Harvest of a Quiet Eye: The Cabin as Sanctuary

James A. Love is a professor architecture and associate dean (Research
and Outreach) in the Faculty of Environmental Design and an adjunct
professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Calgary. His
latest publication is the Illuminating Enginee

Lawrence Scanlan has a long connection with the writing and promotion of
books in Canada. He was a producer of Peter Gzowski’s CBC Morningside
radio show, which used to regularly featured authors. Apart from writing
numerous works, he collaborated in the development of the book that
became the basis of the movie The Horse Whisperer. He has been an editor
with Harrowsmith magazine and The Kingston Whig-Standard.

Harvest of a Quiet Eye is a meandering collection of memories and
reflections related to a cabin that Scanlan relocated to a country
property near Kingston, Ontario. This involved dismantling an old log
structure and setting it on new foundations. Four themes are used to
divide the book: earth, fire, water, and wind. However, these barely
contain the ramblings, which range from accounts of events in the
construction of his cabin to the thoughts of Henry David Thoreau and
many others about country living. The message of the book is that we can
have a more fulfilling life through connection with nature and that we
should make an effort to maintain the richness of life that Scanlan
finds in the country.