I have a sister who tells me that early morning is the best time for photography.
I tell my sister that early morning is the best time for sleeping.
This morning I awoke early.
I stepped out onto my back deck, and this happened.
To early mornings!
Today started out as a blue kind of a day, as a combination of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain, prevented me from spending the afternoon painting with my sister.
But seeing that little watercolour palette, with it’s dot of blue pigment, along with a new paint brush, washed those blues away.
With supplies generously donated by the MacLaren Art Center, for us folks who have reached a certain age, and under the direction of one of their artists, via Zoom, my paper went from white to blue.
I love this rock,
With it's wood and rock.
The ice that clings
Like a woolen sock.
It'll stay there
Til the weather is fair,
When it will melt away
Like a frilly frock.
It is so much fun
To see the slush
Form
Beneath your shoe.
It will make you wet,
But what they heck.
A tasty treat,
For those fast red feet.
Of the elusive red squirrel
If it comes near the house,
It will be treated like a mouse
AND!!!!!
Happy Spring Everyone !!!!!
Kempenfelt Bay, upon whose shores the beautiful City of Barrie sits. It’s also home to other wonderful little spots, like Big Bay Point, and Shanty Bay.
A Bay, that grows ever more beautiful as winter melts into spring. When spring moves into summer, then autumn, and back to winter, and ice huts will once again dominate the landscape.
The frozen waters provide a perfect playground for this beautiful chocolate lab. A chocolate lab, much loved by his Oma and Opa.
Pressure cracks, and nature’s sculptures, cover the bay as water begins to pool on top of the ice.
Deep below the layers of ice lurks the legendary lake creature named Kempenfelt Kelly.
Kempenfelt Kelly is said to have a long stove-pipe neck, topped with a face that looks like a dog.
It is about 12 feet long, or prehaps a lot longer.
Folklore also says that it has three pairs of legs, and looks like an octopus, topped with two long and sensitive antenna.
One source noted that it has “exquisitely beautiful feather-like appendages, that are constantly in motion.”
When I finally lay eyes on the mysterious Kempenfelt Kelly, I will give you a full, and accurate description of this remarkable being.
Along the shore of Kempenfelt Bay, in Big Bay Point.
We pray for the Ukraine.
For the people.
For the country.
For their freedom.
Red
The colour
Of the blood
Being shed.
Green
For the new life
That will begin
When the fighting stops.
A leader stands
Tall
Waiting for the world
To provide support.
Shadows in the snow,
how sullenly they flow.
In the depth,
of winter blues.
The colours,
varying in hues.
One war
is almost over.
Another one
may soon begin.
The clouds open,
and shadows form.
The forecast,
as unsure.
As the winter
is long.
This old tree.
The forest.
And me.
Following footsteps.
Of those who walked.
These trails.
Before us.
Let your imagination.
Go wild.
And you will see.
Dragon wings.
And other things.
Listen to the wind.
Listen to the trees.
Listen to the sounds.
Floating on the breeze!
My parents and my two sisters, plus four of my mother’s siblings and their families, emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands, in the early 1950’s.
I was born in Canada.
When I was a little girl speaking dutch, an aunt gently said to me, ‘We came to Canada to be Canadian, let’s speak English.’
Aunts and Uncles, from the Netherlands, would visit and very quickly my first language would return. Today, cousins visiting are very fluent in the English language. Practicing Dutch has becoming a rare occurrence.
Gradually, the language of my ancestors became lost to me.
Or so I thought.
My friend, D, has been using this quiet time of Covid19 to study the French language. I am very grateful to her for introducing me to her wonderful little App. Two days ago I started on a journey that, hopefully, will lead me to becoming fluent in the Dutch language.
I am surprised at how easily the words are returning. The written word is a bit challenging, the grammar, the spelling!
But the speaking, and the reading, come back easily!
I realize I am early on in the course, but I feel very confident that I will regain this language that I had believed to be lost.
Feeling the weight
of the world.
Those on the right,
Those on the left.
God, please get us
safely,
Out of this mess.
Being inconvenienced,
is not the same as
Being oppressed.
Instead of purchasing
canteens of gasoline,
Help the world
gain
Access to the vaccine.
Then all the variants
will go away.
And safely,
once again,
We will play!
My first painting of the year. Of eight people who began 2022, together.
A beautiful quote from Elene Barnabe, “Our hands are the antennas of our soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking it into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your soul calms down.”
Painting a picture of people you love does not come easily, but it is a very satisfying way to spend a few cold, winter days.
We started the year off together. During this time, we walked, and we talked, and we took photos in the forest. Looked for animal tracks, and listened to the quiet.
Memories flooded in, of long hikes, treasures found, large mud puddles, and a crazy little river.
And always coming home in capable, proficient hands.
Groovy Tales of a Well Adult 