Solstice and Equinox Weekends
Weekend retreats for men are held 4 times a year on the weekend closest to the solstice and equinox at Ron's Maple Creek Farm in Scotch Village, Hants County, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotian men have been gathering here for 6 years.Winter Solstice 1998 (December 19-20)
Present:Ron (Eco-Farmer), Alan, Ben (age 12), Jonathan, Peter, Ralph, Roger
Weather:
Friday night snow/freezing rain storm left roads icy on Saturday. Mount
Uniacke section of
Highway 101 was closed (but Peter and Al drove on dauntless).
Snow was crisp and turned to mush with warmer
weather on Sunday. Overcast with some clear sky.
Activities:
 | Yarding logs from the woods using Star the draft horse and ecoforestry principles |
| Offering the harmony bellow at the top of the hill to bring in the long night and our friend on the road |
| Breaking bread together |
| Making our communal candle to celebrate the new light |
| Drumming with the new drum "mellow bellow" presented to Ron for his hosting the farm weekends |
| Embracing the silence of the darkness |
| Lighting the flame inviting the new dawn and the retrun of the sun |
| Banishing to the past, our attitudes and behaviours that hold us back from becoming our great self |
| Honour drumming for Ben, the boy soon to become a man |
| Writing the group doha as follows... |
Solstice Farm Weekend Doha
December 19-20, 1998
Community enhances energy
Hay rolling is fun
Pink cloud, fading light
Meeting in the cycle of the sun
There is light because there is darkness
We called together and Ralph came
We did our harmony bellow
We hacked up wood with our axe
Them's the facts
We drummed and we drummed
We drummed till the dawn
The heartbeat of the world
is revealed by drums
Short day, big warmth
Long night
We honoured my son
I was honoured
Community is most important.
Maple Creek Farm
An Integration of Cultural and Natural History
This 100 acre Heritage Farm tells an ancient story of cultural and natural ancestors. Located in Scotch Village, Nova Scotia, the farm rests alongside the Kennetcook River, a tidal river that empties into the Bay of Fundy, the highest tides in the world. A spectacular view of the dyke-lands built by the Acadians in the 18th century awaits you from the high meadow. Time stand still when strolling through the apple orchard and many woods trails. The land is treated in much the same ways as the forbearers, the fields are tended using "low technology" and the selective cutting of trees is done according to ecoforestry principles and tenderly removed from the forest by horse. The water drawn by bucket and rope from the well is crisp and pure and the evening meal is cooked on a wood stove.The farm features the first New Englanders Baptist Cemetery in Nova Scotia (1776) , an Acadian Dykelands complete with one way valve, Tidal bore, fossil outcroppings, mature forest, apple orchard, beehives, Francois, Phyllis and the other cows and Star the mare.