the Coal Age. Not only are there tons of fossilized trees (the 3 pics below are from left to right of the outer cast of a tree trunk, a tree root embedded in the rock, and a trunk that tumbled down from a rockslide), but it is here that a fossil was found of the first reptile which could reproduce on land and which therefore is the ancestor of all land-based animals, including the dinosaurs and ourselves 😃. A guided walk along the beach allowed us to pick up random rocks and ask whether it contained a fossil, and most of the time it did! 😁 It was a shame that we were not allowed to take anything home (I already have a little fossil collection from Oman), but that's what conservation is about.

Final activity of the day is setting up my tent at Five Islands Provincial Park, close to the highest tides in the world (up to 16 meters!) in the Minas Basin, where I arrived at low tide so that I could walk over the seafloor to the first of the islands and have a look at the magnificent red cliffs (that don't contain any fossils). No single mosquito meant that I could watch the sun set over the bay in peace 😊. Next morning, the usual fog wasn't too bad so that I still had a bit of a view over the rocks from up high on a hiking trail.

Driving around Minas Basin the next morning, I tried to see the tidal bore that happens when the high tide water rushes into a shallow river but missed it twice (at the first place in Truro I was an hour too early and at the next place along the Shubenacadie River it had just passed), but to watch the speed of the water coming in was impressive nevertheless (I had taken a video but sadly only one is allowed per post & I got a cooler one further down).

Having spent enough time on the high tides, I drove slightly more inland and had a great time wine tasting at Luckett Vineyards in the Annapolis Valley. Similar to around Niagara, this region has many different wineries who have tasting rooms, restaurants and little trails for visitors. The highlight here is the red telephone booth, from which you can call free to anywhere in North America, so I made a call to my colleague Kathryn who had recommended the place! 😍

Before leaving town, I also visited the Grand-Pré National Historic Site, which was the largest Acadian village before the deportation and where a statue of Evangeline graces the grounds in front of a memorial church. Evangeline was a fictious character from a poem that became to symbolize the Acadian plight so she's quite a heroine around here with streets, shops and everything in between named after her! The Celtic cross indicates the place where the villagers boarded the deportation ships before the town was burned down.

On that gloomy note, it started to rain and it didn't stop for two days 😒 the delicious chowder (seafood soup) at a harbour restaurant in Digby helped to warm up after which I was very happy having booked a hotel for 2 nights!

Despite the crappy weather I still had a great day at Digby Neck, which is a series of 2 islands jutting out into the Bay of Fundy, connected by two little ferries whose timetables are aligned so it's one drive through. I had however left an hour early so that I could hike to Balancing Rock on the first island, where a large piece of granite hangs precariously over the edge of the sea. It's a beautiful, rugged coastline and also the boardwalk to it (with big-leafed skunk cabbage around the trail) was pretty so well worth braving the rain!

And then I had the most awful but also the coolest whale watching tour I've done so far... we spent about 3 hours off the coast of Brier Island in the driving rain on an open boat on a rolling sea looking for whales and seabirds... About a 1/3 of the tourists vomited and although I kept it in and was warm & semi-dry due to my many layers, it sucked!! There was nothing to see for a long long time apart from a few swimming seals and shearwater birds so the mood wasn't great, until two humpback whales called Foton and Litte Spot (according to the marine biologist) showed up right next to us!! They kept coming close to the boat and flapped their pectoral flipper on & on the water for some 20 minutes...something I've never seen before, really special! Swimming so close by, you could see their massive, grooved bodies and ofcourse their tails when they were diving deeper. On the way back, when the rain briefly stopped & the waves subdued closer to the shore, everyone was smiling 😃 however never been so happy to sit dry in my car waiting for the ferry ;)

The next day there was rain nor fog (woohoo!) so had a pretty drive along the west shore, where there's mostly small Acadian villages, the bigger town of Yarmouth where I got some beers from the local microbrewery and many, many lighthouses of which I chose three to visit. The first one was at Gilbert's Cove where you can walk up a ladder to stand next to the old light (now decommissioned). Outside, there were male eider ducks close by the shore so that you could see how truly large they are.

The second lighthouse I visited was at Cape Saint Mary, a tiny square (still active) building that you can't enter, but which has impressive rocks around it. Nearby Mavillete beach has pretty dunes and would be a great place to chill if it were warmer!

The third lighthouse that I saw is at Cape Forchu, southwest of Yarmouth, which is called the "apple core light" because of its shape. I can't imagine living on such an outcrop during a winter storm!

On the final stretch to my camp cabin for the night, I passed through badly burned forest west of Shelburne, which had been doused only the week prior... The fire had grown to more than 235 square kilometres and forced more than 6,000 people from their homes, destroying over 200 houses and other structures. It was very sad to see the "apple green" trees turned into all this black, stinking mess... That night, the smoke alarm in the cabin went off from time to time, which I was later told is due to remaining ash in the air.

Just before turning into the campground, I walked briefly around Shelburne's historic district, which was built largely by British Loyalists who fled from the US and started a new life here. It only being 4pm, the town was deserted apart from a few prom photo shoots which was funny to watch as they are still soooo young :)

Wildlife: 3 seals & 2 humpback whales (Digby Neck), 15 male Eider ducks. There's ofcourse also lots of shore birds all around the Maritimes, but whose name I don't know apart from gulls and cormorants which I'm not fond of, so ignoring those 😉

SUPs: none

Hikes: two at Five Islands PP, one at Digby Neck

[tylerhillsound]

Electric Pines Music Festival, 2024

Electric Pines Music Festival was last weekend in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. I played a set from 10-11 PM on Sunday, Sept 1. These video clips were kindly shared by DJ & Producer Josette, @josette.ok who also played a set on Saturday.

[liminalweirdo]

Also this, but for place names on the east coast of Canada.

Tatamagouche, Whycocomagh, Ecum Secum, Musquodoboit, Kejimkujik, Miramichi, Chedabucto, Shubenacadie, Penobsquis, Aroostook, Cobequid.

Nova Scotians know if you're from out of town based on whether or not you can pronounce these place names correctly (albeit bastardized)

Also in eastern Ontario: Etobicoke, Kapuskasing, Kitchissippi, Mississauga, Madawaska, Gananoque, Bobcaygeon, Scugog, Muskoka, Napanee, Oshawa.

Also, literally Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg

i do desperately need everyone on this website especially people who arent american but want to rag on america to familiarize themselves with the basic romanized spelling conventions of native american languages because every day i come on here and i see people making fun of massachusetts or connecticut or mississippi or passamaquoddy or mashpee or nipissing and its like PLEASE. PLEASE THEY ARENT ENGLISH WORDS. PLEAAAAASEEEEEUUUHHH. USE YOUR MINDS TO IDENTIFY WHEN A WORD LOOKS LIKE IT MAY NOT BE ENGLISH. I DONT CARE IF YOU MAKE FUN OF AMERICA JUST PLEASE STOP BEING RACIST WHILE YOU DO IT

[steveskafte]

LIMBO OF SPRING The wind came howling all evening off the Shubenacadie River, blowing unimpeded through branches still bare of leaves. With the chill so hard and heavy through me, it's tough to believe that the next two weeks will bring a full canopy of green. It's the last gasp of dereliction's understanding neighbours. Dead buildings and dead limbs, and only one will come back yearly. The dark limbo of spring is a good six weeks in my part of the world, from when the calendar ticks over, till when the bugs wake up and everything gets growing. I've learned to love the loneliness. It seems to run deeper through me, even more than autumn with life ending, or winter with it still so far away. Spring has a pending promise, and it seems to wake the weight of all the others that can't come true. Beauty makes the best of it in me. April 29, 2024 Princeport, Nova Scotia Year 17, Day 6014 of my daily journal.

[nedsecondline]

Reflected on the Water

Lake Banook is the first natural lake in the Shubenacadie Canal Waterway. It is located in Dartmouth and is directly connected to Lake Micmac.Reflected on the Water

[shahananasrin-blog]

[ad_1] Residential school survivors in Nova Scotia are sharing their stories in a new video to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. They say the project serves as a testament to the resiliency of survivors and ensures the legacy of residential schools is not forgotten.“Mikwite’tmek, We remember: Shubenacadie Indian Residential School” was created through a partnership between the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre and Parks Canada. The video features the voices of several survivors, including Dorene Bernard.She was a student at the Shubenacadie Residential School from age 4 to 10. The facility was in operation from 1929 to 1967 and was the only residential school in the Maritimes. The former Shubenacadie Indian Residential School is seen in this undated photo from the Congregational Archives. Parks Canada It was created by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church under a national, colonial policy aimed at assimilating students through prohibiting their culture and languages. Story continues below advertisement Bernard and her siblings — older and younger — were at the school, Bernard says.“We came in stages, but we all left together, and we stayed together. We’re very close.”She says the new film is a way to honor the resiliency of all the children who survived the schools and the people who kept their culture and language alive.“In my family alone, there were 53 survivors from my grandmother’s family, from my mom’s family, and my dad’s family and all our cousins and all our first cousins that went to the residential school,” she says. Dorene Bernard is a survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. Skye Bryden-Blom/Global News “Collectively we spent 153 years in the residential school just in Shubenacadie. I can imagine over those 38 years how many families were impacted similarly, where whole families, on both sides of their family, were taken away as children and spending that much time away from family and traditions and language, their culture.” Story continues below advertisement She says imagine the far-reaching impacts on Indigenous people across Canada where residential schools were operating over 100 years.Ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Bernard sees education as an important tool.“The lack of education for generations of Canadians on the true history of Canada, on Indigenous peoples, has contributed to the the ignorance, the racism, and the violence,” she says. “With this education, people will see and know what it is that we’re healing from. They’ll understand and promote that understanding, compassion — that friendship.”The power of  sharing residential school survivor stories: ‘They got away with it all these years’Mary Hatfield agrees there is power in sharing the stories of survivors and honouring the memories of the many children who never made it home. She also speaks in the new film.“This being kept underwraps all these years, hoping it wouldn’t surface,” she says. “They got away with it all these years.”Hatfield was born in 1953 and attended the Shubenacadie school from 1959 to 1964.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5176YRvcVA[/embed]She was from a family of sixteen. Most of her siblings were students. Her mom was also a residential school survivor. Story continues below advertisement “I remember arriving there and we had to go up this big flight of stairs and two big oak doors, that we had to go through to get reigistered” she recalls. “From there you were given a number and you were no longer Mary Hatfield. You were number 57.”Her personal belongings were taken away, she was deloused, and handed a uniform, which also carried the same number. Hatfield says many children — including her brothers and sisters — were separated from their siblings because the school was segregated by gender.“Where we ate, the one side would be the boys and the other side would be the girls, so I would see them from a distance but you weren’t allowed to wave or say ‘Hi,’ or anything to them,” she explains. “You were supposed to look directly at what you’re eating or looking at the nuns.” Mary Hatfield was born in 1953 and attended the Shubenacadie school from 1959 to 1964. Skye Bryden-Blom/Global News Trending Now Calgary Flames’ AGM Chris Snow suffers brain injury, not expected to recover Alberta not reinstating masking in hospitals even as respiratory illnesses increase Despite her time at the school, Hatfield is fluent in Mi’kmaw. Her grandmother encouraged her to keep her language close to her heart. Story continues below advertisement “She would say ‘Now that you’re going back to the residential school, you’re going to have to speak English again, and I don’t want you to ever forget your language or you culture.’,” Hatfield recalls. “‘If you can’t speak it through your mouth, speak it in your head.’, so that’s what I did.”She says there was one time she spoke the words aloud.“The teacher slapped me,” Hatfield says. “So I never spoke the language there again, but I sure spoke my language in my head.” She hopes to see big crowds at the truth and reconciliation events. Education, she believes, is one of the best ways to shine a light on the “dark history” of residential schools.Healing from intergenerational traumaIt’s not just survivors who were impacted by the schools, but also their descendants. Michael R. Denny sits down in the video to talk about intergenerational trauma. His father was a survivor.Denny says he’s honouring his dad’s resiliency and healing journey.“I felt that it was it was important to talk about my family, to talk about my family connection,” he says. “Breaking generational curses, breaking generational things that are bad, and passing on the good things to my children and passing on culture, passing on our language.” Story continues below advertisement The former Shubenacadie Indian Residential School was designated a national historic site in 2020. A commemorative plaque now stands at the site along Indian School Road in Nova Scotia. Skye Bryden-Blom/Global News He describes one of the first experiences his father had at the residential school during the 1950s. He was there for nearly a decade.“They just throw delousing powder on his head and throw him in a tub. He doesn’t know what’s going on. He just remembers that stuff burning his eyes, burning his mouth, his nose,” says Denny. “They scrubbed him because he was so dark. His skin was very dark. The nuns were trying to scrub the dark off him because they thought it was dirt.”He says despite the dark history and battling addiction, his father overcame his demons.“He found healing in our our traditional ways and our traditional ceremonies and also some incorporated things from other other nations, other tribes, such as powwows and Sundance,” says Denny. “That’s what saved him. It took him to sobriety. It took him to learning.” Story continues below advertisement He is passing those traditions on to his three young daughters.“As soon as they were born, the first voice they heard was me speaking to them and welcoming them to this world in our language,” says Denny. “I want that to be my legacy. I want that to be my father’s legacy, my mother’s legacy.” [ad_2]

[a-krogan-skald-and-bearsark]

White Canadian here. I live in Nova Scotia and that easternmost blue dot in Canada? That's out in Shubenacadie, where the Residential School grounds abutted the river.

Survivors of that particular residential school have been claiming almost since its inception that the bodies of kids who died on its grounds were dumped in the river more often than buried. Administration has always denied this, and there's no way to prove it. But administration at the Residential School in Kamloops made similar claims right up until the mass grave was excavated so I know who I'm more likely to believe.

Hey remember when they found over 200 bodies of native children buried behind a residential school and the world cared for... what, a week?

They've counted about 6,000-7,000 now, for those of you who do still care

[percysphotos]

June 25th 2023, Shubenacadie

There was an orange barn cat too but he went in the grass before I could get a picture

Thought it was super cool there was wheelchair assistance at the little boat spot. Turns out there was a path around there we missed, we'll be going back soon :)