Mariposa Memories

An old quilt…..memories.

A weekend of feel-good memories at the Mariposa Folk Festival 2023.

The feel-good memories began at the bag check station on Friday afternoon. When the bag check person saw my old patchwork quilt, she hesitated and then shared her story about a very similar quilt. She shared that as a child, she  had been gifted such a quilt by hospital staff when she was there visiting her father, who was suffering from terminal cancer.

She checked my bag again on Saturday and Sunday morning,  each time quietly laying her hand on my blanket.

Meredith Moon’s

Meredith Moon, Gordon Lightfoot’s daughter?

Who knew?

After she sang, everyone knew!

Best Picnic Sandwich ever!

To the people who made me the best picnic sandwich ever. Ham, cheese, apple, pickle, etc, on toasted sour dough bread.

They also gave me some surplus cardboard that greatly helped absorb Mother Earth’s moisture as it seeped up out of the ground and through my old quilt.

Photo from the 2023 Mariposa Folk Festival souvenir program.

Seeing Judy Collins in person and hearing her beautiful voice sing songs that she has written was for me the highlight of Mariposa 2023.

Judy Collins, who made artists like Lenard Cohen and Bob Dylan famous by recording their songs.

Pink Flamingos

All entertainment is back!

Tributes to Gordon Lightfoot

Tributes to Gordon Lightfoot were seen all over Tudhope Park. Including the renaming of the main stage, the Gordon Lightfoot stage.

Finally, to whoever found the key fob to our vehicle and dropped it off at the Lost and Found Station, we are forever grateful!

The Coulson Conerts …. 2023

The historical Coulson Church

The Historical Coulson Church was established in 1881 and closed in 1965.

The descendants of the family that donated the land for the church building back in 1881 are now committed to the preservation and restoration of the church as a historical site.

Now, among other things, it is home to the Coulson Concerts….2023.

The Coulson Concerts organized by Anne Walker. 
Folk concerts, sunny afternoons, 
and old churches.
Good friends, mandolins,
and poor air quality caused by forest fires.
Beers and cold water,
cheese curds and gravy
on steaming hot fries.
Guitars, accordians,
vocals, and a harmonica.
Same kinds of cars,
different make, different model.
Cushions on pews,
voices singing, 
But not in a choir.
It is that kind of a summers day.
Known as the Walker-Seymour Union church, the building was used for Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and United churches.

I’m missing having a home church, prehaps, one day soon, a small building like this one will welcome me.

Mushrooms….Friends or Foes?

Mushrooms

This week, a friend and I attended a workshop titled Fungi: Friends or Foes of our Forest System at the MacLaren ART Center.

Here, we learned that the very flavourful Honey Mushroom is a foe!

We have, in the past, harvested these tasty morsels with friends, dried them, and enjoyed them in many a yummy dish.

But, it turns out that they are a foe, not a friend of the forest. The good news is that we now feel free to harvest them to our hearts’ content. No more worries about leaving lots behind.

The Honey Mushroom not only grows on dead and decaying wood, but it also feasts on live trees, thereby harming the forest. Fortunately, a rival fungi has been discovered to combat the destruction caused by our little Honey.

🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄

Another interesting tidbit I learned is that SHOES are now being made from mushrooms!!!!! Yes, SHOES!!!!

Also, BRICKS! Mushrooms, mixed with straw and other like items, are being used to build a more environmentally friendly brick!

Just imagine, for a moment, the third little pig building his house with bricks made of mushrooms. A mushroom brick using the straw from the first little pig’s house as a mix. Then, prehaps having helped himself to sticks from the second little pig’s house to frame the windows and the doors.

Oh my!

How much fun would the big bad wolf have had!

Especially if he loved mushrooms!!!!!

A Bearded Birdhouse

Housecleaning….
Once upon a bearded birdhouse 
Socks had been hung out to dry.
He was shaking out the rug 
When dust got in his eye.

He cried to his momma 
He cried to his pop. 
Nothing they tried 
Could make the pain stop. 

Along came a pretty lady
With a hop, hop, hop.
She spotted the tiny tear
And decided she must stop. 

She kissed the wet cheek 
She pecked the wet ground. 
Up popped a juicy worm 
Which she quickly found.
 
They all had dinner 
Their dishes wiped clean.
The dust eventually settled 
A tear was nowhere to be seen.

This is not a true story 
Just a bit of nonsense 
About a bearded birdhouse 
Filled with incense!

Cracks and Crevices.

An old well, and a forget-me-not…

cracks and crevasses

crinkled and cotton

small spaces

long forgotten

a seed is planted

it’s root go deep

A little petunia, in a large tree…

it becomes a part of us

a part, we want to keep

it is not an accident

it is not luck

these tiny places

are in the largest

part, of my heart. MT

A grand old tree supporting new sprouts.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets is. LC

No Mow May….

Forget-me-nots, and other pretty flowers.

Our lawns grow so much more than grass and dandelions!

Some crazy little wildflowers….

In defense of the lovely yellow dandelion.

1. It’s highly nutritious.

2. It contains potent antioxidants.

3. It may help fight inflammation.

4. It may aid blood sugar management.

5. It may reduce cholesterol

6. It may lower blood pressure.

7. It may promote liver health.

8. It may aid weight loss.

9. It may support healthy digestion.

10. It may boost immune health.

Pretty in yellow….

Things to make from the lovely dandelion.

1. Dandelion jelly – done

2. Dandelion wine

3. Dandelion bread – done

4. Dandelion honey – done

5. Dandelion syrup – done

6. Dandelion cookies – done

7. Dandelion tea – done

8. Dandelion coffee – done

9. Dandelion gummies

10. Dandelion salve – done

11. Dandelion salad – done

12. Dandelion soup

13. Dandelion quiche

14 Use your imagination

Food for the birds, food for the bees. Food, a plenty, when the lawn has been mowed when No Mow May is over.

Reduce your carbon footprint!

Looking at the World

Looking at the world 
through rose coloured glasses. 
As the winds and clouds roll by.
Like thoughts and ideas,
they make smooth passes. 
My feelings;
like dots in the sky.
Surrounding yourself pleasantly 
is difficult sometimes. 
The flowers and the trees, 
are not always in rhyme. 
My expectations are like chimes, 
in what a world finds fair. 
So different is the light 
that my daydreams share.