Footnotes to a Conversation, April 17, 2023
“For the witch often will wander paths first made by foxes rather than stick to the straight tracks of man. There is rarely a route to wisdom that has no twists or turns to tangle along the way.” – Emily Banting, 1982
Adventures in a Second Language
I’m leading a very quiet life in Mennecy – no big day trips, just a lot of time spent trying to improve my French. I’m two thirds of the way through a 660-page novel (Gasp! I don’t usually read such long books in English). I watch the television news every evening and read a couple of French magazines. Plus I talk to the dog – it’s a good chance to work on my vocabulary by pointing out the sights as we go for our daily walks – and she doesn’t mind if I make mistakes.
I had a lovely time talking to local producers at a small market yesterday. They wanted to talk about their products, and I wanted a chance to converse in French. It was a good lesson in how to interact with people who aren’t fluent in your language.
Do Say: What a charming accent you have. (Quel joli petit accent.)
Don’t Say: You know that word (name of a plant)? (Vous connaissez ce mot?) My response (not intended as one-upmanship): Yes, it’s the same as its Latin name.
Pests
What animal annoys you the most? Is it the gull that steals your french fries, the Canada goose that poops all over your neighbourhood park, or the mouse that finds its way inside your house every winter? In Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, Bethany Brookshire says, “We love wild animals. But we only want them in the wilderness. Our human-dominated landscapes are another matter. There, we are in control, and the only animals allowed are the ones that are in our power. When nature reminds us that our control is never absolute, we feel it like a violation of our sacred space. We respond with anger, hatred, and violence.” [book review, EcoFriendly West]
EcoFriendly West
Some of you may not be familiar with EcoFriendly West, a personal initiative of my brother Andrew and myself. We publish a weekly newsletter sharing Western Canadian news stories as well as regular profiles of nature/environmental organizations and projects active in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and/or British Columbia. Subscribe to EcoFriendly West and you’ll be the first to read new articles. We’re also on Facebook, Twitter, and – as of today – Mastodon.
Chocoholics
Chocolate is a treat, a reward, a dessert, but it’s also big business that can involve child labour and deforestation. Find out how your favorite chocolate product rates on this year’s Chocolate Scorecard. [The Chocolate Scorecard]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.