Squirrel be gone, in a nutshell
RD: I found a trap that works quite well with squirrels. It is a Woodstream gopher trap from Princess Auto. Take a walnut in shell and place it in triangular trigger and set. See attached photos.
Kelly Cheverie
East Point, P.E.I.

Thanks for the dissent
RD: Thank you for printing dissenting views in your magazine. John Earl and Ed Long both got their voices heard; I’m still reminded that Old Macdonald’s farm is in O-hi-o-hi-o! That pertains to the Great Lakes, phosphorous, and “protectionism.” For this reason I decide to renew my subscription. And not to be ironic, I thought also to study Small Scale Pig Raising, so find enclosed an order for that book! Thank you.
Rusty Ephemeris
Cheltenham, Ont.

Name that tune
RD: I have been a subscriber to your magazine for many years and enjoy it immensely.
I have a little request for your readers, if they might be able to supply me with a song title; also the words, if possible. I would appreciate it greatly. Many years ago I taped (cassette) this song from the radio, sung by a male singer. It was a beautiful tune and I’ve never heard it since (probably eight to 10 years ago). My tape has since worn out and gone, and I’m missing it; it was a very uplifting song.
The chorus of the song is as follows (from memory):

I give you a garden
with the seeds I have planted,
I give you the light of Christ
to shine on you to grow,
I give you the Spirit with the
gifts that will lift you up,
I give you the love and peace
if you follow me each day…

Anyone who would have information on this song could get in touch with me.
In appreciation, thank you.
Nina Meisner
Hubbards, N.S.

Best wishes on regime change
RD: Truly the end of an era. Thank you Dirk for creating Rural Delivery and keeping it going through thick and thin.
We are pleased to hear that “Pot Luck” and cartoons and illustrations will still appear, and relieved to hear that RD will continue on in the capable hands of Chassity Allison, ably assisted by David Lindsay and all the good people in the RD office.
Congratulations! Thank you! Onwards!
Bruce Blakemore and Hugh Jones
Purgatory Point, N.S.

RD: Congratulations to everyone on the change of ownership/management. Look forward to many more years of the magazines.
Doug Brown
Belleisle, N.S.

A visit with an old friend
RD: Writing to you as a friend, who comes to visit every month, I look forward to it very much. Wish I could offer you a pot of tea to share together with the great recipes for the great cake and cookies. Interested in all animal and bird stories, also trees, fruit, and crops.
I, together with my other half, have raised Irish Setter dogs since 1970, including a rescue of 12 from Cape Breton Island last year. Can’t wait for the spring; 20 degrees below tonight, all dogs (12) in the house to cuddle up.
Cynthia Hunt
North Gower, Ont.

RD: We have enjoyed your magazine since it was first published. I bought a subscription for my husband at the Bridgewater Exhibition when you had a booth there. Really enjoy the recipe section.
Marguerite Jayne
Middlewood, N.S.

RD: I enjoy reading your magazine and recipes and all articles. I find it very enjoyable and look forward to it each month.
Charles Fraser,
Inverness, N.S.

A rocking mystery
RD: For 40 years I have been rocking away on a Nova Scotia rocking chair. I have cobbled it together as it has aged. Now with a barn full of hackmatack/larch I have started to remake this comfortable garden chair. Neighbours like them. But whom do I give credit for the design?
   I got my chair from a Halifax neighbour who had connections with Yarmouth and an old guy who made them from cast-off boards from a box factory. Could Rural Delivery ask its readers if they know of the origin of this design, so I can give credit where credit is due? Rock well.
Richard McBride
Union Square, N.S.

Transitioning
RD: Recently I attended a meeting that was, in part, held to plan the transition away from destroying large areas of Crown lands and some private wood lots. Looking at satellite maps, we see hundreds of clearcuts all over Nova Scotia, most since the year 2000, and especially over the past five years.
    Recently the present Liberal government abandoned a five-year plan to reduce clearcutting by 50 percent. Lands in southwestern N.S. have been and continue to be cut by a new company called WestFor Inc. – lands with soil so devoid of nutrients over granite rock that they shouldn’t be cut at all, say forest experts. WestFor is a consortium of 13 companies that saw lumber or use pulp wood. A major beneficiary of these lands is Northern Pulp at Abercrombie. At least one other exports whole logs to mills in N.B. Chips to Europe to be made into OSB amounts to an export of jobs from N.S. Round logs sawed in other provinces also amounts to an export of jobs.
   The meeting I attended talked about what jobs would be available for forestry workers that might be displaced by reduced clearcutting. This reduction actually might increase jobs, because forests would be better managed and need thinning and sustainable harvesting. More graduate forest techs would be needed to survey forest lots and make plans for management. (Median pay for this career is $28 per hour.) The coming of carbon credits would be additional income for lots that grow yearly while being subject to thinning that enhances tree growth. Typically, a forest that has had selection cutting over a 10-year period will have a greater quantity of wood growing at the 10th year than at the first year.
   Another source of revenue might come from tourism. Trails and small log or canvas shelters would build yearly revenue for qualified forest lots. This requires a forestry planner, selection cutters, and thinning workers, and at least one person catering to tourists – resulting in two or three revenue streams per forest lot.
   N.S. will have the number of wind turbines sharply increase as costs keep dropping. Recently another installer, IFE Eriksen, has opened a Halifax office and has advertised for a number of senior job positions. Turbine leases are revenue for 20 to 30 years, especially for high-elevation lots. Off-shore wind turbines are yet another industry that can provide employment. They attract off-shore financing in a guaranteed ROI. NSCC can train workers to install and maintain these turbines.
    Some small lots will have an array of solar photovoltaic panels installed, which is another revenue stream over a 20- to 30-year period. Community energy groups require workers for initial installations and preventive maintenance. Again, NSCC trains these future workers. Getting rid of the old-style mains electric grid used today by Nova Scotia Power, as we transition to community energy smart grids that are interconnected with each other, will require workers over a 10-year period at least.
   Where would the funding come from to finance all this? Many Nova Scotians have RRSP plans that can be invested in new businesses. Currently the federal CPP has invested only about 20 percent of our pension plan within Canada. Why not require them to increase that, supporting endeavours such as those above, with the Province guaranteeing the repayment with a suitable interest rate?
    Careful transition planning is necessary to ensure trained workers are available. Unfortunately, this government doesn’t appear to be up to that job. It simply doesn’t have the vision nor the will to change with the rest of us. I ask that forestry workers and private woodlot owners join us in planning for these changes. Our children are depending upon us to get moving.
Don Wilson
Tatamagouche, N.S.