MIKE UNCORKED: NO MOW MAY! BEES and Thank You Mike Butler Issue No. 19.04 April 2022
Wolfville Farmers’ Market / Burger Wars .................. p.3 No Mow May / Margot’s Hidden Gems ................... p.4 Free Will Astrology / Star Drop .............................. p.5 Featurepreneur: Scrubbed Green Cleaning .............. p.6 Classifieds / FSTRA ................................................. p.6 Who’s Who: Mary Harwell ...................................... p.7 Gaspereau Press .................................................... p.8 Visually Speaking / I Know a Place ........................ p.9 Wolfville Page .......................................................p.10 Zero-Proof / Dinner Out ........................................ p.11 What’s Happening / Tides ................................ p.12-13 Great Big Crunch / Kings County Public Spaces ......p.13 Light It Up Blue for Autism Awareness ...................p.14 What’s Growing / Raine Hamilton Trio ..................p.14 Music in the Garden Room / Energy Discussion .....p.15
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4 | April 2022
Some choose to put a lot of work into a lawn. There can be liming, fertilizing, raking, aerating, patching, re-seeding, mowing, rolling, edge trimming and watering. In addition, there can be weeding and pest destruction by herbicides and pesticides respectively, hopefully in an environmentally-sound manner. And as much as it is great to be outside the house, and as much as gardening and yard work is great exercise and therapeutic, let’s pause and ponder the effects of shifting your mowing obsessions, or as I call it: MOW C. D.! There are positives to lawns. A small neatly kept area of pure green can be a wonderful foil for colorful flower beds. However, there are negatives to lawns. Clearly the “perfect, weed-free” lawn does little, if anything, to promote life on our planet. A question for environmentalists is how to promote the switch from a sterile, manicured lawn to something more like a meadow that provides and supports life. The No Mow May movement started in the UK and sought to facilitate such a transition by educating and changing the minds of those who clear-cut the lawn. The movement is gaining traction in the Maritimes, thus the town councils of Moncton and Sackville, New Brunswick both lent their support in 2021. The idea behind the No Mow May movement is to let early-flowering wild plants (especially dandelions) grow in lawns and elsewhere. In this manner, essential food is on hand at the time when hungry native bees, butterflies and insects are emerging. The No Mow May movement is a worthy initiative. The movement has really got the conversation going and has caused a
seismic shift in attitudes. A concern with No Mow May is that we are importing a European solution in an attempt to solve a Canadian problem. That wouldn’t matter if the climate and growing conditions in the Maritimes and Europe were the same but they are not. Last year, an encouraging number of Annapolis Valley residents did not mow in May. What happened, in some cases at least, was that by mid May the dandelions had gone to seed and by the end of May the grass was quite long. The relationship between the frequency of mowing, number of native bees and number of wild flowers is not straightforward. With frequent mowing there are few bees of any description and few wild flowers. As the frequency of mowing decreases at first there are more wild flowers and more bees. However, there is evidence indicating that, within limits, while the number of flowers always increases as mowing decreases the number of bees on those flowers eventually starts to decline, the suggestion being that native bees don’t like to hunt for flowers in long grass. In addition, climatic conditions are such that bringing the long grass down to something resembling a lawn at the end of May is a challenge for Nova Scotians that the European advocates of No Mow May do not have to face. Perhaps the first step in strengthening the No Mow May plan is to match the timing and duration of a no mow period to our climatic conditions. There is evidence that if the start of the spring clean up is delayed till there have been 7 to 10 days at around 10 C, the unintended destruction of native insects will be avoided. By this stage the insects that emerge in spring will have left their winter quarters, be they underground or in the stalks of dead plants or fallen leaves. Linking the no mow period to native insect emergence and to the blooming of flowers feeding pollinators would seem to be common sense.
Children enjoy a campfire as part of March Break Camp activities at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts.
created and maintained to feed the bees. It’s a great first step to helping the movement and to have a visual place to educate youngsters on this movement. Why not create a small pollinator garden on your property and promote it? There are some beautiful gardens in the Annapolis Valley designed to be part lawn and part meadow. Find them and show them off! We have, at our fingertips, the knowledge and advice of the Blomidon Naturalists Society. If you have any questions about what you can do to help, reach out to info@blomidonnaturalists.ca. Peek at the website, find your strength, make the change and, bees and thank you, enjoy NO MOW MAY.
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FarmWorks Annual General Meeting
Investment Co-operative Limited Phone 902-542-3442 or 902-670-3660 Email: lbest@ns.sympatico.ca Website: https://farmworks.ca/
FarmWorks 11th AGM will be held ONLINE on April 27 at 6:45 pm The Zoom link and agenda and information will be posted at farmworks.ca Please contact lbest@ns.sympatico.ca or phone 902-542-3442 with questions.
I am very proud of those areas of the Valley that promote secluded pollinator gardens,
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Can I have a show of hands: who likes to mow their lawn? Okay, there’s a few of you out there but the majority find it to be tedious, sweaty, tiring work that eats up your weekend, and makes your allergies act up. Let me save you some trouble and introduce you to No Mow May!
ON THE COVER
APRIL’S HIDDEN GEMS Margot Bishop
April’s ‘hidden gems’ are all about the talents hidden in each and every one of us. Everyone has a desire to achieve something creative. Let that talent or interest shine. Do not let anyone try to discourage you. Whatever interests you, let that blossom. Do not allow people to influence you in a bad way, or demean or treat your idea as silly. Every creative idea may become a hobby that could and often does become a lifelong passion. Also, as we mature and change so do our hobbies. Let those ideas change with you. No matter what other people say or think, what interests you is very personal, and should be recognized as that. And remember—hobbies are fun.
of the lovely plants resting in our soil: snowdrops, crocus, even heather blooming beneath the snow cover. The potential of our rich Valley earth becomes clear very early in the season: planting early peas, harvesting the first rhubarb.
What do you want to do? If a hobby intrigues you, but you do not know much about it, research it and find out more information. If you start something and it becomes less interesting, do not be discouraged, you can always rethink your actions and start something new. There are literally thousands of things that you can consider making your hobby.
The world of art is full of remarkable things to do—from sketching with charcoal or pastel pencils, to painting with watercolours, acrylics or oils. Carving all different mediums, sculpting with everything from clay to concrete. Your hobby, your ideas, your masterpiece.
If you like doing things by yourself maybe collecting is your forte. Everything from stamp collecting to models (cars, airplanes, ships). Knitters often do projects by themselves and then meet to collect or combine them (think of blankets or prayer shawls). That could be the best of both worlds—solitude AND togetherness.
With sports, anything from walking to ice hockey to kite surfing could be a potential hobby. Of course, there is the expense of hobbies. All factors must be figured in. Do I need lessons, special equipment, certain types of surroundings, like tennis courts?
Music, acting, writing, dance, comes from that inner self. The one that makes you the wonderful person that you are. The love of cooking (and eating) can create great chefs or that perfect grilled cheese sandwich made for your loved one. Even making the pottery dishes that you serve on could become a hobby and even a business.
If you are a gardener, some of your favourite ‘hidden gems’ may be the delight and wonder
Volunteering is a kind of hobby for some people. They love being involved, and a good
Obeisance (noun): A gesture expressing deferential respect, such as a bow or curtsy.
thing too, as they are the backbone of most organizations. Here is a quote from an old movie (Auntie Mame): “The world is a banquet, and all you need is a fork.” Please remember though that some people’s banquets are not as bountiful as ours in the Valley. Have fun with whatever hobby you choose. You are unique, one of a kind, the pleasure you will receive will stay with you long after the activity has ended. Good memories are truly fantastic, so are hobbies. An Act of Kindness An act of kindness or a daily good deed (done anonymously) not only makes the receiver feel good but the doer as well. With the many religious holidays coming up in our calendar year, it may be a time for thoughtful and respectful good deeds. Show your neighbours, and strangers, that the world is still a kind place to live, especially our Valley and province. My dad used to say if you did a good deed every day, you got a reward in heaven. It was a joke, as good deeds are not done for any kind of reward—just that nice feeling of well-being. We should all be kind to one another: strangers, neighbours, and family too—the people we often take for granted. Be good to yourselves and others.
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door— Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door— Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Excerpt from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
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