September 1, 2009

Going back several years, Peter Carver, Red Deer Press, asked me to illustrate a story about saving the horses of Sable Island. This led me on the path to one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.

As a teenager, I entered a public speaking competition with a Sable Island story. One of the judges was the well known Canadian artist J. D. Lawley—he had sketched some Sable horses as I spoke.

In 1967, I began research on the Ipswich Sparrow. The next summer, my wife Bernice assisted me, and with our three young children, we set up home in the unused radio operators’ house at the West Light.

The sun drops from sight; stars appear in the darkening sky. First a few, then dozens upon dozens and more and more until the entire universe is ablaze—the Milky Way sprawls, shooting stars streak past.

Flying in over the west spit, the grand expanse of south beach, and the tiny weather station compound, it feels like arriving at an outpost, even though mainland Nova Scotia is only 1:15 hours away.