Briggs & Little

While in New Brunswick we stopped in at Briggs & Little, Canada's oldest woolen mill.

This is their new mill, built after a fire destroyed the original.

They still use vintage machines...

...and continue to make the same products, well loved by knitters and weavers throughout North America.

Signs of Fall in the Maritimes

While we were stopped for gas I came across more signs of fall activities in the Maritimes .

There must have been a lot of people making pumpkin pies because this large bin was nearly empty.

The bags of deer bait were outside while other hunting supplies were stacked on the shelves inside the gas station store.

So many different types of apples were being sold from so many roadside stalls in the Annapolis Valley  we were really getting to know the different varieties. But this garage had bags of them just for the deer.

And this is an example of one stop shopping for the hunter in his big pick up.

It was one of those gloriously warm fall afternoons when we stopped so we decided we would have an ice cream. It was good timing because the owner wanted to finish the last tubs of icecream for the year so our 'single' cones were so large and top heavy they needed two hands to lick them.

Art Deco in Canada

This semester, for my Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts degree studies, I am investigating the Art Deco Movement. While on holiday touring the Maritimes I was on the look out for evidence of the movement wherever I went.

I was rewarded with examples, often in the most unlikely places.

While touring the Briggs and Little woollen yarn factory in New Brunswick, we spied what looked like a car under covers behind bales of fleece. One of the workers threw back the covers to show a 1930s car the owner of the factory had restored. It was a perfectly preserved example of an Art Deco object with its aerodynamic shape that only recently has been reused in car design for fuel efficiency.

Hood/bonnet ornaments were works of art.

The 3 or 4 straight lines, called Streamline, were a distinctive motif that suggested speed, new technology and acceptance of the benefits of the machine age.

I am now developing my thesis for a 2,000 word paper I have to write on a specific subject in the Art Deco Movement. I am doing lots of reading of library books and articles from web searches.

Brennan's B 'n' B

The B 'n' B I was raving about in the previous post is called Brennan's.

Another interesting feature it has is the curved windows in the front. During a walk into town we noticed this is not uncommon in old houses in Fredericton. There must have been a very skilled glass maker in town at that time.

This house was built by the Chestnut family (of the Chestnut canoe fame) who were hardware merchants. As soon as I had heard a bit of the house's history I started more closely at the details. I found even the hinges on the doors are engraved.

The radiators have abstract floral designs on them.

I wished I had more time to explore the house but we had to hit the road and move on. There were still lots of leaves to look at.

B and B in Fredericton

While in Fredericton, New Brunswick, we stayed in a beautiful Bed and Breakfast.

These 3-way wooden shutters in our room cleverly controlled the light and themselves made lovely changing patterns on the wall and changing patterns of morning light on the other walls.

The house was full of most impressive examples of master craftsman woodworking.

I have no idea how these turned wood patterns would have been made.

They were amazing.

Kissing Bridges, St Martins, New Brunswick

Another special thing about New Brunswick is the large number of covered bridges in good repair and still in use, like this very picturesque one in St Martins.

In the days of the horse and carriage, owners would train their horses to stop whenever on the bridge so in darkness they could kiss the person sitting beside them and not be seen.

It seems this courting ritual on the covered bridges continues.

I was interested in recording the graffiti as part of my ongoing study of the thoughts and views of the 'Y' generation.

I have come up with several different scenarios about Jeff's love life and they are all complicated.

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick

While visiting the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick at low tide, we came across some community/spontaneous/environmental art -don't really know what label to put on it, if it needs one.
Each day, after the tide has gone out enough to reveal the beach, the park ranger collects up stones into a form. Throughout the day, visitors to the beach contribute to the installation.

Some like the challenge of balance, building on the Inukshuk idea.

Others add decoration.

Some are challenged to go higher than those before them.
The tide rushed in, levelled it all and made its own arrangement. The park ranger returned in the morning to rearrange the elements again.
It reminded me of the rise and fall of civilisations throughout the history of man.

Leaf Peeping in New Brunswick

More leaf peeping, this time in New Brunswick.

Anne of Green Gables

Like many generations of girls, my mother fell in love with L.M. Montgomery's 'Anne of Green Gables' series of books. When she met and married a handsome man with the ancient Anglo-Saxon family name of 'Shirley', the obvious choice of name for her first born was 'Anne'. 'Lesley' got tacked on in front, which is another story. And so I was named.

.

It was a thrill to arrive on Prince Edward Island and to see so much of 'Anne' everywhere. The islanders still love her and she is a big draw card for the tourists.

According to research by one of my uncles, the surname 'Shirley' was first recorded in the Doomsday Book in 1086 and it is the only name written that has an unbroken paternal link to the present day.

The name has various meanings but the general idea is it describes the people who live in the bright wood clearing.

We found some bright wood clearings while Leaf Peeping on PEI so I had returned to my roots (ha ha).

Lobster Season in the Maritimes

Everywhere we went around the shoreline in the Maritimes we saw people working with lobster 'pots'. We assumed they were getting them ready for the new season which begins sometime over October, depending on the location.

It was interesting to compare those made from wood and woven net with the ones made from high tech materials.

There were different shapes so some of these could be crab pots.

The pots are ready. Let the season begin.

Cape Breton Vernacular Architecture

The first Europeans settling the island brought with them their own culture, which included familiar architecture from their homelands. They built houses of wood because it was plentiful.

The early homes were often functional in that doors and windows were placed where they were needed rather than being decorative. The eaves and trim were minimal.

The central doorway and high gable over the door is a familiar architectural style on the island.