book reading and signing
This week I am preparing for a launch of my new book ‘mnemonic – soundscape and birdsong’ at Westminster Bookmark in Fredericton. The poems are enjoyable to read and I look forward to talking about one of my favourite topics – birdsong!
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Preparation means thinking about what I will say, choosing the poems to read within the time given and deciding what to wear. It also means letting you all know about the reading.
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As you can see, I will be reading with another author whom I have never met: Christine Higdon. Her book title is fascinating and I am looking forward to reading her story of four Vancouver sisters in the 1920s. Reading with another author is great: it introduces you to someone you may not know and their books. It means the audience is treated to two readings instead of one. And it usually increases numbers of listeners.
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My talk will focus on the idea of using mnemonics to remember bird songs and calls. Mnemonic means ‘a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.’ Mnemonics are a well-know way of identifying bird calls.
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This idea has been with me as long as I can remember. When my Mom heard a white throated sparrow, she would always answer with, ‘I love dear Canada, Canada, Canada.’ And I have always known the chick-a-dee by its name-sake call. In later years I have come to love some particular mnemonics and the birds they help identify: ‘who cooks for you?’ by the barred owl, ‘yank, yank, yank’ by the white-breasted nuthatch and ‘whirr-zip!’ by the northern parole warbler. A bird call I have never heard is the ‘cheer, cheer, cheer, purty, purty, purty’ of the northern cardinal – I have never seen a cardinal either! What are your favourite (or unique) bird call mnemonics?
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Some of the best sources for mnemonics are Audubon Vermont https://vt.audubon.org/sites/default/files/bird_song_mnemonics.pdf and Stanford (South Bay Birders Unlimited) https://web.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/birdsong.html a great place to listen to various bird songs is All About Birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/browse/topic/sounds-songs/
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I am looking forward to the opportunity to read and talk to the audience on Sunday! Hope to see you there. And hope to hear an afternoon chorus of bird song mnemonics from the audience!
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All my best,
Jane
hermit thrush – a poem put to song
One of the poems in my new book ‘mnemonic’ is about my favourite bird – the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus). Once you have listened to this bird singing in the woods, your life will be forever changed.
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Many thanks to Alan Edgar (alan@science-music.karoo.co.uk) who put the words of ‘hermit thrush’ to music after a study of the bird’s complex melody. ‘Hermit Thrush Song’ is the resulting musical arrangement. https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/hermit-thrush-song-soprano-with-pianoforte-digital-sheet-music/22120849. Thanks also to Mary Lee McKenna for playing the ‘Hermit Thrush Song’ on the piano for me, to help me know Alan Edgar’s melody.
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Here is ‘hermit thrush,’ an ‘author’s favourite’ poem in my book mnemonic.
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Hermit thrush
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Catharus guttatus
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neither visceral nor guttural, ethereal
tip-toe in tree tops
air pulled into taffy thread
a flute in the forest
froth on a wave
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rain trembles on leaf tips
guttation drops on strawberry
a lifted curtain of mayflower
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I saw you there
hidden in the thicket
and I followed
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climb the ladder and sing
then step to the rung below
heads up, thoughts of the new day
parting of the beak
pulse at the throat
hairs lift
at the nape
of the neck, fingers
warble the keys
between middle and ring
catharsis
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This poem and drawing are with others in my poetry book ‘mnemonic,’ now available from Chapel Street Editions (https://chapelstreeteditions.com/book-catagories/poetry/mnemonic/ ). The book is also available at Westminster Bookmark in Fredericton and Dog Eared Books in Oromocto.
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Hope you love my book!
All my best….
Jane Tims
new poetry book: ‘mnemonic’ …
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Elf on the Shelf: where is she now?
A few years ago, I had a lot of fun, exchanging ideas about Vintage Elf on the Shelf with my husband’s aunt. She is gone now, but every time I see Vintage Elf, it reminds me of Millie.
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That year, I brought Vintage Elf out of storage. I have had her since I was a child. She is a little bigger than the modern elves. She has a felt body, braided yellow hair and a sweet smile. Here is Vintage Elf with another Christmas standard, Scrooge.
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Vintage Elf can also tell the story of Jesus’ birth …
First, the empty manger …
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Then, Mary and Joseph arrive because there is no room at the inn …
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Then, the angels announce the baby’s birth to the shepherds …
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And the shepherds visit the newborn baby …
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Then, Elf visits the wise men, as they follow the star to find a king …
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And, at last, they visit the baby in the manger …
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I love the story of the first Christmas and the hope it brings to all the world …
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Hope you have a Merry Christmas season.
All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
squirrel-proof
As a result of our focus on feeding the birds this week, my head is full of birds and squirrels and deer. Hence, a poem…..
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squirrel-proof
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plan for success
buy a feeder, smarter
than any squirrel
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fill the feeder
laughing
all the way
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drive into town
to buy more birdseed
confident, smug
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left turn
into the driveway
shadow
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white tail
brown thighs vanish
around the corner
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feeder empty
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Photos are from years past. We don’t have much snow here in southern New Brunswick!!!!!
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All my best!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
drear November: feeding the birds… and other wildlife!
Every winter, we feed the birds. I have records going back to 2011 and I have photos of birds visiting the feeder for many years before. I notice that I get chickadees, nuthatches and bluejays when I feed with only sunflower seeds. I also get finches, grosbeaks, sparrows and juncos when I feed with a mixed seed variety. Both grey and red squirrels visit our feeder. And a white-tailed deer.
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Last week we bought a new feeder, so I could have both sunflower seeds and the mixed seeds at the same time. I filled both feeders when we arrived home, later in the afternoon. The next morning, not a seed in either feeder. By the tracks all around, I know a deer cleaned out both.
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I don’t mind feeding a bit to the squirrel and deer. But not the whole lot! So this morning, I altered my tactics. I put the mixed seed feeder on a hook off our deck, so high the deer can’t reach it. The sunflower seed feeder can stay in its place, but after this I will only put a quarter of the usual feed there. That way, the birds can get feed during the day and the deer can nibble on left-overs without ruining my budget. The squirrel will be able to reach the feeder on the deck, but I will lure him away with peanuts.
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Do you feed the birds, and do you have any strategies for making certain the squirrels and deer don’t get there first?
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
drear November: Project #4 – writing and finishing a mystery story
As you may know, I have finished the final draft of my Kaye Eliot Mystery, Pareidolia. It is now available on Amazon.ca — just click here.
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Pareidolia began as a search for an unusual way people from the past could communicate with people of the present. Each of the Kaye Eliot Mysteries has looked at one of these cross-time communication methods:
| How Her Garden Grew | letters |
| Something the Sundial Said | diary |
| Land Between the Furrows | postcards |
| Stained Glass | stained glass |
| Pareidolia | ? |
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Every day I stare at the tiles in my kitchen and wonder at the images I see. One tile fascinated me in particular. I could see faces, and also horses and dogs, depending on the angle I considered. This made me think that a story or puzzle could be built into the tiles of a building and the idea for Pareidolia was born.
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Have a look at the tile above. Do you see a Siamese fighting fish? a horse’s head viewed from above, a dog, a scary skull with teeth? What do you see in the circle, bottom left? …..
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When I published the book, I wanted some of these tile-images to appear in the book. So as the Eliot family searches for the story in the clues, I show some drawings of some of the images I have seen.
As I say in the Acknowledgements for the book, ‘
‘…the strange little drawings I use to illustrate this book are of the creatures and faces I have seen in those tiles. Please do not think of them as poorly rendered drawings, but as the miraculous drawings of geological processes.’
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Have a look at tiles you see and find a few images of your own. A great activity as you wait for an elevator!
All my best!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
drear November: Project #3 – preparing a new trail
A week ago, my husband gave me this year’s Christmas present – a new length of trail for us to walk. He flagged some trees to open up an old trail in our grey woods. Then he hired some local men to fell the trees, cut them in four foot lengths, and set them to the side of the trail. Today he was out with the tractor, taking out some of the high spots.
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Last weekend, he took me for a walk to scope out the new walkway. It’s still very rough but you can see the final trail if you use your imagination. Over the winter and next spring, he will clear the stray branches, smooth the bumps, and fill the hollows. The trail is 750 steps from beginning to end. It loops the back half of our acre lot and extends to an old road on the property behind us which we also own..
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One of my favourite parts of the trail is a small clearing I visited with my Mom years ago. She found Ghost Pipe, also called Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), growing there. This is an odd plant that does not contain chlorophyll. It is white in colour and the flower has between 3 and 8 waxy white petals. The flower occurs, as the name suggests, at the top of a stem bent like a pipe. Mom loved her find so much, she put a ring of shingles around the plants to protect them from trampling.
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In later years I have visited the site regularly although I have never seen the Ghost Pipes again. A few years ago, I put an iron bird feeder there on the surface of a big hardwood tree. The feeder has the image of Saint Francis of Assisi.
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I think of this little grove as ‘Mom’s Park.’ My mom has been gone more than 20 years but her love of plants, and her aim to protect them, is with me every day.
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I have written about Mom’s Park in the past ( here ) and repeat the poem I wrote for that post here:
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ghost pipe
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in grey woods
Saint Francis
cast in iron
watches wild
life pass by
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red squirrel
ceaseless jitter
white-tailed deer
pauses, listens
a chipmunk
runs the log
fallen tree
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time also
passes by
Aralia
and bracken
replace white
ghost pipe, once
grew here, all
nature a mirror
of our lives
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When the path is more defined, I will put a small bench in Mom’s Park where I can sit and enjoy our grey woods.
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With this post, I will thank my husband for such a thoughtful gift. These days, walking in our woods is synonymous with keeping up my health. But our grey woods will always be my favourite place to meet with nature.
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra )
a new cosy mystery
The next book in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series is out! In Pareidolia, Kaye Eliot and her family find another mystery to solve, in the form of messages from the past. A famous 19th century artist has hidden a mystery in the marble tiles of his home. With a single clue beginning ‘Once upon a time,’ the artist has hidden a valuable statue in the house.
- Pareidolia is the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. For example – the man in the moon.
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When Kaye and her friend Clara are searching for a venue for Clara’s upcoming wedding, they stumble on a century-old mystery. If Kaye can find all the clues and solve the mystery in a single week, Clara’s wedding reception will be free of charge! A powerful motivation for Kaye and her friends.
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As always, I include maps to use to follow along as the mystery unfolds.
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The book is now available from Amazon here. I will have books available at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto at the Fair on December 2, 2023.
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On these cold days, I know you would enjoy this mystery!
All my best,
Jane (a..k.a.Alexandra)
drear November: Project #2 – a small quilt
When I visited my mother-in-law during her last year, I started a small project with her. As I sat and talked with her, we worked at a lap-sized quilt for her granddaughter, my husband’s niece.
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She could not do much of the work but she chose the fabrics from a selection and showed me how to organize the patches. I sewed them together as we talked.
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When she was younger, she loved to quilt with her neighbour friends and sister-in-law. My husband remembers a big quilting frame set up in the living room and the ladies drinking tea and sewing. When my father-in-law died, I helped my mother-in-law set up a smaller frame in her living room and visited her during my lunch hours to quilt … we made a huge quilt with green and amber autumn leaves. I learned a lot about quilt-making from her.
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The quilt we made for my niece was simple, made of squares of two patterns:
- one is of violets in shades of blue, with green stems and leaves and interwoven silver;
- one is of tiny yellow roses on a background of vines and leaves.
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For the backing, we chose a bright floral print, showing pink and red flowers with green leaves.
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Now, many years later, I have decided to finish what we began. For the binding, I have chosen and ordered a pretty pattern of green leaves from Spoonflower. The greens will match both top and underside of the quilt.
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During November, I will finish sewing and binding the quilt. Instead of setting up a quilting frame, I will do the quilting with the fabric stretched across a large wooden hoop.
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This will be an enjoyable and warming project during the dark evenings of November. When I am finished, I will mail the quilt to our niece, along with the story of how her grandmother helped with the quilt.
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Are you doing a project to ‘warm’ the November evenings?
All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
nichepoetryandprose 