Nick Ringma Musings and More

New Post: Thanksgiving and Soforth Thanksgiving always reminds me of my early journey into recovery. I was grateful, Margaret was grateful and together we moved tentatively with hope. I remember 24 years ago telling my church family that I was hopeful and on the road of recovery. They were hopeful and offered hugs n prayers. I look back on all https://buff.ly/3nHw6R6

New Post: Compost and Other Rotten Things Carved into the bark of a fading and wind topped cottonwood tree is a twisted winged creature arising Phoenix-like from the rotten bark. Carved skillfully by Elmer in 2017 and left in the Prince George Park for us to discover. An example of life living on death. In the Edmonton Organic Gardens at the https://buff.ly/3lEMb8z

New Post: Devonian Gardens and Beyond On the other side of town, the U of A has over fifty years built gardens that are home to fruits, vegetables, trees, berries, flowers and architectural design. Our friend Bob Bruinsma later told us that his early career in the sciences was launched in the Devonian gardens some fifty years ago. The most striking https://buff.ly/3ltRXtp

New Post: Garlic -- 76 varieties and counting In the attic of the barn at the U of A organic gardens, four flats of field grown garlic were slowly drying. Fans pushing air across cloves. In the drying room there were also four boxes of extra seed garlic. We brought several cloves of "Garlic Ranch" along to plant along side our growing garlic https://buff.ly/33EFw7Y

A gardeners vacation!

New Post: Organic Gardening at the U of A On the campus of the University of Alberta there is an organic garden operated by volunteers -- members of the Edmonton Organic Gardeners Club. Each member seeding, planting, weeding and gleaning for their own health. In the barns there is a collection of seed drills and gardening tools lovingly restored for memory. In the rich https://buff.ly/3d7miLj

New Post: Sunrise and Sunset The evening sky is coloured by sunset and the fading mist over the mountain lake. The colours emerge as a band of more than orange -- the band of a painter's handiwork. The vistas roll across the hills unfurling like a flag, the majesty to follow. Earlier, the setting sun grazed the pasture and coloured https://buff.ly/36AzUxz

Crop is in! Enjoy

New Post: An Apple A Day On the highway through Cawston we saw fields of fruit trees. This orchard of apples displayed both organization and density. Scarce water used wisely. On the edge of Lake JimSmith a twisted pine tree is shredded by one too many wind encounter and the knarled bark is disconnected from the roots and water. On the https://buff.ly/34ldqOc

New Post: Outhouses and Trucks The comforts and discomforts of home are captured in this image. There was a time in history, our history, that an outhouse and woodshed were common sites. I captured this image on the way to Keremeos and was reminded of the incredible effort we are putting into remodelling a bathroom back home. Tiles, shower, paint https://buff.ly/30nPuZt

New Post: Juxtapositions Climbing the mount at the back of the temple on a well worn path is contra-indicated by the signage. The island temple was rescued by Europeans from the rising waters of the high-Aswan Dam. Controlling the flooding Nile and generating electrical power has displaced temples and people. The powerful and the powerless struggle. In the… https://buff.ly/2SlOLV2

New Post: A Close up at the Aswan The layered clothing shelters people from the hot and cold swings of day and night. In the courtyard of their house the couple shares hibiscus tea with visitors and with an appropriate gift might apply a sign-of-Iife henna as a promise. The river crocodile guards the exterior of the house. The homestead is set in… https://buff.ly/3bq5KND