". Arranged Words

13 Dec 2022

Year in Review


 


Hi Everyone,
                                                           
 Another year almost at a end, so I thought I'd do a bit of a recap. 
Autumn flew by, and I missed posting a few pictures of the beauty. So I will include a pic or two later on, along with  a few other photos from the year.


Murmuration ~ Taken in November in Nova Scotia.

Right place, right time for this video. While not the largest flock of birds, I was happy to see them. Their graceful movements remind me of  a ballet. 

Love ferns



The Golden Hour




 I'd like to paint a version of this photo. 





Canada's first railway. It runs 1/2 kilometer from the waterfront in Brockville and then under the town. It was build in 1860. A fun place to visit with the new light show and unexpected sounds really spark the senses. 

* * *

A few art examples from 2022.


Looking back, can be a good thing. I got a lot more accomplished on the art front than I thought. 
And in the process, I learned a lot. The fun and good thing about painting is there's always more to learn. And I find people are generous with their knowledge. 
I enjoyed experimenting and learning about Cyanotypes/blueprints this summer as well. More sun prints planned for the upcoming sunny months.

Watercolour/Micron Pen


Pastel Sunflowers

The Flower Girl in Pastel. 





                                                       Mocks Ups ~  Evening Glow in Pastel

Lone Pine ~ Pastel 


                               
Watercolour ~ Mistletoe on a bit of left over paper.
The pink bow sparkles, but I can't get the camera to pick it up.


                                            Thank you for your visits this year and for your lovely                                                                                     comments.

                           Wishing you  all a very Merry Christmas! Have safe and happy holidays. 

                                                              See you in the New Year.

                                                               Cultivate Your Dreams
                                                          
                                              Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 
                                                           Thanks to all for hosting.  

22 Nov 2022

A Journey


 The Nova Scotia flag. Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland.   

Hi everyone,

A few pictures from my recent trip to Nova Scotia. I had planned to go in July, then the middle of October, but "the best laid plans of mice and men [women] often go awry." Robert Burns.

Dire news bulletins trumpeted warnings about this virus and that virus. Finally, after another delay because of Covid at the residence my Mother lives in, I sallied forth, not completely undaunted, but determined to go while praying that I wouldn't bring Covid along with me. 

Finally, masked and somewhat anxious, with a carry on in one hand, and a suitcase stowed in the hold, I stumbled onboard the plane and hoped for the best. Thankfully, all went well.

I was eager to see my family, and especially my 99 year old Mother. She was surprised and pleased to see me, and I was delighted to see her too!

When I left her, I thought I might have a meltdown, ( perhaps it will happen yet) but, somehow, I just felt a wonderful sense of comfort and peace that remains with me still.

            While there, my sister and I went to visit an old friend. This is the view from his living room window.

                                                             Lucky duck!

                         Shortly after I left, a winter snowstorm draped itself across his view. Lovely!


                                      Love the little dory planter in this old shop window.

 A real Dory. They are always painted the same bright colour. No doubt to make it easier to spot in the fog.

Such a sturdy little boat that was launched from a schooner way back when. Old fishermen tell yarns/tales of calm days and of cold, wet, rough days fishing from dories with curtains of sea spray washing over the gunnels. They must have been thankful for a Sou'wester and their oil skins.

I had some time to walk along the waterfront. It brought back a lot of memories. 

I also tried to imagine what was happening on the waterfront in this town settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1783. Tall ships would have sailed up the long harbour to unload 5000 people 1783 and also 5000 more in 1784. By 1784 it was one of the largest towns in North America with, you guessed it, a population of 10,000 people. They, no doubt, would have been busy settling in, picking lots, clearing treed, stony land, and building houses while, likely, hoping and praying that winter would not arrive early.

The Ross Thompson House: a large four storey, wooden building with a gable roof at the south end and gambrel roof at the north. Now a museum, in its day it was a store and a private residence; the Ross brothers opened the store in 1785. Many stories must be locked within those walls. I may have one in mind.

While I was visiting, a late hurricane swept up the eastern seaboard. The winds were not really severe in the area of Nova Scotia we were in, but, as you can see, the seas were high-spirited and rocky. There was, however, extensive damage in the Halifax area. PEI and other maritime provinces suffered a lot of damage as well. Unfortunately, Florida took a major hit too. My heart goes out to all the people affected by the storm.


A locally build and designed Cape Island Boat. A true master of the seas. Some of the larger models used for lobster fishing cost between 1 - 2 million.

Moored close to shore for safety. I hope the crew stayed on shore.




 

                                       These two pastel paintings have been added to my shop.

 Somehow Blogger lost this post three separate times, so I better sign off now and save, save, save it. Not that the save button helped before. But I hope to get the better of Blogger this time. Yes, Ms. Tenacity Forbearance is back in the building.  :)

                                       A safe and Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

                                                            'Til next time...

                                                            Cultivate Your Dreams

                                         Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                   Thank you all for hosting.

27 Sept 2022

An Ode to Summer


 Hi everyone,

Depending on your location, I hope you all had a lovely summer or winter and are looking forward to a change in season.

Our summer was hot one with a few extremes. For example, one day the temperatures reached 100.8 F/38.22 C, and the next day it was 64.4 F/18C. First time, I've experienced 100F heat here in this part of the world.
                                  
Here, just now, gold, red, and orange colours are busy painting the treetops.

                                                                * * *

Time to say a few words about the Queen Elizabeth II. She has been a constant in the world for such a long time. I am grateful that she was with us for so long, and that she left us at this time and not in 2020 when she would not have had a proper send off. What a remarkable lady she was. And she certainly kept her promise to serve whether her life was long or short. RIP beautiful Queen Elizabeth. You will be sorely missed.

                                                       
                                                             Wonderful cloud formations. 

                       Pictures taken in Brockville in the 1000 Islands, along the St. Lawrence River.




Tall Ships Landing.
                                                                    Tall Ships Landing

 I think you can buy a condo there for a cool million or more. 



Unfortunately, hurricane Fiona has wreaked havoc the whole way along its track and has also decimated parts of the Maritimes. My relatives live in different parts of Nova Scotia. The storm brought heavy rain and 150K winds to Nova Scotia, but it swerved into a different track, and they were spared the brunt of it. But a state of emergency has been declared for other parts of the Maritimes, and the military has been sent to access the situation. The Maritimes have ridden out many a hurricane, but nothing of this magnitude has been seen for several generations. 

In Newfoundland several homes were washed way, and there's widespread damage throughout Cape Breton and PEI. There are hundreds of thousands of people without power; hard working crews have been working fast in N.S. and half of 500,000 customers without power are, as I type, back online. 
My thoughts and prayers and with the people.
Also praying for the people of Puerto Rico and other areas that were devastated along the storm's tract.

* * *


                                           
                                                     Pastels on Pastelmat Archival Paper

                                                            
Unison's Botanical Set.
     
My birthday was in August, and so I was gifted these lovely pastels. Because pastels are so pretty, it takes time for me to remove the wrappers, snap them in half and begin a painting. 



 A swatch of eighteen beautiful Botanicals and the three extra colours I received for good measure.


Abstract acrylics




                                    Sun print/Cyanotype, Watercolour/mixed media, and Sunflowers.


Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                   Thank you all for hosting.

                                  Until next time...Stay safe and sound and

       Cultivate Your Dreams



12 Jul 2022

Lovely Summer Days


We were out at the Parkway for a picnic recently. As you can see the day was generous--nothing but beautiful!


Sometimes you just want to hitch a ride, but the skipper was having a few issues: namely hitting the bottom. For privacy's sake, I removed the people and the name of the boat. 


 A peaceful cove


Wildflowers. Fleabane, Hawkweed, Anemone


Canada Geese 

Because I didn't want to startle them, I snuck up on these geese. As you can see some were busy feeding. I didn't know it but they also "talk" softly to each other all the time. It must be comforting, I suppose. 
Canadian geese mate for life. 
At another time, I watched
 one standing guard while the other one enjoyed a lovely grassy dinner.

Generally, Canadians are known to be nice folks, but these Canadians can
be rather feisty. They will attack humans or something as large as a cow if they feel threatened, or they are protecting their nest.  

Last year, a female laid her eggs in the Walmart parking lot miles away from the river. The city came and put a fence around her. What a silly goose!
Meanwhile the anxious male hung around outside the fence, dogging traffic. (I hope he made it.)
In the end, I bet
 there was some sort of marital discussion.
Such as, "Martha we've got to do better than this."
"I agree, but I believe this was your idea, Fred.”

* * *


                                       
                                    More sun prints bookmarks with watercolour enhancements. 

         

Blue and White.
                                                          

The time has come for my annual blog break. Depending on where you live, I will be back in the fall or the spring. Thank you all for your lovely comments and for reading along so far this year. 
  
‘Til Next time…

Cultivate Your Dreams!

 Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                   Thank you all for hosting.