Archive for the ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ Category
spider web
My writing group has been sharing writing prompts in this time of isolation.
The most recent prompt was ‘spider web.’
Took me an hour to find a spider photo since I am spider-averse.
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spider web
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web enlarges spider
her domain, her coefficient of creep
extends her occupation of space
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trap for unwary
blue-bottle flies
beetles on the wing
and gnats, nattering
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all of the cobwebs
I have brushed from my face
would not weigh a gram
but they take up
a fair chunk
of brainscape
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just as the spider
is sensitive to vibration
my skin notices
the sub-threshold of touch
the tiniest occupant
of my domain
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All my best,
Jane
spring chorus – winter wren
This morning I added a new bird to our spring chorus singers – the winter wren.
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It is the first I have heard of him this year. At 6:45, just after dawn, he began his amazing song. His tweets and runs and burbling sound so joyful and each song lasts about seven seconds, very long for any bird song. He may be a winter wren but to me he is always the ‘scribble bird’.
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To hear the winter wren sing, click here .
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He joins my growing list of morning singers:
- black and white warbler – ‘sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet’
- American robin – ‘cherry up cheery-eee’
- nuthatch – ‘yank, yank, yank, yank’
- phoebe – nasal ‘fee-bee’
- snipe – winnowing
- our neighbour’s rooster
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I often include elements of the morning bird chorus in my poetry. This poem, written about the Salmon River Covered Bridge, is in my poetry book in the shelter of the covered bridge (Chapel Street Editions, 2017). To obtain a copy of the book, go to Chapel Street Editions or contact me through the comments.
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The Salmon River Bridge, near Sussex, Kings County, was built across the Kennebecasis River in 1908. Today it is used as a rest area. In the absence of traffic, wild life occupies the bridge. Virginia creeper covers one corner of the roof and rose bushes crowd the edges of the road.
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scribble
Salmon Bridge
Kennebecasis #7.5
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The robin, chary. Her beak drips
with wet meadow grass and chickweed.
She clucks, longs to add another strand
to her nest in the rafters,
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woven with the trill of a scribble bird,
a winter wren delirious. And downy
woodpeckers, wing-flare and scrabble,
flirt in the willows, weeping.
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A warbler (yellow blur-bird)
and a red-wing, toweeeee.
Pink roses, meadowsweet
chip, chip, chip, so-wary-we
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and beneath the bridge
in soft mud beside pulled grass
the bleary track of a black bear
claws and pads
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Published, in the shelter of the covered bridge, Chapel Street Editions, 2017
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All my best,
Jane
celebration of a covered bridge
Do you love covered bridges?
Have you done any writing about the Patrick Owens Bridge or any other covered bridge?
On Saturday August 25, 2018 at 2:00 pm join us at the Rusagonis Covered Bridge Park to celebrate our Bridge.
- We will hear from Jeff Carr, MLA.
- Linda Cogswell will tell us a bit about the history of the bridge.
- I will be reading from my book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2017) and $10 from every sale of my book will be donated for the upkeep of the Park.
- Rose Burke will read a piece about the Upper Mills Bridge and cross-border travel in former years.
- Ian LeTourneau, Fredericton’s Cultural Laureate, will read his poem about the loss of the Bell Covered Bridge.
- We will also have an ‘open mic’ where you can join others in reading from your own work (about bridges or any other related theme).
We will have cake and lemonade as part of the afternoon. There will also be a BBQ, courtesy of MLA Jeff Carr! Everyone is welcome!
Let me know if you would like to read (in the comments or at timstims@nbnet.nb.ca).
All my best,
Jane
little libraries
Do you have a ‘little library’ in your neighborhood? We have a few in the Fredericton area. A community-based book-sharing system, these places encourage reading and neighbourhood spirit. The little library is usually small, a dry place for books on a post. Sometimes there is a stone or stump in front so children can access the books.
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On Sunday, I placed a signed new copy of three books in the little library on University Avenue in Fredericton: ‘within easy reach’ (Jane Spavold Tims, Chapel Street Editions, 2016), ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Jane Spavold Tims, Chapel Street Editions, 2017) and ‘The Back Channels’ (Jennifer Houle, Signature Editions, 2016).
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If these books have already been claimed at the little library, they are available at the Fredericton Public Library. They are also available at Westminster Books in Fredericton. Books make great gifts!!!!!!!
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For more about little free libraries, see https://janetims.com/2016/07/06/little-free-library/
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All my best,
Jane
book festival and fair
This weekend, I will be part of the Metro Moncton Book Festival, a great event for all booklovers! Just have a look at all the authors who will be there with their books.
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I will be there with all my books. All my books are illustrated so you can have a look at some of my artwork too.
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Are you interested in edible wild plants? Do you love covered bridges?
Do you love science fiction or a good love story?
If you are the Moncton area, I hope to see you there!
All my best,
Jane
winter wren and the morning bird chorus
This morning, just after sunrise, I listened to the song of the Winter Wren. This little wren and its tiny tail shiver as he sings. I call his song a scribble-song. Its powerful trills and whistles last for several syllables. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website All About Birds describes it as “a rich cascade of bubbly notes.” To me it celebrates the busy joyfulness of our Grey Woods in spring. To hear the song of the Winter Wren, go to https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Winter_Wren/overview
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I have listened to the morning bird chorus every day for the last week. This morning I heard:
Black-capped Chick-a-dee
Northern Parula
Winter Wren
Eastern Phoebe
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I often include elements of the morning bird chorus in my poetry. This poem, written about the Salmon River Covered Bridge, is in my poetry book in the shelter of the covered bridge (Chapel Street Editions, 2017). To obtain a copy of the book, go to Chapel Street Editions or contact me through the comments.
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The Salmon River Bridge, near Sussex, Kings County, was built across the Kennebecasis River in 1908. Today it is used as a rest area. In the absence of traffic, wild life has occupied the bridge. Virginia creeper covers one corner of the roof and rose bushes crowd the edges of the road. In mid-May, when we were there, birds were busy in and around the bridge, preferring to be left to their own springtime activities.
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scribble
Salmon Bridge
Kennebecasis #7.5
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The robin, chary. Her beak drips
with wet meadow grass and chickweed.
She clucks, longs to add another strand
to her nest in the rafters,
~
woven with the trill of a scribble bird,
a winter wren delirious. And downy
woodpeckers, wing-flare and scrabble,
flirt in the willows, weeping.
~
A warbler (yellow blur-bird)
and a red-wing, toweeeee.
Pink roses, meadowsweet
chip, chip, chip, so-wary-we
~
and beneath the bridge
in soft mud beside pulled grass
the bleary track of a black bear
claws and pads
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Published, in the shelter of the covered bridge, Chapel Street Editions, 2017
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All my best,
Jane
in the shelter of the covered bridge
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in the shelter of the covered bridge
by Jane Spavold Tims
poetry with illustrations
Chapel Street Editions 2017
poems about plants and animals living in the vicinity of the covered bridge
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73 poems, 35 bridges, 21 illustrations
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From the Preface:
Where I live in rural New Brunswick, driving through a covered bridge is a daily occurrence. The sounds of the tires on the decking, the glimpses of river and sunlight between boards, the fun of seeing a family fishing and the sight of a groundhog carrying her kit across entryway of the bridge — these are touch-stones for my existence.
The inspiration for this book came in 2015, when my husband and I crossed the Patrick Owens Bridge on the Rusagonis Stream and startled a rabbit in the middle of the span. The rabbit raced through the bridge in front of the truck. I can still see the shadow of his long ears and the scurry of his feet. Since the incident occurred during the February 21, 2015 conjunction of Venus and Mars, with the sickle moon just above the planets, I thought of all the legends about the hare and the moon. This led to the poem “conjunction” and a question about what other plants and animals find shelter in or around our covered bridges in New Brunswick.
My husband and I carried out the field work for the book during 2015. We focused on covered bridges in the entire Saint John River Valley, but we also visited bridges in Charlotte and Westmorland Counties. Travelling around the province, visiting covered bridges and paying special attention to the nearby wild life, was an ideal way to spend a spring and summer in New Brunswick. Some bridges were easy to find, others a challenge. Each bridge contributed its own personality, history and component flora and fauna.
The covered bridge is endangered in New Brunswick. In 1900, there were about 400 covered bridges in the province. By 1944, there were only 320. In 1992, when Glen, Michael and I visited some of the bridges for Canada’s 125th birthday, there were 71. In 2017, as I write this, there are only 60 remaining. Vandalism, flood, accident, fire and age claim more bridges every few years.
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… In 2018, there are 58 covered bridges remaining …
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Book available from Chapel Street Editions
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dry wind
French Village Bridge
Hammond River #2
the bridge leans, upriver
wind enters, a beer can
rolls on the deck
white butterflies obey
the valley breeze
navigate the scent of wild roses
avoid the dogs
cooling off in the river
the beach folk, sunning themselves
bracts of Yellow Rattle
and Silene, inflated bladders
dry as old boards
aspens tremble
a song sparrow stutters
a loose shingle rattles in wind
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drawing of the French Village Bridge 2015: ‘enter’
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About the Author
Jane Spavold Tims is a botanist, writer and artist living in rural New Brunswick, Canada. She has published two books of poetry, within easy reach (2106) and in the shelter of the covered bridge (2017), both with Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock. Her first four books in the Meniscus series, Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, Meniscus: South from Sintha and Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb, were published with CreateSpace in 2017 and 2018 under the name Alexandra Tims. In 2016 she won the Alfred G. Bailey Prize in the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition for her manuscript of poems about bird calls. She is interested in identifying plants, bird-watching, science fiction and the conservation of built heritage. Her websites feature her drawings, paintings and poetry.
www.janetimsdotcom.wordpress.com
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both books available from Chapel Street Editions
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special book offer – in the shelter of the covered bridge
To celebrate my reading at Odd Sundays yesterday, I am selling my book in the shelter of the covered bridge (Chapel Street Editions 2017) at the reduced price of $25 (including postage) from February 16, 2018 until February 28, 2018. If you happen to live in my driving area (within 30 km of Oromocto or Fredericton, New Brunswick), the price for a hand-delivered book is $20. Just email me at timstims@nbnet.nb.ca and we will arrange for payment and delivery.
The book usually sells for $28 so this is a great deal if you love poetry, covered bridges or wild life.
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in the shelter of the covered bridge is published by Chapel Street Editions (Woodstock) and includes over 70 poems about visits to 54 of New Brunswick’s covered bridges. The book is illustrated with my pencil drawings and has a foreword by Brian Atkinson, a well-known New Brunswick photographer.
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“… A delightful blend of her poetry and drawings, as well as the natural and cultural history of this province …” Linda Hershey, Moncton Times-Transcript, Nov. 30, 2017, writing about in the shelter of the covered bridge
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Copyright 2018 Jane Tims
Reading – Odd Sundays – and a special book offer
On Sunday February 18 at 2:00 PM I will be one of two featured readers at Odd Sundays in Fredericton. Wayne Curtis, well-known New Brunswick author, is also featured!
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Moores Mills Bridge near Sussex, north entrance, 2015
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I will be reading from my new poetry book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2017). If you love covered bridges, you will enjoy my poems. Each one was written after a visit to a particular covered bridge and the poems feature the plants and animals (and humans) who look to the covered bridge for shelter. Some love stories among the lot, since we will be near to Valentine’s Day! The book features my poems and my pencil drawings of some of the plants and animals I encountered.
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carving inside Moores Mills Bridge near Sussex
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As a special deal associated with this event, you can get a copy of the book (which sells for $28) for $25, postage included. Just email me at timstims@nbnet.nb.ca and we will arrange for payment and delivery. This offer last from today February 16, 2018 until February 28, 2018.
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I hope if you are in the Fredericton area, you will come to hear me read. The event is at Corked on Regent Street in downtown Fredericton. Come and enjoy a beverage and the readings. You may win a book in the draw or decide to read your own work in the open mic segment of the program.
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Moores Mills Bridge near Sussex, south entrance, 2015
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Remember to email me and get your own copy of ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’. Nice gift for someone who loves covered bridges.
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Copyright 2018 Jane Tims
Malone Covered Bridge – Isaac’s Way Art Auction
One of my favorite covered bridges is the Malone Bridge (Kennebecasis #23) near Upper Goshen in Kings County, New Brunswick.
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The painting ‘thistles at Malone Bridge’ is 24 inches wide by 20 inches high, done in acrylics, gallery edges.
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My painting ‘thistles at the Malone Bridge’ is part of Isaac’s Way Restaurant’s 31st Art Auction. The Auction closes January 28, 2018 – silent-auction-type bids are taken until then, or you can buy the painting anytime up to the close of the auction for its full price of $320. 50% of the proceeds from my sale are donated to ART lessons for kids-in-need. If you love covered bridges and would like some original art for your home, drop by and have a look at my work or call Isaac’s Way at 506-474-7222.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
nichepoetryandprose 