Thinker's Lodge: Pugwash, NS

 A year ago I had been to Pugwash to check out the Thinker's Lodge - it has interested me for a couple of decades.  We visited in June and it was not open to the public.  I tried best to arrange a day when I could have a tour and I had success.  For those of you who have never heard of the Thinker's Lodge,  I'm including this link for a short description: 

Thinkers Lodge National Historic Site

I very much enjoyed my visit to the "lodge" and I learned that this is exactly what it was - lodging for the people who came to discuss peace in a world with nuclear warfare.  The guide did provide me with lots of information at the entranceway of the house and then you are "on your own" travelling up and down 3 separate staircases to get to various bedrooms.  I was a bit dismayed that the very nice bedspreads on the beds all had labels with "made in China" on them.  But I did learn quite a bit about who had been there and the various conferences that were held in this tiny Nova Scotia town over the years.  The first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs was held in 1957 and the location has changed throughout the world.   

In 1995 Jozef Rotblat, a scientist who left the Manhattan Project prior to its conclusion, and the Pugwash Conferences,  were awarded the Nobel Prize for their efforts to bring about global peace.  I believe Jozef stayed in the room pictured above.  

Krushchev met with Cyrus Eaton, the owner of the Lodge, when he went to Europe to attend one of the conferences.  Krushchev felt strongly that nuclear disarmament was an important issue in the world.  He and Eaton had a very friendly visit and Eaton, a dual Canadian/American citizen earned criticism for his "red" tolerance. 

The actual conferences took place in this building, about 1/2 km away from the Lodge.  The Lodge was the place where attendees slept and probably stayed up partying.  

The first thing you will see is the quotation on the upper part of the wall directly in front of you after entering the Peace Hall.  By the time the conference started, everyone attending would have heard the Russell-Einstein Manifesto that the two great thinkers issued about the critical issue of nuclear war.  Pugwash, NS has played a part in trying to make the world a more peaceful place.  

Visiting Two New (to me) NS Towns

We left the Annapolis Valley after a few days of visiting family and admiring the Fundy shore to head north towards PEI.  That was our major destination for a family holiday where we were renting a house in North Rustico and spending a week with "the cousins", etc. (that really means our grandkids and their parents).  

One place that I wanted to visit was New Glasgow, NS - thanks to Johnny Harris and Still Standing - who gave me the information about Viola Desmond and her contribution to NS and Canada.  Sure, I'd seen her picture on the $10 bill and I'd heard a bit about her, but New Glasgow honours this citizen for her stand against the establishment who refused to let her have a seat in a local theatre because of her race.  The rest is history.  Thank you, Viola.  

This is a photo of Viola's Way in New Glasgow, NS.  

Below is the "condensed" version of her achievement.  

Then we travelled on to learn a thing or two about Pictou, NS, a town that I really liked the look of.  They had a "thing" for Middle Eastern cooking, too, because there had been an influx of Middle Eastern immigrants in the past.  We did end up eating seafood and had the best "fries" of our entire trip.  I loved the "forbidden" walk that I completed because of the fire bans - walked along a paved trail in the harbour with beautiful views and a lovely setting sun.  Bah Humbug on trail closures!  

Summer in the Maritimes!

 We just spent nearly 3 weeks in the Maritimes, visiting both Nova Scotia and PEI.  Ironically, in BC we are having the "best summer ever" with very few fires, mostly reasonable temperatures, no smoke, and somewhat regular rain.  It's been delightful.  Meanwhile, the rest of Canada has been hit with fire after fire and NS is no exception.  One frustrating thing we discovered on our last day in the province was that the "woods were closed" and this basically meant not being able to walk on ANY trail anywhere.  I walked in Pictou, NS on a lovely paved walkway along the seashore but it was officially closed.  Fortunately, I was not "caught" because hefty fines had been issued for violations.   The one stop that we made in NB, at Cape Jourimain had also closed its trails and that place is worth a visit.  It's at the junction of the Confederation and the province of NB.  A great place to get a good picture of the bridge!   Too bad Google won't allow me access to my photos at the moment!

The Confederation Bridge from Cape Jourimain, NB.  

Dill Pickles in July!

For the very first time in my gardening life I actually made dill pickles in July.  I have NEVER done that before.  It's always been an "August" thing for me.  We've had such good weather for growing vegetables and my cucumbers have loved their "new" spot climbing up where the grape loves to hang out.  It's meant considerable trimming on the grape plant, but the cukes are very happy,  as are the green pepper that adorn the space in front of the climbing cucumbers.  One troublesome issue,  as the weather gets hotter,  is that the peppers are not getting watered because of all of the foliage on the cukes.  First world problem, I think.

I've been very negligent with my blog, as usual, and today I totally forgot to get a picture of my 3 jars of beautiful dills which should be ready for consumption in about a month.  So, readers, you'll just have to imagine how fine they look!

More Adventures in Teslaland!

 This past Thursday we took a drive over to Nakusp to check out its beautiful gardens and to do a short hike near the town.  Both were very good.  We also had lunch at the Alpine Hut drive-in which is delightfully old-fashioned and relatively inexpensive.  I was able to find a lime smokebush at the Heritage Nursery and that was a good find, in my opinion.  I didn't know they were so "common".  Another task we hoped to accomplish in Nakusp was to try out the new Tesla charging station - the first fast charging station we've seen in any of the interior valleys outside of the Okanagan.  

When we got to the station I was unable to unplug the charger and there was a QR code on it that said "follow instructions".  Doing something with the phone did not help.  There was another fellow charging in this spot and we asked him about it and he'd never had to do that before, but he took a picture of the code and his Tesla seemed to accept it and released the charging cord.  That didn't happen for us.  As Dave was driving away from the station, I noticed the guy waving at me across the street.  His plan was to just give us the cord he used after he unplugged and we would charge.  It was a good plan but then his Tesla completely seemed to seize up and he couldn't get it to do anything.  Meanwhile, Dave walked down the line of chargers and found one that released the cord.  This guy had to reboot his car before it would respond and he could drive away.  He said it had never happened before.  Is there something spooky going on at the Nakusp fast charging station?  Or, is this just another adventure in Teslaland!!?

Garden Touring in Summer

 Kaslo had its annual garden tour yesterday and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The sun shone, but not too hotly, the wind did NOT blow wildly , and everyone's garden was in a perfect place of growth and beauty.  It's a tough job picking a 
"day" a few months prior to the tours.  Last year, we had it a week later and it was terribly hot.  That is one reason we moved to early July.  The time was also rearranged to avoid the heat - starting at 9 am until 2 pm - and that was a good move, but not necessary on this particular day.  We even supplied "misters" at various gardens but we didn't have to use them.  And in our area, the rains came, providing a lovely 10 mm the night before the tour.  

The food hub is trying to partner with the arts council with some success at this event.  This year, we had music and poetry at the community garden, painters "en plein air" in a couple of gardens and one spot where art materials were left out for people to "do their thing".  Some gardeners had paintings out in their gardens or attached to buildings.  One garden host had her paintings for sale and she sold two pieces of work.  Doctors Without Borders will be happy as she donates to this organization when she sells her work.  Another artist sold her first pieces of work.  We had various artists from Kaslo create our "garden tags" to indicate who had purchased a ticket and this was a unique and wonderful keepsake from this year's tour.  Next year we need to have the artists identified on the back of the tag.

 All in all, the tour was a complete success and my photo of one gardener's creative work even has me in the picture!  It was a very good way to raise money for our local food hub.   

48 Hour Holiday

Earlier in June, we took another mini vacation, heading north to Revelstoke.  We love to take advantage of the cheap Seniors rates in the provincial parks and the weather was pretty darn good.  We spent one night at Blanket Creek Provincial Park where there is plenty of good walking (all flat) and the location is well off the highway.  The next day we checked out Begbie Falls and went in via the "climber's route".  I was somewhat amused to get 10 minutes from the falls when we encountered a GOOD gravel road into a BC Rec Site that was 10 minutes from the falls.  We got a good 90 minutes of hiking with some up and down hill work.  It was nice to be able to hear the river all the way!  

We then went to Revelstoke for lunch where I, ironically, could not buy a Begbie Kolsch at the pub (Begbie is the local craft brewery), but I enjoyed lunch all the same.  The skies had cleared completely by afternoon and we really enjoyed riding the Illecillewaet River trails and found all sort of good biking, both paved and unpaved.  The trails were in excellent shape.  By good biking, I mean flat and relatively straight.  Then it was off to Martha Creek to spend the night in a newly renovated campground.   The following morning we checked out the Revelstoke Dam, built in the early 1980s.  It has room for expansion!   We returned to Kaslo via Highway 31, always an exciting drive, mostly on gravel and largely in wilderness.   It makes for a great loop route in the beautiful province of British Columbia.