CBC Photo Request: Dire Wolf by The Tragically Hip

Twice now we have gotten requests to use a photo of ours by another website or company. The first request was from Touristlink who ended up using one of our campground photos on their page.

Ironically, before leaving on our summer sabbatical to Canada, we were contacted again - this time by a Canadian news network, CBC. They were looking for images to use in a special interactive website for a very popular rock band in Canada called The Tragically Hip. This hugely popular Canadian band is in the middle of a tour despite the cancer diagnosis of lead singer, Gord Downie. Perhaps in preparation for it's August 20th broadcast of their hometown performance and as tribute to this iconic band, CBC put together an interactive online feature with lyrics and sound bites from several of Tragically Hip's songs.

In 2013, we took our travel trailer on the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. The weather on the return voyage from Port aux Basques was foggy and more ominous as this picture shows. The song Dire Wolf by Tragically Hip was inspired by a rough ferry crossing and so CBC requested the use of this photo as a visual representative on it's interactive webpage.

I had heretofore never heard of The Tragically Hip, but I have since listened to some of their music. The poetic, story-telling is appealing, but it's unlikely that I will become a fan of their sound.

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• Newfoundland in Photos (shannafern.com)
• A Viking Life at L'anse aux Meadows (shannafern.com)

Art Meets Geography: Canadian Provencial Flags

Today, we used a globe to geographically visualize our summer travels along the eastern coast of North America. We then selected a flag to draw from one of the three Canadian provinces that we have visited. Elisabeth chose the flag of Quebec with the Fleur de Lys in each corner, a stylized flower historically associated with all things French. Jonah intended to draw the Nova Scotian flag with the blue bars and a white background. He accidentally reversed the colors which is actually fitting considering the flag of Nova Scotia (New Scotland) is inspired by the Scottish Flag and the Cross of St. Andrew. I was left with the challenging New Brunswick flag with it's golden lion on a red background over an galley, which is essentially the same as their coat of arms. (I neglected to include the oars in my drawing.)

Flag of Quebec by Elisabeth

Flag of Nova Scotia by Jonah

Flag of New Brunswick by Shanna

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• Canadian-Themed Summer Reading (shannafern.com)
• The Fundy Trail (shannamama.blogspot.com)
• The Cabot Trail: Nova Scotia's Must See! (shannafern.com)
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Canadian-Themed Summer Reading

Before leaving the US for our summer in Canada, I purchased a handful of books to have on hand for the kids to read. It is particularly difficult keeping enough books of substance laying around for Miss Elisabeth. With our destination in mind, I intentionally chose books with Canadian settings as a means of complimenting the context of our surroundings. I am pleased with the few that I found and hope to read a couple of these myself.

• Who's a Scaredy Cat by Joan Payzant is a piece of historical fiction about the Halifax Explosion that occurred during WWI in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We recently learned about this event during a visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
• The Hydrofoil Mystery by Eric Waters is another WWI fictional tale about historical figure Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the hydrofoil. We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site during a previous trip to Nova Scotia.
• Fog Magic by Julia L Sauer is a children's fantasy novel set in small village in Nova Scotia.
• The Mystery of the Martello Tower is a more modern mystery that involves a Toronto art dealer and a Martello Tower. Canada has 9 remaining Martello Towers today. We visited the Martello Tower in Saint John, NB on our last visit to Canada and may still visit another on this trip.

Related articles

• Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (shannamama.blogspot.com)