Remembrance Sunday

Lest we forget...

Thankful....

For good health...

For family...

 For fresh air and room to run...

For plentiful food...

For a happy home...

It was a spectacular Fall weekend in the Glen. All across southern Ontario the sun was bright and the air crisp and we enjoyed having Andrew's family here for the day. Nothing says Thanksgiving like a houseful of family, the laughter of children playing with their cousins, and the smell of turkey roasting in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Intrepid Explorers

One of the greatest things about living where we do (ie: the middle of nowhere) is that there is lots of scope for the kids.

I'm bored is a phrase rarely heard, partly because they know I'll make them weed carrots or something equally entertaining, and partly because there are lots of opportunities for adventure.

When they were toddlers, I'd let them out for a few minutes at a time without me, as long as they stayed in sight from the french doors. As they got older, I just had to be able to sight them from one of the windows in the house, and the boundary line was the maple tree and the Enchanted Forest, the pastures, and the fence in the back.

Three years ago when they were 7,6, and 4, on a pleasant sunny winter's day when I was spackling the kitchen ceiling and they were restless, we gave them a walkie talkie, set them up on their skis and allowed them to cross the field and back. We checked on them with binoculars, but the sense of independence and joy they got from that expedition was worth every second of extra time the ceiling took as a result.

And today, they are adventurous, independent, spirited explorers. They know first aid and safety. They carry water and granola and walkie talkies, and they explore. They make plans, make maps, and make forts.

And make memories.

Bittersweet

I like to enjoy a glass of red wine on the veranda as the sun sets. The Linden Tree is in full bloom, the scent of lime drifting by on the breeze, and red-winged blackbirds chase each other in and out of the small copse of trees beyond the wild roses. The sights, sounds and smells of early summer make it a nice way to wind down on a Friday night.

I took these pictures on the weekend. My Linden tree with its sweet-smelling blossoms, hanging over me like a bower.

It's a bittersweet remembrance now. My van spontaneously caught fire yesterday. Luckily the fire was caught before it spread to my new veranda, but not before the heat of it had destroyed the vehicle and scorched the surrounding trees - my growing Ash sapling, a mature Pine, and my beautiful Linden tree.

We knew some branches would have to go, but today I noticed the curled leaves on the veranda side of the tree. Brown and fragile, the leaves and blossoms are just a shell of what they were, and I cry not for the van - which can be replaced - but for my trees.

There is hope. We may still be able to save the tree as it is not damaged all the way up.

But I write this with sadness in my heart.

Storm Clouds

We sat on the veranda watching the storm clouds roll in last night.

One minute the sky was grey-blue and there was a bit of a breeze.

The next thunderous scowling blackness swirled in, settling over the glen. The wind rose, the animals huddled, and the light changed, becoming at once more vivid and more flat.

Most spectacular.

Soundless Golden Bells Alone In The Storm

Detail

by Al Purdy

The ruined stone house

has an elderly apple tree

left there by the farmer

whatever else he took with him

It bears fruit every year

gone wild and wormy

with small bitter apples

nobody eats

even children know better

I passed that way on the road

to Trenton twice a month

all winter long

noticing how the apples clung

in spite of hurricane winds

sometimes with caps of snow

little golden bells

And perhaps none of the other

travelers looked that way

but I make no parable of them

they were there and that’s all

for some reason I must remember

and think of the leafless tree

and its fermented fruit

one week in late January

when wind blew down the sun

and earth shook like a cold room

no one could live in

with zero weather

soundless golden bells

alone in the storm

Remembering

It was good on Sunday to see the turnout at the local Cenotaph for the Remembrance Day ceremonies. The Canadian Air Force was there, the local Air Reserve, and the Air Cadets, the highland regiment, the Glengarry Pipes and Drums,representatives of the police and fire departments, legion members, and bringing up the rear, our Scout troop - a few rows of scouts, cubs and beavers with their sashes and caps and flags. They did well, these kids, starting with the church service at 11am, and followed by the parade at 2pm. Then, I dragged them off to the legion for our annual drink and sandwich, and Grace managed to avoid spilling coke on someone's bagpipes like she did two years ago, and it was nice enough to sit outside with some of the legion members and have a drink in the sunshine.

It's good to remember. And I think it's important. And hanging out with the kids and explaining it all to them felt right. But when Erik asked why, if war is so terrible, there still is war, I had no answer for him. I don't know if there is an answer to that.

from the song Willie McBride by Eric Bogle

Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?

Did you really believe that this war would end wars?

For the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,

The killing, the dying it was all done in vain

For Willie McBride it's all happened again

And again and again and again and again.

Four Seasons in Rural Ontario

Perhaps, where you live, you are used to Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.

Not here.

Here, it's a bit different.

We have Fall, Winter, Spring and...Festivals!

Starting last weekend - obviously the Medieval Festival.

Up next is Maxville Fair Days, and from then on there will be a festival pretty much every weekend until summer is over.

Canada Day, Strawberry Socials, community fairs, historic festivals, military re-enactments, musical festivals in small ruined churches, Book Fairs (a personal favourite!), and the two biggies of the summer: the Highland Games and the Williamstown Fair.

Who needs to go away in the summer? There is so much to do right on our doorstep!

Silver Sunrise

One benefit of turning back the clocks on the weekend is the view in the morning...

...once I've had that 3rd cup of coffee and my blurry eyes are able to focus, that is.

Split Rail Fences

In a previous post I mentioned the photogenicity (word?) of split rail fences.



To prove my point I give you this post: Split rail fences in all their glory.



Spring
Summer





Winter

Dirty Old Town

It's a dirty old town today with a whole lot of dirty old weather.

A Spring thaw is one thing. But a mid winter thaw - when you know the mercury will plummet again tomorrow - is quite another.

The difference is that a spring thaw brings with it the promise of snowdrops and new life pushing through the dark earth.

A mid winter thaw brings only grey sodden fields and muddy roads - and the certain knowledge that it will get worse again before it gets better.

Still - there are compensations.

The Enchanted Forest is opening up again. And split rail fences are photogenic no matter what the weather!

Don't you just love winter?