.

From "The first year of retirement"

.

In the Valley

Walter A. Aue, late May 2001


A word for those not in the know: "The Valley" is the Annapolis Valley, a beautiful, mostly agricultural area on the West side of Nova Scotia. It is full of apple orchards. Haligonians (i.e., the good burghers of Halifax) love to go there for a drive and a munch.

.
.
. On the campus of Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Acadia University

. The grounds are particularly beautiful in spring, in fall, and around the Administration Building.

Administration

. Acadia University also has a famous football team and an impressive stadium, but I found this view prettier. Even the second time around.

The second time

.

. Everybody knows tulips, but why did I put them in here? Because beauty beats relevance, that's why. And who could tell where I photographed them? Perhaps in my very own garden?

Everybody knows....

. A tulip is a tulip - especially if the're two of them...

....what that is

.

. Enough of tulips. No tulips on Blomidon Beach. Life is rough here. That's why Glooscap, the Mi'kmaq god of old, chose to live in Blomidon. Actually, it is not on the beach that Glooscap lived. The tides here are the highest in the world. Glooscap lived upstairs, on top of the cliffs, among breathtaking beauty. So why no photographs from up there? Because Nova Scotia made a provincial park out of Glooscap's abode - and now blocks the only access road well into June. By the way, Nova Scotia produces lots of fancy tourist literature about its "Glooscap Trail". But even Glooscap himself wouldn't have been able to figure that one out...

Blomidon Beach

. What "before the fall" means? Oh, no - only mean-spirited people would give that phrase an ironic undertone. Perhaps it just tells you to visit Blomidon Park in summer? That is, after the spring and before the fall? (Fall in Blomidon is easily the most beautiful of seasons, with leaves turning red, and delicious chanterelles growing everywhere. Believe me, I visited many times when I could still get there...)

Before the fall

.

. Birches are beautiful creatures. They have spirits all of their own. Not to mention that the Europeans use their sap as hair tonic...

Birch....

. History was written on birchbark, and Canada was explored on the birchbark canoe before the Europeans came. Far lighter than any other boat, too, when it comes to portage...

....with water....

. The floor is giving way under these birches and soon they will tumble down the cliff. How sad for a tree that makes some of most beautiful flooring (called hardwood in America, softwood in Europe). Never to touch the sky again...

....and sky

.

. Some life can still get up the cliffs. Only some. And certainly not me. But it's still beautiful...

On the cliffs

. Yes, there's beauty even in death. Even in discarded rope from a lobster trap. There's beauty in life AND death...

On the rocks

.

« «   Home Page
Eye of the Beholder
» »