nichepoetryandprose

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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 125^th 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.janetims.com

www.offplanet.blog

www.janetimsdotcom.wordpress.com

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both books available from Chapel Street Editions

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