• Hedgerows and network models: nodes, edges and hedges

    Last night I tuned into Professor Danielle Basset‘s Sante Fe Institute Community Lecture  called Networks Thinking Themselves. The talk had many many inspirational moments but one I would briefly like to share is this harmony between the language used to describe elements of  network structure and a network close to my heart:  hedgerows. In the…

  • The Ontario Rural Skills Network finds a new home at Mount Wolfe Farm: Poppa’s Workshop. Just needs a tidy.

    The Ontario Rural Skills Network finds a new home at Mount Wolfe Farm: Poppa’s Workshop. Just needs a tidy.

    A major frustration to putting on any outdoor workshops this time of year is the inclemency of the weather. The site where we held our first spoon-carving workshop in September last year  is now under a thin blanket of snow (which is thickening even as i write!) and the temperature with wind chill is  -4…

  • The Traditional Farm Hedgerow Your Undiscovered Ally

    Happy New Year! I hope your festive season was restful and rejuvenating! I have written an article on hedgerows and hedgelaying for Small Farm Canada Magazine which is aimed at the those with little knowledge of both. The article is designed to tie in with my work at the University of Waterloo on the SSHRC-funded…

  • Kinship (a Poem)

    Kinship Lima Cat sits at the edge of the kitchen window, Tail a-swishing, Muscles twitching.   Hunger brings the be-wintered Chickadees To the feeder, Forays from the surrounding firs and pines.   A black-capped bird alights on window ledge Strewn with sunflower seeds.   Back arched, Lima tenses; Her eyes fixed and focused, Her paw…

  • Learning by Doing – Our Thinking Hands

    Learning by Doing – Our Thinking Hands

    Originally posted on Home Edgeucated: (With thanks to our great friend, artist and T’ai Chi teacher Caroline Ross) Since the summer, the children and I have continued to learn about evolution and prehistory of humankind. We have spent a lot of time discovering how hand tools were made and how they were developed and refined…