November 12, 2026- Hana had an idea about the shelf that holds several story books. She likes to take books off the shelf, but realizes that I don’t like it when either her mother or i have to pick them up off the floor. So, she handed them to me, one or two at a time, in rather staccato fashion. I don’t mind that little game. It gives her a way to build hand-eye coordination and also is a co-operative activity.
She has also started speaking words and short phrases in Korean, while interacting with her mother. Yunhee was taken aback, at first, but she is rather pleased. The words will start to come more readily now, in both languages.
HANA’S NOTE- I am almost ready to walk by myself. I can get up from sitting, without help, so it won’t be long.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Nova Scotia- I was drawn to Nova Scotia by the presence of an active Baha’i community of Mi’kmaq believers, one of whom has been an online friend of several years. Before I was a Baha’i, in 1973, I spent the night in New Glasgow, just inland from the Northumberland Strait. The place enchanted me, if only because I happened upon a small community of poets and musicians=always a comfort. I have been back to Nova Scotia twice since then, both times mainly to visit with the Baha’is of Eskasoni, on Unama’ki, or Cape Breton Island. Of course, I have also taken in the northern, “Celtic” side of the island, and its National Park. Eskasoni, and Bras d’ Or Lake have nonetheless set the tone for what felt like a homecoming.
The Turf: Nova Scotia is largely a peninsula, attached to North America by the Isthmus of Chignecto. The entire province lies within the Appalachian Mountains, with the Annapolis Valley along the Bay of Fundy, the southwest coast, and southern Cape Breton as lowlands. The Cobequid Range and the bulk of Cape Breton are the most rugged parts of Nova Scotia. The coastline, except along the Bay of Fundy, is almost invariably rocky. Nova Scotia is drained by the Annapolis, Gaspereau, Hebert, Avon, Stewiacke, Shelburne, Sackville, St.Mary’s, Margaree, Baddeck and Pictou Rivers, as well as their tributaries. The province, being comprised of a peninsula and a large island, is bounded on three sides by water: Gulf of Maine, Bay of Fundy, Bay of Chignecto, Northumberland Strait, Cabot Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence and North Atlantic Ocean.
First Nations-Nova Scotia is the ancestral home of the Mi’kmaq people. The Mi’kmaq, along with the Maliseet and Passamaquoddy, signed a series of friendship treaties with Great Britain, during the Eighteenth Century. These treaties were not recognized by the Canadian government, with respect to hunting and fishing rights, until 1985. The Mi’kmaq have largely regained their cultural rights, including the right to speak their Native Language, over the past fifty years. Today, there are 15 First Nations Reserves for Mi’kmaq people, throughout Nova Scotia.
Where I most feel at home- Eskasaoni, Whycocomagh, New Glasgow, Margaree, Bras d’Or, Amherst
Where I most feel at peace- Eskasoni, Ingonish Beach, Whycocomagh
Future Five- Kejimkujik, Halifax, Yarmouth, Cape Canso, Louisbourg
NEXT: Newfoundland and Labrador (+ St. Perre & Miquelon)
