Here is clip 3 from the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival.

We wanted to cook a meal from freshly, locally grown produce so we bought or vegetables and eggs from Sarsam Farm…a meal of fresh baby carrots, string beans, small red potatoes and eggs. Several years ago we would frequently enjoy many meals from produce grown on our own farm- this really was the next best thing.

I’d encourage anyone to buy from their neighbour, it supports the local economy, keeps small farms in business, keeps food fresh, healthy and tasty and makes you feel great that your produce has not collected thousands of air miles..

Click above to view part 3 of the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival- Buy Locally.

Before I post the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival vid part 3 I just have to share a song that I am way obsessed with…there is something about unusual male vocals and melody that does it for me and I am afraid that everyone in our household is currently being driven nuts by my constant playing of ‘Orca’ by WINTERSLEEP



Here is a live video from You Tube..

Tales from the Tipi







Click above to hear & see Jake & Melissa’s Tales from the Tipi.

Click above for Bridgewater Sustainability Festival Part 1.Report on festival to follow…



Ooops.. Further to my short blog posting a few days below on an enjoyable evening on Oak Island I have to share this photo!




Dan Blankenship showing Joy the workings of underground tunnel by drawing diagrams..

I spent a couple of hours sorting through all the video clips I recorded over the weekend with the ‘flip cam’ I borrowed from work and have been busy putting together some short video clips for the blog..

Check back daily to www.frugalandgreenish.com to see the following clips

Monday- Part 1 of the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival. Spot the belly dancer and some familiar faces from Lighthouse Publishing!

Tuesday- Part 2 of the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival. We step inside Jake & Melissa Wentzel’s Tipi to see just how comfortable Tipi Living can be..

Wednesday- A meal prepared purely from locally grown produce (grown without pesticides or commercial fertilizers) from Sarsam Farm who displayed at the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival.





Thursday- Traveling in an environmentally friendly way using the power of the wind. Yep- what better way than by sail boat. Mini voyage around the Islands of Indian Point. See the wildlife, hear the sea, see other boats and join us for a BBQ on Tryst.




Friday- Captain Lighthouse goes to sea.

I’ll do a full report and video tomorrow (just off to Tryst)



The festival looked great and would really like to somehow be part of it next year….



Jake & Melyssa’s Tipi was just amazing- so much so that I think we now need one in our garden….I may live in it



Well done Leon & organizers!



C xx

I have been following with interest the emergence of a new festival to the South Shore called the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival and am looking forward to seeing what its all about this Saturday morning.

I asked ‘Leon De Vreede’ why the Bridgewater Sustainability Festival has come about…

Why a “sustainability festival”? To take a proactive stance on this important issue, and to let the public know that change is possible and that there are people and organizations working hard at making a difference. Living “within the earth’s means” is an extraordinary task, and will take a dedicated effort from ordinary people, businesses, all levels of government, and civil society. The science is clear – we have to change the way we live on our Earth, or we’ll continue to see more and dramatic problems, from climate change to pollution to depleted oceans to conflict over dwindling resources. Sustainability is the practice of weaving all these complex issues together and creating a path toward a future where we don’t rob future generations of their right to a good quality of life the way we have been taking advantage of ours.

From 2008 to 2010, the Planning Department of the Town of Bridgewater will be hard at work developing a long-term vision and action plan for the community called the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP). This process to develop this plan is called “Sustainable Bridgewater”. This Festival marks the launch of the initiative. Sustainable Bridgewater will have a booth at the Festival where members of the public can come to learn more about the initiative, and provide their thoughts on how Bridgewater can become a more sustainable community.

Sustainability planning for communities is not new but this practice is growing rapidly in Canada thanks to a federal funding program called the Gas Tax Transfer. Using this funding, all 55 municipalities in Nova Scotia are required to have produced ICSP’s by 2010. Bridgewater is using some of its Gas Tax dollars to fund a series of public education and consultation events, including this Festival.

Support our movement toward becoming a sustainable community by coming to this event, celebrating a great day outside with music, food, and fascinating things to learn and do. How can you make a difference? You won’t know if you don’t come! For more information visit www.bridgewater.ca/sustainability

Leon De Vreede

While other little girls were playing with Barbies and plastic tea sets, I’d be the one hanging around with the boys, usually getting into trouble climbing walls (just ask my Mom about the day the Bishop of Malmesbury came to the rescue after a friend of mine got a twisted ankle falling off his wall scrumping apples!)….Pirates, cowboys and indians, stick (sword) fighting, picking up the tortoise and see how long it pee’s for and snail racing were infinitely more attractive than feeding baby doll and changing its diaper…

So when we came to Nova Scotia many years ago I immediately was drawn to the Oak Island mystery and treasure hunt. Click HERE for a great article by Patrick Hirtle. Many years later am still following with interest, the continuing hunt for treasure on the island whether that be in the form of a single small historical artifact or conclusive archeological find or indeed a horde of pieces of eight. There are many theories of course and thats the fun part! But wouldn’t it be wonderful to find real honest-to-goodness treasure!

But what drives a treasure hunter to make such a mystery his/her life’s work? When I say treasure hunter I use that term very loosely as I am totally convinced that finding treasure is only a very small part of a lifetimes work. You see its all about mysteries and finding a solution to a puzzle that has been unsolved for over 200 years….

So as I listened to Mr Blankenship last night at Garnette & David’s house and watched as he took his pencil and sketched diagrams as he talked (about Oak island of course) one couldn’t help be inspired by someone with such an unfaltering belief in what he has done and what he is doing, undoubtedly a life’s work, a life’s passion and a life’s achievement. How can one be so devoted, so sure, so convinced in what they do? There was only one word I could think of……faith.

Well this just had to be done…



Congratulations to the lovely Adrian De Montfort & Matthew Guy who have just become permanent residents of Canada.



Although I haven’t met up with AJ & Matt for quite sometime (they live in this great old house in the Annapolis Valley) they have been virtual and real friends for many years and I have followed their immigration journey from the Uk and their life in NS via their blog for many years after they moved from the busy city in Leeds Uk to a simpler rural life in the valley.



Hearing that they finally have their permanent residency really has made my day…..

The blog now has its own domain name! If you want to use the domain its http://www.frugalandgreenish.com and should be working shortly. It still of course comes directly to southshorenow.ca (its home!)