Bygone colour

October 2016

A while ago I went plein air painting with an artist friend. I described the trip here. I am not totally pleased with the results, but I do have to keep reminding myself that I'm just a beginner so I should cut myself some slack.  So here are the results. Note that each picture appears darker on the left side, that is due to the lighting when I took the photo of the picture.

This was one I did a while ago from a photo in my artist friend's basement, as a kind of introduction to painting. My friend showed me a few things I could do so I cannot take responsibility/credit for every single brush stroke.

Practice, from photo

This one is from our first trip to Rock Notch Falls. Again, I had help.

Rock Notch Falls #1

This is from our second trip to the same location, but a different vantage point. Same waterfall, different view.

Rock Notch Falls #2

And the last one, also from the second trip, turning my easel around and painting the view behind me. I was concentrating so hard on the job that after one painting I was exhausted; my friend painted two or three in the same time span. However on the second trip to the falls I did manage to scrape together enough energy for the second painting.

Rock Notch Falls, behind me

I would like to keep up the activity through the winter and I have a standing invitation to my friend's basement. But I don't think I'll be doing anything this month, too much else to do.

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In other news, I had the maple tree in front of my house cut down yesterday morning. The picture at the top of this post is what it looked like when it was still healthy.

Tree down

It was diseased and had a split in the trunk, so it was likely that sooner or later that tree was going to come down in a storm. There were four lines---three phone or cable lines and one power line---running through it, so having it come down unaided would have been a disaster. I will miss greatly the shade it provided to my living room in the summer, but the liability of the tree was outweighing its benefits. Its roots were the cause of my earlier sewage disaster, and this fall it no longer displayed any colour. The leaves just turned black and brown and then fell off.

The other thing I will miss is that I used to have a bird feeder in that tree that I could watch from my living room window through the long winter months. Some of the local chickadees were not happy about the loss of the tree, they came by to watch and even at one point perched on the chain saw while the feller took a smoke break. There is no realistic alternative to hanging the feeder in that tree so this winter the birds and I will have to do without. That I will definitely miss, perhaps even more than the summer shade.

Painting Rocknotch Falls

Yesterday may have been the last gorgeous autumn day here. It's storming today, high winds and some rain. The wind will probably strip the last of the coloured leaves from the maples and oaks which provide the majority of the non-yellow fall colours. I have a maple tree in my front yard, but it is a Norway Maple, non-native and diseased. All the Norway Maples around here are diseased, something that causes big black spots to appear on the leaves in mid-to-late summer and obliterates their autumn colours. Right now my maple still has most of its leaves and if it weren't diseased it would still be green. But it's presently a terrible mix of green, brown and black. I have someone lined up to cut it down, but not until it has lost all of its leaves which won't be for several weeks I think. The tree is ugly, sick and has a split in it which does not bode well for its survival anyway. And there are phone and power lines running through it. While I have appreciated the shade it provides in the summer time, it also drains all of the moisture from the lawn and was the culprit in my sewage backup a few weeks ago. It is also the only suitable place for my bird feeder, so that will go as well. A winter without the birds.

The Master Artist at work

I mention yesterday because I went on a painting expedition with a local artist to one of her favourite sites. It is an old mill site on a river (McMaster Mill, on the Rocknotch Road), with several waterfalls. Beautiful at any time of year I guess, my friend has been coming here on a regular basis to paint. One of the things she likes about this spot is that is (or was) undiscovered, so she could spend several hours painting without interruption. However this old mill's days of anonymity must be over because after setting up our easels we had an almost constant stream of passersby interested in what we were doing. I am a complete novice at plein air painting, a near-novice at any kind of painting. Our subject was the area of the river just above one of the waterfalls. I brought Hapi along and she enjoyed wading in the river, standing out in the middle (a very shallow river) and letting the water rush by her. She managed not to go over the waterfall. When she was bored of that she lay down on the riverbank and napped.

Hapi and our subject matter

My friend is trying to teach me to paint. I don't know how successful she is being, I found it very hard and am not impressed with the results. Although she says one cannot expect good results until one has practiced a lot, and for now I should just be enjoying the process. Maybe so, but I did find it hard and after an hour or two was ready to just go for a stroll with the dog. In the meantime she completed three paintings, the first she said was to loosen her up and the others just to play with it. So her first painting did bear some resemblance to the scene before us, the other two were quite different. I think my problem with painting is that I am trying way too hard to make my canvas look exactly like what is in front of me, so I get very hung up on details. And I really don't know how to make the paint look like the actual scene so it feels very frustrating. I can't figure out how to make the colours and how to make the texture and three-dimensionality of it. Not to mention the reflections on the water and the movement of the water toward the waterfall and then over the edge into the pool below. Then I look over at what my friend is doing and her picture looks quite lovely even though it's not an exact copy of the actual scene.

She told me to put the painting away for a few days and then look at it, see what I think of it then. She thinks this may be the last plein air session she does this year, it will probably be too cold to go out again. But if she does go she will call me. When someone offers to teach you something that you've always thought you would enjoy doing, you don't turn down the offer. She said she has done a lot of painting workshops and she did not like it when the instructor never instructed but just let you go at it however you could and watched you flail around, all the while nodding approvingly. She preferred instructors who gave you instruction and criticism, so that was what she was trying to do. At one point she said if I thought she was being too bossy she would leave me alone but I said I appreciated her efforts. Knowing nothing I am open to advice and suggestion, but the learning process can be exhausting. I was glad when it was finally time to pack up and go home.

The viewing platform

But it was gorgeous there. Some local residents have put in walking trails and plaques giving the history of the place, and also a viewing platform for a couple of the waterfalls that are in a deep gorge.

The view

November walk with Hapi

It started out a foggy day, but the fog cleared and it became sunny and warm.

Kayak camping on Fisher Lake

Girls night out

I got a Groupon coupon for a night at Milford Lodge last spring and it was about to expire so I booked a night last weekend and invited a couple of women friends along. I brought Hapi too. Our cabin had a big stone fireplace and three bedrooms, and the bare minimum in walls (you could see daylight through the cracks between the wall boards). We set a fire in the fireplace first thing and kept it going the entire time we were there as it was our only source of heat. The fireplace was so inefficient and the cabin so cold that I swear we went through in less than a day enough firewood to keep my house in town warm for more than a week. And still we froze.


Lin brought a bottle of her homemade wine which she and I valiantly tried to polish off. It was great wine, very smooth and easy to drink, but nevertheless she had to take some of that wine home with her. As a result of all that drinking we were up frequently during the night for trips to the washroom, which was a good thing as the fire needed to be tended to frequently as well. We piled all the spare blankets on the beds and it was not enough. I'd have taken Hapi to bed with me but she is not into sharing sleeping quarters.


The afternoon of the first day we walked some of the trails at the Lodge, it was a gorgeous fall day and we all enjoyed walking in the woods. Dinner at the Lodge was huge and delicious. The next morning, after another large and delicious breakfast, we took a canoe out on the lake. There had been a lot of rain a couple of days before so the lake was very full, and it was actually even fuller the second day we were there because of water draining down from other lakes. Val was going to go for a walk instead of paddling, but the trail we walked the day before was now under water.


The morning was very foggy, we set out in the canoe in the fog and it was marvelously quiet and eerie. As we paddled the fog gradually lifted and the water was like glass, reflecting the fall colours in a way to take your breath away.



Lin kept bugging me to take photos, but I was steering the canoe and every time I attempted to focus the camera on a particularly beautiful view, the canoe would veer away and I would be left trying to take the photo over my shoulder, or else trying to click the camera and simultaneously fend us off a submerged rock.

There was this one view of the remains of the foggy mist rolling off a raft in the lake, but because you could only see the mist while facing into the sun my photos of it did not turn out at all. And another view that I thought was one of the most amazing I have ever seen I didn't even try to capture, I knew I'd fail and just wanted to enjoy it.


What it was was a rock emerging from the water and perfectly reflected in the glassy surface. Together with its reflection the rock appeared to be a giant arrowhead on its side, about eight feet long. What made it particularly amazing though was the fact that it appeared to be a giant rock arrowhead suspended in mid-air. The water surface was that smooth and reflective.

Lin and I drove home the long way, we stopped in Annapolis Royal for lunch and then took Highway 1 back to our end of the Valley. The highway meanders down the Valley past many farms and through a lot of small towns. Very picturesque. En route Lin got a call from a friend inviting her for dinner, and her friend kindly extended the invation to me. So I dropped Hapi off at home after a walk at the reservoir and then headed off for another great dinner at Lin's friend's place.

After dinner we played Bananagram, a great game that is kind of a freeform Scrabble. I think it is great because I won, repeatedly. I suspect that I won't be allowed to play again though. Oh well, fun while it lasted.

Back in town

Hi everybody, I am back in Toronto after an uneventful drive from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Arrived on Hallowe'en in time to see the streets filled with costumed people and swirling leaves, quite dramatic. Unfortunately the grandkids were down and out, 'flu in the household. I suppose it's H1N1 (the "Hyny flu"), that seems to be the going flavour right now. In any case Tristan recovered quickly and technically did not need to miss any school as he came down with it on Friday night and was better by Sunday night. But it just seemed too cruel to make a kid stay home on Hallowe'en AND not get to miss a day of school due to illness, so he got Monday off.

The second box I mailed home was left on the porch overnight when it arrived, and someone broke into it and made off with a few items. While I did not pack anything of great monetary value in that box it nevertheless contained items I was not happy to lose. Since I didn't inventory the box before I mailed it, I couldn't tell right away what was missing, but have been discovering the losses bit by bit. Rather painful I am afraid, I would rather have known all of what was missing right away, grieved it and moved on. But instead I get to realize each day another missing item which throws me into a bad mood each time. I am hoping I've discovered all the losses by now. While the replacement cost to me comes to around $300, the resale value to the thief is probably under $50. My credit card has taken a hit too, truck repairs topped $1300 this billing period, and I bought a round-trip flight to Vancouver as well. So I won't be rushing out to replace everything that is missing, at least not in this billing period.

To top it off, now that I am back in the land of high speed internet I thought I would spend an hour or two catching up on blogs that I have had to ignore while on dial-up. And was rather shocked to discover that someone "borrowed" a photo of mine without acknowledging it. Maybe that's not a big deal, maybe I am just in the bad mood initiated by the thefts, but it bothered me. I posted a comment on her blog to let her know that I didn't like it, I haven't heard back from her so maybe she doesn't care. I got a great kick out of Cyberspace Dawdler asking to use my outhouse photos on his blog, and I happily agreed. If this blogger had asked to use my photo on her blog and had acknowledged where she got it from, I think I would have been happy to agree to that too.

It hasn't all been bad, there have been some nice things happen too. Isn't it funny how the bad chases out the good?

Good things:

I visited the renovated Bloor-Gladstone branch of the Toronto Public Library and it is marvelous. And, it turns out my favourite Toronto librarian is now working there, so we had a nice little chat. This is a move up for her and she is very happy about it.

Dobby has put on some weight and looks terribly handsome. He gave me an ecstatic welcome when I walked in the door.

I love my apartment, it's good to be back.

I love all the local dogs, including the fellow in my new banner above, Grover. He lives at the corner of my street and has a wonderful view from his bench on the porch. And he is still King of the Dogpark.

Phelan got a haircut and he looks terribly handsome too. Think Prince Valiant, only blond.

Tristan turns 8 years old today! He had a very mild case of the 'flu and is completely recovered and looking great.

Socks and tiers

I brought some knitting along with me from Toronto, but I have done very little work on it, too much else to do I guess. However I thought I'd show what I have done so far anyway.


This is a pair of socks in Fleece Artist sock yarn, Fleece Artist is Nova Scotian. I had quite a bit of the sock on the left done when I arrived and started the second sock here. The reason the two socks are still on needles is because I want to make both of them the same length (duh...) and don't know how far this ball of yarn will go.

It's hard to see the pattern, but basically it's kind of a leaf motif. You can make it out on the right side of the sock in the middle, the left side has the same motif in mirror-image. I found it in a book of knitting stitches and decided to try it out on a pair of socks. I love the colours!

These are toe-up socks, you start at the toe and work up. There is a technique for doing both socks at once, but I would have had to divide my yarn into two balls right at the beginning and use a very long (or maybe two very long) circular needle(s), but I didn't do that.

While in showing off mode, here is my neighbour's handiwork tiering wood. I've never heard that term before, I always say 'stacking' wood, but 'tiering' is the correct term around here.


Another neighbour thought this photo was a classic Nova Scotian fall dooryard scene: the squash (on the purple picnic table), the firewood, and the apple trees.


My neighbour is finished tiering, the last of the pile on the left is being burned now so no point moving it around. Great job, eh?

This time of year

Still haven't heard the last of the medical mystery and I am abandoning the whole issue. It occurs to me that the shortage of medical isotopes due to Chalk River shutting down is impacting how fast they can schedule me for a CT scan; when I called the clinic they mentioned that they were triaging appointments so I'm guessing I am way down on the priority list. Personally I take that as good news, they must not think my situation is serious. Nor do I, so I am fine with skipping the whole thing.

The squirrels are having some drama. Not sure exactly, but I think they have another squirrel trying to move in on them. Lots of noise and teeth-clicking going on, and running in and out. They completely ignore me when I remind them of their promise to keep quiet.

With the truck I negotiated the minimum in repairs, which meant no undercoat, but then I changed my mind so now I have to go back for that. Annoying but my own fault.

I want to visit friends in Cape Breton, but their schedule is that they are too busy for visitors between Thursday and Sunday. The only window of opportunity is Monday to Wednesday, and it takes a day to drive there. I could have gone today, except that the only undercoating time slot I could get was either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. Although after cancelling out on the Cape Breton trip they then told me I could come in on Tuesday of next week for the undercoating. That would have worked better, but it's too late now.

So I am still trying to figure out when to go back to Toronto. I could drive up to Cape Breton next Monday, stay for a couple of days and then leave from there, but that will add an extra day of driving to the trip to Toronto.

Or I could go to CB, return here, and then leave from here right around Hallowe'en.

NOT! If you need to know anything about Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, it's

You.Do.Not.Want.To.Be.On.The.Road.On.Hallowe'en.

No way, no how!

OK, more pics.

This is the little red maple tree in my 'front yard'. It lights the whole place up on the darkest dullest days.


One day the moon was up on a bright sunny day.


My outhouse (now why would I need a curtain? that reflection is curtain enough!)


The Fraser Brook (the other major brook in these woods) down in the vault...


...and up close, looking upstream...


...and down.


In a normal year this brook runs almost dry by August, but this year it has looked like these pics pretty much since July. Except for the yellow leaves of course, that's recent.

And a bright yellow shelf fungus on red rotting wood.


I'm glad I stayed here until now, in spite of the various frustrations. As the guy who delivered my firewood said, This time of year make's it all worthwhile. I've been repeating that comment to everyone I meet around here, it's become a bit of a joke now, people are starting to say it back to me.

This time of year makes it all worthwhile!

A walk in the woods (3)

Some of the things I saw on my walk...

British soldier lichen on a log


Reindeer moss, when it is dry it is crispy brittle, but when it is wet it is very soft


Red maple leaf and rotting birch


Black mushroom


Amazing variety of mushrooms abound


"The three amigos"


Little sombreros in the moss


Shelf fungus


Little neon yellow spikes


A root elbow sticking up from the ground


A branch elbow hanging over the vault