On Twitter I noticed that interpreted reporter Frances Willick had spotted a cardboard urinal on (it looks like) Hollis Street. "Cardboard doesn't seem like a good idea here"  she mused. This reminded me that on the other coast we had seen an outdoor urinal made of stronger stuff.  In 2012 we spent  March in Vancouver to…Read More

Folks seemed to enjoy my last post of downtown commercial buildings in the 1960s and 70s.  That has encouraged me to put together this little collection of photos from the later 70s and 80s. After the mid 70s I generally took slides, because I no longer had access to a dark room, so now you…Read More

In the late 1960s I saw a few photos by the American photographer Walker Evans.  I was particularly attracted to his images of quirky places of  business. Occasionally I'd take a picture with his influence in mind and also I was interested in making photos that were just dreary.  As a consequence my little collection of…Read More

While out in the garage, trying to get the  bird feeders back into operation, I came across a full page newspaper ad from May 2000. The page had been saved because it was nicely designed and  captured a particular moment in time. The ad had been bought by the Urban Pest Management Council of Canada at…Read More

This time of year we start some indoor plants. Not those house plants that hang around for decades and are given embarrassing names. The mantra of these plants is be brief, be brilliant and be gone: sprouts to eat and paper whites to amaze. Sprouts appeared in the 60s and 70s as a staple of the Birkenstock crowd. Somehow…Read More

This afternoon we were making a quick stop at Local Source before getting our flu shots (if enough of us get a shot there will be plenty of herd immunity to save the OTHERS). Anyway, the new Cyclesmith and Nurtured were looking so shiny and lovely I had to  carefully cross the street and take a picture. I know in terms…Read More

Genealogy The NSDCC Christmas Market is this weekend and I noticed it will be the 39th edition (for event times and a preview see blog mates The Local Traveler). I attended the first market and this got me trying to recall the genealogy of the big three markets. The first Christmas craft market happened in 1971 or…Read More

I noticed that Garrett's By the Bridge in New Glasgow was recently demolished. In their later days (the last 40 years) I think of them as an antique store but I believe they may have sold sporting goods and musical instruments. Ask someone from New Glasgow. The special reason that we should all take note…Read More

My last post referenced the move to daylight Sawmill River in Dartmouth. For some years it has been concealed in a giant culvert. There are lots of interesting arguments  for daylighting and for those I direct you to Sam Austin's article in Spacing Atlantic.  Another candidate for daylighting  in Halifax is Freshwater Brook that started at North…Read More

Have you been noticing the talk about daylighting Sawmill River in Dartmouth? To get up to speed read Sam Austin's post on Spacing Atlantic. (Hat tip to Halifax Examiner for the link). Sawmill River was the out flow of the chain of lakes that were the first section of the Shubenacadie  Canal.  It was a power source…Read More